TE-012 • Pinch Harmonics

[justinguitar]

Questions...

[DaSilvaRenegade]

i can get squealies but they dont really sound as "squealy" as they do on rock records. is it just becuz i dont have enough gain or because i dont have enough treble??

Duo

[jackyboy222]

Hi Justin, firstly the website and videos are great.

Ive got a Fender Starcaster and a SP-10 amp (10W). Its a basic starter kit. Ive been trying for a while now to get the right sound and ive watched endless videos including yours and i still cant get the right sound. My amp has volume treble bass and a O.D button. Can you help me out and tell me the right settings for the amp and my guitar to make it easier to do pinch harmonics.

Also is my basic set up making it harder to bring out the sound

Any help will be great 

[richard91]

can get squealies but they dont really sound as "squealy" as they do on rock records. is it just becuz i dont have enough gain or because i dont have enough treble??

Duo

hmm ... i struggle with those!!   but I'm getting better.  Use the bridge pickup, and pluck along the string untill you find that squeel, ive found that more distortion makes them better.

[justinguitar]

more distortion makes them more squealy - and use the bridge pickup - and the usual... practice!!!

J

[mickmetal]

  I can get pinch harmonics on my telecaster on every string on just about every fret even when I'm not plugged in...but it takes me a sec or so to find the node for it..is there anything in particular I should practice to developing a habbit of hitting a pinch harmonic every attempt I make?   

[justinguitar]

just practice sorry dude - and getting familiar with your instrument!

[DeviantUK]

Hi Justin,

First off what a fricken amazing site! ty for the video lessons dude!

I am also having trouble with the pinch harmonics and I think im on the verge of madness trying to play them! Is it me or my setup?

I have an Ibanez electric, with 2 humbuckers and is  plugged direct into a Marshall 100W amp, but whenever I try you always hear the normal sound of the string being plucked louder than the squeel, on your video you can't hear the normal sound at all...what could I be doing wrong?

I have also adjusted my pickup heights :/ which set of pickups should be the closest to the strings for better squeelies?

Any advice is mucho appreciated!

[JoshLovesMusic]

Well certainly nothing wrong with you setup deviant..

How long have you been playing? It may just be a matter of leaving pinch harmonics and getting on with some other stuff first then come back in future and you will find you can get them sounding. I get that kind of thing a lot, when I feel I'm not quite at the stage to start this so I leave it for a while then I come back. I kind of know when I'm ready to tackle something new.

But if you have been playing for a while, or you feel that you are ready to have a good go at them then my only tip I can think of is to just keep plugging away at them, keep trying different things untill you get it. Normally a matter of just slightly changing your technique and then it starts to work. Oh and use the Bridge pickup.

Can't really think of much else
EDIT: Opps, I forgot, welcome!

[EVH Fan]

Pinched harmonics will take a little bit to get you used to the way you position your hand when doing them. How are you trying to get the harmonic with your thumb or below your thumb on your hand. Try using high gain, bridge pickup, and easier to learn on the d or g string i think. But i think its your just muting the string or not touching it right to make the harmonic.

[patullo23]

alright, so i don't know if any of these affect whats going on with my attempted squealies.  First off, my guitars natural harmonics are terribly off as my guitar hasnt been set up in ages and i cant afford to have it done just yet.  One of my pickups doesnt work, but i have 3.  When playing these, is my thumb supposed to gently graze the string or like hit it and come off?  Ive gotten maybe one out of 10 that i try and im not even sure if they were real or if my amp did something :S  Should it take me a while to learn it, or should i be getting this right away? 
on a side note, the video was really good, very like detailed and shit and u gave like good tips and stuff.. 
thank GOD i found this site when i did, i was considering selling my guitar.

[EVH Fan]

Ok first off just wondering the kind of guitar you are using (guessing strat style) But you should be able to easily adjust the saddles to set the intonation. i'm not going to describe how to do it because as it would take a while so just good it But use the bridge pickup and have the tone on your guitar at 10. at the end of your picking motion you gently touch the string with the edge of your thumb (will take a while to find where is the best spot to use on your thumb). You can get the pinch harmonic from multiple areas on the string between the pickups. I know with my dual humbucker guitar  it is easiest to get them right behind the neck pickup.

[patullo23]

thanks, for the advice, i practised it and since i hold the pick like a douche, ive discovered i get pinch harmonics with my middle finger instead of my thumb...  i pick up...  and i hold with pick with three fingers...  and my guitar is a Godin SDxt, not a great guitar, like an entry level, i just wish i bought the one with EMG pickups, i played it once and i miss that thing  
This site's awesome, its so good that like, its not only justin who gives answers, he teaches everyone and then they can all help out.  This is the best thing ever..

[shag1233]

I would say try looking into the Dimebag style for a easy way to begin. I flick off the 3rd fret and the lightly graze the fret where you want the harmonic with the left hand. I am still trying to perfect the pick style because I have big hands. Justin any ideas for guys with Vienna sausage fingers.

[benfidge]

Hi

I've got an Affinity series Squier Strat with passive pickups. I'm using the humbucker at the bridge and can get PH's 7-8 times out of ten. I can pluck along the string and get several sweet-spots like Justin in the video, but am having real trouble getting them to really ring out.

My aim is to produce the squeal Dave Gilmour gets right at the start of the second solo in Comfortably Numb. Is this due to using passive pups, or simply down to my technique? I've tried striking the string harder, softer, at different angles etc. Any ideas?

I'm using Guitar Rig 3 with the guitar connected to my PC's line-in via a Behringer GDI21 pre-amp. I've been messing with distortion and gain on GR3, but not quite getting what I want.

For anyone who's interested, the method I'm using to get PH's is as follows: I hold the pick as I normally would, but rotate my hand slightly but play the string as if I'm plucking it with my thumb, not the pick. The net effect of this is that the string actually gets played with the pick first, but an instant later the thumb follows through, lightly grazing the vibrating string, kicking off the PH. I don't know if this is right or wrong but it works for me and switching between a PH or a normal note is a doddle but the difference in sound is very clear.

I just can't get it to really ring out though lol!! Any advice immensely appreciated

Many thanks

Ben