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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Speed And More Speed!
Posted by: Daniel Robinson Apr 11 2008, 11:47 PM
I have seen several posts talking about speed. I just wanted to take a little time to discuss another thing besides practicing with a metronome for hours and hours. Once you reach a certain point in your playing speed your gonna hit a barrier unless your guitar is in top notch shape.
Your not gonna win the Daytona 500 in a Geo Metro. So it stands to reason if your playing a guitar thats not set up properly for playing fast your not gonna get much more out of it. As you progress as a player your going to want to start looking for a guitar that fits your hand almost perfectly. Is the shape of the neck too fat? Too thin? Are the strings too close together? Too far apart?
What about fret size? For example play 3nps starting on the high E string starting at the 12th fret play 12th 13th 15th. Now completely relax your hand and place your fingers on the fret board in that posistion...does your index finger middle finger and pinky line up naturally with those 3 frets? Maybe your hand is a bit bigger and you need extra jumbo frets....maybe your hand is a bit smaller and needs small frets.
Action height plays a large part in speed as well. Is your action on your guitar set as low as it will go without buzzing? The less pressure you have to exert to sound a note the faster you will be able to play. String gauge plays a part as well. The best advice i can give here is use the lightest gauge string possible without compromising the tone you want.
Me personally i use .009 to .042 D'Addario Nickel Wound strings they have the tone i am looking for and have a nice light gauge to them.
All of these things are going to help you to play faster. Its all about conservation of motion and energy. You don't want to be fighting the instrument.
You look at a shred player like Yngwie for example i have played his signature model thats been set up to his exact specs and let me tell ya its the easiest guitar to play i ever picked up. You barely have to exert any pressure at all to fret a note. When you can play as relaxed as possible your going to acheive much great speed because your not expending all your finger strength pushing down on the string.
Once you start reaching some of your first speed goals think about how you can improve your own guitar to make it easier to play. Or start shopping for a new axe that fits you better.
Daniel
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Apr 12 2008, 12:12 AM
Some great tips Daniel, thanks a lot fro sharing! 
Posted by: RIP Dime Apr 12 2008, 12:22 AM
Good stuff. I have a $200 guitar that plays pretty good, but when I play it next to another guitar that I have that was more expensive and set up with low action, it's like night and day, the guitar isn't in my way anymore, it's an extion of my hands. Preference is also a big factor, some people like thin Jackson or Ibanez necks, some prefer fat necks, there are even guitars out there with a V neck carve(DEAN!), that feel great, so you have a big selection. Body shapes affect playing too, how the guitar fits your body when you're standing up or sitting down, some prefer body and forearm cuts, but I sure don't some prefer strat shapes, pointy shapes, it all matters.
Having a guitar that matches your preferences and that is set up well will not get in your way when you are playing. It lets you play the guitar.
Posted by: Trond Vold Apr 12 2008, 12:40 AM
That was a a very good and informative post
Posted by: skennington Apr 12 2008, 01:38 AM
It's funny you posted this Daniel. I'm at that very point now. I feel like the setup on my guitar is holding me back. Had it in the shop once already but the luthier there came down with the flu the same day I took it in. Never got it setup properly and I know it needs it.
Maybe this post is what I needed to force me to take it back and just wait. This guy is really good and atm, has a 3 wk lead time but hell, I know it'll be worth it.
Thanks for the tips man!
Posted by: Tjchep Apr 12 2008, 01:49 AM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_7-zD2IQYTw
Amazing video must watch. Follows up perfectly on your economy of motion comment.
Posted by: rokchik Apr 12 2008, 03:10 AM
An excellent and informative post Daniel.
I know we've talked to no end here on the forum about fundamentals that will help you get faster, and loads of practice tips however I think this is the first time I've seen the set up of the guitar discussed (I could be very wrong on that and if I am I apologize) I think this post will be very helpful to anyone who maybe questioning their gear or just what to consider when looking for a new guitar (which is also a frequently discussed topic). Also I think guitar maintenance and set up should be something every guitar player should learn. I mean the more you understand about your instrument the better I think.
Thanks for sharing.
rok
Posted by: Nemanja Filipovic Apr 12 2008, 07:30 PM
Great tips there Daniel.....thanks for sharing your knowlege .
Posted by: Hisham Al-Sanea Apr 12 2008, 07:32 PM
agree
Posted by: Pablo Vazquez Apr 13 2008, 06:07 PM
Great! Thanks for sharing Daniel!!
