Don't limit yourself to just economy picking style. Verse yourself with strict alternate. It's very powerful for speed. I would bet if you practice econ. picking those patterns enough, you'll build speed...maybe not paul gilbert speed

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Economy picking is a very good way to develope speed runs with 3 notes per string. But it is a very good idea to practice strick alternate picking as well.

I actually have developed a technique where I incorporate economy picking when doing three not per string runs, and alternate picking when doing 4 notes per string.

I don't know how far along you are, but (as unorthodoxed as it may sound) try to find 4 note per string patterns, and incorporate a strict alternate picking regimen with these (chromatics are a good start). I subconsciously know when to economy pick vs alternate pick, depending on the amount of notes I'm playing, and depending on whether it's an upstroke or downstroke to the next string. It is a very good idea to perfect both of these to add to you repertoire, and then to be able to tell the difference between which one to use when doing elaborate runs.

The next step will be to find which one works for string skipping (like open voiced appregios) because you are going to lose the advantage of economy picking when it comes to this (but in some circumstances, I still use it).

So good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Does anyone know the name of the recessed washers used to house the screws that bolt a bolt-on neck to the body? I'm trying to order some and need to know the 'name' of them. Thanks

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man, i've been playing economy style for almost 3 years now, when i try to alternate is hard as hell, i can't keep track, since i'm so used to economy picking that its second nature pretty much..think i should try to change it?

I have the same problem...do you notice that when you play faster licks your playing gets a bit sloppy? This is the problem I have, my frethand refuses to keep up with my pickhand. I've been trying to practice strict alternate picking but it's hard as hell, especially when you're as impatient as me. Anyway, I would say, do learn it. I mean, it can't really hurt anything...I don't think anyway. But it should help with synchronizing your hands for faster playing.

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No! Not yet, at least...

I didn't do anything but strict alternate picking for about 10 years, then went to sweeping, then economy. I noticed after a while, my speed increased A LOT with economy, but I had lost the effectiveness I used to have with alternate picking. Basically, my alternate picking wasn't as good as it used to be...

But after developing some exercises that helped me, my alternate picking became more fluent when going from string to string, still incorporating economy picking in certain spots.

That's why I suggest still sticking with economy on three note per string runs, but look at 4 note per string patterns, like wide interval triadic stuff and chromatics to practice strict alternate picking.

yeah, i get real sloppy on patterns that go against a natural economy picking motion if you get what i'm trying to say. It's almost impossible for me to keep track of i'm on a down stroke or a up stroke...any ideas on how to counter that?

jaxadam: what exercises did you do you get your alternate picking back up to speed?

I don't know how to tab on here, but I've used chromatics and different variations of them for alternate picking, because you will retain fluidity with the 4 note chromatic scales when moving from one string to the other.

I also use wide interval triadics, but I'll play four notes, say something like:


... starting on low E

G: 13 20 16 19
D: 16 13 19 16
A: 12 19 16 12
E: 16 12 19 16

Which is an E Major wide interval triadic, or B mixolydian (however you want to look at it, but I play 7 string a lot).

This is good for two things: obviously playing 4 notes per string to aquire fluid alternate picking between strings, and also stretching your fingers for wide interval stuff.

I've been making my own practice exercises up for years (actually everytime I sit down to play, I make something up that will incorporate some technique and theory), and I've got some really good stuff for economy, sweeping, and alternate picking as well, that has REALLY worked not just for me, but for other people as well.

Might not work for everybody, some people may even already do this stuff, but it is a simple exercise that is helpful in a few ways. Maybe I need to find a way to post more ideas!

P.S. It's actually funny; I thought it was easier to learn alternate picking before economy picking, and it was a very long time before I started stressing economy picking, but it seems like the exact opposite for members on this board! (which might be a good thing!).

I literally did not start economy picking until after a class I had with Joe Stump at Berklee (in 1996). He blazed up and down the neck, and I went up to him after class and asked him if he was strictly economy picking, and he said "Yes", so I went back to my room and started then and there.

