Zakk Wyld technique-question

Hello everone!!

A friend of mine showed me a Zakk Wyld instruction video and could say that it was the most kick-ass I've ever seen!

He didn't played with any disortion, just low gain and everyone knows that it's more difficult played..

1. So I gotta ask you guys, is it more usefull practising without dissortion and without reverb??

2. He picked the strings hard as hell. Is that for any good reason (more than if you play on a acoustic)?

Thanx!!

I start off practising without distortion this helps you learn to hit the notes cleanly and clearly without "hiding" behind the distortion. Then I used crank up the dis just cos it sounds good. But after I've a lil work out.
As for the hitting the strings hard. Yeah Zakk does hit them damn hard. I think this is also just to get a nice clean sound of a note. I don't pick notes too hard, but hard enough for the note to be crisp. (I do like my descriptive words begining with a c, lol)

Yeah, the hiding that you mentioned is what I really want to get away from, cause I know I'm doing it..

Well, thanks Slasher!

/Anders

I like practicing with dist. coz I can make sure and check if the sound is still ringing after moving to another string. Cause it gets REALLY dirty if the notes you picked on one string still rings while you moved onto another. Or is this just a problem that only I exprience? :)

Originally posted by Inisfail
Hello everone!!

A friend of mine showed me a Zakk Wyld instruction video and could say that it was the most kick-ass I've ever seen!

He didn't played with any disortion, just low gain and everyone knows that it's more difficult played..

1. So I gotta ask you guys, is it more usefull practising without dissortion and without reverb??

2. He picked the strings hard as hell. Is that for any good reason (more than if you play on a acoustic)?

Thanx!!

Oh and Zakk did say he likes picking (didn't mention how hard but) coz it gives definition.

Hmm... I've heard the "Hide behind distortion" thing before too but quite honestly playing with tons of distortion and treble can be quite hard because, as Andy 82 said, any quiet sound of a still ringing string is picked up and it might even be turned into feedback. If you're practicing harmonics (esp., pinch harmonics) start with distortion or your life will become too hard.
As for hitting strings damn hard, I guess that's good practice because you will find that as you speed up the notes get quieter, this makes it harder to get as much rhythm into your playing.

Originally posted by aiwass
I usually practice without an amp.

I do that most of the time ... Mainly cuz I'm too lazy to plug in ! :D
I also noticed that it adds some more precision to my overall technique .


Other people find it harder to play with high gain , cuz of their muting techniques ... I say , everyone should focus on his weak points , cuz a chain is as strong as it's weakest link.

Originally posted by u10ajf
Hmm... I've heard the "Hide behind distortion" thing before too but quite honestly playing with tons of distortion and treble can be quite hard because, as Andy 82 said, any quiet sound of a still ringing string is picked up and it might even be turned into feedback. If you're practicing harmonics (esp., pinch harmonics) start with distortion or your life will become too hard.
As for hitting strings damn hard, I guess that's good practice because you will find that as you speed up the notes get quieter, this makes it harder to get as much rhythm into your playing.

Well, you got a point and I had some thoughts about that too, but later I realized that it wouldn't bee a problem to me. A lot of sweep practicing really helped me learn how to mute the strings I wasn't playing on, which I also did automaticly when I played low gain.

For a.harmonics (I'm not sure if that's what you mentioned when you wrote pinch harmonics) I would say that it is best to begin with disortion to fast understand how to make them, just as you said. Later, when you got so far, train the artificial harmonics without disortion..

/Anders

So folks, to sum it all up: Vary the effects you practice with because they affect different techniques. I had to borrow an amp to play live (or just to practice with one) for my first 3 years and I can honestly say that I was a lot better than anyone I started playing with after those three years. Those guys only had to step on a pedal to sound decent and enjoy themselves, whereas I had to actually play something. As a result, they got an education and a career and are now making some decent cash, and I followed my musical dreams and am now an alcoholic. hahaha.

Yeah, daveasdf, you're damn right.. =D

You forgot "broke" also, because you know working musicians do it for the love and NOT the cash....:)

Originally posted by aiwass
I disagree. When playing unplugged, if you manage to get your pinch harmonics to the point where they are just as loud as any other note, you'll be ten times as good as if you had practiced it with distortion.

Is that really possible? You mean without distortion or effects right?

It's possible to get P.H.s with clean tone , but it won't sound as loud as other notes at all pitches .

Perhaps using no amp at all, not even low gain, will be the best way of practising pinches..

Advantages of Practicing Clean

Develops the following:
Articulation
Dynamics
Consistency
it really forces you to concentrate on your right hand technique especially

Note: try doing hammer ons / Pull offs clean....
VERY difficult, your hand will be ready to fall off after a few mintues!!

Advantages of Practicing with Distortion:
Muting
Controling feedback
Eliminating errant string noise / Pick Noise / Finger noise

When Practicing with Distortion..try using JUST distrotion..no reverb, compression, Delay or any other effect as this can mask certain nuances.

If you go to John Petrucci's website, he has MP3s of unaccompanied solos, which are distorted but dry, and you can hear how clean and precise he plays. A goal we all should reach for!!

:-)

Originally posted by snimbkar
Advantages of Practicing Clean

Develops the following:
Articulation
Dynamics
Consistency
it really forces you to concentrate on your right hand technique especially

Note: try doing hammer ons / Pull offs clean....
VERY difficult, your hand will be ready to fall off after a few mintues!!

Advantages of Practicing with Distortion:
Muting
Controling feedback
Eliminating errant string noise / Pick Noise / Finger noise

When Practicing with Distortion..try using JUST distrotion..no reverb, compression, Delay or any other effect as this can mask certain nuances.

Yes, I think you're totally right..