I find it hard to hammer on and pull off at speed. the strings go quieter as i get midway in the solo. It may be because im not pressing hard enough or not plucking hard enough.any tips?

Like you said, the harder you pick the string the louder it will sound, and finger strength is also a factor. The stronger your fretting fingers get the easier it will be to get a reasonable amount of volume. Keep in mind that hammer-ons aren't particularly loud anyhow, compared to picking each note.

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"When you're a young, long haired guitarist, people don't take you seriously." - John Petrucci

Well I don't know about that, I think it can depend a lot on the setup. I don't think that there is anybody alive who could play long legato (hammeron/pulloff) runs on a gibson es175 through a clean polytone amp. However, playing an ibanez jem through a marshall, it becomes much easier. While obviously there is a lot of skill involved, you also will do much better if you are using light strings, low action, some compression, and a lot of overdrive.

hmm..do u guys agree dat different guitars can produce diffrent quality of hammering and pulling offs....i played on a simple guitar..and it kinda sound so soft...but tried it out on an ibanez jem.....wow...it all comes clean. maybe the amp and the overdrive level got something to do with it

Legato playing is hard to play loud but I find that when I concentrate on relaxing and less movement they come out better.

When it all comes down to is practice, just like everything else. Look at Vai and Satriani. They are probably the two most well know legato masters when it comes to rock. But you don't think that they could it the first time they picked up a guitar, do you? Just practice and it will come to you.

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