The big thing that affects your tone is your palm muting technique if you play metal. The closer to the bridge you palm mute, the less of the note is actually getting muted, therefore the flubbier the sound. I, personally, palm mute right on top of the bridge pickup on my Ibanez, which is usually tuned to C standard, and on my Gibson, which is either in standard or Eb, I palm mute right up against the bridge. The Gibson's bridge pickup is a LOT closer to the bridge than the Ibanez, so that is my reasoning for using the flubtastic area. Big, mahogony bodied guitar =/= dark guitar.


Another thing that can and will affect your tone is the location of where your pick is hitting the strings. Closer to the neck = bassier, closer to the bridge = treblier. (Yes, I just made up two words in one sentence, fuck you if you don't like those words.)


Another thing (sort of a big one if you call yourself a guitarist at all) is where your fingers land on the frets. Your tone (and technique) will always be better if you're closer to the fret you intend to hit than the one behind it. Middle of the gap in between the frets = not good. You will have buzz.








To the spectacular mods of this wonderful forum: Put this where it belongs, because I don't have a clue where to put it.

Actual music discussion? WTF do you think this place is?

But yeah, I've been changing up my palm muting technique a bit lately. The majority of my palm muting is still done pretty much right at the bridge, but every once in a while when I want that Anthrax-ish chug I'll move closer to the neck.

If you're going for a sound that involves chugging on anything but a power chord (or sustaining palm mutes), closer to the bridge is the way to go. I like the tightness of being on top of the bridge pickup, though. Different palm mutes fit different styles of playing, for sure.


Let's not forget that picking hard sounds better in 99% of circumstances. Unless you're playing blues, jazz, or country. Any of the distorted genres always get better results when you pick hard. I, for one, beat the living shit out of my guitars. I seriously break a top string at least once a month.

and to the people who don't play metal and only palm mute very sparingly?

WE DON"T CARE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

the tid bit on where you place you fingers on the fret board is something i have been working on though...

That's what the other 2 parts are for. Anyone and everyone. Guys who play 3 chord country ballads in G C and D can benefit from them.

My palm muting technique is pretty much set in stone. The 'blade' of my hand is parallel to the saddles, and it plops right where the string begins. Maximum bass with audible note sustain...

You don't need to pick hard, you just need Picard.

Goddamn pressure is important when it comes to fretting.

The biggest mistake my students used to make (that makes me sound like I am actually good at guitar, do not be mistaken I am quite terrible) at the shop was pressing down on the frets way to hard. Press too hard and the note becomes sharp. This can be a big deal when playing/recording with another guitarist, because everyone tunes the open string notes. But, if one player applies to more/too much pressure when fretting, then he will always be sharp and the guitarists will always be noticeably out of tune.

I tend to move my hand around for certain types of riffs. Any time that I'm palm muting chords I tend to palm mute as close to the bridge as I can, but as soon as I'm back to single notes I'm back onto the bridge pickup. Then again, I play thrash and that area is where the thrashy palm mute sound comes from. That and downstrokes wherever possible.


Pressure does have a huge effect when fretting... you want a clear note but don't choke the neck. It also slows your fingers down when you're fretting that hard.
I used to have that problem... I never could get certain chords to be in tune. I can say that technique wise I've improved tenfold over the last year or so... just mostly from playing the same riffs over and over and working on tightness.


As with anything musical, experimentation is key. What works for you may not work for others. Always tinker around with EVERYTHING and find out what sounds good and is comfortable for you. Otherwise you can't call yourself a creative musician.

This.

although if you intonate your guitar with respect to how hard you press on your strings this shouldn't be a problem.

hmmm we don't really have a place for technique... This is a fine place for it. I wax trying to figure where to put my cable discussion at...

I played a floating bridge for so long I got used to the fine line of pressure, and now with mostly fixed bridges on my guitars it's so nice to not worry about it. I mute off the bridge, generally about an inch or half in front of the bride. I tend to pick just before the bridge pup.

I tend to mute pretty close to the bridge, personally.


I am also a fairly heavy handed player, I whack the shit out of the strings on power chords and the like, though can be soft when the context requires it.
But, when it's time for rawkin'...
Dude, you better not be using that babydick limpwrist approach.

I pick and palm mute all over. Depends on what kind of noise i am looking to make. I don't think too hard about the specifics of it, but i do know i pick all over the place.

I pick like a Neanderthal on heavy (or heavy-ish) strings with 2 and 3mm picks. I'm kind of a ham-fisted (emphasis on the fisted... no, not like that! I'm saying I'm a clumsy heavy-handed picker!) inefficient player. There's way too much forearm in my picking. Given the mile-high action on my guitars as well it shocks people that I can play as well as I can. I throw everything out of tune, too. At first I thought I was stringing things up wrong, until I realized I make other people's guitars go out too.

My technique, considering Snaxie as a whole, is almost ironic in its un-nuanced unsubtlety. I'm basically flailing away hammering at the thing.

...and spend a lot of time playing acoustic, which contributes to my having really consistent dynamics. There really isn't anything I can't play well electric that I can't do equally well with an acoustic, and this includes soloing.

At least you're not a pansy.

I'm a fucking warrior.

Even for high gain stuff, I've always- at least since I was aware of these things- been preferential toward clobbering the guitar and pushing the amp hard. I've never been a light strings/light touch guy. No toan to be had there. Moving air (or driving a smaller amp/less efficient speakers) counts for a lot. It's the sound of rock guitar, and you can only get so close without it.

And re: palm muting, it's generally higher up versus closer to the bridge. I tend to prefer a tighter, choked sound. Once a thrasher, always a thrasher, I guess. Though I no longer have the sheer endurance when it comes to downpicking.

Also, I vibrato chords. Especially with heavier distorted stuff. Blame it on Black Sabbath. There's some elements of playing metal that are totally ingrained in my playing, even when what I'm playing is... well, not metal. And I don't mind that; I feel it gives me an interesting voice on the instrument.

I feel that if your guitar signal is somehow distorted on the way out of the speakers, you should be treating the guitar like a whore who didn't cough up the dough to your pimp self.

You gotta pick hard enough to get teh good toanz, but really don't need to pick any harder.