But if you guys are starting out with economy picking and not having a hard time with it, I suggest you keep doing what you're doing, because that is very good, to be able to fluenty economy pick up and down the neck.

hey i got another question, when you shred are you using tremelo picking or alternate picking?

tremolo picking IS alternate picking...

I think it just depends on what you start with. I have always (8 years) used strict alternate picking, no matter how many notes per string I'm playing, it was drummed into me by my guitar teacher, and I find it incredibly unnatural to do economy picking - it just feels wrong.
Whichever one you start with, the other one will feel strange.

Yeah, I was the same way. I did strick alternate picking for pretty much my whole playing career until just a few years ago. I messed with economy picking a while back, but kept with alternate, because that was what I was most comfortable with. They I just decided to switch it up and hammer it in, and so I started doing some exercises to incorporate economy picking, and it felt very wierd for a while, but then my speed really increased, and my strict alternate picking went downhill. So I did some drills to bring it back up to speed, and now I practice them both equally, and find advatages and disadvantages of using one vs another in certain situations. If my next stroke is going to be a downstroke to the next string, I'll be using strict alternate; if my next stroke is going naturally want to be an upstroke, I'll change it to a downstroke essentially using economy picking.

Word, anything can be an excersise if you go about it the right way

And i've always done economy, it just seems like starting a new alternate picking sequence on a new string, frankly there doesnt seem to be much of a difference between the two besides one stroke

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Another question about tuning & string sizes:

I have a guitar with fixed bridge in standard E tuning with 10-46 strings. If I want to tune it to C, I can just replace my strings with thicker ones, right? Which would be most fitting?
I was thinking about 11-52 but maybe they'll be a tad too loose?

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11 - 52 will be good for C tuning. I personally use .12's
And yess you can just re-string your guitar with the bigger gauge. maybe you need to adjust your neck relief afterwards.

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If you're playing with 10s in E, then you'll probably be most comfortable with 12s in C.

So 12-56, or 12-52? Thx for the replies btw.

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Yet another question about tuning & string guages:
I normally play with 10-52 guage strings in standard tuning on my 25.5 in. scale guitar and I've recently been playing alot of Nile. I found out that Karl plays with string guages: 10-12-17-38-50-70 in drop-A. Would that be about the same tension(besides the three thin strings) as playing with my setup? If not what would be the best guages for drop-A tuning? Does anybody know where to get guages like Karl's, I can't seem to find them in any stores?

Can anyone tell me what gauge strings i should get to tune to b on a 25 1/2 guitar? Also is tuning low to b be a problem since its not a baritone?

I'm currently using 10-52 gauge to play in b tuning. It's kinda loose (considering I normally play with 10-52 in standard tuning),but still playable. BTW my guitar is 25.5",too. What guages do you normally use?

About the drop A thing. If you use the gauges karls sanders uses for drop A the 3 high strings are so loose its stupid. I mean, .10-12-17 is what normal guitars have in standard E. If i'm in drop A tuning i usually use a .10 set of strings. discard the high e. then string it up as usual so you have a .13 as the high B and then use a .70 or .60 gauge string as your low A. For standr B tuning on a normal guitar I do the same thing only instead of a .60 gauge string I use a .56

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I played in B with 12-56 for a while, but found it a bit on the loose side, so I'd say get at least 12-56 if you're playing in B, but 13s are better (do what six_feet_under_420 said).

At the moment I'm playing in D with 12-56, which is a little tight, I think I'm going to move down to 11-52.

Damn! Right now I'm playing in B with a set of 10-52. The 3 heavier strings are fine, but the 3 high strings are a tad loose for me. I'll probably switch to 13-56 (13s). I've never had to set up my guitar (everything's still fine) when changing from 10s to 10-52, so would I need to set it up if I go from 10-52 to 13-56?
Also, the thickest set i've ever seen in stores are a set of 13-62 and 14-68 for baritone guitars. Does that mean they are unusable my 25.5 guitar since its not baritone?

