We bought this inexpensive, 8 string guitar 6 months ago. USD$243 is around ¥39,000 ( including small import tax paid on delivery) which is more than I paid for my best guitar, the Ibanez RG350ZB with locking nut and tremolo 2 years ago (but today that RG is ¥70,000!). So it isn't actually a cheap guitar with the Japanese exchange rate for me. It is a half to a third of any other 8 string guitar around these parts, but I found no one actually had any 8 string guitars in stock around here at all.
So I played it for a while to get used to an 8string, see how I wanted to tune it and work out what issues it really had. I will cover the issues and my fixes here, but basically the 2 issues were difficulty in tuning because of a very sticky plastic nut and intonation.
I currently like my guitars down tuned a half step, so high to low, the strings are:
D#, A#,F#,C#,G#,D#,A#,F.
The initial issue found that the strings on it needed immediately changing, and that the 8th string, F, couldn't have the saddle moved back far enough, without the screw hitting the string, let alone the spring allowing the saddle to move all the way back. The 7th string had the screw hit the string issue too.
The solution to that was replace the 7th and 8th bridge bolts with cut and filled versions. Black M3 bolts just bought from a local hardware store here. To replace the bolts, you have to remove the rear screw holding the bridge body onto the guitar.
The 8th String also needed the spring removed, to allow it to move all the way back.
So the resulting bridge, for the down tuning, is now this, red arrows showing shorteded bolts:
The next problem to be tacked was the sticky nut. I ended up getting a Nut file set from Luthier of Japan, but probably could have just used 600 and 800 wet and dry sandpaper. Will do some Nut refinement of this 8 string, and the Ibanez 7 string to justify the files.
The Nut from the factory results in all the strings having two bends in them. No wonder the strings get stuck. Without fixing this first, there was no need to replace the whole nut with a "better" material one.
So the best nut slots are cut so they fan out going to the machine heads, and slope away from the string, as shown here from a STEWMAC video on cutting nut slots.
I didn't touch the fret side of the nut, other than run the correct nut file throw the slot to check it was in fact the correct width. I also only bought 6 files, but made due with the wide files for the lower two strings. It doesn't take much to tune each nut slot, adding the fanout and drop away, so the strings have a more direct path to the tuners. It is a bit subtle. As here:
Refining the slots isn't something the strings have to come off for. Just loosen a string, move it out of the slot, do a little dance with a file, polish with wet&dry, and ready to go in no time at all.
My 6 and 7 string guitars are in DROP tuning, but found that makes the 8th string here too floppy, and it is best the way it is as an F.
It now lives in a GATOR GWE Series Stratocaster case I bought locally. Japan is a country of earthquakes, so shut away in a sold case is the best option. No sitting on a guitar stand on display for me.
I don't have any issue with the standard active pickups. I am playing into the Reaper DAW, with a distortion pedal, Cabinet IRs and have fancy EQ (ReEQ) to do what ever is needed. I am also not trying to sound like someone else, which seems to be a significant factor in people wanting to change things around.
The thing about an 8 string is string muting becomes more of a challenge, but not much different for the stuff I play. I still need my DROP tuned 7 string though, as the one finger power chords isn't what this 8 string is about.
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