Double-Hand Thumb Tapping with Eight-String Guitarist Zac Tiessen — Video

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In the past, we've highlighted the eight-string-guitar work of Josh Martin and Animals As Leaders' Tosin Abasi.

Today, we bring you a guitarist who's relatively new to the scene, 17-year-old Zac Tiessen of Ontario, Canada.

Below, check out one of his most recent eight-string-guitar videos; it's for an original song called "TSU."

"The main melody employs Eric Johnson's 'Koto' technique," Tiessen says. "I'm also using double-hand thumb tapping, a new technique I’m developing, which emulates Japanese harp's scales and tuning.

"This is a re-recorded, re-arranged, re-mastered version of 'TSU' from my Courage EP, originally released in 2013."

Tiessen is endorsed by EMG, Fractal Audio and Jim Dunlop—and he just returned from his first NAMM Show. The video below was filmed in St. Petersburg, Florida.

For more about Tiessen, visit zactiessen.com and follow him on Facebook.

Damian Fanelli
Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.