LOTW: Double Tapping

The term “double tapping” might be a bit confusing, and different people might read a different meaning into it. What it means (at least to me) is: When I play a descending figure along a string with the highest note tapped, I might tap, pull off to the next note, then tap the first note again, then pull off again and pull off to the next notes, so you have a quick “trill” at first if you wanna call it that.
I think it will be way easier to understand if you just look at the TAB and try to play this:

Its not difficult to turn your regular tapping patterns into patterns like these, starting with double taps, but it sounds pretty cool once you get it up to speed.
By the way, I tap with my middle-finger so I can keep the pick between thumb and index finger, in “playing position”, so I can easily and quickly go forth and back between tapping and using the pick.

As always, experiment with different keys, patterns, scales etc.

Here is a soundfile of the above TAB: MP3

LOTW: Diatonic version of the previous lick

Here is a variation on the previous lick, utilizing notes from the full major scale instead of just the pentatonic. If you worked on playing the previous one, this one should be easy to nail now, all you have to do is change the notes you play.

The key is C major, and as usual, I recommend to try playing this in different keys, on different string combinations etc.

Here is a SOUNDFILE

I hope you liked those licks, and that they will end up in your lick vocabulary, or spawn new ideas for your own licks in this style!

Congrats, GUITAR magazine!

Today, the newest issue of GUITAR magazine hit the newsstands, and its a special issue, as its issue No.100!
It comes packed with cool stuff, like a workshop with Joe Satriani, specials about Testament and Whitesnake, an interview with Kirk Hammett, a lot of stuff you can win (Dean Guitars started a contest in collaboration with the mag. You can win a trip to the factory plus more cool stuff), a list of the 100 most important guitar albums etc.

Also, the new episode of “Talking Hands” is in there, the topic this time is “phrasing and call-and-response”. In addition to that, I wrote some new reviews for them, incl. one about the BC RIch Chuck Schuldiner tribute model

COngrats to the guys at the magazine, you did an awesome job, and here’s to another 100 (or 1000 or…) more issues. Thanks for letting me be part of the experience and making the job fun!

LOTW: Descending stretch pentatonic on 2 strings

What a subject-line, huh?!

Anyway, you might know by now how much I dig the stretch-pentatonic (three note per string pentatonic), and I once heard Paul Gilbert do this cool descending run with it, so I kinda figured out the type of sequence he used, and its a lick I use quite a bit.
Here you go:

THe key is actually C major (ignore the #) and as you can see, you have three notes on the high e-string, one on the B. THe sequence has eight notes, then its moved down along those strings, using only notes from the C major pentatonic.
You play the notes on the high e-string, picking only the first one, then using pull offs. THen play the one note on the B-string, move back up, play the first three notes again, and move the whole thing down. I think the easiest way to understand the sequence is by trying it out.
Take your time when trying to bring this up to speed, and then try it in different keys, or on different string combinations. Next week, Ill have a variation on this for you.
Oh, and here is an audio-file: MP3

On pedal-boards

Pedal-boards… actually, a pretty huge topic. Some people love using them, others prefer (big or rather small) racks, others prefer a combination of rack-units and pedals, still others use no effects at all (Derek Trucks comes to mind).
Then, there are different ways of doing it, depending on what effects and especially how many are on them. You can use a looper-type system like the Cornish-systems, or, like Brent Mason, use a bunch of boosters to maintain signal integrity without losing too much signal.
My first board was simply a few cheap pedals (a chorus, a wah and a distortion, IIRC) mounted on the wooden board from the back of an old HIFI speaker cabinet. I mounted a power-supply on the board, and used some cheapo patch cables. THose broke easy, and I think that I must have had quite some signal loss. At the same time, my setup back then consisted of a rather crappy amp (a tube one, at least) and an “ok” guitar.
Later on, I got more into rack-type stuff (culminating in the “fridge” I used during the time I lived in the Atlanta-area. That rack did pretty much everything but make coffee). When I got tired of that, or simply didnt have a need for that anymore, I switched back to a rather simple setup, using only 2 or 3 pedals, which I didn’t even mount onto a board, powering them with batteries.

Anyway, nowadays, I resurrected an old pedalboard with a built-in power supply that I used for some time a few years ago, and mounted the pedals I use live (2 Keeley-modded drive/distortion pedals, a Wah, a phaser, a tuner and a delay. Check the gear-section on my site for more info). They’re fastened to the board, and run on the internal power-supply. Thats kind of a compromise… I actually prefer batteries in some of the pedals, especially most overdrive/distortion pedals), but its a bit easier that way, and I don’t have to change batteries at all times.

Since these days, I know quite well how much of a difference in sound decent cables make, the whole board is wired with Klotz La Grange patch cables (thanks to the very kind people at Klotz!). That way, when I play a show or clinic, I simply carry the board onto the stage, take off the lid, plug the power supply into an outlet, run a cable from the guitar into it and one from the board to the amp. Since everything is wired and no battery-changes are necessary, it takes about half a minute to set it up.