No, you can just buy the .13 set of strings . Maybe you need to adjust your neck relief afterwards. A set of bariteon strings is the same concept as I told before gauge wise. I do it that way because they don't sell baritone strings here

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Hello yesterday i restrung my guitar to A standard tunning, I went to the guitar store and ask for some heavy guage strings he askd me what tuning and I told him A and he gave me the GHS Zakk W. boomers string. They come like this 11, 14, 18, 36, 52, 70 I didnt think it was going to work out but they did really well and I intonated it and balance my brige and tuned using a piano. Everything is fine and its not loose it fells fine but I just want to know if i have to ajust my truss rod or not cuz I really dont know if i do or not can somone help me with that?

Fret the 1st and 17th frets and look to see how much space there is under the 7th fret. There should be just a liny bit of space between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret; just enough to see light, but the string shouldn't be on the fret. If there is to much space then you need to tighten the rod and if there is no space you need to loosen the rod. Loosen the strings and adjust the rod only 1/8 of a turn max per check. Retune and check the space again until you get it correct. If so then level the bridge again if needed and recheck intonation as well.

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i have a question about using a metronome, how exactly do you use it to count? I can understand fitting in 4 notes per click, but what if its 3 notes continuosly being played? ( 8 - 7 - 5 as opposed to 8-7-6-5 for example) How would i count that on the metronome? Would i make it 3 notes per click?

If you're just playing 3 notes continuously as an excersise, then yeah 3 notes per click would be logical, you dont have to though, it will give the riff a different feel if you do it 4 notes per click (or any number).
ie (where ^ is a 'click)


3 notes per click - ie triplets:
-8-7-5-8-7-5-8-7-5-8-7-5-
-^-----^-----^-----^----

sounds different from 4 notes per click:

-8-7-5-8-7-5-8-7-5-8-7-5
-^-------^-------^-------


The notes are the same but the timing is different

If you're practicing playing a particular song/riff then it depends on the timing of the riff in the song.

thanks fatdanny, always wondered about fitting 4 notes per click with 3 note runs, now i can!

dammit, a .70 string wont fit in the saddle of a floyd rose can you just buy a larger saddle piece ?

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I just bought the hardtail version of the Jackson DXMG from guitar center.... but the thing is, IT DOESNT EXIST! its not on the jackson website and its not on musicians friend. the tag said dxmg HT or something like that.... for some reason it has a different headstock than the dxmg. the dxmg has the pointy reverse headstock, but the one i just bought has same headstock as the slsmg soloist. has anybody else seen or bought a guitar like this? i am so fuckin confused

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You can modify the nut but there is nothing Floyd you can just buy for .70. A detailed file job will fix it for you though.

@The Angry Hobbit:

It might be an older model and you mostly likely will not find it in a newer model listing. That doesn't mean Jackson didn't make one though. For example, Jackson made a stock 7 string RR back in the late 90s for a few months but good luck finding one. I look to this day for one but I should have bought one when I had the chance. I know they exsisted because I still have one of the old mags from Musicians Friend with it in there.

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Two questions:

My new Dillion 7 String has a crappy liscensed floyd on it. I couldn't find one on ebay, but was there ever an original floyd for a 7 string?

Also, the neck pickup on the guitar is amazing, but the bridge pickup is a little muddy. Does anyone know of a real clear crisp [possibly] Seymour Duncan pickup that would be good for the bridge position?

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Like this http://www.floydrose.com/7string.html

as for the pickup. I have seymour duncan custom in my 7 string. sounds ver good. check the duncan site for details

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me too thanks

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In my band, the guitarist has an Epiphone SG, and it's red. We actually wrote a song about it, but it didn't have any words. That song was kind of dumb, anyway, but the music was cool.

yeah that must be it. thanks for clearing that up for me.

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does the tuning on strings effect intonation when only considering the intonation adjustment keys?

Not sure what you are really asking but intonation shouldn't be effected by changing the tuning on strings. If you change tuning from E to like C then I would at least check the intonation and the neck relief though.

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what the fuck are you talking about?

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The only part I got and could answer was, "does the tuning on strings effect intonation".

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lmao! what the hell is an intonantion key??

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I'm betting he might be talking about fine tuners on some bridges. I could be wrong, but there is not such thing as intonation tuners that I know of.

