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The Hagstrom HB8 provides creative musicians with innumerable new possibilities of expressivity within your playing. Due to the additional octave strings, there are numerous interesting playing techniques to take advantage of, for "regular" bass lines as well as for solos and chords.
We have compiled a few cool possibilities for you:
In the sixties, it was rather common for the bass line to double the guitar line so the bass could be heard, even in the smallest radios that could not generate the low frequencies. This helped to form the sound of the sixties to a great extent. We can thank such artists such as Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Gabriella Cilmi, that this sound has returned and is hotter than ever.
This was exactly the job the legendary 8-string Hagstrom H8 did very well, and is today a sought-for collector's item. Due to the octave strings a second guitarist no longer was needed. Many bass lines of this era owe their unique charm to this special sound:
Even in modern productions there often are unison lines with bass and guitar. If the HB8 additionally is distorted, you get quite a beefy tone. Even if your band might not appreciate experimenting, you can produce riffs and licks that sound incredibly voluminous.
A clean tone, with a touch of chorus is great to play riffs similar to the sound “Pink” uses in the song "So What".:
If you have tuned your bass to a tuner and tune the octave strings just a couple of cents out of tune up or down, you can produce a wonderful "natural chorus".
If you want to take a more drastic approach, you can for instance tune the bass down to D and tune up the octave strings by one third, fourth or even by a quint.
What also sounds amazing are the sounds of chords played on the Hagstrom HB8. The extra octave strings provide an effect that cannot be compared to a common bass. Try this out:
Most of all when playing with few musicians, you would not want to miss the versatility of the eight-string bass, especially when playing in a trio. For example, if the guitarist plays a solo, the HB8 fills in the gaps with its wide sound without a problem. Rock-riffs become essentially fuller. The HB8 blows the sound of a rock trio up to a quartet sound in a blink, and creates an illusion of having two guitarists playing. Bands such as Cheap Trick or King's X sound similar to this:
Jimi Hendrix was one of those taking advantage of the bass, and played the legendary Hagstrom H8 in some of his songs, such as "Spanish Castle Magic" and "Little Miss Lover" on the LP "Axis: Bold as love".
With adding more chord sounds, you can also fill in as a rhythm guitarist. A blues trio could sound like this:
In certain instances if you would like to hear only one string (e. g. only the octave string for a solo or only the bass string for a low accompaniment), here is a trick for this: Just put your index finger lightly on the bass string to dampen the string, where you can play the octave string with your thumb where only the octave string sounds:
To hear the bass string only, you can put your middle and ring finger lightly on the octave string and when striking in the usual way you can hear the bass string only. This way you virtually have the sounds of a regular bass, with a tenor tuning and the octave sound at your disposal. 
And last but not least one more trick: Did you not always wish to play a couple of real guitar lines? The HB8 makes it possible! Just put one of your fingers between the octave and the bass string and push away the octave string a little bit. Play the octave string with your fingertip as usual, the surface of your finger now damps the bass string, and with distortion and a bit of echo YOU now are the guitarist. By the way, the sound samples including the "guitar parts" all have been recorded with a Hagstrom HB8!
Here is the PDF for a download:
Jens Dörr and the Hagstrom Team wish you a lot of fun with the Eight String Bass Secrets. And what is the opinion of the Gitarre und Bass magazine?Excerpt: Test HB-8 Issue 4/2009
S u m m a r y
Even though the new eight-string bass in many ways is not a detailed reproduction of its predecessor in the sixties, it still avails the typical Hagstrom features. Besides the unique appearance, above all it has a short measure and an extremely slender neck profile, which makes it easy even for untrained players to master the eight strings. Also, the versitality of the sounds thanks to the six-way rotary pickup selector is convincing and makes it possible to easily vary the rich, wide sound of this special bass on the foundation as well as in the overtone range. Finally, the reasonable price also backs up the idea of expanding one's sound repertoire with powerful sounds of an eight-string bass.
Eight-string bridge with individually adjustable bridge saddles, very solid workmanship, strings are guided through the body. String Through Body Type!
Used on HB-4 and HB-8 Models:
Canadian Maple, Bolt on w. Neck Plate, Finish Pumice and oil
Backside of the Body / Ferrules - String through body
Dyna Rail-1025B/N
Alnico 5 open rail humbucker: providing an open, fat vintage tone
1 x Volume / 6 way Rotary P/U Selector / 1 x Tone /Download PDF
The custom design Graphtech Black Tusq composite nut ensures increased sustain and vibration through improved transfer of energy to the neck, while the tone woods used on the body produce a warm, mellow sound.
All new Hagstrom electric guitars include the company’s patented H-Expander truss rod. Providing tension at either end and running the entire length of the neck, the rigid yet lightweight alloy truss rod allows for a very low action and thin neck, two factors that were instrumental in earning Hagstrom its reputation as the world’s fastest playing guitar.
On all instruments we are using the Resinator Wood. Resinator Wood is a wood composite material that is homogeneous in nature and is more stable than any standard wood product. It is the perfect fingerboard material in that it eliminates wolf tones or hot spots. It has an articulate sound like high quality Ebony without the problems associated with Ebony.
Ensuring accurate tuning, Hagstrom’s exclusive 17:1 gear ratio machine heads are also included on all electric models.
String Gauge:
E - .055, .095
A - .040, .070
D - .025, .055
G - .015, .040
