8 String Basses - Suggestions?

[Wolverinebass]

I've been contemplating getting myself an 8 string bass and was thinking of getting a Dean Rhapsody 8. Has anyone played one of these? I've been told that they're getting discontinued and when I phoned the UK distributor the bloke I spoke to couldn't tell me even how much the bass weighed or anything that wasn't on Dean's website which was more than a tad poor. I've played a Dean 8 string Edge and wasn't too impressed with the tone, though on a playability level it was good.

If anyone has any suggestions as to possible 8 strings that might fit the bill of being active, (pref) 3 band EQ it'd be good to know what's good.

Grateful for suggestions if you have any.

Cheers
Andy

[BigRedX]

I've played all the Dean 8, 10 and 12 strings and haven't been too impressed either by the tone or the playability. The hardware is the same generic units found on all the cheap to mid-price far-eastern made 8-string basses.

There's a also the similar[url="http://www.schecterguitars.com/"]Schecter Studio 8[/url] which sounded and played better than the Deans but again it's got the same not particularly good hardware.

Other than that there's the [url="http://www.waterstoneguitars.com/bass_new_tp8.shtml"]Waterstone TP8-32[/url] but it's styling isn't for everyone and it's only 32" scale.

If you've got big money to spend you could look at a [url="http://www.cc.rim.or.jp/~tune/tune/framepage,tune,bass,catalog.htm"]Japanese Tune[/url]. Plenty of different 8-string models some even with whammy bars! They occasionally come up second hand on the Ishibashi U-box site for considerably less than the new price so that might be worth looking at.

Of the less expensive models I've tried the Schecter was the best of the bunch, when you consider that it's not very much better than the Carlo Robelli model than you should be able to pick up second hand for around £150, I can't really recommend it.

Save up and buy a Tune. You know it makes sense!

[Alun]

I believe Hagstrom are re-issuing their 8 string, as used by Hendrix amongst others

[geoffbyrne]

If you're *really* lucky you might find an Ibanez Studio 8.

Heavy, but as good as an 8 gets, I think.



G.

[bythesea]

[quote name='Alun' post='492595' date='May 19 2009, 06:39 PM']I believe Hagstrom are re-issuing their 8 string, as used by Hendrix amongst others [/quote]

Yes - reviewed in the May issue of BGM (the one with Flea on the cover)

[BigRedX]

The Hagstrom doesn't appear to have individual saddle for each string, so I'd most definitely want to try before buying to make sure it stays in tune all the way up the neck. Also the scale length is only 30.75", so even shorter scale than the Waterstone.

Edited May 19, 2009 by BigRedX

[Wolverinebass]

Thanks for the advice. I must confess that the 30 inch scale doesn't bother me at all as the Alembic I have is 30.75. I did read the review of the Hagstrom you mentioned and that's what got me thinking that an 8 string might be a good idea.

A mate suggested getting the Dean Rhapsody 8 then gutting the electrics and pickups, but I'm not too sure how much difference that would make as I've never done it before. On the other hand the circuitry is I suppose one of the main things and it would be ridiculous to expect a £450 bass to sound as good as one 5 times the price.

Would say, getting all the bits via Warmoth be a possible solution?

Certainly the tune looks interesting.

[Sean.Robinson]

Hi, i had a similar problem earlier on in the year. I tried the dean but thought it was pathetic and wasnt too impressed with many of the other 8 string offerings for around the 300 mark. In the end i ended up buying a cheap japanese fender precision from ebay and having jon shuker mod it to an 8 string. Its something i would really recomend, you get a bass for the same price as the deans and schecters that is far superior in tone and playability, plus theres something quite nice about having an 8 string fender

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Sean.Robinson' post='493869' date='May 21 2009, 12:37 AM']Hi, i had a similar problem earlier on in the year. I tried the dean but thought it was pathetic and wasnt too impressed with many of the other 8 string offerings for around the 300 mark. In the end i ended up buying a cheap japanese fender precision from ebay and having jon shuker mod it to an 8 string. Its something i would really recomend, you get a bass for the same price as the deans and schecters that is far superior in tone and playability, plus theres something quite nice about having an 8 string fender [/quote]

Is that a brand new neck? I've just looked at my Carlo Robelli and the width is closer to a 5-string than a Precision 4-string or do you like really tight string spacing?

[Greene-Mann]

[quote name='Alun' post='492595' date='May 19 2009, 06:39 PM']I believe Hagstrom are re-issuing their 8 string, as used by Hendrix amongst others [/quote]


They have and i loved the thing when i played one, and the newest ones are mahogany instead of Nato. Price isnt too bad either.

[OutToPlayJazz]

Electro Music in Doncaster recently had a lovely custom made Warwick Corvette/Streamer (don't recall which!) 8-string recently. They may still have it. 01302 369999

[geoffbyrne]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Pro-8-String-Bass-Guitar-ROGER-CAPPS-PAT-BENATAR_W0QQitemZ300315504240QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item300315504240&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Pro-8-String-...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shergold-Marathon-mark-1A-8-string-bass-USED-999_W0QQitemZ320368551702QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item320368551702&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shergold-Marathon-ma...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-new-Shine-8-String-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ7401185598QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item7401185598&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-new-Shine-8-St...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kramer-8-String-Bass-Rare-1983-USA_W0QQitemZ310137980332QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item310137980332&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kramer-8-String-Bass...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url]





G.