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yeah thats what i was thinking....

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the answer to my question is no.

intonation keys are the parts that hold up each individual string on a bridge whether its a tremolo or regular.

oh ok... gotcha!

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What chord is this!? I love it and ive used all these chord finding tools, but i cant find it for my life. Do any of you know any good chord finding tools, ive use Chord miner, and Power Tabs
------------
------------
------4-----
------5-----
------7-----
------------

and

-0-----
-5----
-6-----
-6----
-----
-----

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Know what? I use those to and I have no clue what they are called. Sometimes I just play around to find new sounds and if it fits I use it. As long as I know I'm in tune then I know I can reproduce those sounds again. If it sounds good to me then thats all that really matters.

I'm sure some people here would rip this question into levels you never wanted to know about in the music theory section of this forum. Try it there.

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The first one is a Em triad. Not sure about the second it's a C# something another.

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Okay, i have an Eastwood Ultra GP, and the pickups are fucked in some way. When i got it, the neck pickup was fine, smooth, full volume, eveyrthing. The bridge pickup however seemed like sometihng was resisting it, sounded like the volume knob went from 1 - 0 instead of 10 - 0. So you cant really hear it until you dime the amp's volume, ontop of that, no distortion works.

So i went back, guy said it was a bad solder, fixed it up in 10 minutes, i went home. Got home bridge was fucked again, said fuck it, i didnt really intend to use it anyway.

Today around noon, i played it, neckpickup sounded great. Then this evening, i went to a jam, nothing came out. Hit the switch, now the bridge pickup is screaming, and the neck isnt.

A note: The bridge pickup works SOMETIMES. There will be times where the volume fades out and starts to crackle like a bitch, and basically behave like it did before.

It has les paul style controls, i had the solders on the volume pots fixed. Anybody have a slight idea where the problem could be? Or should i take it in to get entirely rewired? I have to know soon because I have a gig on thursday.

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Is the toggle switch old? It could be that.

If I were you, I wouldn't gig with that guitar

This thing is brand new. I've had it for about 2 weeks now. I think i'm guna get everything redone and replaced heh.

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If it's brand new take it back to the shop and tell them to lick your balls

i was bored...



the first is Em like some other bloke said.
the second is C#m triad 2nd or 3rd inversion. (im ignoring the fact that you doubled up on the top e, i dont think that makes a difference to the name)
thats assuming you have a concert pitch tuned guitar.


gibson selector switches are notorious for not working, especially if you use it alot. i once made the mistake of using it for a cut-off switch, and flicking it on/off/on/off for about 45 seconds. it stopped working on a relatively new guitar.

all you have to do is get at it from the back, and make sure its got good contacts in all positions.
make sure the contacts are clean, and
that there's good pressure when they're touching.

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Yesterday I was checking the neck bow of my guitar by doing the hold first fret and 14-16th fret to see if the 7-9th fret area has a gap. One of my guitars has a little gap, which I come to understand is perfectly fine , but my other guitar had NO gap, which I think means that I have back bow. The neck appears to be straight and there is no unusual fret buzz on any of neck. Should I attempt to use the truss rod to fix it or just leave it alone since it seems to be fine?

If there is no problem then wait until you change the strings again and see if it feels different. If so then a slight adjust ment will only do the guitar good. In the long run you will have to tighten the rod a bit. I wouldn't wait myself but take it slow. Measure it about once a day after you adjust the rod and have new strings on it. Tuning will change as the string sterch and the neck sets. retune, play and let set until they don't change. Just make sue the gap isn't to high.

I use a small relief ( really flat ) with a medium action, jumbo frets, and medium freting and picking. It feels the best and sounds good for me but everyone is different.

Bottom line is you need some neck relief.

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So if it feels the same once I change strings I shouldn't bother to mess with the truss rod?
When you refer to "small relief (really flat)", are you talking about the curvature of the fretboard?

I forgot to mention that I play with a set of 13-56 guages in anywhere from standard tuning to drop-A tuning. There used to be a set of 10-52 guage on it for a while and I believe there was NO gap either. I just recently read about neck bow and I'm not sure if I'm correct in thinking that if there was no gap with the 10-52 for all that time (at least 6 months) and no apparent damage, my axe should be fine without any adjustments?

