HELP NEEDED: The whammy bar

  • Thread starter Thread starter raptor48
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raptor48

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Hi,
I like using the whammy bar heaps, but I don't know how to do anything except for squeal. I was wondering if anyone had any video lessons on using the whammy bar. I've tried learning how to use the bar with mags and stuff, but none of them have videos, which makes it very hard to learn.


Please help me out if you can.


Cheers,
Stan
 
how about the old classic dive bomb??

You can take the whammy bar out, mute the strings with 1 hand and "rake" the bar across the strings to get a pacman sound....

I like to "levitate" my guitar by having the whammy bar facing straight down to the gound , then lifting - this position means the strings stay in tune and you can play the guitar like a "piano" with ur fret hand! :)
 
Watch any Steve Vai video and you will get a glimpse of so many things you can do with a trem. I think half his stuff, he'll utilize it in some way, shape, or form. Another persons videos would be anything by Brad Gillis. He is another who has mastered using the "whammy bar". Brad not only abuses it, but he does it all without the use of a locking nut...and stays in tune!
 
Thanks for your replies.

Docaroo - I'll give that a go, sounds weird but good :)

TMatt142 - Do you have any Steve Vai videos that you recommend? And if so do you know where I can get them from?


Cheers,
Stan
 
hey raptor if I didn't explain it very well just get back to me and I'll go into more detail!! It's my signature stage move hehe :)
 
Use it for vibrato, fret short of your target pitch and use the bar to bring it up, fret above your target pitch and use the bar to bring it down, press the bar down in the middle of a bend just before you hit the right pitch and then pull it up all at once, point your bar away from the strings and thump it with your thumb for those cool chirping sounds, use it for subtle dives in between notes to add some expressiveness to certain melodies...The coolest bar tricks are the subtle ones. But I like vicious dive bombs too!

I don't have any videos, but it seems to me this stuff is fairly self explanatory.

It takes practice to do something that requires hitting a certain pitch, but that's no different than bending.

A good Vai video to watch is "Live At The Astoria"
 
Grab the bar and use it to swing your guitar around your head. You might have to replace your bridge afterwards but it'll be cool as hell!
 
I'll have a Captain and Coke! What? You don't serve drinks? Ain't this the Whammy Bar? I'm s'posedta meet this chick here...............
 
If you're on the clean channel, you can hit a note, bend it down then back up for a very surfy sound. Herman Li of Dragonforce adopted a ton of whammy styles, here's a video showing just some of them. (Note, I'm fairly certain he did not create any of them himself, but it's a nice video anyway) To be honest, I don't believe he really knows much about music, but he's having fun and that's what it's about for him. Dragonforce is a fun band to listen to, even if it does get a little repetitive after a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtUiQJc7ZMI
 
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