Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Mr. Air on October 24, 2012, 07:49:59 AM
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What have the biggest influence on pulling off pinch harmonics (apart from technique)? Is it the build of the guitar or the pups? It seems logic to me that a hot pickup should pull off pinch harmonics easier than a vintage voiced pup, but I might be totally wrong. I find it easier to get good pinch harmonics from my MQ loaded Reverend Manta Ray than i do from my Nailbombed LP clone, which I find kinda strange. So please enlighten me :D
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I think it's a lot of different factors tbh.
I'm pants at doing the big squealy Zakk Wylde ones on the lower strings (but I know some players who just seem to get them perfectly)
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I find it easier to get good pinch harmonics from my MQ loaded Reverend Manta Ray than i do from my Nailbombed LP clone, which I find kinda strange. So please enlighten me :D
It's probably the guitars then, not so much the pickups. The guitar I have the A-Bomb in does pinch harmonics well enough.
Cheers Stephan
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From what I can tell, scale length of the guitars seems to be a big factor. Where lengthwise you 'pinch' the string obviously effects which note gets produced. Those notes are in slightly different places relative to the bridge on different scale lengths. Find the scale length that works most naturally for you and go from there. Also a boost pedal goes a long way
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hotter pickups help with pinch harmonics, ceramics sound good and seem to bring them out even more, also active p/ups like emgs
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I would think technique would have something to do with it too. Everyone seems to have a different way of doing it, some work better than others. If Billy G can do those pinches with a Les Paul, PAF's, and a Marshall, you don't necessarily need high output pickups and high gain amps and long-scale guitars.
When I saw ZZ, I noticed Billy had a really weird (at least to me) way of doing the pinches where he put his pick away and used either thumb and finger or nail and a finger. Sounded awesome!
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I can get easily pinched harmonics from the Mules in my Saint Blues. I guess technique is the most important thing.
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I have different results with different guitars on the same amp, with same guitar on different amps, with different pups on the same guitar, with same pup on different guitars... and let's not forget the strings, pedals and wutnot. IOW, everything in the chain impacts the result xD
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It's all down to technique and how you hold the pick etc
In the mid to late 80s I used to practise playing scales with every note being a pinched harmonic and learning the proportional distances relative to the fretted note to get the right octave/interval
Some pickups help by really emphasising the frequencies that make the pinched harmonic squeal.
+1 for ceramic pickups on that score.
Some guitars maybe make it easier but it should be possible on ALL guitars.
Works best on bridge pickups as the node may be in a bad place for the neck pickup to hear it.
I recall Joe Satriani or Reb Beech doing a series of articles on it in Guitar world magazine in the late 80s/early 90s which were very informative.
EDIT: If you are picking directly over the bridge pickup you wont get a good pinch harmonic as you are creating a node above that pickup and a node is a quiet spot so the pickup wont hear anything.
Try holding down a single note and go up and down the string with your picking hand trying to se where you can get harmonics and note the frequency relationship to the held note.
You will open up a whole world of pinched options.
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I lucked into the technique years back, just seemed to be able to do it, on anything i put my hands on (at least it's one thing on the guitar i can do well), so thats the baseline. Starting from there i can say that i get varying degrees of potency depending on the guitar. I would have said pickups, but i suspect the guitar itself has more to do with it. for example, you have a hard time not doing pinches on my axis. but they're definitely not as lively on my Mcarty Trem. The axis has dimarzio's and the Mcarty has a nailbomb, i have a hard time believing i wouldn't get the same squealy results from the axis if the Nailbomb was in there.
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I would have said pickups, but i suspect the guitar itself has more to do with it.
Both, really. I often play unplugged and definitly agree that the guitar itself makes an obvious difference BUT some pups really help. Unplugged it's easier on my Vox Custom 24 (maple going-thru neck, maple sides, quite a lot of harmonic content) than on my - rather dark - SG (all mahogany, hence a more pronounced fundamental and less prominent harmonic content), but when plugged (same amp, same settings), it's a bit easier on the SG (ABomb bridge, quite a lot of upper-mids / highs) than on the Vox (Crawler bridge, warmer and with way more rounded highs).