Posted by: steve25 Apr 13 2008, 06:47 PM
Good tips, i'm thinking of lowering my action as i'm not sure if it's too high, but i don't know how to do it
Posted by: kyldeee Apr 13 2008, 07:09 PM
Thanks man for the tips
Posted by: erik Apr 13 2008, 07:21 PM
I've never given much thought to this before! Thanks
Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Apr 14 2008, 12:10 AM
Great tips Daniel !
Posted by: Lian Gerbino Apr 14 2008, 05:21 PM
Great tips! daniel
nice to know that people like u stay here! 
Posted by: Bondy Apr 14 2008, 05:39 PM
Top Top tips there thank loads
Posted by: at lights end Apr 14 2008, 06:09 PM
great post! very useful knowledge, thanks!
what kind of bridge do you have?
Posted by: coffeeman Apr 14 2008, 06:26 PM
Thanks for the tips Daniel , and now that u say it , I feel that the frest from my ibanez are to small for me, I will look for bigger frets.
Posted by: kjutte Jul 20 2008, 02:21 PM
Your not gonna win the Daytona 500 in a Geo Metro. So it stands to reason if your playing a guitar thats not set up properly for playing fast your not gonna get much more out of it. As you progress as a player your going to want to start looking for a guitar that fits your hand almost perfectly. Is the shape of the neck too fat? Too thin? Are the strings too close together? Too far apart?
What about fret size? For example play 3nps starting on the high E string starting at the 12th fret play 12th 13th 15th. Now completely relax your hand and place your fingers on the fret board in that posistion...does your index finger middle finger and pinky line up naturally with those 3 frets? Maybe your hand is a bit bigger and you need extra jumbo frets....maybe your hand is a bit smaller and needs small frets.
Action height plays a large part in speed as well. Is your action on your guitar set as low as it will go without buzzing? The less pressure you have to exert to sound a note the faster you will be able to play. String gauge plays a part as well. The best advice i can give here is use the lightest gauge string possible without compromising the tone you want.
Me personally i use .009 to .042 D'Addario Nickel Wound strings they have the tone i am looking for and have a nice light gauge to them.
All of these things are going to help you to play faster. Its all about conservation of motion and energy. You don't want to be fighting the instrument.
You look at a shred player like Yngwie for example i have played his signature model thats been set up to his exact specs and let me tell ya its the easiest guitar to play i ever picked up. You barely have to exert any pressure at all to fret a note. When you can play as relaxed as possible your going to acheive much great speed because your not expending all your finger strength pushing down on the string.
Once you start reaching some of your first speed goals think about how you can improve your own guitar to make it easier to play. Or start shopping for a new axe that fits you better.
Daniel
I talked to my local guitarshop about gauges, and God said that all pickups are originally desgined for .012 strings, actually. Seemingly makes a huge difference.
Posted by: Daniel Robinson Jul 20 2008, 02:26 PM
String gauge is personal preference, some people like big beefy strings. Thats why i said, lightest gauge string that "Doesnt" compromise the tone your looking for.
As far as .012 gauge strings, unless the action height on your guitar is next to nothing your not going to be able to play very fast with them unless you are some sort of mutant
Daniel
Posted by: Smikey2006 Jul 20 2008, 03:32 PM
Thanks for all the speed tips! Shred was one thing i really have troubles with, speed across strings just isn't my thing i guess but some of your tips make alot of sence and are making me rethink speed. One of the things i did was actually try an Ibanez, and wow are those necks fast! They are like designed to be speedy! and now im really interested in getting and xiphos 7 string to replace my Damien 7.. 
who would have thought speed would have been the fallouts of my beloved schecter 
Strings are one thing i will never change again.. Elixer .10's on everything
Posted by: kjutte Jul 20 2008, 03:33 PM
As far as .012 gauge strings, unless the action height on your guitar is next to nothing your not going to be able to play very fast with them unless you are some sort of mutant
Daniel
I know man, I am talking about pickup design.
Posted by: IDontWantMyUsername Jul 20 2008, 03:39 PM
Great post! Takes up a lot of important topics that otherwise could be forgotten easily
Posted by: kjutte Jul 20 2008, 03:45 PM
who would have thought speed would have been the fallouts of my beloved schecter Strings are one thing i will never change again.. Elixer .10's on everything 10s are nice
Posted by: Muris Varajic Jul 20 2008, 03:51 PM
Nice topics and opinions Daniel,thanks.
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