• From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Topic: Diffrent sounds from your guitar...

I've noticed alot of posts were people are complaining about all the music they play sounding the same... Well I just wanted to stop in and mention a few tips for that. First of all, Something that many people overlook is the pick they use. The pick makes a huge diffrence in the tone of your guitar! A thin pick will cost you volume but will add more treble to your guitar while usually a heavier pick adds volume and more bass. It's a good idea to experiment with diffrent picks and see which ones work best with what song. Also remember that you don't always have to strum over the sound hole. For example, Let's take "Simple Man" by Skynyrd. A nice and easy 3 chord song (C G Am). Play it regular and then try strumming only about an inch from the bridge. Wow what a diffrence, right! It really changes the sound of the song. Anouther good example is "Doesn't Remind Me of Anything" by Audioslave. Just an Em and Asus through most of the song. But if you'll strum the Asus around the 14th fret you'll hear how much better it matches the original. Anouther good idea is to work on your fretting hand. Not all the rhythm from a song comes from the strumming hand. Try holding the chords for diffrent legnths of time and even working in some muted strums to add an underlying beat to the song. Just some ideas..-Pix

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

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  • From: Georgia
  • Registered: 2007-07-09
  • Posts: 381

Re: Diffrent sounds from your guitar...

Those are all good things to change the sounds up. You can add finger techniques such as hammer ons and pull offs to break up the strum pattern also. They both added with good timing will help adapt to more of a lead sound also.

  • From: Texas
  • Registered: 2008-08-05
  • Posts: 256

Re: Diffrent sounds from your guitar...

Pix ... it's funny how I dont know how to do pinch harmonics and when I'm playing, sometimes I'll get this weird sound when I hit the string, I'll look at my pick finger and it's being held in a manner of doing pinch harmonics ... I'll realize I'm doing it and then I can't do it again ... funny stuff tongue

"Rhythm drives the Rock-n-Roll train"

Gibson Les Paul/PRS Custom/Ovation Celebrity Koa
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  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
  • Unofficial king of Scotland
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  • From: Balloch, Scotland, UK, Earth
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 3,290

Re: Diffrent sounds from your guitar...

good thread Pix,

while reading your post I had a few ideas but ye covered them lol

I like to get a different sound by not continually strumming, instead I will strum a chord and lt it ring out while singing, sometimes works and sometimes doesnt.



ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending
  • Registered: 2007-11-27
  • Posts: 39

Re: Diffrent sounds from your guitar...

I gotta go with the hammer ons and pull offs. When my timing is right it kinda sounds like I added a quick melody line to the tune, also toss in some vibrato.....Now ya got a little some, some going.