Edited May 21, 2009 by geoffbyrne

[BigRedX]

Blimey they're not cheap are they? Plus neither the Shine or the Kramer have individual saddles for each string in the pair which is bound to lead to intonation problems. The Ibanez looks the most promising out of that lot and would probably be a sensible price, if it wasn't for who owned it previously.

The more I see stuff like that the more attractive a used Tune from Ishibashi looks. (Or alternatively a custom from one of our wonderful UK luthiers.)

[nick]

Quite a few years ago, I used to borrow a friend's Washburn B20-8. Lovely bass, but did like to neck-dive. Great tone.
They're pretty rare, found a photo here [url="http://www.davedemarco.com/8string.html"]Washburn B20-8[/url]

Seems like there might be one currently for sale in Andy's, though probably at a typical Denmark St. bonkers price!

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='494233' date='May 21 2009, 01:43 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kramer-8-String-Bass-Rare-1983-USA_W0QQitemZ310137980332QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item310137980332&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kramer-8-String-Bass...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url][/quote]

JoeGarcia has one of these, its 32" scale, still takes detuning to A with standard strings apparently (too slack for my liking still)

[BigRedX]

[quote name='nick' post='494478' date='May 21 2009, 05:07 PM']Quite a few years ago, I used to borrow a friend's Washburn B20-8. Lovely bass, but did like to neck-dive. Great tone.
They're pretty rare, found a photo here [url="http://www.davedemarco.com/8string.html"]Washburn B20-8[/url][/quote]

I have a very battered one of those (natural finish rather than sunburst) that is an on-going restoration project...


[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='494485' date='May 21 2009, 05:19 PM']JoeGarcia has one of these, its 32" scale, still takes detuning to A with standard strings apparently (too slack for my liking still)[/quote]

I think you'll find it's 30" scale. Kramer only did one aluminium neck length and then put in either 20 frets for 34" scale or 24 frets for 30" scale.

[Delberthot]

I've owned several 8 and 12 string basses. There are sites dedicated to both.

They give a lot of useful information about what to look out for.

They do tend to me more 5 string width than 4 string, especially the 12vers. You absolutely have to have a bridge with 8 saddles, otherwise intonation will be a mile out and these things sound hellish when one of the strings is out of tune.

The bridge on those shine ones is bad as it only has the one saddle per group of strings but the kicker is that a lot of strings won't fit into the ferrules on the back as they are strung through the body. Some strings have large ball ends on both normal and octave strings and these won't sit in the ferrule. You have to find the ones that have a regular bass size ball end and a guitar sized one for the octave to allow them to fit correctly.

I have thought about going the Warmoth route a couple of times. Their stuff is extremely well put together but you absolutely have to know that it is right for you, otherwise its worth about 2 bob when you sell it. Their 8 string necks are designed to fit regular Fender sized 4 string neck pockets

[BigRedX]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='494050' date='May 21 2009, 11:11 AM']Electro Music in Doncaster recently had a lovely custom made Warwick Corvette/Streamer (don't recall which!) 8-string recently. They may still have it. 01302 369999[/quote]

Is it [url="http://www.warwickbass.com/modules/custom_shop/NewsCustomShop.php?newsID=1869&modell=Streamer&page=3&cl=EN"]this one[/url]? If so it's been around all the trade shows for the last year or so. I've played it and it's OK, but the asking price (at the show) was around the £3k mark and you have to be a Warwick fan (I'm not) in order to love this bass...

[Lorne]

I had a 1960's Hagstrom 8 given to me a couple of years ago,I had NO intention of keeping it,but let me tell ya,once I cleaned the bass up,it was a feakin' tone Monster!!!!

I have 2 USA Handmade B.C.Rich Bich 8 string basses,a 1979 and a 1985 Supreme,Both are set up as 4 stringers,not 8's,I find the 8 string sound novel for a few days,then quickly becomes boring,and the Price of strings!!!

[paul h]

Has nobody said "nail two four strings together" yet?

[Kiwi]

the ultimate 8 string would be one with a graphite neck I reckon. Not too many of them around though and only with higher end brand names. But if you could find a graphite neck with a big enough headstock to take the tuners then it might be worth assembling the parts and getting a luthier to make you the body.

[RhysP]

If money isn't an issue get yourself a Hamer 8 (or 12) string bass - you won't get a better one.

Edited May 22, 2009 by RhysP

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='RhysP' post='494843' date='May 22 2009, 06:26 AM']If money isn't an issue get yourself a Hamer 8 (or 12) string bass - you won't get a better one.[/quote]

If money is no object you could try to find a Zon Sonus 8 string... very light for an 8 and also has a graphite neck!

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='494845' date='May 22 2009, 07:02 AM']If money is no object you could try to find a Zon Sonus 8 string... very light for an 8 and also has a graphite neck![/quote]

... and did someone mention Warwick?

I had a NT Streamer in a VERY 'custom' colour (2nd from right). The bass was painted like that at the factory and was owned by KRAFFT bassist Helmut Hattler.



A lovely sounding and playing instrument but hardly ideal for a covers band!

[Delberthot]

I forgot to add that you need to play relatively simply with 8s and 12vers. If you go hell for leather, a hundred miles an hour, all you get is noise