Keeping fingers quiet on hollow body electric

Lots of discussion here... don't know if it can help you situation...

http://boardreader.com/thread/Reducing_Finger_Noise_1g2u3X24qh53yaf6h38.html

Some good info there. I think it's just going to take some practice on the electric to get that "touch" down, I think it may be more technique than anything after reading that.

The biggest problem, is I was getting notes ringing when lifting off the string, like a separate note, pressing down on the 3rd string, say an A#, then lifting up and it ringing G.

Of course listening back to the recording, I can't hear it anymore, so I don't quite know what happened from point A to point B.

we know tone is in the fingers.
it is also true that noise is in the fingers.
Joe, acoustic/electric takes a bit more attention, because of the amplified string noise, vibrating strings, etc.
practice and time.

Yeah I had a feeling about it being technique...so we'll see, just something to practice....again. LOL.

It's mostly a matter of good technique that comes with practice. Playing "clean" with low gain actually helps to keep the noise down, but playing with lots of distortion makes it get lost in the fuzz. Some folks like to use string & fretboard lubricants, of which there are several on the commercial market. I've long treated my strings and bare wood fretboards with olive oil (carefully wiping off the excess), which leaves them a little slicker and also makes the strings last MUCH longer. I know a guitarist who swears he's been to the factory where PAM cooking spray is made, and says that they also manufacture one of the popular guitar lube sprays that's just relabeled PAM. Anyway, he uses PAM just like Fast Fret, Finger Ease, etc., and says it works fine. There's nothing in cooking oil that will harm your guitar.

That's interesting Ric, and good to know Joe.

I got a free can of a popular string lube from a guy, about 15 years ago or more, actually he was a Hot Dog Cart man, and somehow we just knew that eachother played guitars as well as enjoyed watching Nascar - Richard Petty, it was weird chemistry, man. I gave him a free die-cast 1970 Plymouth Superbird car in Petty blue, and got together for a good brew.

Anyway, it was an older-style of a brand in a different can, but RIGHT!!! or whatever, I could smell that PAM right away!

Thanks to this thread, the question, your answer and your bud, now I think I know why? LMAO, and I never say that. :lol:

I think maybe a low gain will help some, I can't use the string lubricants, I don't like the feel, it's why I don't like Elixer strings, I don't like the feel of them.

I've tried fast fret...couldn't stand it after I put it on...so practice practice practice it is!!

Low gain will help a lot with the finger noise, and will help tremendously with keeping feedback down when you turn the volume up with that hollowbody.

Thanks!! I'll be giving that a shot, and hopefully getting a video of this up soon!

I've noticed some reduction in string noise in the past year. It's kind of decreased on it's own for me. About the only time it becomes a problem for me is when I actually play with some power, like increased gain or overdrive. My lighter touch takes over then, and that is under construction just like everything else with my guitar journey.

I use some flat wounds on a solid-body. It's a red transparent Ibanez GAX-70. Really a starter guitar, but i set it up really well and the weak pickups are a perfect match for the flatwounds. I keep the output lowered and make it up with the amp if I need volume. The resulting tone is melodic. The trick for me is to have just enough tone turned up on the bridge pickup to get out of the muddy tones and into the soft Jazzy tones. With all that going for me, I get almost no finger noise. Quietest way I know how to play guitar. It will also play clean and melodically if hopped on too. I really enjoy those strings.

Thanks for the tips Roy! I've been doing that lately just messing around, with the tone and pickup position and volume etc...I think I've got a good balance, and may record a video soon. It's not eliminated, but It's alot less.

There ain't much of a way out of this.

Recently, I did some acoustic recordings that were rife with the sound of my palm rubbing on the neck as I twisted from chords heavy on the low strings to chords heavy on the top strings. The ball at the base of my pointing finger sounds like a rubber eraser dragged across a glass table. Horrible sound...especially if you want those "up close 'n personal" tones.

ProTools lets you really get into the waveform with yer mouse and stitch things up...but only to a point...like pushing the unwanted noise so it's sitting in the actual key you are playing...then cutting the guts out of it with the EQs...but all this is useless if you aren't recording.

Like I said, there ain't much of a way out of this!

:?

Cat

We'll see what happens with the video, I'll be doing one tomorrow....I think I'm getting a bit better at this whole noise thing, but we'll see what happens when I'm under the gun so to speak.