Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Nov. 29 2012, 13:02 |
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Quote (Xavi Martinez @ Nov. 29 2012, 15:16) | Well the L6 is an all maple guitar, which is the reason for the ultra-biting sound it has. |
I wasn't going to go there, as I know some people complain when talk turns to different woods and the sound they impart (especially as the current hot item to fiddle with seems to be pickups, so a lot of people at the moment seem to think they're all that really matters...which I can't say I agree with personally), but yes, I'd also tend to think it's at least partly that hard maple body I'm hearing there.
The strength Mike puts into playing...that's a complex one, I think, and it was going to be the subject of my half-finished post, but I might just say the essence of it here instead. Because...yes, you're totally right, there's a lot of strength going into the way he frets those notes. Getting the right control there, and in the picking, is really the secret to getting any sound you want.
I think one of the biggest mistakes is applying that strength in the wrong way and just squashing the notes, pulling them out of tune and losing all the expression in them. Learning how to apply the pressure in the right way, getting the notes to sing out really clearly and keeping the freedom in that hand to move smoothly and play expressively...that's where it's at!
I'd say the worst is thinking you have to cling on for dear life and really squeezing with the thumb on the back of the neck - particularly if it's also wrapped over the top of the fretboard in a way that all the fingers are hitting the fretboard at an odd angle, all squashed up so they can't move nicely.
Giving the note a really solid amount of downward pressure is the way to get that side to side vibrato to really do what you need it to as well. Coupled with the right picking attack, with the fingernails coming nice and cleanly across the strings (again, if they're somehow squashed up into a claw, or all limp, it's not going to work), it all starts to happen.
Quote | Unfortunately I am afraid that the "tone is in the hands" is very true, and it works in most of the cases. |
I find it quite liberating, actually. If I know I can pick up virtually anything and get it to sound how I want it to, there's a certain kind of freedom that comes with that knowledge, being able to escape that feeling of being constrained by equipment.
Just earlier today, I used that knowledge in a recording I was working on. I was after a more thrashy acoustic guitar sound (kind of like at the end of Ommadawn Part One or something like that). I could have no doubt gone out and spent a fortune buying a new guitar or two to get it...but instead I used a different pick, and there was the sound. Simple trick
Playing with picking techniques can really be interesting, I did a similar thing when I started really getting into jamming with jazz players and wanted to get more of that classic warm, jazzy kind of sound. Did I rush out and buy a few vintage Gibson hollowbody guitars or something? No, I just changed the angle I held the pick in relation to the string, so the tip was slightly sliding across it rather than merely striking it, just to soften the attack a little...and there was the sound I was after.
Not that it isn't good to have nice instruments. They can be really inspiring to play, and there's a kind of feedback loop where the feel of them can make you want to take a different approach, which then changes the sound you're getting yet further...but I think it's also nice to have a few familiar things which you can really get to know inside out. I know people who get stuck in the cycle of just buying new stuff all the time, and they're never happy with the sound - always hoping that the next leap will be the leap home...or something.
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