In the end it mostly have to do with harmonic contents - the more you have, the easier it gets. No surprise the Steve Steven signature BKP is so bright ;)
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I find its more technique & practice than anything, I can easily pull them off on any guitar even acoustics.
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gain/compression/mids i'd say. a boost pedal on a valve amp helps too at lower volumes. edit: also bridge pickup, guitar tone and volume controls up full.
i think the whole "it's only technique" thing is kinda misleading- obviously if you can't do them competently it doesn't matter what gear you're using, but once you can get them, getting them to really squeal is massively affected by what gear you're using.
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It certainly does help when all the frequencies can blossom. I mean that you need to dial in a reasonable amount of uppermids, especially with darker voiced pickups like the Crawler, to get the harmonics pinched. It's a bit easier with the VHII in my other strat.
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My custom Strat (Poplar Body, Maple Neck and Fretboard) loaded with a Holydiver Bridge just spits out pinch harmonics like crazy. Now the guitar itself is pretty bright and even unplugged you can squeal with ease. Then again the Jackson Dinky DK2M my bassist owns (Alder Body, Maple Neck and Fretboard) has more the kind of darker pinch harmonics, but it's loaded with a Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck (which imho is the best pickup SD has ever made) which itself is a pretty bright pickup.
Another interesting thing is the Blackhawk comparison (Alnico V vs. Ceramic) Nolly has uploaded on his Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/nolly/sets/black-hawk-7-alnico-vs-ceramic/
Notice that here the Alnico Harmonic sounds better than the ceramic one (at least to my ears). So there are for sure a lot of things that contribute to good pinch harmonics. Alexi from COB btw was always an ace for fast picked pinches to me.
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all the les pauls I had felt different for pinch harmonics
some were quite easy to pull it off, others weren't that easy in some particular picking point, fret or string
I honestly have no idea what makes it easier or not
they have the same scale, I always use high strings, tune-o-matics, elixir 10-52 strings, same tuning
the pickups do make a difference on how loud or fat they sound, but obviously not on the technique itself
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While the pickups can make the pinch harmonics sustain for longer (often with some lovely harmonious feedback to keep that sucker going), I can do these on my cr@ppy little ukulele, so it's not all down the electronics or guitar build. I'd say it's possible on essentially anything with strings (I even had a go on my viola a while back, they sounded... odd :D), so technique is key. As feline says, picking above the pickup is a big no-no. Try experimenting anywhere between the pickup and bridge for starters. It's all about where you pick for the note you're stopping. There are some outrageously high artificial harmonics to be had from the low A of my baritone 6-string (on which, incidentally, I noticed very little difference stepping from a black dog through miracle man to aftermath as far as pinch harmonics go).
Roo
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Thanks for all your replies, gents. They're much appreciated :D
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One thing that can help is the following
play a hammer on/trill on whatever note you like and whilst doing that take a finger on your picking hand (put your pick down for this) and run it gently along the length of the string , only faintly touching the string - I use the edge of my pinky finger.
You should be able to pick up lots of harmonics as your finger gently glides along the string length, and if you wish you can observe the pitch relationship to the played notes as well.
It's a technique that Van Halen used to use a lot - along with George Lynch and Richie Sambora in his earlier tours.
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I think pointy picks help, always pinch exactly 24 imaginary frets above where I'm fretting, thus the note is 2 octaves above the fretted note.
I pinch with an upstroke as I find it easier to mute the lower strings with the side of my thumb resulting in a very clean pinch. Without trying to show off I can pinch on a bass :P
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My way is to kind of hold the pick at 45 degrees as i strike the string so that my finger always hits the harmonic right after. also the there's much less distance between the tip of the pick and the finger. My sweet spot is toward the neck PU from centre. Never fails, but i can't give a more accurate description because it's just something i do, like i said, totally lucked into it early on
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WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.
