Meshuggah, Animals as Leaders, Deftones, Fear Factory, Periphery, Ihsahn, Vildhjarta, and After the Burial all use 8-string guitars. The instrument started as a niche tool for extreme metal and has grown into a defining voice across several modern subgenres.
- Meshuggah pioneered 8-string guitar in heavy metal, building the djent sound from complex polyrhythmic riffs on the low F# string
- Animals as Leaders extended 8-string technique beyond metal by incorporating bass-style thumping across the full range of the instrument
- Deftones broke the djent mold when Stephen Carpenter used 8-strings on Diamond Eyes, bringing extended range into alternative metal
I’ve spent a lot of time with 8-string guitars. I own a Schecter Omen Elite 8, and it changed how I think about tone layering and low-end composition. The range you get from that low F# string is genuinely unlike anything a 6-string can produce.
I attended Berklee College of Music and have played across jazz, metal, classical, and flamenco for over 20 years. I’ve seen how extended-range instruments push players to think differently about voicing, counterpoint, and register. When you use an 8-string well you can control space across a wider sonic range than most players explore.
The djent pioneers: Meshuggah, Periphery, and Vildhjarta
Meshuggah made 8-string guitars synonymous with a specific sound: dense, polyrhythmic, and precisely palm-muted. Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström have used 8-string guitars almost exclusively since the early 2000s. Their low-string work gave birth to what fans eventually labeled “djent” — a term describing the percussive, chunky attack of heavily palm-muted downstrokes on an extended-range guitar.
The djent sound depends on the 8-string’s extended low range. Standard 8-string tuning runs F#, B, E, A, D, G, B, E from low to high. Meshuggah often drops that low string further to achieve F standard. That extra weight in the low register lets them write rhythmic patterns that feel more like percussion than traditional guitar riffs.
- Meshuggah: F# standard or lower; rhythm-driven, polyrhythmic compositions built around the low string
- Periphery: uses 8-strings for both djent-style chugging and layered melodic lead work
- Vildhjarta: takes the low-tuning approach further into atmospheric, dissonant territory
Periphery brought 8-strings into a more melodic space. Misha Mansoor’s approach combines the low-register attack that djent demands with clean, layered lead parts in higher registers. The 8-string lets him cover both in a single performance. That’s one of the instrument’s most practical advantages: range that removes the need for additional guitarists or doubled bass parts. The tradeoff is that the neck width demands serious left-hand adjustment, especially for players coming from a 6-string background.
Vildhjarta sits further into experimental territory. Their use of the 8-string leans heavily into dissonance and texture. They’re not writing melodic hooks over the low string. They’re using the extended range to build a wall of atmosphere that feels more cinematic than riff-driven.
Animals as Leaders and the instrumental 8-string
Animals as Leaders redefined what 8-string guitar could sound like outside of metal. Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes use the low strings as a bass guitar substitute. Abasi’s “thumping” technique borrows from funk bassists like Larry Graham and applies thumb-slap techniques to the 8-string’s low strings.
That thumping approach works because the 8-string’s low strings have enough mass to respond like bass strings. Abasi drops the lowest string to E1, which matches the pitch of the lowest string on a standard 4-string bass. This lets Animals as Leaders record full instrumental compositions without a dedicated bassist. The technique is demanding: the right-hand thumb has to function independently from the fingers, and the left hand has to fret bass-register and guitar-register notes simultaneously.
The band’s custom Ibanez TAMS8 signature guitars reflect how seriously the extended-range approach has been engineered into the instrument. Fanned-fret designs help intonate the low strings correctly across the full scale length. Without proper scale compensation, extended strings pull sharp at the 12th fret and make the guitar unplayable in a band context.
(sidenote) Fanned frets, also called multiscale designs, solve a real tension problem on 8-string guitars. A shorter scale length works for high strings because those strings need less tension to stay in tune. A longer scale length suits low strings for exactly the same reason. Most 8-string fanned-fret designs run 26.5″ or 27″ on the bass side and 25.5″ on the treble side. This isn’t a cosmetic choice. It’s an engineering response to a genuine acoustic constraint that standard straight-fret designs don’t solve cleanly.
