Korn guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch recently spoke with Ibanez in celebration of their new K7 Series signature guitars about their love of seven-string guitars. Now synonymous with heavy down-tuned seven-strings, that initial inspiration came from a very different style of rocker: guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Munky recalls, "1990 is when I first saw the first [Ibanez] Universe." "And it was because of [Vai's album] Passion and Warfare" Head adds. "Creatively, one of my all-time favorite albums, but it didn't really capture what I was hoping to hear" admits Munky. "So, I'm like, 'Okay, if I could get one of those guitars and do some rhythmic stuff with it on those low notes, it would really sound different.'"
By the time Head joined, the band had fully committed to the instrument. "When I joined with you guys it was all seven-string. We just dove head-first. Every song was written on seven-string. I mean we went from "Predictable," we did alive "Alive," "Blind" of course, "Daddy," and we were like 'the seven-string, that's what we need to make our sound off of. Every song has to be on the low string.' The seven-string was our magic power! We started Korn. Honestly. And with Fieldy's five-string bass it just... we found it."
Munky goes on to explain the unique appeal of the seven-string: "I think for me it was having that possibility of the range, you know, because we could still do those high little emulated sample weird sounds on the top and scratchy sounds but still have access to those low, real heavy, aggressive [notes]." Head reminisces, "It felt so new and fun and exciting to have an instrument that nobody else is playing. Something that nobody knows about but you know is gonna grow."
Munky also notes the Universe's U-bar, a wrist-focused variation on the whammy bar: "It was a way for us to explore new sounds... and just kind of expand on the technique. We were kind of [thinking] 'Let's do what nobody else is doing on guitar... We kind of started this thing with the back of our hand raising the pitch on some of the early songs. It was so different to the ear. We were trying to come up with different ways to explore the instrument and what kind of sounds we could make." Head adds, simply, "It helped us get more spookier sounds and just weird stuff so... we had fun with it."
Ironically, Ibanez discontinued the seven-string just as Korn's debut album was about to come out. Munky admits, "It was a little discouraging at first." It was only after the release and success of Korn's self-titled album that the company was inundated with calls and demands for seven-string guitars. Even Steve Vai took notice. Upon hearing Korn on the radio, the world-class shredder "actually pulled the car over and just stopped and listened with my mouth open." Munky beams, "[it was] like a real childhood dream come true." "What an honor to be able to be that band that he wanted, to make his seven-string play like he envisioned it. It's surreal, man" adds Head. The band even got a chance to jam in the studio with Vai in 1998. The session was documented online in an episode of the band's KoRnTV.
The two guitarists are keenly aware of their collective impact. Munky notes, "And now you see like modern rock/metal bands, most of 'em are playing seven, eight-strings. It started with his concept and our hard work." He continues, "One of the things I'm most proud of is helping pave the way for people looking and seeing and hearing the instrument in a different way."
Both guitars are available now on Korn's webstore. Check out the full feature below:
