The importance of hitting hard

  • Thread starter Thread starter SpiderWars
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I play my acoustic percussively like it’s a drum, but also dynamically. Then I go to Electric and I have to really be aware if dynamics. It’s all about awareness and intention. Nothing like some real studio time to make you get your shit together. The more gain, the more intentional your right hand has to be. It’s really easy to have a lot of unintentional noise. Recording is an excellent way to become aware of it.
 
Dynamics are everything....I would also recommend people spend time playing without a pick and learn how to "hide" it or palm it to quickly go back and forth.
 
DanTravis62 said:
He's right. Plus, everyone hates a bitchpicker.

Until they fix their right hand, they will never fix their tone.
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This is why I don’t take many people all that seriously on gear forums unless I’ve heard them play. I’ve seen some arguments pop up, staunch defenders of certain gear and then you hear them play and the gear is still playing them. I can’t trust anything said about gear/guitars unless the person playing it knows how to wring everything out of it.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Never heard that term before lol. Absolutely right though. Gotta play like you mean it.
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I’ve been calling my best friend a bitchpicker for years now. I made him sit in my studio one night and play this same thing over and over until he understood what I was talking about. I had it recorded already, had him record it the way he normally plays then pointed out the differences. He was good for a few months but then stopped practicing and now he’s back to bitchpicking.

 
RevDrucifer said:
This is why I don’t take many people all that seriously on gear forums unless I’ve heard them play. I’ve seen some arguments pop up, staunch defenders of certain gear and then you hear them play and the gear is still playing them. I can’t trust anything said about gear/guitars unless the person playing it knows how to wring everything out of it.
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you can take me seriously. I fuckin suck and I'll never post a motherfuckin clip to prove it....
 
RevDrucifer said:
This is why I don’t take many people all that seriously on gear forums unless I’ve heard them play. I’ve seen some arguments pop up, staunch defenders of certain gear and then you hear them play and the gear is still playing them. I can’t trust anything said about gear/guitars unless the person playing it knows how to wring everything out of it.
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This is 3000% true.

It's the gear forum equivalent of "post physique."

Everything certainly makes more sense after you hear them play - and it sounds like "plink plink *fart noise* plink plink" instead of KERRRANG.

I'm certainly not yngwie fucking malmsteen or anything, but no one HAS to be, to be taken seriously - it's just a matter of being good enough for the gear to even matter.
 
I have a very heavy pick hand that helps drives my Superlead nicely into distortion w/ a great tone. When friends play through it with a very light pick hand (bitchpicker LOL), they wonder why my amp sounds so different and less distorted / thin and weak. Tone is definitely in the hands as well as amp.
 
matttornado said:
I have a very heavy pick hand that helps drives my Superlead nicely into distortion w/ a great tone. When friends play through it with a very light pick hand (bitchpicker LOL), they wonder why my amp sounds so different and less distorted / thin and weak. Tone is definitely in the hands as well as amp.
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Here comes the tone is in the hands vs gear argument. But I'm not arguing because you are absolutely correct. It's both. It's absolutely both. 99% of those debating it are stubborn in their insistence that it's one OR the other. You can't get a good tone if your hands are not up to the task and a great player through a garbage amp will sound like great playing with poor tone.
 
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thegame said:
Here comes the tone is in the hands vs gear argument. But I'm not arguing because you are absolutely correct. It's both. It's absolutely both. 99% of those debating it are stubborn in their insistence that it's one OR the other. You can't get a good tone if your hands are not up to the task and a great player through a garbage amp will sound like a great playing with poor tone.
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I think part of it is in the definition: when I say "tone" the vast majority of the time I mean "the sound characteristics of the gear that are there irrespective of the player."

Lots of people seem to mean "the combination of a specific player's idiosyncratic technique with whatever gear they choose."
 
RevDrucifer said:
This is why I don’t take many people all that seriously on gear forums unless I’ve heard them play. I’ve seen some arguments pop up, staunch defenders of certain gear and then you hear them play and the gear is still playing them. I can’t trust anything said about gear/guitars unless the person playing it knows how to wring everything out of it.
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No truer words. You can’t buy talent and experience. Just time to develop things if that’s your priority.
 
1. buy an expensive amp. Take pictures of it, and enjoy the post count on your nad thread
2. post as much as you can to catch the guy with the most posts that is the expert of the forum (this is way more important that practice)
3. make sure to parrot everything that you have seen written at least three times.
4. Never make a clip, lest others know how much you suck

Congrats, You are a fucking Superstar on Rig-talk
 
I was more heavy handed earlier on, not to the point of banging stuff out of tune, but it was at the expense of some dynamic control and finesse when that was required. One thing that I've noticed that improves my overall dynamics and control is practicing unplugged. It may not be particularly inspiring to write that way, but if I'm woodshedding it can be super helpful. You have to really commit with both hands to make stuff pop that way. Whenever I hash out something that's giving me problems that way, I feel like I get a better handle on it quicker.
 
fearhk213 said:
I was more heavy handed earlier on, not to the point of banging stuff out of tune, but it was at the expense of some dynamic control and finesse when that was required. One thing that I've noticed that improves my overall dynamics and control is practicing unplugged. It may not be particularly inspiring to write that way, but if I'm woodshedding it can be super helpful. You have to really commit with both hands to make stuff pop that way. Whenever I hash out something that's giving me problems that way, I feel like I get a better handle on it quicker.
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playing unplugged is something that a lot of us that play metal don't do. If you let that low "e" ring, most of the time, unplugged it will rattle in a way that it unfavorable. When amplified, it doesn't amplify because it is too subtle. But I am heavy handed when playing music that dictates it, which is most of the music i play. I could probably get away with a higher action on electric, but I don't fret buzz amplified. On acoustic, my action is a bit higher than normal, because my volume comes from that strum. Playing soft and technical has it's place, but if you aren't pushing your amp with your picking hand, it is pretty disgusting if you are playing high gain, imo.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
cant believe that mc25 sounds that big. That is interesting.
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Its a little monster to be sure, and that's not even close to being opened up. We have two guitars in the band, but you're only hearing my rig right there. I just posted some other live clips of it in the Wizard sub forum here but its apparent how much more the Wizard cuts through everything vs other guys rig.....

re: hitting it hard, this amp will chug with the best of them and hits way above its weight class, especially with a strong right hand. But, it will also go crystal clear clean with a light touch from right where its running in that video
 
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