The best eight-string guitars for all styles and budgets
The world of extended range guitars is no mystery here at Guitar.com, having previously taken a detailed look at baritones and seven-string guitars. Believe it or not, there are more strings to be had – although an essential guide to nine-string guitars is not (currently) on our features idea board, as eight is really the limit before you get into completely niche djent oddities.
Much like our guide to seven-string guitars, the applications of an eight-string guitar are overwhelmingly stacked towards the metal world, so a big proportion of the guitars we’re highlighting will be geared towards that genre. That’s not to say that a lot, if not all of them, couldn’t be used for other genres, but some of the hardware will be chasing tones that are very metal-centric.
Is an eight-string guitar right for me?
Progenitors of the eight-string guitar movement like Meshuggah and Deftones have been bolstered in the last 10-15 years by the likes of Periphery, Animals As Leaders and the explosively popular Sleep Token. Hell, even Muse entered the ring with 2025’s Unravelling. Regardless of your route to eight-string guitars, it’s important to make an informed choice before adding one to your collection.
We’ll start by saying that “I just want to go lower,” is not the best reason for an eight-string, especially if it’s one string stuff you’re primarily playing in that register. Baritones and multi-scale fretboards across six and seven-string guitars can help achieve the low tunings you’re craving. Equally, pitch shifting down has gotten so good, that many bands use it on six and seven-string guitar, while also automating downtuned sections/songs using MIDI when touring live.
As well as your needs, there’s also your comfort. The jump to an eight-string can be incredibly jarring. The shift in ergonomics, most notably the wider fretboard and profile of the neck can be a big roadblock, especially if you skipped playing a seven-string guitar.
That being said, an eight-string can be a fantastic creative tool, allowing you access to another register of bass notes to create new voicings and change the flow and feel of a composition. While the leap from a six-string can be daunting, that challenge and leaving your comfort zone is very appealing to a lot of players, and can often result in some previously untapped inspiration.
As always, our best advice is to play as many as you can before making a purchase and really hone in on what you want from an extended range guitar before assuming an eight-string is the answer.
What is a multi-scale guitar?
As most of the guitars in this guide are multi-scale, it’s worth giving a little refresher on what this means before continuing. A multi-scale neck ‘fans’ the frets so that each string has a different scale length; applying heavier tension to the lower strings, allowing extreme detuning without sacrificing intonation, while applying lower tension to the higher strings, allowing for easier playability. It can look intimidating, but actually takes very little time to get used to.
When you look at a multi-scale guitar, you will notice they all have a ‘neutral’ fret – a position in which the fret is level across all strings. The location of the neutral fret changes how extreme the fret fanning is across the fretboard. If your playstyle is centered on low, chuggy riffing, a neutral fret around the 7-9 mark is the sweet spot, whereas a neutral fret at 12 is more comfortable for shredding higher up the neck. This is by no means a universally accepted opinion, but it’s another aspect to be aware of and research when shopping for an eight-string guitar.
Our favourite budget eight-string guitars
Our first recommendation is Harley Benton’s R-458 BK, especially if an eight-string is something of an experiment for you. It’s available with either a 26.5” straight-scale length (£156) or 25.5-27.2” multi-scale (£175). We favour the multi-scale, as it ensures those low tunings sound full, without sacrificing playability on the higher strings. Yes, you’ll want to change out the stock pickups and do a proper setup, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find an eight-string guitar that does this much for so little.
For £100 more, Gear4Music offers their very own eight-string, the 529 Pro (£279). While it does suffer from some build quality/finish issues and not the most expressive pickups, it plays like a £500+ guitar. Clean and distorted tones perform well with a little dialing in of effects (pedals or digital signal chain), and the multi-scale fretboard and single saddle bridge mean consistent tuning and intonation. One word of warning, you may need custom strings for the low end as regular eight-string sets aren’t quite long enough for the level of tension required for those lower tunings.
Our favourite midrange eight-string guitars
Starting at the low end of the price scale is the Ibanez RGMS8-BK. Costing less than £600 and rocking the iconic RG shape, this is an excellent entry point to the world of eight-string guitars. While the neutral fret at 12 can be a little uncomfortable for certain playstyles, the stock pickups perform fantastically across distorted, overdriven and clean tones. A more colourful version is available – the Cosmic Blue Stardust – however, it’s almost £150 more and the hardware is exactly the same.
Just under £800, Cort’s KX508MS packs a punch, both in high gain and clean tones, thanks in no small part to the Fishman Fluence pickups, and remains the 9/10 we gave it in our review back in 2022. “Even though the KX508 is not in the current entry-level price range for eight-string models, it rivals guitars three times the price and as such represents a great investment for newcomers and beyond,” said Darran Charles in his review. “You can now satiate any extended range fantasies you’ve been harbouring at a relatively affordable price for the quality this delivers.”
At the top end of the scale, we have the Schecter Omen Elite-8 MS (£869). We recommended the Omen Elite-7 in our last guide, and the Elite-8 features the same excellent Diamond Heretic pickups, poplar burl top and eye-catching colour options. However, the addition of the multi-scale really elevates this into a supremely versatile guitar.
Our favourite premium eight-string guitars
We’re into the big leagues now and we mean that literally with our first recommendation; Ibanez’s M80M Meshuggah (£1,399). This mammoth eight-string has a 29.4” scale length rather than a multi-scale neck, so it’s more like playing a Bass VI. While that scale length may take a little getting used to, it means you can use a lighter gauge string and still intonate well on these low tunings. You will however need to hunt down a special set of strings to meet the scale length. The Lundgren M8P Humbucker is super clear and bright, so even at your lowest, the notes are clearly articulated. The fixed bridge and nut make restringing and custom tuning changes unnecessarily fiddly, but it’s the only real downside of this guitar.
Sticking with signatures – and enormous necks for that matter – there’s Stephen Carpenter’s signature SC-608 Baritone from ESP LTD (£1,899). Drenched in supercar yellow, there’s heaps of diversity in tones here, thanks to Steph’s updated 3-voice signature Fluence pickups. This is really bolstered by neck-thru construction and really elevates the playability and delivers fantastic resonance. It’s a massive guitar, so definitely try it out before buying if you can, even if you wouldn’t consider yourself to have small hands.
Lastly, we have Strandberg’s Boden Standard N2.8 (£1,859). Immediately recognisable, Strandberg’s dedication to ergonomics is what drives their striking appearance, and for the most part those design choices pay off. The EndurNeck may not be to everyone’s tastes, but if you gel with it, it’s a pretty special instrument to play. The resonance and haptic feedback from the titanium rods in the neck is like nothing we’ve experienced before. While the neck is chunky, it’s one of the less ‘out there’ multi-scale fretboards – of this list and eight-strings in general. We really love the passive Seymour Duncan Pegasus/Sentient pickups, which are fantastic for both heavy and clean tones.
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