Make my guitar gurgle

Wblyheaded · #1 03-26-2003, 05:35 AM

I was wondering if anyone knows how to perform the gurgle technique. I know you use the tremelo and possibly a pinch harmonic? It sounds like you tap on the tremelo bar as you push it down or maybe let it up slowly with a strong vibrato. There are plenty of musical examples I could choose from. Vai uses them all the time. There is a good example in the first part of the solo in

"Don't Tell Me You Love Me" by Night Ranger.

iNFeRNaL · #2 03-26-2003, 11:59 AM

this is quite a common technique, and almost everyone with a whammy bar can do this little "trick" for the maximum effect, press the bar down, play a natural harmonic, and slowly depress or even pull up the bar to get a nice yell out of it

good harmonics for this are the ones around the fifth fret. to really make it scream try harmonics around the 2nd and 3rd fret

they require some practice tho

Of course you can always do pinch harmonics too, but it wont allow you to press your bar down before... What you can do with PH's is swap hands, use your right hand to pinch over the pickups and your left hand to control the bar

Sounds tricky ey? Satch uses it all the time, so be sure to check out his DVD

trouble311 · #3 03-26-2003, 07:22 PM

I think he means Vai's "purring cat/drowning frog" technique....for that, you just start at a low (1-3) fret, and slide to a high fret, all while depressing the bar....that way, you get the effect of sliding while keeping the actual pitch the same.....or you can do it the other way....depress the bar fully, start at a high fret, then slide to a low fret while allowing the bar to raise....I think that's what he means.

Just my two cents.

Wblyheaded · #4 03-27-2003, 05:12 AM

Thanks a lot guys. I know how to execute screaming harmonics on the low frets quite well. I installed hot EMGs in my white PGM and it is very easy. I think I was asking about the Purring Cat technique. Thanks. I will try it out. I have heard this executed very fast on different notes in sequence. Can this be done over just a few frets?

Wblyheaded · #5 04-06-2003, 09:29 PM

I finally got it. I sort of tap/press the bar at the same time as picking the note and I get the sound. Now I will work on the dive bombs that vibrate/gurgle. Heard alot in speed metal solos. Any tips for that?

Champagne Mist · #6 04-07-2003, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trouble311

I think he means Vai's "purring cat/drowning frog" technique....for that, you just start at a low (1-3) fret, and slide to a high fret, all while depressing the bar....that way, you get the effect of sliding while keeping the actual pitch the same.....or you can do it the other way....depress the bar fully, start at a high fret, then slide to a low fret while allowing the bar to raise....I think that's what he means.

Just my two cents.

Yeah, i think this is what he means. I've heard Satch do it too. I always called it a "lizard down the throat." You can hear it in Blue Powder well, right at 0:29. Vai frets the note and depresses the bar while sliding, keeping the same pitch, then lets the bar back up and holds the note.

Wblyheaded · #7 04-08-2003, 04:50 PM

The first tech. I was talking about happens in "Blue Powder" at 4:02 and in "For the Love of God" at 3:06 and 3:34.

That reminds me, is there accurate tab for what steve does in FLOG at 4:08 to 4:16?

kennydoe · #8 04-08-2003, 10:43 PM

I think you are referring to what we usually call 'flutter'

~K

Champagne Mist · #9 04-08-2003, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wblyheaded

That reminds me, is there accurate tab for what steve does in FLOG at 4:08 to 4:16?

Buy the book.

xaoscontrol · #10 08-12-2003, 05:45 PM

Unless I missed it, I'm going to toss in my suggestion.

I call it a gurgle or a flutter..depends on who's doing it, how he's doing it and what it sounds like at the the time...but they're both the same to me.

There's a couple of ways to do this. One is playing a note or a series of notes and 'beating' on the body of the guitar near your trem. This causes it to 'flutter' and you get that sound. I don't care for this one as the actuall pounding on the guitar tends to echo through the pickups and the amp and eventually your head. The other way is to hit a note (pluck a harmonic on the 5th fret, b string (high b if you're on a Universe) and then start to pull up on the trem..when you pull it up, let it go quickly.

The hard part is to get this effect to happen when several notes are being played in succession. Takes practice, but if it's the effect you are looking for, you'll know if it's right.

I got inspired to learn how to do thisn when I heard a song by Forced Entry back in 91. Tempo was like 160 bpm and this guy would hit a three note progression, flutter, hit a a four note progression, flutter, three more notes, flutter. Each flutter was a different note but that whole rif repeated and each time sounded amazingly the same.

Devo · #11 08-12-2003, 06:14 PM

This question comes up far too often, perhaps someone could write out a nice explanation of both techs with the most common name for each and make it sticky in this forum.

Steve

zEr0 · #12 08-14-2003, 10:10 AM

Agreed. I was asking fo the same thing about a week ago (I think

). Now I'm getting all confused again.