Ernie Ball, Cleartone and D'Addario on strings for extended-range guitars

Premier Guitar published a feature on 23 October 2026 on how string makers are adapting to extended-range guitars - 7-, 8- and 9-string instruments in very low tunings. Ernie Ball, Cleartone and D'Addario are among the companies interviewed.

Ernie Ball's extended-range history goes back to 1992 and its first 5-string bass set, followed by a 6-string bass set, 7-string Slinky guitar sets by 2000 and baritone gauges soon after. Its first 8-string set arrived in 2012 and a 9-string set in 2014. Chris Harrington, director of Operations & Innovation, says seeing other makers move quickly to 9-string instruments showed the trend was accelerating. In 2021 came the signature Music Man Majesty 8-string for Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci, paired with the Regular Slinky set P02629, whose final gauges Petrucci confirmed. The set's street price is $15.99. Harrington describes the company's approach as building "with users" rather than guessing.

Cleartone, founded in the early 2000s, uses a proprietary Super High Tension Winding process on custom-built machines. Its Heavy Series uses a thicker core-to-wrap ratio for tuning stability in low tunings, and baritone-compatible string length is now standard across its electric sets. Street price: $16.99.

D'Addario, around since 1973, launched a program in 2025 that lets players build custom sets for 7-, 8- and 9-string guitars. Its NYXL09564SB and NYXL0984SB sets came out of a collaboration with Swedish maker Strandberg, and Aaron Marshall of the prog-metal band Intervals helped shape its strings.

The Ernie Ball company carries the name of an American born in 1930 in Santa Monica.