WES BORLAND



If you think you've seen everything a 7-string can do...YOU'RE WRONG! If you haven't already, check out Wes & his band, Limp Bizkit. You'll find a fresh, totally unique approach on the 7-string in rock. His use of unconventional tunings & techniques made him a welcome addition to the 7-string community.Sadly, he gave up the 7 string to go back to the 6 string. To paraphrase a comment he made in a guitar magazine interview,he said that"he felt he wasn't smart enough to keep playing a 7"I think he was being too hard on himself.

Instead of opting for the traditional tuning of the 7-string (low to high: BEADGBE), Wes incorporates 3 unique tunings:

Tuning #1: C# F# B E G# C# C#
He tuned the bottom 6-strings like a regular guitar, then the 1st string is tuned to same pitch as the 2nd string (for sitar-like drones), then he tunes the entire guitar down 1 1/2 steps to C#. Got it?

Tuning #2: B F# B E G# C# C#
The same as Tuning #1, except drop the 7th string down 1 step to Low B. This is basically a "Dropped" tuning.

Tuning #3: C# F# B E G# C# F#
The same as Tuning #1, except tune the 1st string up to a high F# (a fourth higher)

...And for added fun, Wes has a specially-built 4-string guitar. He uses it for a slap-and-tap technique. His tunings are: Low F# (.085 gauge string!), F# (octave higher), B, and E. To hear this creation in action, listen their songs: "Nookie", "Sour", & "Stalemate".

Check out these innovative sounds on Limp Bizkit's albums, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all! and the newest release, Significant Other.

Wes Borland's Live Rig:
Guitar: Custom Ibanez RG7621 (2 each), Custom Ibanez AX7521, Custom made Ibanez 4-string

Amp: Distorted guitar goes through 2 Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers, 2 Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers, Mesa/Boogie 4X12 cabinets
Clean guitar goes through Roland JC-120 combo amps

Effects: Rocktron HUSH unit, Furman Power Conditioner, Korg DTR-1 tuner, Shure UHF wireless system, Boss EQ pedal (setup: 1 treble band & 1 mid band crank all the way. The rest of the bands are dumped. This is used to create the lo-fi AM radio guitar sound like at the beginning of their song, "Pollution".), DOD FX-25B Envelope Filter, Digitech XP300 Space Station, DOD Buzz Box, 3 each Boss Digital/Reverb pedals, Boss Super Phaser, Boss Noise Supressor, MXR Phase 90, & a Fulltone Deja-Vibe pedal. Power to the pedals are provided by Voodoo Labs Pedal Pushers.

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