'Floating' Picking hand??

[krizz]

Hey,

I've had a Les Paul model for 1.5 years and basically learned to play with a pick on this guitar. I always leaned my hand on the bridge to give it more stability and it worked very well, especially with high-speed picking.

Four weeks ago I bought myself a Ibanez J-Custom S540 (wonderful guitar BTW) which has a floyd rose bridge. My picking technique (as it was on the Les Paul) does not work anymore because if I lean my hand on the floyd rose bridge; the pitch of (all) the strings is raised.

I'm now trying to re-learn the picking technique, and I'm very concequently _not_ touching the bridge, and I use my pinky (and sometime other right-hand fingers) to lean on the body. This works pretty fine, but it sucks for high speeds because I don't have the stability anymore.... You could compare it to the tech Micheal Angelo uses in his (outdated haired) video of no boundaries.

I'm practicing my ass off (all kinds of metronome excercises) to get this technique into my hands but I somehow have the feeling it just doesn't work. (I could do the excercises on the LP up to 140bmp and on the Ibanez I won't get any higher than 90 or so cause of the picking tech).

Is it just me and do I need a trem cover to lean my hand on or is it just a matter of time...? I won't give up; that for sure!

Any help is appreciated! Thx!

[Algiman]

Just a question of time I would say. You need a very different hand possition. I have exactly the opposite problem - after years of playing RG style guitars I have a really hard time with Les Pauls!

[Artist]

Try putting your hand as if you were palm muting, and when you play on the lower strings, lift it up to avoid muting.

Resting kind of the strings, just above the bridge pickup, resting with the edge of your palm.

[Drew]

Yeah, I've even checked against a tuner, and I've never had any trouble with pushing on the bridge. I don't really push down, per se, just rest.

course, I'm also playing a 7-string with 10's.

-D

[krizz]

Allright Thanks for the replies, I'll practice some more and I just have to get used to the position of the hand...

[zEr0]

Agreed. Just learn to apply less weight on the bridge and eventually you'll be able to rest your hand there without changing the pitch. I had the same problem but it was just a matter of practice to solve it.

[.guitarcake.]

i only ever play floyd rose equipped guitars and when i pick my hand is nowhere near the bridge.. i rest my palm on the lower strings when im not playing them and i use my ring and little fingers as an anchor on the body... its all about what ure used to doing, if i rest my hand on the bridge my speed drops because im not used to playing that way

[Bar_Hook]

i had that exact prob going from a strat to a JS, I just carried on resting my hand on the bridge exactly like i did b4 (even though it raised that pitch) becuase I was convinced that after a while I would just improve my hand resting technique unconsciously and it worked. I still rest my hand on the bridge but it doesnt change the pitch any more.