Ahem.
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Aside from technique? I mean, you can do pinch harmonics on an acoustic with your fingers. Stuff that makes it easier: hot pickups, bright, responsive guitar, compression (that of a high gain amp is generally enough) and good vibrato.
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That "it's all about technique" is so BS.
Been also thinking about what the hell happened, since when I first discovered pinch harmonics at late 80's, I had no problem getting them out whenever I wanted what so ever.
And back then I had way more cr@ppy equipment, then these days.
Now I have several decent amps (Transistor and tube) and guitars with BKP pickups (one of the guitars I have used since late 80's) and find it hard to get decent PH's out.
And I don't think that I've mysteriously lost my "technique" during these years.
Originally that guitar that I've had all these years, had Duncan JB in bridge.
At some point I changed it to Dimebucker, and it was horrible.
Then I ordered Miracle Man and the sound was amazing.
Still, the pinch harmonics were almost impossible.
Few days ago I tried my newly acquired Epiphone Les Paul custom, with stock pickups with my gear and strangely PH's flew out like back in the days.
I am going to upgrade that Epi's pickups to BKP, like my other guitars and see what happens after that.
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What have the biggest influence on pulling off pinch harmonics (apart from technique)? Is it the build of the guitar or the pups? It seems logic to me that a hot pickup should pull off pinch harmonics easier than a vintage voiced pup, but I might be totally wrong. I find it easier to get good pinch harmonics from my MQ loaded Reverend Manta Ray than i do from my Nailbombed LP clone, which I find kinda strange. So please enlighten me :D
For unknown reasons it is easiest for me to do pinch harmonics on my SG with a Black Dog. I don't think the amount of output has a bearing. It must be either the frequencies or the setup of the action, I think.
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Frequencies play a big role, I think. Pinched harmonics are easier on my VHII-loaded strat then with the Crawler in my other strat. Besides that, it gets way more easier when my Orange is past twelve o'clock on the mastervol.
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That "it's all about technique" is so BS.
If you say so.
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It is, though. I can do pinch harmonics (and before anyone says, yes, that includes on an unplugged electric guitar). I can do them way better (or at all, in certain instances) with appropriate gear/settings. I don't care how good your technique is... you're not getting zakk-style squealies through a blackface fender twin reverb set to 1. Which means it's not all technique.
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It is, though. I can do pinch harmonics (and before anyone says, yes, that includes on an unplugged electric guitar). I can do them way better (or at all, in certain instances) with appropriate gear/settings. I don't care how good your technique is... you're not getting zakk-style squealies through a blackface fender twin reverb set to 1. Which means it's not all technique.
The pinch harmonic in itself is exactly the same regardless of whether it is played through a twin reverb or an uberschall. So the actual pinch harmonic is purely technique. The way it sounds after it has been amplified has other factors.
I can do pinch harmonics consistently across any guitar that's handed to me all it took was practice.
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However if things being about technique is bullshitee where are the pedals and pickups that will make my sweep picking not sound like cr@p?
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That "it's all about technique" is so BS.
Been also thinking about what the hell happened, since when I first discovered pinch harmonics at late 80's, I had no problem getting them out whenever I wanted what so ever.
And back then I had way more cr@ppy equipment, then these days.
Now I have several decent amps (Transistor and tube) and guitars with BKP pickups (one of the guitars I have used since late 80's) and find it hard to get decent PH's out.
And I don't think that I've mysteriously lost my "technique" during these years.
Originally that guitar that I've had all these years, had Duncan JB in bridge.
At some point I changed it to Dimebucker, and it was horrible.
Then I ordered Miracle Man and the sound was amazing.
Still, the pinch harmonics were almost impossible.
