Guitar Tricks

  • Thread starter Thread starter DJL
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DJL,

The sound that comes from the trick where you put your pick just slightly out from your fingers is technically called an "Artificial Harmonic". They're cool 'cause the note will vary depending on where on the string you pick. The big guitar players in the 80's did this a lot. Listen to Richie Sambora's solo in "Wanted Dead or Alive", for example; probably 1/2 of that solo is artificial harmonics! Nuno Bettencourt and George Lynch did it a lot, too.

Cool stage tricks? Try picking a note and then holding the guitar by the whammy bar. Whenever you move the guitar, the note will change. Or try picking a note and then touching the string 5, 7, or 12 frets up with your tongue. It'll turn into a harmonic. Another one that looks good and sounds cool is to just go nuts on the whammy bar while hammering/pulling-off two notes. Just totally shake the whammy bar up and down like a maniac. This sounds better if you're quickly rocking a wah petal at the same time. You can also try hitting the body of the guitar with your fist to get "explosion" sounds and cool feedback.

I'll let you know if I think of anymore.

Ryan
 
37point5 said:
DJL,

The sound that comes from the trick where you put your pick just slightly out from your fingers is technically called an "Artificial Harmonic". They're cool 'cause the note will vary depending on where on the string you pick. The big guitar players in the 80's did this a lot. Listen to Richie Sambora's solo in "Wanted Dead or Alive", for example; probably 1/2 of that solo is artificial harmonics! Nuno Bettencourt and George Lynch did it a lot, too.



Ryan
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Sheesh.....don't forget the Rev. Billy Gibbons. Half of every solo he plays is pinched harmonics.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
Aaron Cheney said:
Sheesh.....don't forget the Rev. Billy Gibbons. Half of every solo he plays is pinched harmonics
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That and the fact that he uses a peso or a quarter (whichever is handy) instead of a pick.

George Lynch used a stainless steel pick for most of his stuff too. I use one occasionally. They sound great, but really chew trough strings!
 
Harmonics Rule!

The artificial harmonic is really good to get down, because it frees you to play with harmonics no matter what the note is. You can do a modal "harmonic" run!

Another trick is to hammer on the harmonic with your right hand as you're working on fretstuff with your left. If you want to hear a master at this, listen to Preston Reed. But even if you want to stay in this universe, try the same thing but use only the tip of your right middle finger, only one string, and limit yourself to a known harmonic - best one being the octave or 12th fret. You can just touch it lightly and get one tone, or hammer hard to the fret wire and get a completely different one.

Martin Simpson uses a slide technique that is pretty wild. With the guitar in DADGAD, he fools with the slide and alternates strumming on either side - that is, attack in the usual position, and then on the neck between the slide and the nut. You get the other side of the string going there and while one set of tones is ringing "down", another set can be ringing "up" at the same time. That makes really effective use of the dissonance and tension between the G and its adjacent A string.
 
My favorite trick is the Pete Townsend slam your guitar to pieces trick, its kinda hard on guitars though... but very cool...
 
Remove the screws from the neck pickup, and at a dramatic moment in a solo, tilt the guitar forward so the pickup magnets contact the strings.

Of course, excessive use of distortion is recommended.
 
Nice tips Aaron. I wasn't familiar with a few.

Don't forget the delay for "Cathedral." Especially when hammering the first, third, and octave of a power chord.

M.Brane, I also liked the stell pick and agree it eats though strings. Aluminum was better, but then the strings eat the pick. :rolleyes:

Another cool one is tapping octaves of a pentatonic when running up the scale (Nuno in Decadance Dance).

Or hitting a note, tapping with the right hand, and bending with the left while holding the tap (Zakk).

Or jamming a beer bottle into the strings (EVH Intruder).

Or pushing the whammy bar and letting go while still pushed in to get a cool flutter.

Or sweep picking!

Or string skipping!

Or harmonic minor scales!

Or whammy string stretching!

Or an intelligent harmonizer!

Wheee-la! :)
 
Running a cordless drill over top the pickups ala EVH poundcake.
 
Its funny how half of these tricks EVH either invented or just brought to the main stream! this is why he is to this day my favorite guitarist.

For all you guys that dont know about pinch harmonics (picking the string than lightly touching it with the side of your thumb) listen to any album from the Zakk Wylde ozzy era or any of his black label society albums,cause Zakk is the master at this!

