Technique question, muting unwanted strings on a fast lick.

[repoman]

Say I'm doing a lick that repeats and it's these notes.

 

15th fret B string

12th fret B string

14th fret G string

12th fret B string

 

I've got a little flaw in my playing where I sound the open G when removing my finger off the 14th fret.  I'm not pulling off but I still get the open G sound.

 

I watched Gary Holt (Exodus/Slayer) playing the lick and he doesn't get much unwanted noise but I couldn't see him muting it in any way, it just didn't sound.

 

How would you keep it clean?  Also if alternate picking, would you start with an upstroke?

[Dad3353]

44 minutes ago, repoman said:

...How would you keep it clean?...

 

I don't know the song concerned (and I'm a drummer, so...), but I tried this and barre the 12fret 'G' and 'B' strings, so never get an open 'G'. I used only upstrokes (no pick; I never knew how to use 'em...), and use the Ring finger to alternate between the B-15 and the G-14. I can't get stupid fast (did I say that I'm a drummer..?, but it sounds clean to me. Not sure if this helps at all. 

[randythoades]

17 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

 

I don't know the song concerned (and I'm a drummer, so...), but I tried this and barre the 12fret 'G' and 'B' strings, so never get an open 'G'. I used only upstrokes (no pick; I never knew how to use 'em...), and use the Ring finger to alternate between the B-15 and the G-14. I can't get stupid fast (did I say that I'm a drummer..?, but it sounds clean to me. Not sure if this helps at all. 

It isn't my playing style either, although I used to be very much into thrash. But I would also do as @Dad3353 suggests. I would also barre the 12th fret. And if just doing this lick I would be starting with a downstroke, but it would depend on what the riff was before it.

[repoman]

A barred G would sound a G note on the 12th fret.  I'm trying to avoid that. 

 

It's actually more of a Jimmy Page lick than a thrash one apparently.

 

Cheers though.

[Dad3353]

5 minutes ago, repoman said:

A barred G would sound a G note on the 12th fret.  I'm trying to avoid that...

 

The barring finger doesn't have to hold down the 'G' octave. It can just as easily just touch it, as a 'mute', to prevent it ringing out. 

[randythoades]

Yes, the barre is closer to a mute and is much less likely to sound clearly than the open G. Certainly in the way I play for right or wrong.

[randythoades]

I have been trying this on my spare guitar at work. I can't pick fast enough on acoustic for the riff itself, but works for me palm muting it and starting with an upstroke. Even better it I pull off the 15th fret B string and letting the G string finger rest on the 14th fret for a tiny bit longer. The barre hardly makes a noise and is covered by picking back onto the B string again. But I suppose it depends on gain levels needed.

[repoman]

On 26/06/2024 at 11:15, randythoades said:

I have been trying this on my spare guitar at work. I can't pick fast enough on acoustic for the riff itself, but works for me palm muting it and starting with an upstroke. Even better it I pull off the 15th fret B string and letting the G string finger rest on the 14th fret for a tiny bit longer. The barre hardly makes a noise and is covered by picking back onto the B string again. But I suppose it depends on gain levels needed.

 

yeah an upstroke seems like the best option (although super unintuitive for me to start a lick on one) and palm muting would work.

 

Here's the lick - 

 

[randythoades]

I can't see his right hand properly for palm muting, but it seems to me like he is effectively stopping the G string from sounding after the note with the flesh of his first finger. He has his fingers positioned unusually for this sort of player. Certainly when I was learning and everyone wanted to be like Steve Vai et al, you were taught to play literally with the very tips of the fingers and the thumb down the centre line of the neck as it gives a lot more freedom to move and stretch across intervals. He seems to play in a bluesy style with thumb slightly over. Also, often on the lick he is adding vibrato on the G string note whilst then going back to the B string, thus masking any extraneous noise.  I am sure it isn't deliberate, it is just the way he learned to play.

[repoman]

On 30/06/2024 at 20:29, randythoades said:

I can't see his right hand properly for palm muting, but it seems to me like he is effectively stopping the G string from sounding after the note with the flesh of his first finger. He has his fingers positioned unusually for this sort of player. Certainly when I was learning and everyone wanted to be like Steve Vai et al, you were taught to play literally with the very tips of the fingers and the thumb down the centre line of the neck as it gives a lot more freedom to move and stretch across intervals. He seems to play in a bluesy style with thumb slightly over. Also, often on the lick he is adding vibrato on the G string note whilst then going back to the B string, thus masking any extraneous noise.  I am sure it isn't deliberate, it is just the way he learned to play.

Muting reliably like that is pretty tough.  He's fairly clean with it.

[randythoades]

Definitely. But I suppose that the more you play with that much gain you end up doing it naturally. I would be horrendous at this, I find palm muting easy enough but I can't mute unwanted string well...!