Few days ago I tried my newly acquired Epiphone Les Paul custom, with stock pickups with my gear and strangely PH's flew out like back in the days.
I am going to upgrade that Epi's pickups to BKP, like my other guitars and see what happens after that.
Okey dokey.
No.
As tony says, pinch harmonics are something you do to strings, not something that gear does for you. Its pure technique, everything else is window dressing and colour.
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It is, though. I can do pinch harmonics (and before anyone says, yes, that includes on an unplugged electric guitar). I can do them way better (or at all, in certain instances) with appropriate gear/settings. I don't care how good your technique is... you're not getting zakk-style squealies through a blackface fender twin reverb set to 1. Which means it's not all technique.
The same logic apples to palm mutes.
The core of it is technique. You can do it just fine on pafs into a blackface, but A: thats not going to sound like an 81 into a 5150 and B: thats a reductio ad absurdum. Of course the gear has an influence on how it sounds, but it has, as you say, no influence on whether they can be done.
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Increasing brightness and treble will help. I'm good at pinching the harmonics but I cant do the vibrato 'thing' like Zakk Wylde or John Sykes sadly:(
Adding gain will help too
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Adding gain will help too
And gain will help mainly because it adds compression, cause pinched harmonics are always lower level than normal notes.
That it also saturates more (and adds some overtones) also greatly helps the sound of these harmonics.
Which makes me thing adding the right kind of compression will go a looong way getting pinched harminics outa a Blackface.
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Adding gain will help too
And gain will help mainly because it adds compression, cause pinched harmonics are always lower level than normal notes.
That it also saturates more (and adds some overtones) also greatly helps the sound of these harmonics.
Which makes me thing adding the right kind of compression will go a looong way getting pinched harminics outa a Blackface.
Correct on all counts.
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It is, though. I can do pinch harmonics (and before anyone says, yes, that includes on an unplugged electric guitar). I can do them way better (or at all, in certain instances) with appropriate gear/settings. I don't care how good your technique is... you're not getting zakk-style squealies through a blackface fender twin reverb set to 1. Which means it's not all technique.
The pinch harmonic in itself is exactly the same regardless of whether it is played through a twin reverb or an uberschall. So the actual pinch harmonic is purely technique. The way it sounds after it has been amplified has other factors.
i think we're possibly talking at cross purposes. :lol: I don't disagree with anything you've said there. It just gets annoying (on other forums) where some poor kid is tearing his hair out about why his pinches aren't sounding right, and a whole bunch of smart-alecs post the "it's all technique" spiel and then you find out he's using his neck pickup with the guitar tone knob rolled down to 0 through a totally inappropriate amp or amp setting.
that's all i mean. If something, other than technique, affects how pinches sound (the "end result", in other words), then by definition they're not "all technique". can you "do" pinches into a totally clean amp? yep. will they sound like pinches? not really (most of the time).
To me, "sounding like pinches" and "being able to do pinches" are in effect the same thing. To argue they're not is verging on pedantry, if you ask me. At worst, they're two sides of the same coin.
EDIT: to go further along the technique train of thought... good vibrato makes pinches really jump out. I'd go so far as to say that (a certain type of) pinches don't really sound "right" without good vibrato. Is that pinch harmonic technique or vibrato technique? :? :lol:
However if things being about technique is bullshiteeee where are the pedals and pickups that will make my sweep picking not sound like cr@p?
I never said technique was BS- i said, "It's all technique" is BS. A lot of it is technique, for sure. I'm certainly not suggesting not to practise, lol, if anything I'm of the opposite school. But i could certainly give you amp settings that make sweep picking harder (way too much gain where everything turns to mush, say), and I also find sweep picking easier on guitars with a flatter fretboard radius. I'm probably not the best person to talk about sweep picking, because I do kinda suck at it, but the same thing applies to pinches (and I think i can do pinches ok).
The same logic apples to palm mutes.
