Here you go. Do this while playing clean:

Take your middle finger of fretting hand and bend the high e string (at any position below 12th fret on neck) up and under the b string far enough for the stings to cross over each other. Then use your first finger to hold them against the fretboard while crossed while releasing your middle finger so it doesn't get trapped under the two strings.

Now, while holding them there, crossed over each other, strum the two strings hard and fast with a pick to get a snare drum effect.

Cool, huh?

I learned this as a standard technique for playing Chinese lutes.

example starts at 1:49:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXvNgl5Yq2U

Makes the guitar sound much better and brings out your playing more IMO.

I just play to the best of my ability. My audiences seem to be receptive over the decades.

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You dig?

Nice idea for a thread this actually, im hoping we`ll see a lot more of peoples tricks being posted. Most flashy guitarists have them!

Some of my more extrovert things are purely visual, like the duckwalk or windmill arms. Most of this is pretty standard but i find you still so rarely see people doing any of it, normally its just staring at their hands for the whole gig.

I also like the whole running the plectrum down the neck from top to bottom going into a heavy bit, that age old screaming sound can sound great if timed properly,

As with Buxom, bending a string by pressing down above the nut can be cool, again more of a visual thing though as youd have more control doing it with the trem arm! If you put enough of your body into it though i find this way can be a good bit of showmanship.

Someone earlier mentionned a lot of bending notes, im not sure this is what he meant, but i do like bending a note as far as would be normal but instead of moving on to the next lick, then bending it further, can sound nicely heart wrenching. Broken a few strings this way though

Most of what i like doesnt involve effects. Not a fan of effects pedals at all, though i still seem to spend an annoying amount of time and money on them. Sometimes it is just sensible, but i dont like it. Valve amp, guitar and guitar volume/tone switches is all thats needed...... Yeah in my head anyway, most bands i end up in that arent blues rock bands end up requiring an annoying amount more!!

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`I prefer not to listen to music that I can't rip off or improve on` - Ian Dury

RS gold? Runescape gold? Gtfo, stop killing the game I've loved for 6 years.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

I play a Telecaster. I have a Stratocaster project in the works though.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

I'm partial to doing neck bends, sometimes I'll do so Jonny Greenwood-esque guitar smacking. I also like the thing the guitarist in Kings of Leon does where he screams into his pickups.


PS, Buxom aren't you a little old to be playing runescape?

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Rated "M" for meaty.

I'm only 16. I know a couple people in their 20s and one in his 40s that plays. I've played for 6 years. I run the guitar thread on the forums and that's the only way I've remained active in the community for a year or so now.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

if tricks were your bag, what tricks would they be?
the best trick is to play really well, after that it's more like a side-show, of those, I pick hard and at the highest volume allowable.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Ahhh. I play decently on high gain. I want to get better with clean though.

Also, are there any tips for channel blending?

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

one thing that helped me is trying my best to play as close to the fret as possible and mute unplayed strings. I had a big problem with letting strings ring out . but learning some of ted greens chord technique and phrasing for slow jazz helped tremendously. watch his fretting hand really closely and you can learn allot.

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I do some muting. I have difficulties though, considering how bad my left hand is.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Not really a trick, but developing a great finger vibrato is essential IMHO. It has become an essential part of "My Bag of Tricks". Don't find alot of guys with a good one, has helped me get into a couple of bands.

FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I don't commonly use tricks. I'm just an average buzzsaw player. But I enjoy it mainly when playing around with friends. Idk what you mean by finger vibrato either.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Finger Vibrato is holding a note with a side to side or up and down motion to make a note sing...watch BB King (a stinging type vibrato) or Eric Clapton (for a good long sustaining note type) just to name a couple great ones, but different in approach.

HTH

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.