Making it Squeeeel!

[King Chaos]

Ok, just wondering how you guys make your harmonics screem.

I can make pretty squeely harmonics just by striking the string and following through brushing it with my thumb, but Its mega inconsistent and its difficult to do well on the higher steel strings.

What techniques do you use to get your shrieking sounds?

 

[-Gavin-]

Well, if you have a floyd rose, as soon as you hit that mother fucker, dip the bar slightly then pull it up as far as it goes!!!!

Thats a dimebag style squeel.


Zakk Wylde just vibratos the living fuck out of his pinches and uses heavy strings

 

[King Chaos]

So is clipping the string with your thumb as you pick it a "pinch"?

 

[-Gavin-]

A Pinch Harmonic, Yes.

 

[King Chaos]

Oh right.

You can nail these in different levels though, like PH+5 or PH+50.

I can't Pinch it that hard, anyone got any tips for really good pinching. I can probably get +10 or sommat.

 

[xOrdinary_Storyx]

1) hit string hard
2) have lots of gain
3) vibrato like hell
4) smile

 

[-Gavin-]

try and have a sound thats learning towards ebing trebbly.


using a distortion pedal + amps distortion cant hurt.



Zakk Wylde uses some mega gained JCM's then runs a distortion pedal into his already overdriven amps.

 

[xOrdinary_Storyx]

Zakk Wylde uses some mega gained JCM's then runs a distortion pedal into his already overdriven amps.

yeah. if youre talking about wylde pinches, gain is one of the most important things...the guys rig is a les paul with EMG's, an overdrive pedal, and custom jcm 800....thats about as much gain as you can get. wyldes harmonics are one of the few times in guitar where equipment is just as important as skill.

 

[King Chaos]

hahaha, and I always thought it had something to do with being ultimately skilled . Now I try it more Dist does make for a sweeter shreik.

I have a hardcore max 120 and an MT2, so to put max distortion and Overdirve on both sounds br00tal. Thanks for the tips

 

[xOrdinary_Storyx]

hahaha, and I always thought it had something to do with being ultimately skilled . Now I try it more Dist does make for a sweeter shreik.

I have a hardcore max 120 and an MT2, so to put max distortion and Overdirve on both sounds br00tal. Thanks for the tips

haha. i hear ya bro. id always try them through my shitty practice amp and wouldnt get it so id think that it would come with practice...so one day im jamming wiht my friend through his uberschall and they came almost as easily as normal notes

 

[-Gavin-]

Gotta fucking love a good old Low E string pinch on the 3rd fret

 

[xOrdinary_Storyx]

Gotta fucking love a good old Low E string pinch on the 3rd fret

damn straight

 

[King Chaos]

A string 7th 9th or 10th shreik.

I like doing normal artificial harmonics by just tapping the low E at 5th fret with my pinky. Thats shrill no matter what. Its fun to incorporate into megally chugging riffs.

When you pinch on lowE 3rd dont you find that you can just rest you finger lightly above the string then whack it, creating some kind of artificial harmonic. then you can press the note on to the fret and it carries on making the high octave sound while you can vibrato or even slide about on the fucker.

 

[-Gavin-]

" I like doing normal artificial harmonics by just tapping the low E at 5th fret with my pinky. Thats shrill no matter what. Its fun to incorporate into megally chugging riffs."




Thats a Natural Harmonic bro

 

[King Chaos]

, Oh, ok. I dont know the terminology at all *kicks self*

 

[-Gavin-]

Dont worry man, its not your fault you're english

 

[King Chaos]

 

[xOrdinary_Storyx]

hahaha. dont worry. i amde an ass out of myself yesterday concerning bc richs...our scottish friend is always there to point it out too....bastard..

 

[i acnt spell]

I used to have trouble making a pinch harmonic scream, but then I realized I was trying to play it with the wrong part of my thumb. I used to do just squeeze my thumb down below the tip of the pick and try to hit it just right, but now I just inch in and hit it between the side of the pinch and on the side of my thumb, right next to my thumbnail. If you can visualize that. Sort of where, if you pretend you're holding a pick without one there, your thumb and forefinger make a V shape.

 

[TekChef]

yup, you need gain, some treble, picking hard, the whole thumb bit..
and..
(surprised no one has mentioned this)
You have to find "node" points on your guitar. By doing the pinch in many places up and down the string over the pickups, you can get many harmonics, some more screaming then others.
Once you find the spots, you can do whammy and strings bends..feedback...and all that stuff that makes playing guitar fun to em!