My favorite trick (and its not really a trick) is just the two handed tapping (like eruption), any non guitar player or some new punk that thinks he knows how to play everything ,sh#t their pants when they see some one do this, and chics dig it too!

About the only one that I don't see on here is Eric Johnson's sitar effect. He holds the pick with his middle finger and thumb, and while he picks a string he lightly touches his index finger(picking hand) on the string (kinda like a pinch harmonic but slightly different) if you have ever listened to any of his stuff this is how he makes the sitar noises.
 
Aaron Cheney said:
Burninating the peasants!!! Burninating the cottagaaiiaaiiss!!

Oh yeah, man. That guy knows all about virtuosos, and arpeggios, and tremolos......

Aaron
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No, our beloved Mexican guitar-tech is referring to "trembalos" ;)
 
Jon Auer of the Posies have a technique to make it sound like you have a whammy bar when you're not. He just shakes his neck like crazy when playing guitar solos. Solar sister off Frosting in the beater is a good example.
 
Lopp said:
M.Brane, I also liked the stell pick and agree it eats though strings. Aluminum was better, but then the strings eat the pick. :rolleyes:
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Yeah I tried those too. Not only did they wear out almost as fast as celluloid, they turned my fingers black and didn't have any "feel".

I actually used brass for a while (now back to celluloid & hard nylon) and still keep one on my keychain for emergencies. :D

Originally posted by HangDawg
Running a cordless drill over top the pickups ala EVH poundcake.
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The first player I saw use a drill was Paul Gilbert, only he had a bit with picks glued to the end. :cool:
 
Did I say his neck? I meant the guitar neck of course. :D

I hope you guys didn't try that one at home :D :D
 
Adrian Belew

37point5 said:
Finally, in terms of sheer sonic weirdness, Adrian Belew does a trick in "Pretty Pink Rose" where he pushes down the whammy bar and rubs and hits the strings with it. The bar acts like a pick, but since the whammy bar is moving, the notes are constantly shifting in pitch. Sounds like a bagpipe.
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Adrian Belew used to have an instructional video out: if you can find that, I'm sure you'd have a how-to resource for all the guitar sound effects you could possibly want. Alternatively, find some King Crimson live videos (anything after 1980), and you might get some ideas.
 


About the only one that I don't see on here is Eric Johnson's sitar effect. He holds the pick with his middle finger and thumb, and while he picks a string he lightly touches his index finger(picking hand) on the string (kinda like a pinch harmonic but slightly different) if you have ever listened to any of his stuff this is how he makes the sitar noises. [/B]
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thats his koto effect technique.. very cool indeed

...

a cool technique i mess around with is adding octaves with a sort of string skipping... sounds neat and different
 
Pinch harmonics, I like that term much better than whatever I called it. Thank you.
 
Here's some more:

Record something. Play it in reverse. Back in the olden days you had to actually put the reels on backwards, record, and then put them back on correctly. Nowadays all you have to do is click "Reverse". This effect is on too many songs to name, but here are a few: Tora! Tora! by Van Halen, Third Stone from the Sun (Hendrix), Good Days by DLR (Steve Vai). ...or better yet, record and really spooky or contreversial vocal message and then reverse it and bury it just deep enough in the mix that it's only noticeable on close scrutiny.

Bend one of your "E" strings so far that you pull it off the side of the neck for a neat "zipper' effect.

Tune your strings so low that they are almost flopping around and play them. Bent notes sound particularly cool.

Pick really hard and really close to the bridge for a thin "sitar' effect. (Listen to the solo for "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" by the Beatles and you will hear this and the backwards effect!

Spin your tremolo bar around like a propellor (Van Halen - Intruder)

Tune your guitar so that the string behind the nut make a chord.

Tune your guitar so that it makes no sense it all and play your favorite song. I like to call that the "key of z".

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
I'm going in to the studio as soon as everyone here wakes up, to try the "Tune your guitar so that the string behind the nut make a chord." trick. Thank you.
 
Actually, I wouldn't recomend doing it first thing in the morning. Wait untill you're good and awake, so as to not accidentaly try the "tune your nuts so the chords behind the string make a guitar" trick, which is something completely different.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
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