The importance of hitting hard

  • Thread starter Thread starter SpiderWars
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yeah its good to have picking dynamics, for me though really laying into it dosent really help my tone and in most cases probally hurts it. all of my guitars have a certain spot around the bridge with a certain grip that is the "chunk spot", picking too hard just turns the chunk spot into a mush mess with how i like to set my amps.
 
psychodave said:
Until you get guys hitting so hard strings go out of tune. There is one guy here who does it constantly. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. He mods amps, nice guy but he does his mods a disservice by posting some clips.
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Could be a mix of playing too light of a string gauge for their preferred tuning too. Lots of variables but yes I agree there’s a limit.

Also he makes money playing and I don’t, but I cringe when I see people strum with their elbow and not resting their wrist on the bridge. I had that noob habit starting out too and it’s all fun and games until you get tennis elbow from it, not to mention limiting your playing accuracy.
 
psychodave said:
Until you get guys hitting so hard strings go out of tune. There is one guy here who does it constantly. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. He mods amps, nice guy but he does his mods a disservice by posting some clips.
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This touches on an important point. There is a way to get that solid connection and 'hard hit' without displacing the strings so much. The distance away from the saddles matters too. If he played that way right over the 12th fret it wouldn't work because the strings have too much give there.
 
I understand the point he's going for but I think what he's trying to demonstrate misses the mark; at least without more context.
It's not so much the importance of hitting hard, it's the importance of having good picking dynamics. If all you do is hit hard you can still sound like shit because you're not able to put emphasis on notes that need it or back off for a more subdued feel. Those dynamics become even more important when you're riding that edge of breakup. I like to think of it like painting. If all you use is gunmetal grey all your work is monotone and can be boring. If you use the entire color pallet all of a sudden it's more vibrant and exciting.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I understand the point he's going for but I think what he's trying to demonstrate misses the mark; at least without more context.
It's not so much the importance of hitting hard, it's the importance of having good picking dynamics. If all you do is hit hard you can still sound like shit because you're not able to put emphasis on notes that need it or back off for a more subdued feel. Those dynamics become even more important when you're riding that edge of breakup. I like to think of it like painting. If all you use is gunmetal grey all your work is monotone and can be boring. If you use the entire color pallet all of a sudden it's more vibrant and exciting.
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I just took it at face value, that there is a benefit to hitting hard. Not that you'd do that all the time or anything, just that it does makes a difference when you do.
 
SpiderWars said:
I just took it at face value, that there is a benefit to hitting hard. Not that you'd do that all the time or anything, just that it does makes a difference when you do.
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I took it at face value like that too. I thought the title he used was slightly off target. I'm pretty sure any experienced player will fully understand what he was demonstrating. But without having any extra context, beginners may take it as you have to dig in all the time if you want to sound good.
 
I swear I could write a dissertation about this subject.
I dig in hard with a pointy thick brick of a pick(2mm Dunlop sharp) on light top/heavy bottom strings.
This works great from me when palm muting straight picking and shuffle patterns at a fast tempo.
But if I bang an open chord,things go out of tune for a moment before the strings settle.
Fortunately for me,I never play like a pansy...strumming chords and playing slowly like a whiny emo kid with daddy issues.
 
I pound the strings on my Mayo hard, never goes out of tune...Schaller Hanes bridge...love it.
 
psychodave said:
Until you get guys hitting so hard strings go out of tune. There is one guy here who does it constantly. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. He mods amps, nice guy but he does his mods a disservice by posting some clips.
Click to expand...
I battled this problem for years. It wouldn't be as bad playing at home, but during shows, band practices, etc I'd be overly amped up and bang chords out of tune even though the guitar would be perfectly tuned. I would also grip the fretboard so hard that it would pull the strings sharp on tall frets. I would use thicker strings to avoid breaks and increase tension, but IMO thinner strings always sound better. I adjusted my technique somewhat, but the biggest fix for me was switching over to Evertunes. I guess I'm too much of a neanderthal to fix technique at this point.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I understand the point he's going for but I think what he's trying to demonstrate misses the mark; at least without more context.
It's not so much the importance of hitting hard, it's the importance of having good picking dynamics. If all you do is hit hard you can still sound like shit because you're not able to put emphasis on notes that need it or back off for a more subdued feel. Those dynamics become even more important when you're riding that edge of breakup. I like to think of it like painting. If all you use is gunmetal grey all your work is monotone and can be boring. If you use the entire color pallet all of a sudden it's more vibrant and exciting.
Click to expand...
This. Playing with great touch or feel is the most important thing…if you do that you’ll play knowing when to hit hard and when to back off with a lighter touch. When I’m playing fast hitting hard just doesn’t work. If I’m doing heavy rhythm work then yes, it’s better to hit harder. Imo.
 
Spaceboy said:
I battled this problem for years. It wouldn't be as bad playing at home, but during shows, band practices, etc I'd be overly amped up and bang chords out of tune even though the guitar would be perfectly tuned. I would also grip the fretboard so hard that it would pull the strings sharp on tall frets. I would use thicker strings to avoid breaks and increase tension, but IMO thinner strings always sound better. I adjusted my technique somewhat, but the biggest fix for me was switching over to Evertunes. I guess I'm too much of a neanderthal to fix technique at this point.
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In my experience, this is way less common than bitchpicking once we're talking about people who can actually play guitar.

I'm in the same situation as tech deth, the vast majority of students I've had don't play hard ENOUGH - and THAT is their "lack of dynamics."

Of course there's always the ham fisted beginner that pulls power chords out of tune, but once you get to the level where people know songs and can play guitar, it becomes increasingly more common for people to player lighter and lighter, and their tone suffers significantly.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
I pound the strings on my Mayo hard, never goes out of tune...Schaller Hanes bridge...love it.
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That Hanes bridge looks like it'd be super comfy for the palm. Everything rounded off, no sharp corners, a large flat area to go to town with for palm muting techniques, etc
 
thegame said:
That Hanes bridge looks like it'd be super comfy for the palm. Everything rounded off, no sharp corners, a large flat area to go to town with for palm muting techniques, etc
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It's my favorite bridge to date. Super comfy and solid as a rock.
 
japetus said:
I laugh at "bitchpicking" everytime. I told my friend a couple weeks ago to stop "bitchpicking" and he looked at me like I was crazy.
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Your friend is the crazy one if he thinks he can bitchpick and get decent guitar sounds ?

Yes, "dynamics" are important, but what's really important is control - no one here plays blooze lol.

Once you can control your dynamics, meaning picking aggressively without being sloppy and without wasted motion, you can use less gain/compression. And that means more clarity and transients, which means better rhythm tones.
 
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