Non-djent bands that use 8-string guitars
Stephen Carpenter of Deftones switched to 8-string guitars around the recording of Diamond Eyes (2010). His playing on that album isn’t about polyrhythmic chugging. It’s about weight and atmosphere. Carpenter used the low strings to thicken chord voicings and add sub-frequency presence to Deftones’ already dense alternative metal sound.
Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares is another example of 8-string use outside the djent framework. Fear Factory writes machine-tight, riff-driven songs with strong melodic hooks. Cazares uses custom 8-string Ibanez guitars on stage, but Fear Factory’s compositions don’t lean on low-string polyrhythms. The 8-string gives him harmonic reach and tonal weight without fundamentally changing his writing approach.
- Stephen Carpenter (Deftones): 8-string for harmonic density and sub-frequency presence, not rhythmic complexity
- Dino Cazares (Fear Factory): 8-string stage guitars driving machine-metal riffs with melodic hooks
- Ihsahn (Emperor): used 8-string Ibanez guitars on the solo album After (2010), combining black metal and progressive rock
Ihsahn’s use of 8-strings deserves attention. Emperor is one of black metal’s most influential bands, and Ihsahn’s solo record After blended progressive rock, jazz, and black metal in ways the genre hadn’t seen. The 8-string let him explore lower voicings that black metal’s typical 6-string doesn’t easily reach. He’s since moved to Aristides 8-string guitars, a Dutch brand known for precision manufacturing and exceptional tonal consistency.
Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick brought 8-strings into industrial metal territory. On the 2014 EP Decline and Fall, Broadrick used the extended range to build more oppressive textures. Industrial metal benefits from sub-frequency weight, and a well-tuned 8-string delivers exactly that. The difference between a detuned 6-string and a proper 8-string in this context is clarity: the 8-string stays tight where the 6-string turns to mud.
Death metal and deathcore bands on 8-string guitars
Beyond Creation is probably the most technically sophisticated death metal band using 8-strings regularly. Simon Girard and Kevin Chartré use the extended range not simply to drop-tune and chug, but to write genuinely complex chord structures and lead lines that treat the 8th string as an active compositional voice. The low string functions as a melodic instrument for them, not just a rhythmic anchor.
Rings of Saturn pushed 8-string use into technical deathcore. Lucas Mann and Joel Omans use 8-strings across most of the band’s catalog. Mann eventually moved to a 9-string guitar. That’s worth noting: for some players, the 8-string becomes a stepping stone rather than a ceiling. The compositional logic that makes 8 strings useful applies even more at 9, and some players follow that logic all the way up.
- Rings of Saturn: technical deathcore with 8-string as primary instrument across the full catalog
- Beyond Creation: death metal treating the low string as a melodic and harmonic voice, not just a low drone
- The Acacia Strain: used 8-strings throughout Wormwood, bringing extended-range weight to a straightforward deathcore approach
- Whitechapel: 8-string heaviness combined with rhythmic precision and strong groove
Whitechapel’s approach shows how 8-strings work in more direct heavy music. Their playing isn’t technically complex in the Animals as Leaders sense. But the low-string presence gives their rhythm playing a physical weight that 6-string drop tuning can’t quite match. You can drop a 6-string to B and get close, but the string tension behaves differently. An 8-string in F# standard with the right gauge has a defined, focused quality that drop-tuned 6-strings often lose.
After the Burial, with guitarists Justin Lowe and Trent Hafdahl, uses 8-strings in a context that sits between djent and metalcore. Their writing includes technical 8-string work but stays more anchored to groove and riff than pure polyrhythmic complexity.
What tuning do 8-string bands use?
