Hammer on loudness

I just spent a few minutes noodling around unplugged and realized my basic hammer-ons do not lack volume at all compared to the original note. I guess it had been a while since I was listening for that deliberately. There are other situations where it is weaker than plucked notes, like if I play 100% from the left hand (not claiming to be anywhere near mastering that though).

I won’t go back and edit my previous response but taking time to focus on your technique unplugged is probably the best idea.
 
Technique is just as important as gear set up to me. The hammer impacting the string on the fretboard is the first part of it, but the pull off/release of the string helps to sound the next note in the sequence.
 
Build up that finger strength and muscle memory. Practice. Practice. Practice. One day, you'll suddenly notice you can hammer-on with speed, precision and dynamics at will.
 
squealie said:
OK, I'm old and dumb, and illiterate.

Someone tell me how this article isn't complete crap. Back when I went to recording skool, we were taught that 'limiting' was the extreme ends of compression.
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Not having read the article, yes — limiting is the strongest form (20:1 ratio, at least) of compression, albeit typically with very fast attack/release times.
 
squealie said:
OK, I'm old and dumb, and illiterate.

Someone tell me how this article isn't complete crap. Back when I went to recording skool, we were taught that 'limiting' was the extreme ends of compression.
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Did you read the article? From the article…
Technically, a limiter's ratio is 10:1 or greater and is usually set to be as close to infinity:1 as possible, so that no matter how much the input signal changes, the output level remains the same.
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It seems to me that infinity:1 would be an extreme end.

The article is an intro, and at the end has multiple links to more detailed articles.
 
Hammer ons from nowhere…. Vai is a master
Rick Graham is really good at it as well
Marshall Harrison & Alan Holdsworth as well
Should be able to do it on an acoustic guitar as easily as an electric
It transformed my technique when i was turned on to it and i warm up doing it
Yeah that Vai video is great!
 
Count me in on the: it's technique plus settings team.

Definitely practice, but it's not just technique; any guys that do a lot of tapping are definitely using something (probably a compressor, as has been suggested) to accentuate what they're doing.
 
touch33 said:
If anyone would like to join me in feeling completely incompetent, check out how Steve Vai does it WHILE recovering from right hand (I believe) surgery.

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Any idea how he doing it without humming or buzzing on open strings without muting them???
 
rr32btg said:
Any idea how he doing it without humming or buzzing on open strings without muting them???
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If you're definitely not muting strings somehow, then you need to use a tone that somehow doesn't pick up very tiny string vibrations, cuz they're always there. Just a note can have overtones that will make open strings vibrate. Physics. Maybe use one of those things that wraps around the nut (I don't know what they're called, but I've seen guys, even very accomplished players, use them.)
 
Ben.Last said:
Count me in on the: it's technique plus settings team.

Definitely practice, but it's not just technique; any guys that do a lot of tapping are definitely using something (probably a compressor, as has been suggested) to accentuate what they're doing.
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Exactly what I'm thinking my technique is fine - some presets its easy some not so much - so something in that preset is different - compressor is where I'm heading first tomorrow - pretty beat today - have to pay the bills :(
 
TSJMajesty said:
If you're definitely not muting strings somehow, then you need to use a tone that somehow doesn't pick up very tiny string vibrations, cuz they're always there. Just a note can have overtones that will make open strings vibrate. Physics. Maybe use one of those things that wraps around the nut (I don't know what they're called, but I've seen guys, even very accomplished players, use them.)
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Those things around the nut are called dampers, but Steve uses nothing similar in this video, even though his tone has pretty much of gain.

I'm curious maybe he's using some sort of compressor trick? If we can reduce pick attack by separating and reducing its sound using a compressor (as described in fractal wiki), why we can't reduce the level of nonprimary/buzzing tones and increase the level of the primary tone?
 
rr32btg said:
Those things around the nut are called dampers, but Steve uses nothing similar in this video, even though his tone has pretty much of gain.

I'm curious maybe he's using some sort of compressor trick? If we can reduce pick attack by separating and reducing its sound using a compressor (as described in fractal wiki), why we can't reduce the level of nonprimary/buzzing tones and increase the level of the primary tone?
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Because the sound of the strings you're playing and the sounds of the ones you don't want to ring are not differentiated. And I didn't say Steve used a damper in the video, just that that's something that can help. Try experimenting with different high-gain tones. Some will force your technique to be near-flawless, or it will sound like crap. Just not lifting your finger off the 10th fret of the B string the instant you play a note on the 7th fret of the E string will cause a dissonant chord to sound, with a real high-gain tone. Others, not so much.

I use these sorts of things as ways to improve my technique. High-gain tones act like a magnifying glass to sloppy technique, which helps you zero in on what needs work. Sometimes it takes someone else to watch how we're playing (a teacher, e.g.), to help identify what areas need work. Personally, I don't want to rely on effects to cover up flaws (like back when I was a kid, and would turn on the delay during solos), but instead, use them to enhance my tone, give it depth, tighten things up, etc.
 
Practice the intro riff to Aenema repeatedly 😉. It was years before I realized Adam wasn't picking those power chords. Purely hammer-ons.
 
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