Now, let’s go through some of the things I did… of course, all this is based on my own opinion and experience, so someone else might do it all differently.
I start with the tuner, which was wired to be true bypass. Now, a lot of people seem to be convinced that “true bypass=no signal loss or change at all”, which is not true. Let’s not get into too many details, but even if the signal doesn’t have to run through the whole pedal circuit, the plugs and connections DO have a certain resistance to them. For more opinions on true bypass, check out for example the really well-written feature on pedalboards in Guitar Player Magazine, published sometime earlier this year IIRC.

Next up is the phaser… its a matter of opinion whether it should go before the Wah or after, some might think it doesnt matter, but I like it there. If I’d still be using the compressor, I’d put that first, always.
Next: the Wah. Now, a lot of people like to put their distortion/overdrive pedal BEFORE the Wah. I prefer to put the Wah before any distortion. After all, If you wouldnt be using no drive pedal at all, instead getting all gain from the amp, you’d have the same thing, unless you would run the Wah in your FX loop (I doubt that many players do that). This is highly debated though, so you might wanna try that out, but I prefer this way.

Next, I have two distortion/drive pedals, a Keeley-modded BD-2 and a Keeley-modded DS-1. I never run them simultaneously. I use the BD-2 for singlecoil- and/or rather classic-rock sounds, and the DS-1 for humbucker-type, higain lead-sounds (a rough categorization, but you knoiw…)
Both don’t really add that much gain, boost or changes in the sound… in most cases, someone in front of the stage, especially a non-guitarist, would even notice they are on. I DO notice the difference, and use them to “smooth out” the sound, make feedback easier, “thicken” the sound a tiny bit.
Last in line, I use a BOSS RE-20, a digital version of the good ol’ Roland Space Echo, providing a slightly vintage type sound. Since I don’t use delay all that much anymore these days, I don’t need the most HiFi-digital delay, I just like to add some “dirt”, some ambience to some of the sounds, especially for slower playing. Since most people who used tape echos had no real choice but put them before the amp (Eddie used a neat setup, using his Marshall as kind of a preamp, running the echo between that and the amps he used as power amps, but thats one of the few examples), I simply keep it before the amp too. If I’d want a very brilliant 80ish digital delay-sound, very clean and clear, Id of course put the delay into the loop, but for short delays and as an ambience effect, its ok where it is now, to me.

And thats the chain. THe noise is not too bad (actually, its completely ok), and with this setup, everything is easy to setup and I love the sound of it. If I was to add more stuff, I’d probably think about using a line booster or a looper-system, but the way it is now, especially with the high quality wiring (which isnt only more reliable when it comes to road durability, but also the sonic integrity), it works perfectly.

I guess everyones board is a work in progress, and mine might look all different in a year or two (then again, I usually work on picking something that works, and then stick to it, so I can focus on playing, instead of getting used to a new setup every other week), but thats something most of us do anyway.
I try to focus on:
- What do I really need? An octaver can be fun to use, but then again, I wouldnt use it often enough tojustify putting one onto the board…
- What kind/brand do I use. The Fulltone Wah i.e. might be a bit more expensive than other Wahs, but I am addicted to its sound and versatility, and I tried to pick pedals that don’t ruin the sound (D’uh!)
- Ease of use. Versatility can be fun, but if something goes wrong while travelling or on stage, reprogramming a pedal or figuring out how to set 20 knobs to get your sound can be a nightmare. I mark my favorite settings on all pedals (no need to on the VH phaser or the Wah), and even if I accidentially change settings with my foot or someone plays around with the knobs, I can set everything back in no-time.

If I wanna use another pedal in addition to what I have on the board for recording or on stage (say, use a whammy pedal for one show, or while recording), I simply put it next to the board and put it into the signal chain wherever it works best.

The way it is, I am quite happy with this board, and now that its “done”, I can go back to playing. I know there are a lot of “gearheads”, or victims of G.A.S., who change stuff on a regular base, and I can understand how much fun that is, but as I said, I like to stick to one setup once I am happy… If it works, don’t…

Anyway, maybe some of these thoughts/observations were interesting to you… I hope you enjoyed reading them.

Lick of the Week: pentatonic flurry

This is a lick I once picked up from listening to Andy Timmons, and it has been creeping into my soloing vocabulary ever since. Andy uses it quite a lot too.

Basically, you play a pentatonic scale (this works with any scale though, of course) along one string. Take two notes, then do a hammer on and pull off between them, slide to the next (lower or higher) note etc. If you go forth and back and speed it up, you get a flurry-sounding thing, and also, its a great way to learn the pentatonic scale along a string, which will improve your fretboard navigation skills =)

Try to experiment with different keys, strings, sequences and try to use this in your improvisations.

Click THIS LINK to hear an example soundfile.