I need some guitar help

[BleedingHearts]

Im relatively new to the metal genre, and i want to kno wat skills i really NEED to know to play metal. I can right hand palm mute, alternate pick, do some very basic finger tapping, and thats about it. I hav been playing for like 2 years now (guitar, not metal).

My guitar and amp are both pretty bad right now. i got a squire and and 30W amp. But im gonna be getting a new Jackson Kelly III as soon as i can.

and also, what are the best metal amps out there (price range $500-$600 australian)

thanks people

 

[MegaLolz]

Might want to work on 'galloping' rhythms. Fast downpicking on the bottom strings is a must.
For soloing, you might wanna learn sweep picking, tremolo picking and pinch harmonics.

 

[MurderForProfit]

ok do the basic gallops, arpeggios (sweeps), and your pich harmonics. Also believe it or not chord progression is a really good idea.

As for an amp and guitar I dont exactly know the currency exchange from us to Aus. but i would try like a line 6 combo amp or ibanez combo... just for practice I mean you dont need a full stack to practice in your bedroom. And dont spend the money on the jackson just yet... just because you hear its a good name. Go to you local music shop and try out some of the guits there, find whats comfortable for you. then find what things you ike about the guitar and mix for certain guitars.

 

[BleedingHearts]

sweet, thanks

but i hav already been down to my music shop and tried out a couple of BC rich's, and ibanezzes, and i settled that i like the jackson best.

i been trying to learn pinch harmonics for ages but it doesnt seem to work out for me though, got any advice for me?

 

[waif]

OK, you NEED gallops and pinch harmonics. Also, be prepared to downtune. Left hand muting is also surprisingly useful. I realize that you already have a guitar picked out, but for a low to midrange price, the Ibanez RG's are amazing.
Make sure you get plenty of heavy picks. You'll need them.

 

[MurderForProfit]

Ive been playing for about 6 years and i started useing heavy picks but after a while i started useing the lightest i could find at local shops.. I ran into some light (.5) cool stealth picks... $.75 a piece but god i love em. and as for the pinch harmonics everytime i try to explain em i get way to into it... so ask someone else because ill just confuse you... trust me i lose myself. Better yet soon enopugh ill do a little video or somethin to show you.

 

[InfantChaos]

This is BleedingHearts by the way, i made a new account coz i realized how much my last name sucked.

But anyway, i have managed to learn pinch harmonics, and have gotten them down pretty well over the weekend.

But i still don't know what left hand muting is. Can someone please explain?

Also i will scope out the ibanez RG, i think i have heard about them.

 

[waif]

This is BleedingHearts by the way, i made a new account coz i realized how much my last name sucked.

But anyway, i have managed to learn pinch harmonics, and have gotten them down pretty well over the weekend.

But i still don't know what left hand muting is. Can someone please explain?

Also i will scope out the ibanez RG, i think i have heard about them.

Ok...left hand muting is simpler than right hand muting; you just stop fretting the note, but keep your hands on the strings. This will stop the note from ringing. You can hear this on Prowler by Iron Maiden, I think. Not essential for metal, but A) fun to play around with, B) really freakin' easy, and C) good for some stuff

 

[sumairetsu]

"But i still don't know what left hand muting is. Can someone please explain?"


Left hand (or fretting hand, depending on how you play) muting can be as simple as releasing hand pressure off of the neck so that the strings can no longer ring out. Another example is that if you're fretting a note with your middle finger, your index finger could be muting the strings next to it. This is especially useful if you're picking with a wide stroke with your picking hand. Using this in combination with muting with your picking hand can result in some very clean leads. Practice and find out what works best for you.

 

[FenriR]

I realize that you already have a guitar picked out, but for a low to midrange price, the Ibanez RG's are amazing.

I can testify to that. I have the RG350EX, and it is a beautiful, and good quality guitar. Relatively easy to play, I found.

 

[InfantChaos]

sweet, my metal is improving, slowly, but its getting there, and i guess that playing in a thrash band will help.

 

[MurderForProfit]

Listen go to your local music store and pick up All Shall Perish- The price Of Existence. Learn some shit from that... and practice.. they use allot of methods described here. Plus they also play some bluesy stuff. Another good piece of advice is to be well rounded. This will add your own touch to a certain song rather than it sounding like everything else.