The core of it is technique. You can do it just fine on pafs into a blackface, but A: thats not going to sound like an 81 into a 5150 and B: thats a reductio ad absurdum. Of course the gear has an influence on how it sounds, but it has, as you say, no influence on whether they can be done.
yep, i agree 100%.
but "the core" is not "all". I'm always very careful about superlatives, they can give people the wrong end of the stick if you're not careful.
EDIT: I don't think it is reductio ad absurdum. If it's readily available kit that people might be using, it's not reductio ad absurdum. If i said I can't get pinches on a shoebox strung with elastic bands, that'd be reductio ad absurdum, lol.
EDIT #2: (this is to both of you) I'm really not trying to start a fight here- I have the greatest of respect for both of your posts, and this is the only time I can remember disagreeing with anything I've seen either of you write. And disagreeing is too strong a word, it's more that we're arguing at cross purposes, as I originally said. I'm just worried by the "it's all technique" claims, when the threadstarter already made clear that his technique is fine. that's all. that's the crux of the matter, IMO.
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Amen to that dave_mc. :P
My point on technique was exactly that, but you explained it much better.
So now, when everyone hopefully understands this, you may want to find an explanation to this:
When I use same amps, with settings unchanged and switch only guitars, why do I get the easiest pinch harmonics from guitar with stock pickups?
And this was Epiphone Les Paul Custom.
Other guitars have Miracle man (soloist) and Warpig (Gibson Les Paul Studio).
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^ BKPs are normally pretty open-sounding; i suspect the epiphone pickups are more compressed. that might be it (though don't quote me on it, it could be something else entirely, or a combination of things).
have you tried your bkps with a boost pedal (e.g. something tubescreamery)? that might help the pinches to jump out. assuming you're using a tube amp.
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^ BKPs are normally pretty open-sounding; i suspect the epiphone pickups are more compressed. that might be it (though don't quote me on it, it could be something else entirely, or a combination of things).
have you tried your bkps with a boost pedal (e.g. something tubescreamery)? that might help the pinches to jump out. assuming you're using a tube amp.
Amen. My Tubescreamer has become an essential part of my rig, and right now it consists of an Orange Micro Terror going through a 4*12 with the Screamer and a Noisesuppressor in front of it. Gives my Holydiver more "balls" and I don't have any problems with pinches. In fact I played a Mates Alnico Warpig loaded LTD (Mahogany Body, Maple Cap, Maple Neck and Rosewood Fretboard) yesterday through that setup and it had everything, punch, screaming squeals and hell lot of output.
p.s.: I need Warpigs now that I tried them out :P
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Amen. My Tubescreamer has become an essential part of my rig,
yeah same here. well, my cheapo joyo clone :lol:
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I thought I would tip-toe into the debate here with a memory of my own. I can't remember where I heard or read this but I would reference the legendary ability of the Rev Billy G and his pinch-harmonic extracting technique. On 'Cheap sunglasses' he allegedly used a strat on an inbetween setting to get those subdued squeaks and squeals in the solo... now, unless they were super-overwound then this is all a question of fingers and picks (or pesos in Billy's case) Having seen a recent youtube clip his tech said he uses 8 guage strings for that phat tone!
Amen to Billy's technique.
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I'm certainly not saying technique doesn't play a part- it does, a massive part. I'm just saying that certain gear and/or settings help them to really jump out- once you have the technique down. And if you do have the technique down and find them more difficult with certain gear, it's probably not that you've inexplicably lost the ability to do pinch harmonics solely with that gear, lol.
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I'm certainly not saying technique doesn't play a part- it does, a massive part. I'm just saying that certain gear and/or settings help them to really jump out- once you have the technique down. And if you do have the technique down and find them more difficult with certain gear, it's probably not that you've inexplicably lost the ability to do pinch harmonics solely with that gear, lol.
