Top 10 8-string guitar players: who plays 8-string and what strings they use
Reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
The 10 most documented 8-string players: Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders, Abasi Concepts), Javier Reyes (Animals as Leaders), Stephen Carpenter (Deftones, ESP STEF signature), Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah), Mårten Hagström (Meshuggah), Wes Hauch (Alluvial), Jason Richardson (solo), Keith Merrow (solo), Rusty Cooley (Day of Reckoning), Ola Englund (Feared, The Haunted). Gauges cluster at .009–.074 or .010–.080 in F# standard or Drop E on 27-inch to 28.625-inch scale.
Who plays 8-string and why
8-string electric guitar adds a low F# below the 7-string low B, extending the instrument's low range another perfect fourth downward. The low F# puts the 8-string's lowest note at roughly the pitch of a standard 4-string bass's low B (actually slightly lower, bass low B is B0, the 8-string low F# is F#1, but both occupy the sub-60 Hz territory that overlaps with bass guitar's harmonic content).
That range opens up compositional territory no 6- or 7-string can reach without structurally compromising de-tunes. The ten players below are the most influential users of that territory, some in the prog-metal-and-djent lane (Tosin Abasi, Jason Richardson, Keith Merrow), some in heavy-metal-adjacent territory (Stephen Carpenter, Meshuggah's guitarists), and some in the instrumental-virtuoso lane (Rusty Cooley).
Ranked, top 10 8-string players
Detailed profiles
1. Tosin Abasi, Animals as Leaders / Abasi Concepts
The most compositionally influential 8-string player in the instrument's history. Abasi's work with Animals as Leaders redefined what 8-string could be, not a down-tuned metal tool but a polyphonic three-register instrument. His signature guitar is the Abasi Concepts Larada 8 (his own guitar company, founded after his Ibanez TAM signature era). Scale length 28.625 inches. D'Addario NYXL 8-string (~.009–.074) is his documented gauge. Technique encyclopedia for 8-string: two-handed tapping, slap-thumb, intricate fingerstyle arrangements that treat the bottom strings as a bass line.
See the full Abasi rig page.
2. Fredrik Thordendal, Meshuggah
Meshuggah's principal guitarist since the band's founding, and one of the first mainstream metal players to commit to 8-string (2005's Catch Thirtythree and onward). His Nevborn / Ibanez / Strandberg custom 8-strings run scale lengths up to 29.4 inches, the longest scale in mainstream metal. Tuning is Meshuggah's signature low-F-and-lower territory. Custom string sets on the heavier end of the 8-string gauge range. His playing technique combines polyrhythmic rhythm figures with unexpected melodic leads.
See the Thordendal rig page.
3. Mårten Hagström, Meshuggah
Thordendal's rhythm counterpart in Meshuggah. Mark gauges and tunings are matched to Thordendal's for the band's locked-in rhythm approach. Hagström focuses on rhythm-guitar performance; Thordendal handles most lead work. Between the two of them, Meshuggah's polyrhythmic metal is the defining extended-range rhythm sound of the 2000s.
4. Stephen Carpenter, Deftones
Carpenter brought 8-string to Deftones on Diamond Eyes (2010) and has been on 8-string ever since. His ESP LTD STEF-B8 signature is one of the few 27.5-inch scale 8-strings in wide use. Ernie Ball Paradigm (coated nickel-plated steel) is his documented string line, he's publicly on Paradigm, not Cobalt. Paradigm's coated construction handles Carpenter's heavy detunes (some songs tune the 8th string to D or D#) without going dead mid-tour. Fishman Fluence pickups on his signature model.
5. Javier Reyes, Animals as Leaders
Reyes is Animals as Leaders' second guitarist and Abasi's composing partner. His gauge and scale length are matched to Abasi's for the band's locked-in texture, though his playing approach is more rhythm-and-chord oriented than Abasi's solo-voice focus. Reyes runs Abasi Concepts Larada 8 guitars alongside Abasi.
6. Wes Hauch, Alluvial / ex-Thy Art Is Murder
Hauch is one of the technical-death-metal players most fluent across 6, 7, and 8 string contexts. His 8-string work uses a custom heavier 8th string (.072 or .074) on Ernie Ball Cobalt base sets. Alluvial's catalog features 8-string across instrumental and vocal material. Hauch is also a session player, his 8-string shows up on records across the tech-death and djent community.
See the full Hauch rig page.
7. Jason Richardson, solo / ex-Chelsea Grin
Richardson runs 8-string on some solo material and on his Chelsea Grin-era work. Ernie Ball Cobalt 8-string in the .010–.074 range. His 8-string work tends to cross over into lead-heavy territory, the 8-string provides low-register chugs while his right hand handles technical leads on the top strings.
See the full Richardson rig page.
8. Keith Merrow, solo / Conquering Dystopia
Merrow's Schecter KM-8 is the 8-string counterpart to his KM-7. Ernie Ball Cobalt 8-string customs, typically in Drop E. His YouTube content includes 8-string tracking technique and playthroughs, a useful education source for new 8-string players who want an entry point beyond the Tosin-Abasi virtuoso lane.
9. Rusty Cooley, Day of Reckoning / solo
Cooley is the shred-virtuoso side of the 8-string roster. Dean Guitars signature 8-string. His solo catalog documents neoclassical-meets-extended-range technical work, 8-string arpeggios, sweep picking, and legato vocabulary on a low F# that most players use for rhythm chugs. Scale length 28.625 inches.
