volume knob violining

[gwEm]

inspired by my latest guitar hero - uli jon roth - i've been inspired to try out some violining.

must say though, its not as easy as people make it look. originally i tried with a driven sound like uli, but i found its far easier to use a clean tone. on my V, its not very easy to pick and turn the knob at the same time.

my first attempts have been a disaster... does anyone have any tips? is it lame to use a volume pedal?

[indysmith]

I can't do it either - it's a pretty difficult technique to do well I think,  but with a bit of practise I'm sure it'd come. A volume pedal isn't lame! would make a lot of sense.

[Philly Q]

I can't do it either, but I would say you're probably best off with a Strat, for ease of access to the volume! 

And maybe avoid CTS pots, which are annoyingly stiff. 

Excellent taste in latest guitar heroes, though, gwEm!  :D

[WezV]

+1 on the strat thing - you need that volume really close

things like rubber rings or knurling on the knob help as well because you dont need to grip it at all if you can get your little finger in the right place (that would read quite badly out of context)

[Philly Q]

If you want the ultimate Strat/V hybrid:

http://www.byrdguitars.com/index4.htm

[FernandoDuarte]

If you want the ultimate Strat/V hybrid:

http://www.byrdguitars.com/index4.htm

God, I just puke in my laptop :(


Yeah, as Wez said, the volume knob has to be close enough to you can pick and turn it at the same time... it's like, you won't pick as usual, you'll pick with the move made to open the volume, if you understand me...

perhaps an english born can make it more sense :lol:

[ToneMonkey]

+1 on the strat thing - you need that volume really close

things like rubber rings or knurling on the knob help as well because you dont need to grip it at all if you can get your little finger in the right place (that would read quite badly out of context)

Or double sided sellotape alla Scratch Perverts.

[hamfist]

Using a volume pedal is waaaaay easier and produces much better results than any guitar volume knob antics - IMO of course ! 

[il˙ti]

Using a volume pedal is waaaaay easier and produces much better results than any guitar volume knob antics - IMO of course ! 

Agreed. A compressor too if you want to go all out on the violin effect.

[Crazy_Joe]

Yeah volume pedal is the way forward for this technique.

[AndyR]

If you want the ultimate Strat/V hybrid:

http://www.byrdguitars.com/index4.htm

Wow! What a geetar... I'd have one if they was cheap...

But yeah, you need a strat to do it easily.
One thing though - you'll never get it trying to do it on your own at domestic volumes, IMHO :), I learnt to do it live with the whole band blasting away.
I can't do it anymore though...
I can't do it with a volume pedal either, I just get confused!

What you want to try is wah-wah using the tone control like Rory Gallagher used to do - that's really effective - can't do it myself though :(

[gwEm]

thanks for all the thoughts - i'm happy that others have found it a bit tricky too!

any suggestions for what might be a nice volume pedal might be? (morley little alligator?)

edit: i've seen those strat/Vs before. depending on my mood i like them... i'm starting to "get" strats slowly.

[kevincurtis]

You can use your thumb to pick the string and then have your pinky/3rd all wrapped around the volume ready to wind it up, or hammer lke hell a la EVH on Cathedral :)  all that said I have succumbed and got a Morley Little Alligator which seems ok so far (although haven' used it a lot yet...)

[Philly Q]

What you want to try is wah-wah using the tone control like Rory Gallagher used to do - that's really effective - can't do it myself though :(

It's really hard to reach across and operate the tone quickly enough, isn't it?

Seems to work better with a high value capacitor, so there's a more dramatic rolloff.  When I was trying out Tele pickups in my old Squier Strat I was using 0.033 and 0.047 caps, and for the first time I managed to get that wah effect.  So I used a 0.047 in the Tele - but I still can't do the wah thing because the CTS pot is too stiff and it's miles away from my picking hand.  :(

any suggestions for what might be a nice volume pedal might be? (morley little alligator?)

I have an old Morley Wah/Volume pedal - works well enough.

[WezV]

What you want to try is wah-wah using the tone control like Rory Gallagher used to do - that's really effective - can't do it myself though :(

It's really hard to reach across and operate the tone quickly enough, isn't it?

Seems to work better with a high value capacitor, so there's a more dramatic rolloff.  When I was trying out Tele pickups in my old Squier Strat I was using 0.033 and 0.047 caps, and for the first time I managed to get that wah effect.  So I used a 0.047 in the Tele - but I still can't do the wah thing because the CTS pot is too stiff and it's miles away from my picking hand.  :(

a filter based pre-amp helps a hell of a lot - shame they only come on relatively few high end basses.