Standard 8-string tuning is F#, B, E, A, D, G, B, E from low to high. That adds an F# and a B below a standard 6-string’s lowest E string. Most djent-oriented players use this as their base. Meshuggah, on certain recordings and live rigs, drops the low string further to F standard for additional low-end mass.
Animals as Leaders often tune that lowest string down to E1 to match standard bass guitar pitch. That decision is about technique. When the 8th string sits at E1, thumping and slapping approaches feel more natural and acoustically appropriate.
- F# standard: typical for djent, death metal, extended-range chugging and palm-muted rhythm work
- F standard: Meshuggah and some extreme metal players who need additional low-end weight
- Drop E (low string to E1): Animals as Leaders and bass-replacement technique-focused players
String gauge matters more on 8-strings than most players realize. A low F# string on a 25.5″ scale guitar requires a heavier gauge to maintain proper tension. Most players run a .074 or .080 gauge for the 8th string. Running too light produces a flabby, undefined tone that undercuts the entire point of the extended range. The attack turns soft and the low-frequency definition falls apart under gain.
Scale length affects this too. A 27″ scale 8-string holds the low strings in better tension with a lighter gauge than a 25.5″ scale guitar would. That’s one major reason many 8-string specialists choose multiscale designs or longer fixed scale lengths. Shorter scales feel more comfortable to players transitioning from 6-string, but they require heavier gauges and still don’t quite match the physical clarity a longer scale provides on the low strings.
Why do bands choose 8-string guitars?
The primary reason is register access. An 8-string gives a single guitarist the ability to cover both the bass frequency range and the standard guitar range. For bands without a dedicated bassist, or for compositions that require sub-frequency weight without losing guitar clarity, the 8-string is a direct solution. Animals as Leaders is the clearest example: they write full-band compositions for two guitars and no bass.
The second reason is harmonic range. More strings mean more possible chord voicings. Guitarists like Tosin Abasi and Simon Girard use the full range of the 8-string to build chord shapes that a 6-string player physically cannot form. That harmonic richness translates directly into compositional depth. You can voice a chord that spans five octaves on an 8-string. That’s simply not possible on a 6-string without retuning.
A third reason is tonal character. The low strings on an 8-string guitar produce a response that’s different from simply detuning a 6-string. The longer string mass and greater tension at the same pitch generate more defined low-frequency sustain. Drop-tuned 6-string guitars often sound congested in the extreme low range. A properly set-up 8-string with the right string gauge stays tight and focused even at F standard.
On my Schecter Omen Elite 8, I’ve found that the low strings respond well through a high-gain amp, but you need to roll off some low-mids to prevent the tone from getting muddy in a band mix. That EQ adjustment is something most 6-string players aren’t expecting when they first pick up an 8-string. The clarity you can achieve at low tunings on an 8-string genuinely does not exist on a 6-string, no matter what you do to the tuning or the EQ. The physics of string mass and scale length just doesn’t allow it.
FAQs about 8-string guitar bands
What is the lowest string on an 8-string guitar tuned to?
Most 8-string guitars tune the lowest string to F# in standard tuning, though bands like Meshuggah often tune it lower to F standard. Animals as Leaders drops the lowest string to E1, matching standard bass guitar pitch and enabling bass-replacement playing techniques.
Is 8-string guitar only used in metal?
No. While metal and djent dominate 8-string use, jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter has used 8-strings for decades to cover both bass and guitar simultaneously. Ihsahn used one on a progressive black metal solo record. The instrument also appears in classical and experimental music contexts.
What 8-string guitar did Meshuggah use?
Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström of Meshuggah are closely associated with custom Ibanez 8-string guitars, particularly the Ibanez M8M model designed specifically for the band’s extended-range playing style and low-tuning requirements.
Did Deftones use 8-string guitars?
Yes. Stephen Carpenter began using 8-string guitars extensively around the recording of Diamond Eyes (2010). His approach uses the extended range for harmonic weight and atmospheric density rather than the rhythmic polyrhythmic complexity associated with djent bands.