I dont see how any one could disagree wih that! Theres a reason guitarists gravitate to the gear they do. George Lynch is the only guitarist who ive heard be completely honest in that he says something similar to if he doesnt have the exact right tone he hates his playing. I think when he says that he means a shitee loadof gain and reverb/delay. He is a God though regardless of if he relies on his gear though.
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:)
Yeah george lynch is a badass
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Sorry Dave, I'm going to have to chime in, too...
You're absolutely right about the cross-purposes nature of this conversation! Everyone seems to agree that 'being able to do pinch harmonics' and 'making great-sounding pinch harmonics' are at least related, but I would argue that the distinction between them is not pedantry for the following reason:
If you can't do pinch harmonics, there's 0% chance of them sounding great.
It's important to learn the technique to be able to do them on an unplugged guitar (or nylon-stringed ukulele, or elastic bands on a shoe box...). You can hear them in these cases.
The need for the right gear - however we choose to define that - is in the second stage and has incredibly little to do with the first! The only thing that the 'right' gear will bring which cannot be compensated for when trying PH unplugged is the sustain through feedback.
When someone posts 'why can't I get pinch harmonics to work?' it's very difficult to ascertain their problem, or indeed their real question. The best place to start is usually with technique, rather than suggesting they go out to buy a new guitar and amp!
Roo
PS I am a known pedant (had to be careful there) so take my words with the appropriately sized pinch (!) of salt.
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That's very well put, roo, i agree 100%. And perhaps pedantry was the wrong choice of words- I'm a stickler for accuracy myself, and I'd be the last person to suggest that accuracy is a bad thing.
I think a better way to phrase what I meant is in relation to your very good point:
"When someone posts 'why can't I get pinch harmonics to work?' it's very difficult to ascertain their problem, or indeed their real question. "
That is exactly the point I was trying to make, except I'm too long winded/not succinct/not articulate enough to get there in one sentence :lol:
My point is that, in a thread like this one, where the threadstarter *has* made clear what the problem is (i.e. not technique- if they can do it on some gear and not others odds are it's not technique-related; they're clearly into that "second stage" you're talking about), having several posts saying, "it's all technique, go and practise more" isn't helpful.
Granted, that didn't really happen here and I'm not sure why it ended up being a debate (probably my fault, sorry :oops: ). It's probably my reaction to other forums where a similar type of thread starts and before you know it there are 15 posts saying, "It's all technique, practise more!", despite it being blindingly obvious that the threadstarter is in the "second stage".
:lol: :drink:
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Dave: Go and practice more
Roo: You need a tele - great pinches on they buggers
:lol:
Most interesting thread, anyhoo :D
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So pinch harmonics comes down to
1) lucking into it and being able to reproduce the technique on any guitar
OR
2) Years of study and practice and being able to reproduce it on any guitar
OR alignment of the planets, there was an awful of pinch squealing going on on the 21st december 2012.
what helps pinch harmonics is
1) lucking into it and being able to reproduce the technique on any guitar
OR
2) Years of study and practice and being able to reproduce it on any guitar
PLUS
certain gear that aids the emphasis of pinch harmonics like PU's, amps, etc.
is it a weird thing, thinking back, that pinches always seem to jump best, for me, out of basswood bodied, floyd type guitars?
I pretty much agree with whats been said though, the technique is the technique, and you need to be able to do it, certain types of gear makes the emphasis of them easier.
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Dave: Go and practice more
Roo: You need a tele - great pinches on they buggers
:lol:
Most interesting thread, anyhoo :D
:lol:
this thread would have been a lot handier if roo had posted sooner. I sorta knew what I meant but didn't articulate it particularly well. :oops:
actually being able to execute a pinch harmonic (i.e. hit the node and cancel the fundamental to let the harmonic out) is of course all technique.
actually getting something that sounds like what most people think of as a pinch harmonic is a combination of technique and correct gear and settings.
that's what i meant. I wish i'd said that sooner. :lol: Apologies if I annoyed anyone or appeared argumentative. :)
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:drink:
:)
Roo
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:drink: :)
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...what happened here?
