The one thing you wish you could do better?

[mystran]

Ouch! Just for laughs, I just tried that lick your way - not something the world is ready to hear...I knew there must have been another reason why I chose, all those years ago, to push instead of pull - it's almost as if I'd planned it that way

Is there another way? I mean, obviously I'm bending this up, 'cos it won't happen otherwise.. but ... like if you want to repeat that as tripplets a few times uptempo, then ... you just kinda have to (and no, you don't want to hear me do it either, though it's on the list of things I current should be practicing, 'cos I might want to make a fool of myself publicly with this in a few weeks).

ps. I double checked how I'd do this .. and I guess I do some palm muting too and the middle is ... sorta helping bend and sorta muting next string .. but ... it's still horrible.

[ThoughtExperiment]

I'll look up that guitarist, I haven't tried that technique but it could be a way in. I'll definitely give it a go.

You're welcome

No rocket science, really, just don't anchor palm at index finger at bottom of neck, so hand can move up and down freely.
- muscles in arm soon do those fine motoric movements needed

At 32 min and 38 min is some close up of Jukka doing it

- you see full hand going up and down


Just for enjoyment, nice groove

- he does some folk music fusion style, kind of
- also like how he use wah, not so much to extreme positions, just almost subtle
- arpeggiates melodies fluently and swapping to strum and the lot

Bonus track

Wow, I had never heard of this guy, even though I was (still am) seriously into prog/jazz/fusion in the 70s. Just shows how insular the UK was in those days, I guess...

I've had a brief try of his technique, and it does feel a bit awkward at first. But, I find I'm half-way there because the only time I really grab the neck is with a full barre chord, the rest of the time my thumb lies along the middle of the neck. I noticed when he really shakes that thing he takes his thumb away too - it'll take me a while to get used to that but I think it's worth persisting, to see if I can smooth out the motion, which is very twitchy/jerky at the moment because it's unfamiliar. Anyway, like I say I'll persist, it'll probably take me a little longer to get there, but I've got plenty of time - and I'm damn stubborn too

I particularly loved the 'Tiger' track - that is some fearsome groove for an odd time signature (what is it - 7/8 or something?) Always great to discover new (to me, anyway) music, so thanks for that too

[ThoughtExperiment]

Ouch! Just for laughs, I just tried that lick your way - not something the world is ready to hear...I knew there must have been another reason why I chose, all those years ago, to push instead of pull - it's almost as if I'd planned it that way

Is there another way? I mean, obviously I'm bending this up, 'cos it won't happen otherwise.. but ... like if you want to repeat that as tripplets a few times uptempo, then ... you just kinda have to (and no, you don't want to hear me do it either, though it's on the list of things I current should be practicing, 'cos I might want to make a fool of myself publicly with this in a few weeks).

ps. I double checked how I'd do this .. and I guess I do some palm muting too and the middle is ... sorta helping bend and sorta muting next string .. but ... it's still horrible.

Well now I feel silly I took you at your word and tried pulling the G...interesting exercise but I don't think it'll catch on. I think I can see how 'skronk' guitar got invented though...

[mystran]

Well now I feel silly I took you at your word and tried pulling the G...interesting exercise but I don't think it'll catch on. I think I can see how 'skronk' guitar got invented though...

Right.. so I do bend 3 up, 3 down (except sometimes I pull on G string, especially if using index), but one consequence of how I find pulling much more natural is that I can only really do vibrato by pulling, which effectively means no vibrato while bending the high strings and no vibrato whatsoever on high-e (due to how you'd fall off the fretboard.. on the bright side, my brain seems to understand this so it doesn't really even try, even though otherwise vibrato is just something that "happens" more so than something I'd think about).

I have tried ... and tried ... and tried ... to get the vibrato going from the wrist so I could do it up as well ('cos finger only pushing isn't happening) ... but no... I can only do it by pulling with my fingers.

It's not the fastest, it's not the widest, but it doesn't bother me really... except for the fact that I just can't do a "push vibrato" at all (and I literally mean like... I can do repeated bend like "twang twang twang" faster than I can do the "push vibrato" thing, it's weird)

[lfm]

He was some on swedish tv some, probably because of scandinavian heritage, kind of. We exchange culture a bit.

I've had a brief try of his technique, and it does feel a bit awkward at first. But, I find I'm half-way there because the only time I really grab the neck is with a full barre chord, the rest of the time my thumb lies along the middle of the neck.

That's how I felt too, but even the big arm muscles can take smooth controlled movements, I found.
- it's hard if to go both ways with a vibrato. both up and down from center.
- but up and back to center works fine

If we talk picking, there are many shredders that do arm pretty much. It's there for us as we use it. Body features are incredibly flexible.

I noticed when he really shakes that thing he takes his thumb away too - it'll take me a while to get used to that but I think it's worth persisting, to see if I can smooth out the motion, which is very twitchy/jerky at the moment because it's unfamiliar. Anyway, like I say I'll persist, it'll probably take me a little longer to get there, but I've got plenty of time - and I'm damn stubborn too

When he drops the thumb, I find that really out there. Not much control, really.
But it's an effect.
- like you would with a whammy bar or something

But he later ran a Ruokangas guitar, fine Finish guitars, and saw Ibanez AR something on a video
- none with whammy bars I saw, so only had this trick dropping thumb

Keeping thumb around helps control better IMO.

But to refer to thread title a bit - I wish I could get closer to Stefans tone one day.

Some more fusion, and Stefan Björklund on guitar in Kornet. His tone is out of this world.
- solo at 2:33


- solo at 3.56


I will not flood forum too much, so search "kornet" if interested....

[ThoughtExperiment]

...
- it's hard if to go both ways with a vibrato. both up and down from center.
- but up and back to center works fine

Yes, up and back to center feels more comfortable to me too - it's going to take some work to make it feel natural (and replace wrist vibrato) but I think it has possibilities for me.

When he drops the thumb, I find that really out there. Not much control, really.
But it's an effect.
- like you would with a whammy bar or something

Keeping thumb around helps control better IMO.

It's pretty out there alright - I don't think I could ever make that work. It looks like one of those 'bad habits' that self-taught guitarists developed because they didn't know any better (like my finger-powered vibrato) and because YT didn't exist in the 1970s

But to refer to thread title a bit - I wish I could get closer to Stefans tone one day.

Some more fusion, and Stefan Björklund on guitar in Kornet. His tone is out of this world.

You're right, that's a killer tone. And that band is so funky and so tight
(BTW, you're right, probably shouldn't hijack this thread too much - but I've had some great suggestions, and some great advice generally, so thanks all)

[tapper mike]

Take it were it leads you. If wishing down a path to recreating tones better then that's your path.

Occasionally I may chime in on things I'd like to do better like staying in my own lane musically.

Speaking of which.

There are things I do very well at of which I get bored quickly by. There are too many things I think I can do okay and want to do better and there are new (to me) musical directions which fascinate me to no end of which I'm always trying to experiment with . Focusing on my strengths rather than chasing too many directions is something I need to work on.