well i always thought that ibanez brought to the public the first seven string guitar (the steve vai universe) until i came across this vid today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtwxsb9OUa8

now here is steve vai talking about the universe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsELKt_nquQ

so after seeing this i just want to know which was the first production model 7 string?

The first production 7 string was the Gretsch George Van Eps signature model (1968). This is an earlier pic of him before his Gretsch model (when his instruments were all custom built for him, not production models):


I don't know who made the first production solidbody 7 string.

makes sense but i was hoping for an answer to the solidbody electric

This came from Wikipedia, so grab some salt:



Seven-string electric guitar Ibanez RG7321BK

First seven-string patent ever issued
Hollowbody and semi-hollow electric guitars

In the United States, the jazz guitarist George Van Eps had a seven-string guitar built for him by Epiphone Guitars in the late 1930s and a signature Gretsch seven-string in the late 60s and early 70s. The Van Eps signature guitar may be the first regular-production seven-string electric guitar.

Several others began using seven-string guitars after Van Eps, including Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Ron Eschete, Chance Russell, Lenny Breau, and John Pizzarelli, son of jazz legend Bucky Pizzarelli.

The first seven-string guitars were built in the "hollowbody" or "semi-hollow" archtop styles, where the guitar has a central resonating chamber, or a central block with resonant chambers on the sides. This gave the guitar the dark woodiness, breath, and richness that is associated with traditional "jazz" tone, but made it too prone to feedback to be practical for rock guitar playing.

Solidbody electric guitars

The first solidbody seven-string electric guitar was possibly an instrument conceived by Lenny Breau and built by the Californian luthier Kirk Sand in 1982.[1] This instrument featured a high A string and was allegedly played by Breau at the 1983 NAMM convention.[2] This guitar was never patented, which is understandable in view of the fact that it featured a 22.75 inch scale, a scale typically recommended for children ages 6 to 11.[3]

Alex Gregory was the first person to successfully patent a seven-string solid body electric guitar design, Gregory received two utility patents for his model which named him as the "inventor" of the "Seven String Electric Guitar" according the United States Patent Office, and according to the exact legal wording on the patent.[4] A small number of prototypes were made, however the unit was never put into production by Fender.[5].[6]. Unlike the Prior Art Hollowbody Jazz Guitars that added a low B string, the guitar described in the patent is a solid body 7-string guitar with a "Top A" string instead. Also known as the Guitolin, the model was designed to allow Gregory to transpose Niccolò Paganini's 24 Caprices for Solo Violin on guitar. After Gregory signed an artist endorsement deal with Fender, two prototype seven-string Maestro Alex Gregory signature Stratocaster guitars were produced in 1987, one with a regular headstock, the other with a reverse headstock.[7][8][9]. The prototypes of the Maestro Alex Gregory signature seven-string Stratocaster were displayed to the public at the January 1988 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.[10]. At the same time, they were listed in the U.S. Signature Series of the Fender Price List effective April 1, 1988[11]. Despite this, these signature guitars never went into full-scale production except for a seven-string Squier Stratocaster run in the late 1990s and a few produced by the Fender Custom Shop.[12] This was due to Fender having problems manufacturing the extremely thin high A strings for the guitar.

The first mass-produced seven-string was the Ibanez UV7 played by Steve Vai and Reb Beach.[13] Vai was drawn to the idea for much of the same reasons seven-string classical and jazz players were - the extended range the additional string offered. After initial experimentation with a high A, a low B was added as the high A proved to be too prone to breaking. Vai began touring with Whitesnake with a seven-string prototype, and then used the guitars for his 1990 release Passion and Warfare.

The seven-string guitar became more prominent when the band Korn featured Ibanez Universe guitars on their 1994 debut album, capitalizing on the massive low end produced by the seventh string (typically a low A). This period marked a highwater point in the popularity of the seven-string guitar, as manufacturers jumped on the seven string bandwagon that they had previously steered clear of including such "traditional" brands as Fender subsidiary Squier and Gibson subsidiary Epiphone, and manufacturers who had been producing sevens expanded their offerings. The trend eventually passed, but many guitarists were introduced to the extended range offered by a seven-string guitar during this period who might not have otherwise been. This was somewhat offset by a growing stigma that a seven-string guitar was a "nu metal" instrument, fit only for heavy riffing. This was ironic as Korn guitarists Munky and Head remember being told in their early days that the seven-string guitar couldn't be used for riffing, as it was a guitar for technical guitar players.

In the 1990s, several other heavy metal guitarists began using seven-string instruments (notably John Petrucci, Trey Azagthoth, and Erik Rutan), seeing the possibility for detuned riffing while preserving the full upper range of the guitar for solos. However, the seven-string guitar failed to really catch on at this phase in its development, and the Universe model was discontinued briefly in 1995; notable users of the Universe also include Korn. Matt Bellamy from Muse uses a custom red Manson seven-string to play just one song, "Citizen Erased", with a AADDGBE tuning (the song was originally recorded on a detuned six-string). Dino Cazares uses custom seven-string Ibanez guitars; Christian Olde Wolbers has his own signature Jackson seven-string guitar, Jeff Loomis has a signature model made by Schecter and Stephen Carpenter has several of his own models released by ESP.

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Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

George Van Eps was the first I can remember. It may even go back further. George Van Eps was an amazing player.

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Not a fan of 7 or 8 strings.

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i've thought about it and i thought about getting a baritone... a shame that they don't make strat baritones and 7 strings... heck i'd even take the jag baritone from a while back

Ever heard of Djent? It's basically super technical shred-metal. Look up Animals as Leaders. It's all instrumental. Makes me want to get an 8 string.

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8 is too much for me though now that i think of it... a twelve string would be pretty awesome too... and now i'm contradicting myself