Problem Playing? Nah, It's Just An Opportunity!
Gabriel Leopardi
Jun 10 2014, 03:20 PM
Instructor
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From: Argentina
I recently got contacted by a student who asked if I thought it was possible to learn sweeping on a high action guitar.

I told him that in the very beginning it could actually be an advantage when you start practicing sweeping on a high-action guitar, because most people tend to try to push speed too much when practicing this kind of stuff.

Do you have a problem which you think hinders you? Let’s discuss it here!

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Socky42
Jun 10 2014, 03:53 PM
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Not a technical problem, but i'm REALLY inconsistent with my playing. One day I can play for hours on end and nail everything perfectly; the next day everything sounds like s**t laugh.gif

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Cosmin Lupu
Jun 11 2014, 08:31 AM
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From: Bucharest
QUOTE (Socky42 @ Jun 10 2014, 02:53 PM) *
Not a technical problem, but i'm REALLY inconsistent with my playing. One day I can play for hours on end and nail everything perfectly; the next day everything sounds like s**t laugh.gif


It can always be a matter of mindstate smile.gif one day you are feeling great and powered with energy and in another one you may feel like not such a great performer. All you have to do is get better at analyzing yourself and then knowing what to do in days in which technique for instance is not your greatest asset. Maybe play the acoustic and come up with some nice soothing melodies - gain! Not loss wink.gif

How do you feel about this?

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Ben Higgins
Jun 11 2014, 08:47 AM
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From: England
High action and scalloped frets doesn't stop Yngwie !

I think if one can learn to do what they want to do with a higher action it will better in the long run. That's if they're the type of player who really likes to bend a lot and get heavy with the vibrato.

I'll always remember something Kris said about using your limitations as your inspiration. I think that's got to be one of the best pieces of advice any musician can heed. By finding a way around our limitations we will discover other ways of expressing a lick or phrase. That's really what I think Steve Vai was meaning when he said that famous 'I ignored my weaknesses' sentence. That phrase was very misunderstood. He just meant that he used his strengths to find different ways of expressing himself, instead of spending years getting bogged down with trying to nail a technique that he wasn't 100% at.

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Mith
Jun 11 2014, 09:45 AM
Learning Apprentice Player
Posts: 428
Joined: 19-May 14
From: Australia
QUOTE (Ben Higgins @ Jun 11 2014, 03:47 PM) *
High action and scalloped frets doesn't stop Yngwie !

I think if one can learn to do what they want to do with a higher action it will better in the long run. That's if they're the type of player who really likes to bend a lot and get heavy with the vibrato.

I'll always remember something Kris said about using your limitations as your inspiration. I think that's got to be one of the best pieces of advice any musician can heed. By finding a way around our limitations we will discover other ways of expressing a lick or phrase. That's really what I think Steve Vai was meaning when he said that famous 'I ignored my weaknesses' sentence. That phrase was very misunderstood. He just meant that he used his strengths to find different ways of expressing himself, instead of spending years getting bogged down with trying to nail a technique that he wasn't 100% at.


Why does higher action help with string bends and vibrato?

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Gabriel Leopardi
Jun 11 2014, 02:45 PM
Instructor
Posts: 36.043
Joined: 3-March 07
From: Argentina
QUOTE (Ben Higgins @ Jun 11 2014, 04:47 AM) *
High action and scalloped frets doesn't stop Yngwie !

I think if one can learn to do what they want to do with a higher action it will better in the long run. That's if they're the type of player who really likes to bend a lot and get heavy with the vibrato.

I'll always remember something Kris said about using your limitations as your inspiration. I think that's got to be one of the best pieces of advice any musician can heed. By finding a way around our limitations we will discover other ways of expressing a lick or phrase. That's really what I think Steve Vai was meaning when he said that famous 'I ignored my weaknesses' sentence. That phrase was very misunderstood. He just meant that he used his strengths to find different ways of expressing himself, instead of spending years getting bogged down with trying to nail a technique that he wasn't 100% at.



This are very wise words. We use to get obsessed and practice for hours that technique that we can't master and maybe that's not our thing, we could use that time wisely making music using our strength side. This doesn't mean that we don't have to practice but we have to be balanced, analyze ourselves and find those things that are more natural for us.

