General Music Chat

This is more about finding and layering tone but I am
talking about layering styles of play as well. There are many tricks
like pulling everyother string off a 12 string guitar and playing that.
Or play like it's a banjo or making your guitar sound like a
pedal steel. Blend that kinda stuff appropriatley and you've
got something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbDyUwQFUZA

Thanks Klug,

I was wondering if that was what you meant, but your usage didn't come across specific enough for me to catch that.

Here's a cool Nashville trick. Put ultra lights on the first 3 strings and use standard lights on E, A, & D, and then tune the ultra lights an octave higher. Nashville cats cheat a lot. They use combined and unusual tunings just for effect. Lots of strange tricks.

A guitar picker in this area used to weave the foil from a pack of cigarettes through the strings near the bridge. He ran a single strip about 1" wide over one string and under the next. (take it off the paper backing to lighten it so it doesn't deaden the strings too much) That makes a guitar sound very banjo like. A friend used to do that and play the "Foggy Mountain Breakdown".
If you weren't paying close attention when you walked into the club you would look for a banjo.

I'd like to hear your guy at his best sometime. He sounds like he has a few good ideas.

That's exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Only players that have
been arround the block a few times do that stuff. He also teaches music sciences
with Bil Vorndick. A multi grammy winner. Look him up.

I'm really good at pancake layering.

A guitar picker in this area used to weave the foil from a pack of cigarettes through the strings near the bridge. He ran a single strip about 1" wide over one string and under the next. (take it off the paper backing to lighten it so it doesn't deaden the strings too much) That makes a guitar sound very banjo like. A friend used to do that and play the "Foggy Mountain Breakdown".
If you weren't paying close attention when you walked into the club you would look for a banjo.

[/quote]

I was thinking about trying the old bandana at the end of the neck trick to deaden unwanted noise. But I'm thinking that could take away some of the raw emotion I want to convey.

Know any other tricks I could experiment with? I'm about to record new music, so I would love to make some animated sounds where needed.

I was thinking about trying the old bandana at the end of the neck trick to deaden unwanted noise. But I'm thinking that could take away some of the raw emotion I want to convey.

Know any other tricks I could experiment with? I'm about to record new music, so I would love to make some animated sounds where needed.

How deep down the rabbit hole do you wanna go?

I was thinking about trying the old bandana at the end of the neck trick to deaden unwanted noise. But I'm thinking that could take away some of the raw emotion I want to convey.

Know any other tricks I could experiment with? I'm about to record new music, so I would love to make some animated sounds where needed.

How deep down the rabbit hole do you wanna go?

I prefer to make things organic. I don't want to use too many effects. I'm willing to try anything, just as long as it doesen't jack up my guitars.

I was thinking about trying the old bandana at the end of the neck trick to deaden unwanted noise. But I'm thinking that could take away some of the raw emotion I want to convey.

Know any other tricks I could experiment with? I'm about to record new music, so I would love to make some animated sounds where needed.

How deep down the rabbit hole do you wanna go?

I prefer to make things organic. I don't want to use too many effects. I'm willing to try anything, just as long as it doesen't jack up my guitars.

Anything that creates or alters a vibration is fair game, from screwdrivers and drumsticks to power tools and ladies' vibrators.

Damn, my vibrator is burnt out.

yea K thats what your gf said! LOL

I love playing with effects pedals and getting weird sounds.

Two great noise pedals, and I know you want organic, but these dont hurt the guitar are a Whammy Pedal and a Delay Pedal. I have one of those green line 6 delay modelers in my pedal board. We play Whole Lotta Love by Zep in our sets. You know the noise section before the guitar solo break? I can emulate that live with the pedal and the whammy. I have one of the presets in my delay pedal set for an old analog echoplex, now I have it set in the board for very tight repeats. When we get to the noise break and our drummer starts hitting his hi hat, I hit the tempo switch in time to him, it gives me these nice long repeats. I scrap the strings and it gets those little sounds you hear on there. Then I have the wahmmy set at a 2 octave up setting and I can make those long bending sounds. Plus hit harmonics in the middle and give it those little creapy sound sin there when Plant is moaning. It really comes across good in our show and people always ask afterwards how did you do that?

