so i have the basic idea on them but i still can't pull em off to where they sound right. i imagine there's some effects that bands use to make them sound like they do. but basically i know that when you strum with your pick hand right after your pick hits the string you graze it with your thumb immediately that and people generally do bends with their fret hand. but i could be wrong. i don't know. anyways i'm just asking for some advice or tips on them. thanks
I love pinch harmonics, use 'em as a 'trademark noise' since I can't play super-professionally, and I do them on the acoustic as well. I twist the wrist.
Hit the string with the pick then roll in the thumb, and dampen the vibration momentarily, or for a split second with the fleshiest part, and squeeeeaaalll!!!, all the louder depending on amplification.
Others can add much more to the technique/description, especially our teachers, but in the meantime, now that you know what to call it, google it under "pinch harmonics" and play away, let the good times squeal.
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Justin has a very good lesson on these - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I5O8P-r5Rk
Hi gain/distortion/overdrive make it easier to get them to ring out.
yeah. check out that youtube vid. he explains things really well.
ok yeah. thanks guys for the advice. one question i watched that same video before. and i could do em....well kinda but the thing is they don't sound exactly like that. i know probably a little bit of it is my technique isn't up to his level yet but could another part be my pickups?
ok yeah. thanks guys for the advice. one question i watched that same video before. and i could do em....well kinda but the thing is they don't sound exactly like that. i know probably a little bit of it is my technique isn't up to his level yet but could another part be my pickups?
Small chance that it could be pickups, or pickup height with string-pull or gauss, but probably not. Low power pickups can also produce it, I've got it from old DeArmonds too. It is more likely to be assisted with lots of pre-amp or amp pre-gain, or distortion. But I want to minimize your concern about the pickup, since it is generally facilitated with pre-amplification as well as technique, and I do them anyway on an acoustic. :wink:
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
ok thanks man. i was just wondering because i have a $100 Dean so i thought maybe pickups. thanks for your help guys.
ok yeah. thanks guys for the advice. one question i watched that same video before. and i could do em....well kinda but the thing is they don't sound exactly like that. i know probably a little bit of it is my technique isn't up to his level yet but could another part be my pickups?
Small chance that it could be pickups, or pickup height with string-pull or gauss, but probably not. Low power pickups can also produce it, I've got it from old DeArmonds too. It is more likely to be assisted with lots of pre-amp or amp pre-gain, or distortion. But I want to minimize your concern about the pickup, since it is generally facilitated with pre-amplification as well as technique, and I do them anyway on an acoustic. :wink:
I tend to disagree with this just a bit; I can do pinch harmonics very well, in several positions in the bridge area, to get the different octaves, sounds, etc. My issue is - I have found with my active p/up guitars that it is more difficult to get the harmonic, which seems odd, because active p/up guitars are supposed to be the ones that are the easiest to do them on.
Zakk Wylde, Kirk Hammett and others make it look/sound effortless. After many years of playing & being very proficient at pinch harmonics, I still can;t get them to ring very well w/ EMG's/other. Could be because I don't play those guitars that often, mostly because I dislike the "flat" sound of the actives.
If I spent more time with them, I suppose I could make them ring out better. That all being said, your Dean w/ passive pickups will probably do the job fairly well, and as mentioned use lots of gain/distortion, at least when you are starting out learning them.
Once you get the feel of them, it is fairly easy to pull them off on just about any amp setting - even with an acoustic, as Blue Jay mentioned.
Try this; hold the pick at an angle, kinda pointing your thumb down. "Saw" the pick slowly across the string while moving your hand over the pickup area, in the general area where you normally pick, being sure to brush your thumb over the string, slightly muting it, just as you would be doing a harmonic. At some point, you should start to hear harmonics as you hit the sweet spot.
That is a good method to start out with until you are more experienced. I know my explanation probably sounds very confusing. I have considered putting a youtube vid up explaining it, as I haven't really come across anyone else explaining it that way, but other players that I have demonstrated it for have picked up on it right away.