In closing,
Squiddly squiddly SQQQUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
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:lol: :drink:
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That "it's all about technique" is so BS.
Been also thinking about what the hell happened, since when I first discovered pinch harmonics at late 80's, I had no problem getting them out whenever I wanted what so ever.
And back then I had way more cr@ppy equipment, then these days.
Now I have several decent amps (Transistor and tube) and guitars with BKP pickups (one of the guitars I have used since late 80's) and find it hard to get decent PH's out.
And I don't think that I've mysteriously lost my "technique" during these years.
Originally that guitar that I've had all these years, had Duncan JB in bridge.
At some point I changed it to Dimebucker, and it was horrible.
Then I ordered Miracle Man and the sound was amazing.
Still, the pinch harmonics were almost impossible.
Few days ago I tried my newly acquired Epiphone Les Paul custom, with stock pickups with my gear and strangely PH's flew out like back in the days.
I am going to upgrade that Epi's pickups to BKP, like my other guitars and see what happens after that.
Okey dokey.
No.
As tony says, pinch harmonics are something you do to strings, not something that gear does for you. Its pure technique, everything else is window dressing and colour.
Kids eh :lol:
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I can do them on any guitar from an old classical with nylon strings that I found in a skip to any of my electrics with various bkps in them.
The more gain from the amp and the higher the output of the pickup, the more pronounced they sound. Your gear can and will if you have the correct technique accentuate this sound. I.E my Koch on the the ultra gain channel, gain above 6 and my Charvel Model 6 with a Miracle Man in the bridge make this technique a piece of piss.
As for the John Sykes vibrato technique with pinch harmonics that Zakk Wylde uses. You need to move the string between the frets your stopping at a semi tone either way. So it's like a bend that goes in both directions. It takes a lot of finger power to achieve this. 9's are a lot easier to get this than heavier gauges but that will start another bunfight involving pedantry so intense as to suggest getting out more and shagging a few birds is in order.
Although I do have some fantastically difficult finger exercises for those of you man enough to want to give this vibrato technique some welly on a set of 13's.
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I'm good with 9s :lol:
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That "it's all about technique" is so BS.
Been also thinking about what the hell happened, since when I first discovered pinch harmonics at late 80's, I had no problem getting them out whenever I wanted what so ever.
And back then I had way more cr@ppy equipment, then these days.
Now I have several decent amps (Transistor and tube) and guitars with BKP pickups (one of the guitars I have used since late 80's) and find it hard to get decent PH's out.
And I don't think that I've mysteriously lost my "technique" during these years.
Originally that guitar that I've had all these years, had Duncan JB in bridge.
At some point I changed it to Dimebucker, and it was horrible.
Then I ordered Miracle Man and the sound was amazing.
Still, the pinch harmonics were almost impossible.
Few days ago I tried my newly acquired Epiphone Les Paul custom, with stock pickups with my gear and strangely PH's flew out like back in the days.
I am going to upgrade that Epi's pickups to BKP, like my other guitars and see what happens after that.
I don't think anyone has touched on it but the setup of the guitar's action and neck relief play a big part as if the strings are being choked/action set too low so you have a bit of string buzz this will kill any chance of getting a decent pinch.
I had this problem when I bought an Ibanez off ebay a few years back. Pinches would fly off my other guitars but I just couldn't pull them off on this RG until my friend played it who picks a lot more aggressively than me played it and is was buzzing/choking all over the place... so I raised the action slightly and hey presto it pinched like a badass even with the cr@ppy v8 pickups!
However I do agree getting them to really wail has a lot to do with amp settings and pickup choice.
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^ that's a good point about the setup
definitely technique is the main thing- as has been said (ad nauseum, lol), if you don't have the technique it doesn't matter what you're playing through. But even if you have the technique, there are things that can make them not sound right or not jump out properly.