The great thing aobut a whammy pedal also is you can have it set to a 1 octave drop and with a fixed bridge get that drops people do at the ends of songs and come back perfectly in tune. A Lot of Van Halen songs we do have that at the end, where you hit your low e string, drop it slowly with the pedal then kick it out and finish wiht a little minor chord.

The whammy once again can be set for a 5th above and you can get a cool octave guitar sound for your solos. I do this on Cant Get Enough and The Boys are Back In Town.

If your into newer music say Rages Kiling in the Name, the solo on there is a simple pattern in the D pentatonic scale with the Whammy set on 2 octaves up.

If you combine a WHammy and one of those Electro Harmonix mini Synths you can really get some wild ambient sounds. On my player listen to the song the FUnk, its a medley and Im using the whammy and synth pedall al the way thru.

Good Luck, making noises with a guitar is a lot of fun both recording and palying live if you have the right tools.

Thanks for that insight JW.

Kruliosis,

Other than use various tunings as rhythm tracks along with a standard tuning track, try using a capo on the 12th fret. Then play along with your first rhythm track. Then while you are mixing down the tracks take the octave track and let it come through the background mix occasionally where you think it adds to the mix. That's another Nashville trick used to fatten a mix. That also has a tendency to catch the listeners ear of you don't over play it.

One trick that I use is to record a once through jam track while listening to the original lead track. Then take the good licks from that jam track and isolate them by cutting all the crap that clutters the mix .... even if some of the licks are your best ones. They have to complement the original track, not take away from it.
Then, while not over using them, drag some chops to an extreme right track, and others to an extreme Left track while in editing mode. Alternate the chops occasionally left right left right or something on that order. Whatever sounds best. I most always just record a single lead track all the way through without edits. (That's why you hear the bummer notes on my stuff as well as the good stuff.) A lot of the time I just record a vocal and a lead/rhythm track at one pass. Rhythm while I sing, and the lead in between the vocals.
But when I multi track, I add the pieces of a jam track as described above.

Probably nothing anyone else isn't aware of, but for the few who don't record like that it may help them get a fatter sounding mix.


Most guitar tricks are really cool until they are over used. The fuzz, the wah, the echo, and reverb were all over used after the first recording using them hit the air waves. Just like the Cher voice warble using Autotune. Then, just as today, every recording after the first one used them until they pretty much wore them out.

A guitar picker in this area used to weave the foil from a pack of cigarettes through the strings near the bridge. He ran a single strip about 1" wide over one string and under the next. (take it off the paper backing to lighten it so it doesn't deaden the strings too much) That makes a guitar sound very banjo like. A friend used to do that and play the "Foggy Mountain Breakdown".
If you weren't paying close attention when you walked into the club you would look for a banjo.

I was thinking about trying the old bandana at the end of the neck trick to deaden unwanted noise. But I'm thinking that could take away some of the raw emotion I want to convey.

Know any other tricks I could experiment with? I'm about to record new music, so I would love to make some animated sounds where needed. [/quote]

I've heard of tying a sock around the end of the neck to deaden that noise, plenty.
Old studio trick apparently.

Some good advice here!

I have to use my digital delay for lead parts. Don't know why that is really, I suppose it's just something I'm drawn to, but don't really need. I would like to try out some more of the more unusual Electro Harmonix effects.

That capo idea is a clever one. Can't say I've ever heard of that method in recording before.

Some good advice here!

I have to use my digital delay for lead parts. Don't know why that is really, I suppose it's just something I'm drawn to, but don't really need. I would like to try out some more of the more unusual Electro Harmonix effects.

That capo idea is a clever one. Can't say I've ever heard of that method in recording before.

Is there a certain vibe you're going for?

Some good advice here!

I have to use my digital delay for lead parts. Don't know why that is really, I suppose it's just something I'm drawn to, but don't really need. I would like to try out some more of the more unusual Electro Harmonix effects.

That capo idea is a clever one. Can't say I've ever heard of that method in recording before.

Is there a certain vibe you're going for?

For rhythm, no. For leads, well, some, but I know over-use of any effect(s) can subtract emotion. Any lead I do play is not for very long, and mostly has a rhythm players style all over it. My goal is the element of surprise through sound, rather than trying to awe people with what people call "shredding" today.

EDIT: Trip out on this peeps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltCR3lP5c0A