Breakdown chugs

[BassManMike73]

I've got a tryout today (on guitar, not bass) and the band is pop punk, with quite a bit of open palm muted chugs. This is a technique I've never had to use before, and am having a lot of trouble getting it. Anybody have some tips for this type of stuff?

 

[anonparrot]

I've got a tryout today (on guitar, not bass) and the band is pop punk, with quite a bit of open palm muted chugs. This is a technique I've never had to use before, and am having a lot of trouble getting it. Anybody have some tips for this type of stuff?

For me (on guitar) I put my pick hand closer to the bridge and rest the outside of my hand (close to the pinky) lightly on the strings just muting them slightly.

I find the farther away from the bridge I get the harder it is for me (maybe it's just me) to mute the strings.

After a while it just becomes second nature. It's all down to practice just like everything else really.

--AnonParrot.

 

[BassManMike73]

For me (on guitar) I put my pick hand closer to the bridge and rest the outside of my hand (close to the pinky) lightly on the strings just muting them slightly.

I find the farther away from the bridge I get the harder it is for me (maybe it's just me) to mute the strings.

After a while it just becomes second nature. It's all down to practice just like everything else really.

--AnonParrot.

That helped a bit!

I also dug through the studio pick collection and found some Fender Thin and Dunlop .50 mm and those both made a significant difference.

 

[sixesandsevens]

That Parrot has good advice!

Some other things that might help:

- When you hit the strings, really push into them a bit, almost like you're punching with your thumb and index finger that are holding the pick.

- I prefer heavier picks these days, like the Dunlop Ultex 1.4 and 2.0. They make it easier to muscle the strings around.

- Tonally, using something with a mid boost in front of your amp like a tube screamer set with high level and gain to taste can add a metallic edge to the sound that really gives some nice definition to the sound. When I first started using modellers, I struggled with high gain sounds until I learned that trick.

What kind of guitar and amp are you using? IME it's much harder to get those sounds out of a single coil guitar than one with humbuckers, but a compressor and boost can help level the playing field a bit.

Good luck with the audition!

Edit: or rather, how did it go?

 

[BassManMike73]

That Parrot has good advice!

Some other things that might help:

- When you hit the strings, really push into them a bit, almost like you're punching with your thumb and index finger that are holding the pick.

- I prefer heavier picks these days, like the Dunlop Ultex 1.4 and 2.0. They make it easier to muscle the strings around.

- Tonally, using something with a mid boost in front of your amp like a tube screamer set with high level and gain to taste can add a metallic edge to the sound that really gives some nice definition to the sound. When I first started using modellers, I struggled with high gain sounds until I learned that trick.

What kind of guitar and amp are you using? IME it's much harder to get those sounds out of a single coil guitar than one with humbuckers, but a compressor and boost can help level the playing field a bit.

Good luck with the audition!

Edit: or rather, how did it go?

Awesome! Thanks for that!

I've found using lighter picks to be more helpful. But a few guitar player friends up here also said they prefer heavier picks or this kind of thing.

And I did actually start using a tube screamer after my OP. which did help.

I'm playing a Gibson Les Paul with 500T pickups, in front of a Marshall Mode Four half stack.

And my tryout went well! He asked me to learn two more songs and come back on Tuesday!

 

[kanonfodr]

For palm-muting I tend to hook my pinky on the high E string as a reference, then rotate my palm across the bridge to use more or less muting as needed. It still takes some time to get the technique down.

As far as picks, I started using Dunlop .77s, then moved to Dava Control picks, but ever since I hijacked a Dunlop Jazz3 from one of my guitarists I've been using those exclusively. They are incredibly small, and not very flexible, and I hated using them for chords at first but they reveal a lot of flaws in your picking technique and I've improved a lot since making the switch.

BTW, that guitar, through that amp, must sound absolutely sick . I wish I could afford a real LP, but I'm happy for right now with my Epi Zakk Wylde LP. I'm also using a Valvestate VS100R 112 combo, an interesting little amp fo' sho' .

Peace,
Greg

 

[BassManMike73]

For palm-muting I tend to hook my pinky on the high E string as a reference, then rotate my palm across the bridge to use more or less muting as needed. It still takes some time to get the technique down.

As far as picks, I started using Dunlop .77s, then moved to Dava Control picks, but ever since I hijacked a Dunlop Jazz3 from one of my guitarists I've been using those exclusively. They are incredibly small, and not very flexible, and I hated using them for chords at first but they reveal a lot of flaws in your picking technique and I've improved a lot since making the switch.

BTW, that guitar, through that amp, must sound absolutely sick . I wish I could afford a real LP, but I'm happy for right now with my Epi Zakk Wylde LP. I'm also using a Valvestate VS100R 112 combo, an interesting little amp fo' sho' .

Peace,
Greg

It does sound pretty nice! I'm the only guitar player I know (at least of the ones who play regularly in bands around here) that doesn't have a tube amp, so they all have separate solid state practice amps, and I just turn my hybrid mode four down and still have the same tone I do when it's cranked!

 

[sixesandsevens]

Awesome! Thanks for that!

I've found using lighter picks to be more helpful. But a few guitar player friends up here also said they prefer heavier picks or this kind of thing.

As the saying goes, use whatever works for you.

I think for me what I've found is that normally if I'm playing heavy with palm mutes, odds are I'm also looking for very precise control over the attack and decay of the notes. For me, a heavy pick makes the timing of the attacks more predictable...

And I did actually start using a tube screamer after my OP. which did help.

I'm playing a Gibson Les Paul with 500T pickups, in front of a Marshall Mode Four half stack.

And my tryout went well! He asked me to learn two more songs and come back on Tuesday!

Congratulations!