10. Ola Englund, Feared / The Haunted / Solar Guitars
Englund runs his own guitar company (Solar Guitars) after ending his Washburn signature relationship. Solar 8-string models are his primary 8-string instruments. Feared and The Haunted catalog document his 8-string work. Englund is also a significant producer-educator presence, his YouTube content is a reference source for 8-string tracking and tone.
What all ten have in common
Scale length clusters at 27 to 28.625 inches, with Meshuggah's 29.4-inch Nevborn and a few multi-scale options as outliers. Low-string gauge clusters at .074 for F# standard, stepping up to .080 or .084 for Drop E. Pickups are 8-string-specific (Fishman Fluence, Bare Knuckle, Lundgren, Seymour Duncan Nazgul), 7-string pickups retrofit into 8-string bodies do not work. Tuning is dominated by F# standard and Drop E, with Meshuggah as the low-F-and-lower outlier.
Brand affiliation splits between Ernie Ball (Hauch, Richardson, Merrow, Englund's Solar-era), D'Addario (Abasi, Reyes), and coated Ernie Ball Paradigm (Carpenter). No 8-string player on this list is on Elixir or D'Addario XT, though both coated sets exist in 8-string form, the preference for Cobalt or Paradigm reflects the tonal voicing 8-string prog-metal players want.
Strings that fit this lane
Slinky Cobalt 8-string (.010–.074)
Why this one: The reference 8-string Cobalt set, Wes Hauch's base gauge (he adds a heavier custom 8th), Jason Richardson's documented 8-string gauge. Low .074 holds F# standard cleanly on 27-inch scale.
Next steps
- Full gauge guide: 8-string guitar string gauge guide.
- 7-string sibling page: Top 10 7-string players.
- Tunings: F# standard, Drop E.
- Individual rigs: Tosin Abasi, Fredrik Thordendal, Stephen Carpenter, Wes Hauch.
- Related producer pages: Ermin Hamidovic (prog-metal mix lane), Adam "Nolly" Getgood (djent production).
Frequently asked questions
Who plays 8-string at the highest level?
Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders is the composer-player who most expanded 8-string's harmonic vocabulary, using the 8-string as a three-register instrument (bass line, rhythm, melody) rather than as a down-tuned 7-string. Stephen Carpenter brought 8-string to Deftones in 2010 with Diamond Eyes. Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström of Meshuggah were among the first mainstream metal players to commit to 8-string, on Catch Thirtythree (2005) and onward.
What's the standard tuning for 8-string?
F# standard (F#-B-E-A-D-G-B-E, low to high). The 8th string is a low F#, a perfect fourth below the low B of a 7-string. Drop E (E-B-E-A-D-G-B-E) is the second-most-common tuning, giving chord-shape parity with 6-string Drop D on the bottom two strings. Deftones' Stephen Carpenter sits in even lower tunings (Drop D#, Drop D) on some material.
What gauge does Tosin Abasi play?
Documented 8-string gauge at .009–.074 on his Abasi Concepts Larada 8 signature (D'Addario NYXL 8-string adjacent spec). 28.625-inch scale on his signature model means lighter gauges can hold F# standard at meaningful tension. Animals as Leaders' catalog is in F# standard for most material, with occasional detunes.
Is Stephen Carpenter always on 8-string?
Since Deftones' Diamond Eyes (2010), yes, Carpenter has been on 8-string for every Deftones record and tour. His ESP LTD STEF-B8 and STEF-B7 signatures use the 27.5-inch scale. He tunes the 8th string down to F, E, or even Eb depending on the song. Ernie Ball Paradigm (coated NPS) is his string line, Paradigm, not Cobalt.
What pickups work for 8-string?
8-string-specific pickups. Fishman Fluence Modern 8, Bare Knuckle Aftermath 8, Lundgren M8 (Meshuggah's signature), and Seymour Duncan Nazgul 8 are the canonical picks. 7-string pickups don't cover the wider 8-string string spacing and have weak output on the outer strings. Keith Merrow co-designed the Seymour Duncan Nazgul / Sentient set, originally for 7-string but extended to 8-string.
What scale length do 8-strings need?
27 inches is the production-guitar minimum (Ibanez RG8, Schecter SLS Elite 8). 28.625 inches (Ibanez RG2228 / Iron Label) is the scale that handles F# standard most comfortably. Multi-scale 8-strings (Strandberg, Kiesel Vader, Mayones Duvell) typically run 25.5 to 27 or 26.5 to 28 inches with fanned frets, the longer bass-side scale gives the low F# proper tension, the shorter treble side keeps high-string bends comfortable.
Are 8-string sets expensive?
Yes. An Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt 8-string set runs $13–17 vs $5–6 for a 6-string equivalent. D'Addario NYXL 8-string is in the same range. The 8th string itself accounts for most of the cost, manufacturing a consistent .074 or .080 wound string with good intonation behavior is harder than making a .046 low E.
Can I play an 8-string like a 7-string?
You can, but the composing logic is different. Tosin Abasi describes his 8-string work as using the bottom three strings as a separate harmonic register, bass-line territory played in counterpoint against upper-string melody and chord work. Stephen Carpenter uses the 8-string more as an extended rhythm tool, stacking low-string chugs that a 6- or 7-string couldn't produce at the same pitch. Both approaches are legitimate; neither is 'just a 7-string with an extra string.'