Thanks for the help.

k, My questions:

1. What is a Body Binding (or the neck binding and back binding for that matter)? And does it affect the sound at all?

2. What does it mean by Body Scalloping and Fret Scalloping? and what is it used for?

3. What are Bezels?

4. Are top woods for transparent finish guitars only? I mean, I would imagine it would affect the sound a bit, correct?

I've been looking into getting a custom guitar for about the last 2 years, and these questions have been burrowing in my skull....can't seem to find anything on them.

I know this much. A binding is the a thin strip of material (wood I'm assuming) around the outer edge of the (body for body binding), (neck for neck binding). I know that fret scalloping is the boring out of frets in the middle to make them concave. Just look at Ywngie's fretboard, they're all carved out in the middle. That's about all I know in relation to your questions.

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What are the screws on a humbucker pickup for? Ie: look at a Dimarzio Tone Zone? What does adjusting those screws do?

What are the advantages/purposes of using different spring alignments for a Floyd bridge? I've seen some 3 springs parallel, or in a V-alignment, and even a reversed V alignment. Which one is the best to use?

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Having the springs at an angle allows you to get more tension out of the springs. If having your springs parallel doesn't generate enough tension to keep the bridge level, you can put them in a V configuration to get a bit more tension. As far as I know, that's the only reason it's done.

Not sure about the screws on a pickup like the tone zone though...

Those screws, I believe, are used to adjust the height of the individual pole pieces of the pickup to make the output higher. For example, if you were to raise the height of the poles under the top 3 strings those would sound louder and stand out from the other 3 strings with the pole pieces at the original height. Hope that helped.

Does anyone know of any websites or music retailers that supply unfinished Jackson bodies, including the neck with authetic inlays.. i want to customize a new guitar and i am looking for a King V or Rhoads to fully customize. I'm also looking for a credible source for custom inlay craftsmanship.. thank you.

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Try Warmoth Guitars. They will have most of what you are looking for.

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thanks, that's exactly what i'm looking for.. i just need a place that'll put in shark-fin inlays and a pearl Jackson logo..

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Hi. Is the little object, where the floyd rose tremolo arm is screwed in, replace-able? I broke it by using the arm without screwing it properly in.

Can you elaborate on the little object, post a pic.

The thing, that is below the thing that you tighten on.

Attached Images

original.jpg (22.2 KB, 91 views)

If its what i think it is, nope you cant replace it

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lmao, "The Little Motherfucking Object"

Nope, you'd need to get a new bridge.. It's hard to imagine how you broke it in the first place really.

on some licensed floyds the outside threads of the whammybar (screw in type) is made of softer metal that gets worn out after a time wont work. this part is replaceable. its like a ring that you pop out which has the outter threads in it. whether this applies to your trem i have no idea.

i recently stumbled over an old carvin vintage wah and it doesnt function properly. how could i fix it without loosing an arm and a leg?

Gotta try to narrow down what the problem is. Describe some of the symptoms when you try to use it.

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i get some fret buzz on the 4th and 3rd string on the 9th fret of my guitar. i realised that the fret is a little higher than the others. shall i sand the motherfucker to the ground?!?!

Also the fret is sliiiiiightly raised from the fretboard.

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If you're talking about the metal fret, then perhaps you should sand it. If it's the wooden part of the fret, I don't think that would have anything to do with it and you maybe should make your action a little higher? But if it's the metal, I think that may be it. As long as you don't sand it too much, there shouldn't be a problem.

nothing a little sand paper cant fix. check ur trust rod too before u think about sanding.

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um, 'bout the wah....it doesnt effect the sound when i move the pedal

could it be the potentimeter?

nope the truss rod is fine, and all the other frets are ok. ill just sand down the bastard

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I don't know shit about wahs nor what exactly a potentimeter is or does, but you might bust it open and check out whatever type of component (prob the deal you mentioned) reads from the pedal. Try using some compressed air for starters, or if you notice something doesn't look right (corrosion, gunk buildup, loose [wires, screws], stuff of that nature). Try providing an immediate solution.

