Bit of a guitar question

greencreeper · 11-08-2007, 22:47

Joe South has been described as having a "distinct guitar sound". I'd like to know what he's doing to achieve it. To me, it sounds a little like kettle drums! Listen to the start of the classic "Games People Play" and you'll hear what I mean.

Thoughts?

Chicken · 11-08-2007, 23:05

Who?

Gareth · 11-08-2007, 23:12

I think he did it by using lots of reverb.

greencreeper · 11-08-2007, 23:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicken

Who?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_South

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gareth

I think he did it by using lots of reverb.

Hmmm

Gareth · 11-08-2007, 23:39

although it also sounds like he used a sitar too.

greencreeper · 11-08-2007, 23:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gareth

although it also sounds like he used a sitar too.

Yeah - it has that sound. From pictures though, I don't think he did. I've been doing a bit of Googling but not found any definitive explanation.

punky · 12-08-2007, 00:02

As Gareth said, there's a bit of reverb on the amp. The amp is basically what sets the tone. However, he's doing a lot of string bending. The fingers bend the string so it stretches/becomes tighter. This gradually(and smoothly) raises the pitch of the note. The string is released and so it goes back.

Edit: If you look at this vid on YouTube, you can see him do it, @ about 17 seconds in.

greencreeper · 12-08-2007, 00:58

They don't make videos like that anymore

I think I understand what you mean. Sort of like the noise when you twang a ruler on a desk, and move it out from the desk and in again? Must be technically quite demaning, as well as stressing the strings?

[edit] I listened to Introspect last night and got a bit of shock. The opener is Hush, which is a Deep Purple song - never knew South wrote it. Indeed, there are a few classics on the album that he wrote and were subsequently covered by others. "Don't it Make You Wanna Go Home" just makes me so sad. Much of the areas where I used to play as a kid, roaming free, are now built upon. He's a bit of an unknown gem.

Delta Whiskey · 12-08-2007, 02:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

They don't make videos like that anymore

I think I understand what you mean. Sort of like the noise when you twang a ruler on a desk, and move it out from the desk and in again? Must be technically quite demaning, as well as stressing the strings?

There are different gauges of guitar strings, from a light set starting with a .008 top E string to a heavy set staring with .012. Most electric guitars are sold with a set of .009 or .010 as a balance between usability and tone. I use .008 which allows me to bend the strings very easily, the downside is a lack of warmth in the tone.

greencreeper · 12-08-2007, 09:10

Right. I'm starting to feel like I'm at school again, learning the cornet, and not understanding any of it and just making noises like a horny elephant. Had a read on Wiki about strings and guitars. All very complicated

I guess if he's doing the bending thing, he must therefore be using lighter strings - but being thinner, I'd guess they're more likely to snap

**Rob M** · 12-08-2007, 09:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

<snip>just making noises like a horny elephant.<snip>

No comment.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

<snip> Had a read on Wiki about strings and guitars. All very complicated

I guess if he's doing the bending thing, he must therefore be using lighter strings - but being thinner, I'd guess they're more likely to snap

You'd think so, although you'd have to go some to break a fresh set of strings. Most of the time the worst that will happen is that you'll stretch the string slightly and lose your tuning, although if the strings are properly broken in this is rarely a problem.

Remember that in reality you're rarely stretching more than a tone, sometimes a tone and a half.

greencreeper · 12-08-2007, 11:17

Do you stretch with the left or right hand - I'm having trouble following his hands in that video. It also looks like there are only 3 strings, which I'd not noticed before - is this normal/common?

[edit]I wanted the violin - they gave me a cornet. It's a lesson for life. I did once of these online music test things - short bursts of piano notes. Got an email back saying I'd scored above average. Means that I can tell when something isn't right with what I'm hearing - though I've no idea why it's not right, and I can tell when it is right. It's mad!

**Rob M** · 12-08-2007, 11:25

Stretching (or 'bending' as it's more commonly known) is normally done with whichever hand you are using to fret the notes with (ie. the hand that's pressing the string against the fret board. The other hand (the one that does the strumming) is used to sound the note.

The exception to this would be when one is bending notes by manipulating the string beyond the nut (no comments please). Th nut is the bit right at the end of the fret board where all the strings are seperated and split off towards the tuning pegs. Joe Bonamassa sometimes bends strings by applying pressure to them after the cross the nut, before the get to the peg -he'll fret the note with his left hand, sound it with the plectrum in his right, and then use his right hand on the string past the nut to change the pitch. It's a pretty cool sound

greencreeper · 12-08-2007, 11:34

Right. So you make the note, say, an E (there is an E, I think

) and then move the string down (or up - don't suppose it matters??) and back again. I'd imagine you can do a variety of sounds just be varying the speed of stretching and relaxing??

Fascinating stuff is this

**Rob M** · 12-08-2007, 11:39

Yep, that's about it.

This video (the first I found, it isn't great by any means) demonstrates what we're talkng about - go to about 2m30 and watch from there to see what he's doing.

Th reason he plays the notes first and then bends them is so that he can get used to how it should sound before bending, there's nothing worse than a bent note that isn't quite in tune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prhi5FgScEM