Tapping question.

Mr.Plow

Mr.Plow

New Metal Member
Mar 31, 2009
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0
1
Hello there!

I've been visiting this forum for a while now but never decided to register until now, so greetings!

Now, I have been playing guitar for almost a year now and I think I did pretty good but my question is, how can I get a good tapping technique?

I've been watching a lot of guitar players performing some sweet tappings and I can't even get close to what they do. So what precisly am I doing wrong?

What I feel is no matter how hard I tap the string, it sounds not even close in volumne to a string being picked.

It may be my gear, but I don't want to sound like it is not my fault for not being able to tap, I must be making something wrong.

Anyway I have an Ibanez S520 EX with INF1 and INF2 Pickups and a Fender amp, 15R.

If a better amp could help me, what do you recommend, do you recommend those pickups?

Thanks for your help people.

Long live COB!
 
Mr.Plow said:
Hello there!

I've been visiting this forum for a while now but never decided to register until now, so greetings!

Now, I have been playing guitar for almost a year now and I think I did pretty good but my question is, how can I get a good tapping technique?

I've been watching a lot of guitar players performing some sweet tappings and I can't even get close to what they do. So what precisly am I doing wrong?

What I feel is no matter how hard I tap the string, it sounds not even close in volumne to a string being picked.

It may be my gear, but I don't want to sound like it is not my fault for not being able to tap, I must be making something wrong.

Anyway I have an Ibanez S520 EX with INF1 and INF2 Pickups and a Fender amp, 15R.

If a better amp could help me, what do you recommend, do you recommend those pickups?

Thanks for your help people.

Long live COB!
Click to expand...

well first off you should have posted this in the off topic forum under the guitar players thread. :)
second: a 15watt amp is not what you need, go for something bigger. i personally have a Line 6 Spider III that i love to death, its a 75w and it gets the job done.
third: the pickups are not terrible but upgrading to some EMG's the h4 if you want a good passive and or you could go with the 81/85 active p-ups. its really personal preference,
 
You probably have wrong tapping technique.

Assuming you are talking about any common tapping lick that involves left hand fretted hammer on or pull off notes,

when you tap the top note with your right hand, when you release that note you cant lift your tapping finger directly up off the string, perpendicular to the fret board. You need to use some pressure while releasing the tapped note, pulling a little bit sideways (towards your face) and then up. (so you are lifting your finger up in the direction of your face slightly before you release the tapped note)

The point of this is to catch the string a bit (almost like plucking it in a way) to keep the other notes sustained and give you more volume/power.
 
I'm just a beginner-level guitarist who plays for fun, but I was taught the tapping technique and I think it's as strong as picking the string, just sounds different. Don't kill me if I'm talking bs.

Lowberg said:
You need to use some pressure while releasing the tapped note, pulling a little bit sideways (towards your face) and then up. (so you are lifting your finger up in the direction of your face slightly before you release the tapped note.
Click to expand...

This is what I mean. I just pull the string downwards, not towards my face.. Sounds really kewl. :D If someone asked me to play some guitar, I could just do that and they wouldn't know I'm crap.
 
Kalmah338 said:
second: a 15watt amp is not what you need, go for something bigger.
Click to expand...

Pretty much bullshit.
First: If you play at home, you don't need 75 Watts at all, but it seems that every stupid metalhead needs a 100 W halfstack in his bedroom these days. A 15 W Fender amp might have a better tone than a 75 Watt Line6 on low volumes.
Second: His amp has nothing to do with his lack of tapping skills. If you're a good tapper, it doesn't matter if you're plugged into an amp or not.


@OP: Is there a special lick giving you a headache? Perhaps you start off with too hard stuff and need to step down a bit. What licks do you practice?
 
Corny said:
His amp has nothing to do with his lack of tapping skills. If you're a good tapper, it doesn't matter if you're plugged into an amp or not.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I have a little amp that cost 100€. But can you tell me if it's my fault or the amp's, that I can't get the pinch harmonic done?
 
I would say that it depents on your pickups. The amp still good for it. I don't know INF pickups but I know it from my other guitars. When I try tapping on my 50€ Strat with 10€ pickups it sounds really weak. Same with my B.C. Rich. Tapping on my ESP with EMG/S&D pickup is the easiest thing in the world. I do also think that is has nothing to do with your technique cause I don't know what anybody can do wrong when tapping. It's one of the easiest things in the world.

But: A two finger tap like this -15-19-15-19-15-19-.... isn't as strong in tone as a 3 finger tap like this 19-15-12-15-19-15-12
 
<Arcane> said:
I do also think that is has nothing to do with your technique cause I don't know what anybody can do wrong when tapping. It's one of the easiest things in the world.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of people who pick up the guitar don't instantly know how to tap. Someone needs to show it's not just that you hit the string with the tip of your finger.
 
As mentioned, I tap with my fuck you finger on the right hand, and slightly push the finger vertically when tapping. That way your note gets alot stronger and you can actually hear it.

The amp has nothing to do with it, if it has a overdrive/distortion channel it should pretty much be cruise control. If done right you can make it sound just as strong without an amp!
 
I don't think he's talking about the pull-off part of the tap so much... Sure, that's an important part of the entire tapping technique.

But for example, if you're playing a few sweeps and end the lick in a whole note tap with vibrato, the pull-off has nothing to do with it.

My advice would be to pick one fret to practice tapping on, and keep tapping on that one fret over and over, but try moving closer or further away from the fret wire. ie: if you're tapping the 12th fret, try moving back just a little bit towards the 11th fret, or a little closer to the 12th fret itself.

Also, when I was first practicing tapping, I wouldn't try to think of hitting the string with my finger as hard as I could, but slamming my finger down on the string as fast as I could.
 
Thanks guys, I got the idea now, my fingernails where kind off long because I also play acustic guitar, making me hit the string not fully perpendicular. So I diceded to cut them today and the tapping sounds much much better now, I didn't know that it was such a difference. Thanks for your help!
 
Corny said:
A 15 W Fender amp might have a better tone than a 75 Watt Line6 on low volumes.
Click to expand...

like i said, fender blues jr. (all tube amp) ftw.
Though, my Laney Top has also *just* 50 W and is loud( and sounds good:D )as hell
 
As stated, it's not your gear, because you can tap unplugged and it should still make clear sound. If you "need" good gear to be able to hear your tapping/legato, your technique is weak. Again, as stated, you must flick each note when pulling off with your left hand and when pulling off with your tapping finger. It can be a misleading name (pulloffs). Think of them as flick-offs. So, when coming down/hammering the string, make sure you use a good amount of force, and when pulling off, make sure to flick/pluck the string. Happy tapping.
 
I lol'd at this comment:
"i want to learn how to tap like buckethead not like a 5 year old at guitar center..thanks anyways for the video ASSHOLE! "

Well, he's a nice guy, but the examples sound terrible.
 
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