Whammy bar harmonics with single coils?

JJLipton · Post by **JJLipton** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 3:05 am

So i've been trying to do some whammy bar harmonics to make cool screaming horse noises lately, but i've been having some difficulty. I'm using a fender blues jr with a line 6 pod, which i noticed already makes it harder to do pinch harmonics. My guitar is a SSS strat, which i feel doesn't help much either. Also i currently got 3 springs on the trem claw which makes it harder to press down than the traditional 2. I've been practicing the technique over and over again without much success. Since this is a forum with many single coil users, does anyone else have this issue?

JJLipton · Post by **JJLipton** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 3:53 am

Well so far i've had to actually pick out the harmonic to get it to really jump out of the guitar. This obviously works best on the G string. It doesn't seem to really sound as natural as the people doing it with a hammer on. All these kiddies on youtube with their ibanez jems are guitar playing robots i swear.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:33 am

I think it's not so much single coils but more to do with the gain of the pickup. it's quite a quiet sound so you can really only do the cool effects with it when you have really hot pickups. something like a duncan 1/4 pounder would be a single coil that wouldn't have any problem with this.

how do you do it by hammering on? I can only do it by brushing the string with my thumb while picking.

JJLipton · Post by **JJLipton** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 6:07 pm

Ah i see, well it's not really pinch harmonics with brushing the thumb. It's also not really a tap harmonic that involves lightly tapping the string like the beginning to the "beat it" solo or "dance the night away" by eddie van halen. heres an example The guy is pretty weird but he makes it look so easy

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:21 pm

haha, cool video. what so he's not tapping the string? hmm, I'll try some of this stuff out when I get home but I think he's still just tapping the string, he's just doing it a slightly different way.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:13 pm

Lots of gain will help for sure. Any pedal that gets that high gain metal thang happening - for example the Danelectro FAB pedal is a harmonics monster. Its just THAT kind of distortion. Higher output pickups probably add to the mix too I guess

There is a knack to the hammer on harmonic thing which is similar to slap style in that when you get it right theres a certain knack - the right speed the right 'snap' - just keep trying and when it works pay attention to how the physical sensations felt. Mentally aim for that again. You'll start to get it right more and more as you brain makes the pathways and the muscles learn the correct movements. In other words: practice.

If you want to see an absolutley mental master of making harmonics anywhere on the fretboard there's Mattias Eklundh and here's a how to he did. At the end of the second vid he shows how he hits the string with his finger joint:

[youtube][/youtube]

[youtube][/youtube]

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:57 am

dude, whaaat. that guy is insane. in the other video he's getting ring mod sounds out of his guitar all by itself by using dissonant harmonics.

[youtube][/youtube]

JJLipton · Post by **JJLipton** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:28 am

Oh i know what you mean, some pedals just seem to have a thick harmonic quality to their distortion. I owned a boss metal zone that was good for that kind of stuff. I much prefer the aggressive "Brown sound" however, over the compressed mt2 style gain. Mike if you ever feel like putting your JVM or jcm800 on a very small boat and pushing it in the direction of the U.S., please aim for the New York. I'll be in the harbor waiting.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 7:45 am

Yup and he doesn't need a whammy pedal either! I may not be into his music but he has some masterful tech skills.