8-S / BG
8-S / BG
Eight-string Brahms Guitar shown horizontally.

Design / Tuning / Range

What Is the Brahms Guitar?

The eight-string Brahms Guitar is a classical guitar developed in the 1990s through the collaboration between guitarist Paul Galbraith and luthier David Rubio. It features a fan-fretted fingerboard and an extended range, with one additional bass string and one additional treble string beyond the traditional six-string configuration.

Eight Strings, One Instrumental Idea

The usual tuning, from lowest to highest, is B–E–A–D–G–B–E–A. Two additional strings extend the six-string guitar in both directions: a low B below the standard sixth string and a high A above the first.

An extended range that offers the performer new ways of shaping musical texture and continuity. It allows material to be distributed differently across the instrument, opening further possibilities for balance and colour.

Fan Frets and Scale Length

The frets are arranged in a fan rather than parallel lines. The bass side uses a longer effective string length and the treble side a shorter one, helping the extended strings speak with greater balance while keeping the hand position playable.

Playing Position

Paul Galbraith’s vertical setup places the guitar on an endpin in a cello-like position, with a resonance box beneath it. Developed through his own performing practice, this setup has a clear artistic value within his approach, supporting greater freedom of movement and contributing to the instrument’s resonant response.
Read more.

Although closely associated with the Brahms Guitar, this setup should not be understood as prescribed. The instrument was conceived by David Rubio to function in a conventional classical-guitar position, which remains in use among several performers.

Why “Brahms”?

The name reflects the repertoire Galbraith was performing around the time the instrument was built. David Rubio gave it the name “Brahms Guitar” in reference to Galbraith’s work on Brahms’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21a. Listen here.

Sources and Notes

This overview is based on interviews, guitar-maker documentation, recordings and doctoral research. Individual instruments may vary in construction and setup.

Eight-string Brahms Guitar shown horizontally.

Design / Tuning / Range

What Is the Brahms Guitar?

The eight-string Brahms Guitar is a classical guitar developed in the 1990s through the collaboration between guitarist Paul Galbraith and luthier David Rubio. It features a fan-fretted fingerboard and an extended range, with one additional bass string and one additional treble string beyond the traditional six-string configuration.

Eight Strings, One Instrumental Idea

The usual tuning, from lowest to highest, is B–E–A–D–G–B–E–A. Two additional strings extend the six-string guitar in both directions: a low B below the standard sixth string and a high A above the first.

An extended range that offers the performer new ways of shaping musical texture and continuity. It allows material to be distributed differently across the instrument, opening further possibilities for balance and colour.

Fan Frets and Scale Length

The frets are arranged in a fan rather than parallel lines. The bass side uses a longer effective string length and the treble side a shorter one, helping the extended strings speak with greater balance while keeping the hand position playable.

Playing Position

Paul Galbraith’s vertical setup places the guitar on an endpin in a cello-like position, with a resonance box beneath it. Developed through his own performing practice, this setup has a clear artistic value within his approach, supporting greater freedom of movement and contributing to the instrument’s resonant response.
Read more.

Although closely associated with the Brahms Guitar, this setup should not be understood as prescribed. The instrument was conceived by David Rubio to function in a conventional classical-guitar position, which remains in use among several performers.

Why “Brahms”?

The name reflects the repertoire Galbraith was performing around the time the instrument was built. David Rubio gave it the name “Brahms Guitar” in reference to Galbraith’s work on Brahms’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21a. Listen here.

Sources and Notes

This overview is based on interviews, guitar-maker documentation, recordings and doctoral research. Individual instruments may vary in construction and setup.