milod Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Actually I think there are two factors involved here. First is the actual "muscle" used and second is the way it strikes the strings. E.g., is the strength a glancing blow to the strings or is it gouging at and under the strings. The Flamenco guitarists' rasgueado and the Carter Family Scratch are two examples of lots of power but the "glancing blow" sort of feel. One weakness for fingerpickers seeking more volume - regardless of style of music - is to claw strings rather than use the fingertips as brushes of various sorts. Me? Mostly a fingerpicker. Flatpicks? On occasion I use 'em. Usually then at an angle to the string and my choice always has favored some sort of pick either purchased or modified to cut slippage. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 If I describe my playing as hamhanded, does that give you a clue? It's a lot of wrist and a little arm. No finesse or niceness in my playing. That's for cats like Vai, Gilmour, and Malmsteen (that guy in International Male shirts). My playing is passionate and fiery because I am exercising demons and drowning out the voices in my head. Yeah, I can pull back and gently strum through a break down when I need to and I am learning more touch by practicing on an acoustic guitar. Over a decade ago I switched to 11s on all of my electrics and have not looked back. I used to have a very gentle "touch" but since I started playing bass with a pick I've just been extremely hamhanded. It's mostly wrist movement for me too, but like with the wrist and arm swinging at the same time for SUPER HAM. With string gauges I'm kinda weird. I like 9s on my SG and 11s on my Tele. I like the SG to just be really easy to play, but for whatever reason I prefer to wrestle with the Tele a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenderGuy1 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I play Angus Young heavy on all my guitars, including the ones with heavier strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 (that guy in International Male shirts Tehee.. An ex-coworker, this good ol' boy country dude, a bit heavy set, very white...one day I saw an International Male catalog in his car, his name/address was printed on it. I browsed the catalog (I was unfamiliar with this stuff) My initial thought was that he was goin to make an excuse for having it but then he asked me if liked that kind of clothing, he said he liked those clothes to go out in town. ... sexy is as sexy does I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Pippy, how did we miss the fact that both of us have a preference for understated bluesy BBish blues. When we met up at the studios we jammed the heavy rock riffs. I reckon a bit of practice on something of that ilk and then a performance at the Oval is in order. Maybe Simon would sing something for us... Flight? Flight might just consider that to be a backhanded compliment...... But yes. In principle a very fine idea. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Like a Gas Giant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Even though I use 8-38 strings,I absolutely bash the strings mercilessly.Besides John,George and Jimi,Chris Britton of The Troggs and Pete Townshend were really big influences on my rhythm playing.Many people have commented on my pounding the shite out of the strings.One night when I was doing a solo gig on my Yamaha electric acoustic and did my usual medley of Who songs: Magic Bus,I Can See For Miles and Mary Ann With The Shakey Hands,After that set a guy came up to me and told me that I was the most agressive rhythm player he had ever seen-excepting of course Pete T. BTW: I Never break strings,which speaks volumes about the quality of D'Addario strings. Edit: I had written 3-38 strings rather than 8-38,3s would be even too light for me...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Flight might just consider that to be a backhanded compliment...... But yes. In principle a very fine idea. P. It seems I am Mr Tactless at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Tehee.. An ex-coworker, this good ol' boy country dude, a bit heavy set, very white...one day I saw an International Male catalog in his car, his name/address was printed on it. I browsed the catalog (I was unfamiliar with this stuff) My initial thought was that he was goin to make an excuse for having it but then he asked me if liked that kind of clothing, he said he liked those clothes to go out in town. ... sexy is as sexy does I guess. Sexy is as sexy does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I used to have a very gentle "touch" but since I started playing bass with a pick I've just been extremely hamhanded. It's mostly wrist movement for me too, but like with the wrist and arm swinging at the same time for SUPER HAM. With string gauges I'm kinda weird. I like 9s on my SG and 11s on my Tele. I like the SG to just be really easy to play, but for whatever reason I prefer to wrestle with the Tele a little. 11s on a Tele? Ace! There is something to having that one guitar that fights back. Hard to explain to some people, but they just have to trust you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Sexy is as sexy does? Yea, you heard it here first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 11s on a Tele? Ace! There is something to having that one guitar that fights back. Hard to explain to some people, but they just have to trust you. Well, I originally got them because I was breaking strings every night and then I got used to them. The SG is my light guitar or whatever. I feel like heavy strings would mess up the neck As for "sexy is as sexy does" I think I'll have to write a song based around that phrase if you promise not to sue me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 By way of illustration... Just remembered I'd stuck this up a couple of years ago which shows a typical slice of my right-hand action for single-note stuff. I've two or three more somewhere in the "Walk the Walk..." thread (I think) with some chordwork (WOW! LOL!) but goodness knows where. It was shot in 720p HD if you like that sort of thing. Anyone else with examples to better illustrate their post? P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hello Pippy! Hello All! I am joining You, Pippy. This is an audio I`ve made with a tiny media recorder/player, so excuse me for the bad quality. It was made as a demo for a friend whom we were discussing something about music theory. No video, tough, but - I guess - the hard picking attack is audible (in the second part mainly). Remember I've never said I am a good player... :) Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAC Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I run 10s on my acoustic. On electrics I have 9s and 10s. On my Fender Mustang I got 8s. Picks, right now I'm favoring the orange colored Dunlap .60 mm. I also use the dunlap turtex 1.0 mm. I like my action low. I know how to adjust necks with a Stew Mac straight edge and feeler gauges. I use the Dan Erlewine technique. It takes a little while to get confident at it but, when you get your first neck set up right you'll know it. Your guitar will feel, sound and play better than ever. Excellent players and guitar techs approve of my setups. The hardest part I've had doing setups is setting string and pickup heights, because my eyes are not so young anymore. With magnified headgear and proper lighting I can dial stuff in. I find Telecasters hard to work on but not impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebrafirebird Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Over the years I've lightened up my strings for a couple of reasons. First and primary reason is tone. Second reason is that I have a bit more control in my left hand now, than when I was first learning. The first few years that I played, I had a tendancy to slightly bend the strings while chording. Basically, I sounded out of tune and heavy strings helped compensate. My choice strings now are Thomastik Sliders in 9's. Pick: Tortex 0.88mm only Heavy vs Light attack on the strings: This is all about tone. I tend to be very dynamic in my tone, constantly adjusting my attack depending on what I want to convey with the particular note being played in the moment. Maybe I lean towards light with heavy attacks for emphasis? At any rate, I'd say that players should develop a feel for their instrument based on the tone they're looking for. Play heavy when needed, and play light when needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.