Tipps for playing clean under high gain

[GuitarIv]

So, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's been thinking about this, or rather struggling with this before. Playing tight and clean under high gain, may it be Rythm or Solo. I opened this thread for all of us to share opinions and tipps to improve ones playing.

Now my contribution would be this:

Always play with a Metronome - otherwise this ain't gonna work in the first place

Play with too little or no gain at all - pick intensity and little flaws usually tend to get lost under high gain, especially with a too forgiving setup

Play with the most disgusting "Black Metal" Sound you can create - meaning a lot of highs and lot of gain, this is the other side of the thing mentioned before, if every move you do creates noise, you will start to play more economical

Record yourself and listen to it - pretty self explanatory, init?

Start practicing slowly - if you start doing things the right way and slowly in the first place, your muscle memory will help you to do things right at full speed

And last one: there is no cheating or faster way - playing well means practice, lots of

And a really nice workshop by Josh Middleton of Sylosis that helps a great deal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHBYuj9IBMs

So if you have other tipps, keep em coming!

Cheers

[gwEm]

muting unused strings is a good thing to do also

[Toe-Knee]

I find recording in general really tightens up my playing.

[Alex]

Playing with less gain helps.

[Bob Gnarly]

Less time on the internet, and more time practising? ;)

[MDV]

Dont fear the gain.

A lot of people will say 'less gain'. In actual fact getting clarity out of high gain is harder, and requires cleaner playing. Lower gain is often a band-aid. Higher gain accentuates extraneous noises (its gain, after all, and it comes with lots of compression that makes that slightly ringing string you dont want to ring louder)

I would say roll off a lot of low end. That does tend to obscure things.

Otherwise, start slow, find a good, clear, efficient technique and build that exact technique up to speed. Wing things fast and you're just teaching yourself bad habits in all probability.

Come up with awkward picking patterns

When pushing your speed up, make your final practice speed faster than the speed you actually intend to play at.

program out drums that follow the riffs exactly so you can learn the spacing and placement of each beat, then practice to a click when you have a good sense of the timing.

Practice every day. It doesnt have to be for hours, it does have to be daily. Thats what makes your brain go 'Hes making me do this all the time, I better remember it' and makes something you previously have to think about into procedural memory ('muscle memory')

[witeter]

Practice Rhythm playing with less gain and bump the gain for solo/lead work-this will allow you to have sweet sustain to work with and on making sure you deaden other strings when playing-taming the beast if you will.

Play along to music you enjoy or a metronome, helps you get tighter. And yes start sllllloooooooww, as much as i hate it, it really does work and makes for better technique.

[GuitarIv]

Another thing I noticed which is important to be a good lead player is phrasing: I experienced a lot of folks who could shred like mad, but their single notes sounded so dull and disgusting it's a shame. Sometimes doing some simple and subtle vibrato with your fingers can make the difference between an awesome solo and an ugly sounding one.

[hunter]

Raise your action and use thicker picks. If you really feel each note you play, it won't be sloppy.