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Ben Higgins
Jun 11 2014, 07:03 PM
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From: England
QUOTE (Mith @ Jun 11 2014, 09:45 AM) *
Why does higher action help with string bends and vibrato?


You can get your finger tips behind the strings better and it's easier to bend them if they are higher off the fretboard. The higher clearance just makes it easier to get them placed on your fingertips and keep them there.

With a very low action or a guitar with small frets it can be hard to keep the string in place. It often slips out in the middle of a bend. This is also why I don't like playing old Strats with the tiny frets and compound radius.

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Cosmin Lupu
Jun 12 2014, 08:26 AM
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Wise words from Ben! smile.gif Exploiting your strengths in order to become as good as possible, while not banging your head against a wall because you can't execute a difficult technique which maybe was not meant for you, is the way to go. Not everyone of us is Guthrie and more often than not, we choose to ignore our strong points out of the sheer obsession of shredding like Y, X or Z when maybe we can shred like ourselves smile.gif

In respect to high action - the strings also have more space to vibrate, so tone is much nicer on a guitar that allows the strings to vibrate smile.gif

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Mith
Jun 12 2014, 10:01 AM
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From: Australia
yeah, in 2 minds about raising my a little. Mines crazy low and I use light gauge on my main. Tho I do have a very light touch

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Cosmin Lupu
Jun 12 2014, 11:06 AM
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QUOTE (Mith @ Jun 12 2014, 09:01 AM) *
yeah, in 2 minds about raising my a little. Mines crazy low and I use light gauge on my main. Tho I do have a very light touch


I liked the feeling of a light touch myself, but since I started playing in lower tunings, I enjoyed a deeper tone and I understood something smile.gif

I want more tone than player friendliness, so I am willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of having a guitar sound amazing - Gary Moore had high action and hell man - THAT TONE smile.gif Of course, it was made up by more elements but the high action had a lot of influence, out of what I know..

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Mith
Jun 12 2014, 03:15 PM
Learning Apprentice Player
Posts: 428
Joined: 19-May 14
From: Australia
QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Jun 12 2014, 06:06 PM) *
I liked the feeling of a light touch myself, but since I started playing in lower tunings, I enjoyed a deeper tone and I understood something smile.gif

I want more tone than player friendliness, so I am willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of having a guitar sound amazing - Gary Moore had high action and hell man - THAT TONE smile.gif Of course, it was made up by more elements but the high action had a lot of influence, out of what I know..


I'm not completely sold on the thicker strings = more tone. There are way to many factors and there are way too many that disprove that theory. I think its more pick the gauge that makes you play what you want best and thats where your tone will come from.

The one side effect I found from using light gauge strings and detuning (providing you have a light touch and picking) is harmonics are everywhere. getting a pinch harmonic anywhere is a breeze and I love being able to manipulate where I pinch from to get a different sounding pinches.

Its also funny watching other people play on my main because everything is either sharp or flat since the notes move so easy.

Have considered giving a scolloped a shot. Maybe get a bolt on neck for the SX I have laying around. least be amusing

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Gabriel Leopardi
Jun 13 2014, 03:28 AM
Instructor
Posts: 36.043
Joined: 3-March 07
From: Argentina
QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Jun 12 2014, 07:06 AM) *
I liked the feeling of a light touch myself, but since I started playing in lower tunings, I enjoyed a deeper tone and I understood something smile.gif

I want more tone than player friendliness, so I am willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of having a guitar sound amazing - Gary Moore had high action and hell man - THAT TONE smile.gif Of course, it was made up by more elements but the high action had a lot of influence, out of what I know..



I'm slowly going on this direction. We just need to practice a bit more. I put these on my guitars and I'm very happy. I was using standard 010 gauge previously.

Attached Image



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Cosmin Lupu
Jun 13 2014, 01:17 PM
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From: Bucharest
Mith, I was referring to the idea in which having to play low, I started using higher gauges and I loved the sound. I am not saying that higher gauges are necessarily responsible for great tone, but they do make a low tuning shine wink.gif

I do love the tone of fresh strings on a clean tone when dealing with drop C or drop A, there's something there that standard tuning doesn't have.

What's your favorite tuning, with what string gauges and why?

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