 

[BringMeTheCalm]

Sweeping is useful but kind of difficult to learn and not required. Also if you want to play some neoclassical stuff you should learn a bit of theory if you don't know any yet.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

Might want to work on 'galloping' rhythms. Fast downpicking on the bottom strings is a must.
For soloing, you might wanna learn sweep picking, tremolo picking and pinch harmonics.

This dude has a pretty good take.

One thing you need to do is alternate pick. Work on your alternate picking chops for a brief while until you can cleanly play some scales then start trying some simple chromatic or diminshed sweeps to get good at that. If you find out how you sweep before killing yourself on alternate picking practice I believe you will keep from developing a shitty technique.

Don't neglect palm muting, just don't do it too much. I palm mute every time I play a fucking riff just about because I got into a bad habit of playing Megadeth/Slayer esque rhythms when I was younger. Work on it diligently, but also work on playing rhythmically without doing it. Also, power chords are nearly a must in metal, so get them dowm cleanly & work on doing fast position changes.

There are many variables that come into play when playing guitar & I'm only talking about a couple of techniques here. Remember that it is going to take a lot of practice & dedication to get really good. Good luck.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

Also, be prepared to downtune.

Bull shit. The bulk of your early practice can be done in standard. If you can, learn all the names of the notes. It's harder than it seems, but it's necessary if you delve into theory I believe. I personally can't just point at a random note & tell you the name, but if I think for a second I can get it.

The best picks would either be the Dunlop Green Tortex Jazz's or the Dunlop Jazz III's. You can get a better grip & a cleaner technique on a smaller pick. If you're used to larger picks it will feel ankward at first, but just give it a few days & you will thank me kindly

 

[waif]

Don't neglect palm muting, just don't do it too much. I palm mute every time I play a fucking riff just about because I got into a bad habit of playing Megadeth/Slayer esque rhythms when I was younger. Work on it diligently, but also work on playing rhythmically without doing it. Also, power chords are nearly a must in metal, so get them dowm cleanly & work on doing fast position changes.

Fortunately, palm mutes and power chords are like learning to ride a tricycle - easy as fuck and once you have it you never fall off.

Bull shit. The bulk of your early practice can be done in standard.

Yup. And then when you want to go heavy, you may need to downtune. Note that I didn't say "never let your guitar go above C!," I merely said that if one is looking to play metal guitar, at some point they will probably want to try downtuning. It is a good idea to try out tuning to D, just to see if you like it. Even if you stay in standard most of the time.

If you can, learn all the names of the notes. It's harder than it seems, but it's necessary if you delve into theory I believe.

Good call. You really should.

The best picks would either be the Dunlop Green Tortex Jazz's or the Dunlop Jazz III's.

This is absolutely a matter of personal preference. The only thing is that heavy gauge are better for most things, especially alt picking.

You can get a better grip & a cleaner technique on a smaller pick. If you're used to larger picks it will feel ankward at first, but just give it a few days & you will thank me kindly

Unless you have fuckin' massive hands, like some people. Anyhow, you can hold the pick to change the amount you're using to strike the string - basically a looser or tighter grip, for different things. A loose grip for open chords, really tight for scaling.

Sweeping is useful but kind of difficult to learn and not required.

Understatement. Sweeping is pretty cool, but if you actually use it a lot it's just obnoxious and looses it's awesomeness. "Sweeping is kind of difficult" is like saying" Trivium kind of sucks."

 

[InhaledDarkness]

i been trying to learn pinch harmonics for ages but it doesnt seem to work out for me though, got any advice for me?

pinch harmonics to take alot of time, and patience
and as pathetic as it may sound, youtube does actually have some helpfull videos if you still havent figured out how to pull off a pinch harmonic.
you just really gotta practice lots at it

 

[InfantChaos]

yeah ok heres what metal techniques i have gotten down now, alternate picking, pinch harmonics, a little bit of arpeggios (pretty hard but i havnt really been practising them much), but i havnt started sweep picking, so i might start that soon.

 

[CobaltShadows]

sweep picking is amust, but if your still looking for an amp, peavey makes some good amps. i have a triple x and my friend has a valve king. add a maximizer to it and you have all the crunch you need. another amp you may want to look into is a spider 3 by line 6. i have one as a practice amp, you can really mess with the tones, and it comes with tons of presets.

 

[InfantChaos]

And also, what is galloping and what songs are they in and how can i play them?