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Topic: Help. I'm getting harmonics on the tail end of picked notes. |
Eric Philippsen
From:
Central Florida USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2010 3:54 am |
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I've recently started practicing with a headphone amp and headphones. Should have done that years ago because it has been a godsend for improving my technique. Everything is heard - both good and bad.
Anyway, I now realize there's a problem when picking single notes. That is, a harmonic often sounds on the very tail end of some of the notes that are picked. The fundamental note does sound loud and clear and the harmonic is barely perceptible, but it is definitely there. It happens when I'm picking fast.
Changing where I pick on the neck does lessen the problem somewhat but then I lose a great deal of tone because I'm closer to the bridge that I want to be. Changing how hard I attack the note also lessens the problem but never cures it. It's not the headphone amp because I swapped it with another and, as info, when practicing I don't use any effects. It's my right hand.
In a live situation no one hears it, even me. But when recording.........ouch. Now I know what an engineer meant when he said having to edit "the junk off the very top end of the pedal steel."
What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your help. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2010 5:38 am
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It doesn't sound to me as though you're doing anything wrong, you're just hearing what your guitar sounds like a whole lot better. Most people like the harmonic structure of a pedal steel, that's why they like to play one. Playing through a really clean boost straight to phones is a good practice tool, but it's not really going to be the sound you'll be bringing to a band or recording, so it's a good idea to work with the "real world" stuff too, because that's a whole nother ballgame. A lot of people who claim to "hate compression" and "never add EQ" don't really know that any amp, and especially speakers, is to some degree compressing your sound - speakers just do, that all. And the only way to hear your "pure" sound is to play through a PA rig with tweeters or horns, which is downright painful in the case of steels and six-strings.
Speakers generally have a pronounced - HUGE - frequency drop-off somewhere around 2K to 2.5K, and all different kinds of peaks and valleys in their response, which is one of the reasons that there are 100 different guitar speakers. You're probably just hearing something that your speakers kill anyway, so if you take some step to EQ it out of your headphones, you'll have to undo it for live use or you'll be the mudman.  |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2010 12:02 pm
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You get your richest tone when you pick halfway between the bar and the bridge (changer). At that point, the pick harmonic is an octave and it reinforces the fundamental note instead of working against it.
Also, if you aren't damping the strings behind the bar with your left hand, you might be getting bad harmonic ringing from there.
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2010 7:28 pm
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| b0b wrote: |
You get your richest tone when you pick halfway between the bar and the bridge (changer). At that point, the pick harmonic is an octave and it reinforces the fundamental note instead of working against it.
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When you pick at that point, you do not excite any vibrational mode that has a node there (i.e. even numbered harmonics). So you hear only odd numbered harmonics, which is why it sounds special there. |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2010 11:48 pm
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| I've had that problem too, especially noticeable when recording, but no one I work with has ever mentioned it...a lot of times I'm the one doing the editing, so I'll just cut it out, but it does bother me. |
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Sandy Inglis
From:
Christchurch New Zealand
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Posted 30 Aug 2010 2:56 am
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Hi Eric,
I had a (poss) similar problem with my first Sho-Bud S10. I traced it to the strings from the Nut to the tuners. They were ringing in sympathy. I cured it by threading a piece of foam rubber strip over and under alternate strings (behind the nut) and the problem went away. I've just starting using it again for practice and the foam is still there!! still doing it's job.
Good luck
Sandy
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01'Zumsteel D10 9+9; Sho Bud D10 SuperPro; 6 String Lap Steel (Homemade); Peavey Nashville 1000; Fender Deluxe 85;
1968 Gibson SG; Taylor 710 CE; Encore Tele Copy; Peterson Tuner; HIWATT T40 C 40W/20W Combo |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2010 6:11 am
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| It sounds like what Sandy was discussing. JayDee Maness uses a small piece of tubing- not unlike shrink tubing- on his 5th and 6th strings between the nut and the tuner to combat this. It is very easy to see if this would help by picking the note and touching the offending string in that area. |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2010 11:18 pm
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| Good tip, I will try that! |
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 31 Aug 2010 1:17 pm
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Interesting tip.. on occaision I hear a high overtone from the back end of the strings.. usually if I'm wearing headphones.. I thought it was my lack of pressure and coverage behind the bar.
Maybe it is the 5th & 6th strings in the headstock area.. |
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