argh can't get pinch harmonics!

[hash_brownie]

hey, i followed the lesson on pinch harmonics n stuff but i can't seem to get them. i used to use a pedal which helped in acheiving them but i bought a new guitar without a pedal and i want to know how pinch harmonics are acheived properly.. the steps used. i'm using a 15 watt amp.. would that affect anything?

[The Fury]

Yeah, I have trouble getting them aswell. I've gone through all the videos and read how to do them many times, but it seems impossible to do them with my thumb. I can, however, get them if I use my third finger. It's probably not the most efficiant way of doing them, but it works for me.

[cyberfret]

They are much harder to get out of a small 15 watt amp......but it can be done. Use lots of distortion. Find the touch harmonic first (see lesson). Adjust your right hand (picking hand) slightly to the left or right if you are not getting the harmonic to sound. And try different pickup settings. Bend your the thumb of your picking hand slightly. And keep working on it.

Pinch Harmonic lesson for others that are interested.
http://www.cyberfret.com/techniques/harmonics/pinch/index.htm

--Shawn

[Krieselman13]

I got it once while I was fooling around; wasnt able to get it again.

[Axehole]

Try this link... it shows how you can do two different octaves using the same notes on the fretboard.
Pinch Harmonics (http://www.guitartricks.com/2000/trick.php?trick_id=1618)

[speedzombie]

I think I can do a pinch harmonic, but I'm not sure. This is how I do it. First I turn up the volume and distortion. I pick and immediately I touch the string with the side of my thumb next to the pickups, and I quickly move the thumb away so that the string can vibrate freely. The result is a higher pitch sound similar to the bell-like sound of a natural harmonic. This is where I get confused. In some guitar transcriptions from cool bands like Metallica, they put a pitch sound. For example, in the solo for "The Unforgiven", there are two pinch harmonics on the same string and fret. The way the are notated is : on the tabs they say to fret the 10th fret of the 2nd string; above the notes it says A.H. (artificial harmonics which is another name for pinch harmonics); below the tab it says "A.H. pitch: E". I have a Toneworks guitar hyperformance processor and one of the things it has is a tuner. I use the tuner to double check myself sometimes, so when I check the note for the 2nd string 10th fret it says that it's an A. Then when I do the pinch harmonic, it still says that it's an A. I'm I doing something wrong? or is it possible that the tuner can't recognize that pitch?

[Chris Lohr]

Also, it is much harder to get harmonics on single-coils (or at least a strat, thats the only one Ive tried it with)

And have it selected to only one pickup, and if single-coils not the middle one.

[hash_brownie]

thanks everyone. i finally got it. i just had to mess with the pickups a bit and there's a specific way to pick it, it's almost like pinching it at the pickups which gives it that sound. i realized my mistake was with the picking. it even works on a 15 watter but you have to try harder esp on the low E string.

[Snazzy]

I get them on a strat, but they barely sound on the middle pick up, usually only on the razzy one. What I do is i sort of scrape the string and pick up, my thumb and pick are turned kinda sideways. It took me awhile, you just have to sit down and mess around.