Rabs Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 So this is something I have always wondered about.. The up to the chin players... I mean, whats that all about? Take George Harrison, he played it high and Mark King plays bass almost near his face. I cant think of any other examples at the moment but I have seen higher :) Then you get people like Slash and Jimmy Page who are the gun slingers and wear their guitars almsot as low as possible.. Now ive tried that and it didnt work for me.. Do they just do it to look cool? Is there some method in the maddness? I myself as you can see from my avatar am right in the middle (maybe slightly lower than most).. I do that cos I tried a few positions and that where my arms fealt at ease not having to hold them in that position but they sit there naturally.. Also out of interest, I found an old video of my in my band when I was about 18/19.. Its poor quality but it seems as if my playing postion has stayed pretty much the same (that was 20 years ago :)) And check out my long hair and Metallica T-Shirt :D.. that was also my first Gibson, a 1992 wine red Stuido playing through the studios JCM 800 .. Ahh the good old days :) So where do you play it.. are you a chinner or a gun slinger? And why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Gun slinger. I wear it low, but not TOO low. I still, to this day, don't know how Steve Clark (of Def Leppard. High And Dry is one of my favorites!) did it. He deserves an award for that! It's not comfortable to wear it above the belt, so to speak. (Angus Young/EVH height). Sometimes I have to, though, when I'm playing really intricate stuff (some EVH stuff is impossible to play if the guitar is too low...). I would say I wear it almost in the Zakk Wylde/Michael Schenker/Ace Frehley/Randy Rhoads/Doug Aldrich/Brian Robertson area. It's not super low, but it still has that "rock" look to it.....(which doesn't matter to me).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Great player, and Mr. 335 always seemed to keep that 335 up pretty high. No matter how much hair Larry had on his head. Steve Howe has had his git pretty high too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I think having the guitar low is more about looking cool than playing. It seems to me that the higher, the better as far as being able to play comfortably. There's nothing wrong with trying to look cool, but I wonder how much less sloppy Page would have been with the guitar up a little higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I can play completely comfortably with the guitar at about belt-level, and I feel like I get more leverage for my bends at that height. The cool factor is just a bonus. So I'm a gun slinger I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I like to play my guitar as low as I can, having my arms up in the air is actually counterproductive to me with the neck issues I have. Having said that, the neck profile of a guitar dictates how low/high I set the strap, My Explorer can hang the lowest because of its super flat neck profile, there is no point on setting it high, there is no meat on the neck to grab. (if I was a betting man I'd say that is why Page can play his that low) My SG has a rounded thicker neck and there is just no way I could hang it low. My Les Pauls fall somewhere in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 <------- Still right there where it's always been. This was 20 years ago Here it is today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I want it the same whether I'm sitting or standing so - up high. Also look at how far you have to curl your left wrist around when gunslinging....I can't do that and play properly. Looks good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I'd say I keep my guitar relatively low. Right about belt height is usually comfortable for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I'm somewhere in between the two. I like my bridge pickup to be right around where my belt buckle is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I'm somewhere in between the two. I like my bridge pickup to be right around where my belt buckle is. Yep - and the lower bout just covering the junk! (In case anyone flings a beer bottle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennis Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I've actually been thinking about and experimenting with this for a few days now, and I found I've been hanging it too low. In my experience the position of your picking hand is a good guide line, From right at your belly button to right at your genitals. Higher is better for left hand technique, and lower can be better for fast right hand picking (easier on the shoulder). Also the weight, balance, size and neck profile of the guitar matters too. Strats and other lighter guitars feel good higher up, while a heavy les paul with a thick neck feels more comfortable resting between your thighs, but extreme lows like Slash and Jimmy Page is just posing. With big guitars like an ES-175 or acoustics you have to find the right position to be able to reach around in comfortably. Having your picking hand right in between your belly button and your groin might just be the sweet spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I'm thinking every strap I have is slung to a different angle... some low, some high. Hmmmm.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvanPC Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Tom Morello's guitars could practically be bow ties, but he's still cool. I just can't do the low slung thing. Changes my wrist angle too much on my fretting hand and I cramp easily/suck, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I want it the same whether I'm sitting or standing so - up high. Also look at how far you have to curl your left wrist around when gunslinging....I can't do that and play properly. Looks good though. Right there with ya! Saw Sonny Landreth in Jimmy Buffet's band a couple years ago and he had that baby up high like George. Don't see how you can play "gunslinger"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Well... I dug around... this is last fall at a cowboy music, poetry and art show in metropolitan Alzada, Montana. I guess you'd say it's relatively high. I was doing a fingerpicking backup for vocal in the pix, but... it's close enough to how I carried most any guitar, full hollow, flattop, semi or solid body playing rock or country, too. Each instrument has a different geometry, so my carrying it would generally be to get pretty much this sort of geometry. Usually if I'm getting fancy by my level of ability, I tend to sit and play in something of a combination of classical and flamenco positioning. Standing... it's about the same set of angles. But I don't care to have the guitar just dangling there held with apparent control only by my left hand. So note the right elbow and arm kinda cradle the thing so my left hand is pretty loose and the right hand is pretty much not moving whether I'm fingerpicking or flatpicking. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 36 years ago: Today, still pretty much the same. Kinda high I guess: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy60 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 yeah, i can't play a guitar that's hanging around my thighs. fretting is too difficult. the body's gotta be around the belt/stomach area.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeppelinguy Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Very high. A few inches below my chin, much like the classical position. I keep my thumb behind the neck at all times so it just feels more natural to have it high. I also like to keep the pick as parallel to the strings as possible, so it helps in that regard as well. I angle my guitar upward much more than most guitar players. The headstock is often above my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Hello! Just bought a very nice hungarian saddle-leather strap and a pair of Dunlop locks for my Classic Custom. I always played seated, now tried it standing. With the guitar above hip puts much less pressure on the fretting hand, but painful for the shoulders. After a half an hour I decided to lower it to position "between thighs". Not so good for the left hand, but the guitar doesn't seems too heavy. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 The entire neck has to be easily reachable for me and for that, I need it relatively high. (see avatar) Much less stress on the wrist, and I think you will play better with the proper wrist angle. For me, just gives my fretting hand more room to move around. if it looks dorky, I really could care less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I think most people like to play with their elbows bent at about ninety degrees. That seems pretty universal except for the low slingers. Low slinging isn't about playing. It's about style. I don't think you're going to find many good teachers who say otherwise. Another thing is - people's hands are stronger and more agile when they're close to the body and when the elbows are at 90 degrees. Hands work best when they're right near your breastbone. So it's natural to develop a technique where your hands are high and close to your body. I think I'm a 90 degree guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZHWDkn1-Ck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I adjust my strap so that it allows the guitar to rest on my leg while sitting, so now the guitar is the same distance sitting or standing. Having it a little higher allows me to grab notes and chords from a better angle- too low and fingers lay too flat on the fretboard. I wear a strap sitting or standing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I tend to take the seated classical position...one school of thought's ideal... Then replicate standing up So high a la George Harrison and many more I like to have a relaxed fretting wrist angle without strain (which happens when I sling lower) V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampash Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I must say that one of the worst things I ever saw was the way Dave Davies of The Kinks held his Flying V. Dreadful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.