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What could i do to get the None So Vile tone?

And dont give me a stupid answer like "buy the gear"

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Steal the gear

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I got no get away car

Really though, how do i do it?

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Just a quick tuning question:
Why is B standard B E A D F# B , but you tune a seven string to B E A D G B E?

I understand the concept on tuning down one tone at a time - but still. . .

BEADGBE
is called a perfect 3(i think) thats why u usually tune the next string on the 5th fret. 5 frets away from the original not making it a perfect interval

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guitar is tuned in perfect 4ths.
the B string of a 7 string is simply added, so you're still technically in standard tuning. where as on a 6 string to tune to be you have to tune down 5 half steps thus leaving the 2nd string a Gb. this is because you have to tune 5-5-5-4-5 to be in perfect 4ths. other wise scales would not be the same and chords would be fingered different.

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ANSWER ME!!!

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didn't they use a metalzone?

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I don't know, I never looked up the gear. But fo rhose of you who found the sound, what did you do to make it sound that way? More lows? Mids? Chorus at all? Other effects?

I'm using a V-amp Pro rack right now, just for your information.

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i have a jackson warrior Xt and the pickups start to have a nasty past 70% of the volume

im really into any kind of melodic progressive metal. i try to write as much as i can. my problem is when i try to write the second guitar part i have troubles finding the right harmonies on riffs/scales. i know alethein and veil of maya use a lot of awesome harmonies between the two guitarists. i was wondering if anyone knew of some awesome sounding harmonies i can use on my riffs. im looking for some real melodic metal.

Go to music theory.

It could be your amp, cable, stuff like that, or one time I had a guitar the pickups went "microphone" on me. It sounded terrible and would even pick up your voice if you spoke into em. So it could be different things.

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Does anybody know if there are any guitars that come standard with a DiMarzio X2N pickup in the bridge, because I wanna try them out before or if I buy it?

Also, i was thinking about pairing up the X2N with PAF Pro in neck postion. Is the PAF Pro not powerful enough, meaning will the X2N easily drown it out if the guitar has 1 volume and 1 tone control? Are they balanced well with each other?
Thanks.

See my reply in the EMG/Pickups thread. I bought 2 sets of the X2N and Paf Pro. It's a popular combination.

If you simply must have individual volume knobs for each pickup(like me), get a "stack pot" and a stack knob, basically lets you have 2 controls(vol/vol, tone/vol, or tone/tone) in the same pot hole. I got the stacked knobs, pots, solder, and wires from guitarelectronics.zoovy.com. My guitars only have 2 pot holes, and I don't know how to wire it for only 2 vol pots, so I'm keeping the 2 vol knobs in one hole and the tone pot in the other.

With passive pickups(especially hot ones, and uber-especially ones like the X2N) it's a good idea to have a noisegate like a Boss NS2, or a Behringer NR-100 if you're a cheap mofo.

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I started playing guitar about half a year ago and I was woundering if anyone can help me. I have started learning my scales, but I am a confused on how they are used. I know an A minor penatonic scale has A,C,D,E,G. If I make a solo out of an A minor pentatonic scale that solo should only contain the notes A,C,D,E,G. It can't have an F or a B note. Am I right? And what about flats and sharps. Can I use an A Flat or an D sharp in an A minor pentatonic scale?

This sorta thing -

|-------------------
|-------14b-------------
|-----x----------------
|---x-----------------
|-x--------------------
|---------------------

Im sure you've seen it in music somewhere,

With the dead notes, do you palm mute and sweep up to the bend? Or is there another way, like muting aswell with your fretting hand aswell?

At the moment i play it just with a palm mute, but not right at the bridge otherwise the strings make too much noise. It feels kinda retarded though.

Are there any tricks?

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I'm pretty sure you're supposed to play that by muting those strings with your fretting hand. That is called raking I believe. You would start at the 5th string and play all those dead notes(w/fret hand) and then do the bend at the 14th fret on the 2nd string.