Fat fingers?

Well due to my background (Asian) I think I've got small hands despite my size (just over 6 feet)

Anyway that's not the point but, when you pull-off at the higher frets 15th and higher... my fingers, which I think its small are too fat for the frets and make sissy sounds, like little tweaks :)

Just a thought, you guys would probably have big hands than me :D and bet you don't make that tweaking sound. Same problem with the bends at the higher frets.

How do you achieve those fat sounds at higher bends? Just sheer practice of just a different way to bend etc?

If you guy(s) read this...
Azrael - I read your equip list, you got a MT-2, got any good tones you wanna share :D ?
SLY - Thanks a million buddy, answering my Qs :D

Cheaper amps are really weak when it comes to very high and very low end frequencies. The pickups also need to be good to transmit the signal. You can try upgrading your equipment or maybe getting an effects box like an RP200, or something else with good equilization. The more bass, the fatter the sound. Too much bass can be muddy, though, so for the fattest yet cleanest sound boost your Low Mids. Also boost your Highs, but not as much as your mids. Something like Bass 5, Low Mid 6.5, High Mids 8.5, High 5.5. Mixed with smooth distortion and some chorus this will give a smooth, fat, nearly violin like tone throughout the tonal range of your guitar.

Originally posted by andy82
...SLY - Thanks a million buddy, answering my Qs :D

You're welcome dude , I'm very happy if my little knowledge helped you. :)


About small and fat fingers , it should be no problem ... You may need a little more practice or may be try defferent neck scales to suit your fingers.

By the way , lots of realy good players are fat & eventualy got realy fat fingers like Malmsteen (shred master), B.B. King & a lot more that I can't remember now.

For me, my fingers are little tall & slim like most guitarists , but still the 24th fret is very narrow for anybody and to me for sure , but I play it , bend it , hammer on or pulloffs with no problem ... It will just take some more practice from you to know the right touch that gives clear sound of the note.

Michael Angelo even played a 29 frets guitar , and on his vid he managed to reach there and shred too !

The Dirt - Better equipment? Haven't thought of that too much, but hell yeh I guess that's why some equipments are dearer than others. To be honest I never took time to learn the techincal side of guitar playing, although I do believe it'll make a difference especially with sounds. So I'm completely clueless when it comes to getting "that" sound. But I'll try those settings on my amp (Cheap beginner Peavy :))

SLY - Its just those higher frets... they get quite narrow resulting in unwanted harmonics sometimes hehe. I'll perfect it soon and get the sound soon after some skinning ripping exercises. ;)

You may need to make your fingers stronger since it takes alittle more pressure to push down on the strings enough to produce a solid sound. The sissy sound is usually caused from this, and it probably gets worse if your using your pinky finger. Just because it's the weakest, but just keep practicing. Your fingers should get stronger, if you still have trouble after some time. Get yourself a one of those finger-strengtheners for guitar, that shouldend the problem indefinitely.

The idea is like taking a thin long wooden board and then laying 2 concrete blocks under each end of the board. Then standing in the middle of the board. The board will automatically bend down because of your weight. But if you bring the concrete blocks closer together, the board bends down less. Even though the weight on the board is the same. Well it's the same thing with the guitar. The closer the frets the less the string bends between them. Especially when there as close as the 21st and 22nd fret.

I was watching Kirk tap with his pinky whilst doing the One solo, I used to do this with my ring finger so now I'm practising with my pinky. Now, I'm not trying copy everything but I've been neglecting my last finger a lot.

Cheers for the tips :)

I am one of those fat dudes with fat fingers so I used to have a lot of problems when I was sweeping on the lower neck. What I did was I started using my fingernails and changed the position of my hand into an 45 degree angle. at first this might feel ackward, but as soon as you get the hang of it, it is effective as hell. You could also try to press down on the fret instead of beteen the frets.

Well I've been playing bass for the last few days, a friend of mine went on an interstate trip around Australia so I got his bass for the next few weeks. Man, its doing wonders, tapping on bass and then later tapping on my guitar improved my strength and accuracy.

Jesus - Fingernails? Sounds weird but heck, that's original :)

aiwass - Don't know much guitar players, only know the higherly commericalised modern players, like Kirk, Vai, Satch, etc :confused:

Who's Johnny Hiland ?

Originally posted by aiwass
His fingers are like big sausages.

lol, but respectful.. i guess with practise theres no stopping it :)

Originally posted by aiwass
His fingers are like big sausages.

WOW! I got a big sausage too, but it aint my finger!!!

Yeah, and my eyes are eggs, my hair is bacon, and my teeth are grits. By the way, Im gonna go eat breakfast.