[7 Dying Trees]

Tricks? Nah, doesn't take that long. Dive Bombs is one thing, but there's cool shit to be done!

Look at Dimebag for using the bar to get "from nowhere" harmonic screams

Practice dipping the bar as a prebend to a note, or to go from one note to another (like a pull of or hammer on, except do it with the bar)

Wide vibrato across chords as per petrucci

Or, just use it to dip a note from nowhere (ie, fret or slide to the not with bar depressed, then release to have a light flutter into a note)

Main thing, though, is don't be afraid to abuse it!

P.S: I broke another trem bar at the weekend

[TMatt142]

Some old school trem stuff from Steve Lynch. Also, check out Brad Gillis (Night Ranger), and of course the newer guys who have already been mentioned.

[budda]

thanks guys. i'll see if i cant locate some of the songs mentioned.

I wouldnt want to use the trem a lot of the time, but basically use it to spice things up.

i've always been semi-jealous whenever i hear a "winny" (y'know, horse sounds lol) or something along those lines. setting up an FR cant be that difficult... once you know what you're doing.

basically im intimidated by trying to learn new things when i havent even mastered the old stuff (vibrato, i still cant sweep, effective use of hammer/pulls..)

the solo for "awakening" by the absence makes good use of the trem IMO:
MySpace.com - The Absence - TAMPA - Thrash / Death Metal / Metal - www.myspace.com/theabsence

how long did it take you guys to get a good vibrato with your trem?

[TMatt142]

I wouldn't worry about tuning or setting trem equipped guitars up...It's a piece of cake. You should always be learning new stuff even if you feel you haven't adequately learned stuff you already are familiar with. I just began learning how to sweep pick a few months ago and i've been playing for 28 years! It isn't that difficult to figure out basic vibrato with your trem. It's more or less getting the feel of it more than anything. Besides, there's enough people here in SS land to help ya if you need it!

[biggness]

Hey budda, really floyd roses just open up a lot of ways different ways to convey your emotions. The BEST example of this IMO would be this...

[Mattayus]

Originally Posted by Shooter

^ One of my favorite things Vai does with the bar is doing little gracenotes by putting the bar under his hand and striking the string and the bar at the same time. Check it out at the end of his song "Building the Church".

haha yeah i was gonna suggest this as i've used it a few times. Squealing dives are also the tits, ping the string out with ur fretting hand and dump the bar (pretty much at the same time), catch a harmonic (i recommend the 2nd fret as it's amazingly shrill!) and bring the bar up - and then dump again if you like!

Originally Posted by 7 Dying Trees

Look at Dimebag for using the bar to get "from nowhere" harmonic screams

didn't see u'd already said this, haha.

found a sweet vid example too -



.... it's enough to make a man cry blood.

[Demeyes]

Theres loads of little tricks you can do with a floyd. Its deadly when you need something to grab attention when your doing a solo.

I like to do flutters where you just hit knock the bar and leave it return to pitch itself. Also bending into notes is really cool. With really good use of the bar you can make it sound a little bit like single note slide stuff too. Satriani and Vai have plenty of varied examples of excellent trem usage. Alexi from Children of Bodom used to great at throwing little dips and flutters in his lead work too. (Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper albums)

As for how long it takes? Some little tricks only take a it of figuring out and then a small amount of messing around to nail it, while the really subtle stuff is taking me ages to get it sounding good.

[auxioluck]

Satch does some cool stuff where he lets a harmonic ring out and then pulls and depresses the bar really quick to simulate a harmonic scale. That's one of my fav techniques to use. takes a little practice, and a LOT of reverb...but it's cool.

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Brad Gillis brought it to a whole new level in the early 80's when EVH was just about the only guy wiggling the thing.

I'll sometimes place the bar towards the strap button, & do a pulloff straight into hitting the bar with my picking hand to raise the pitch a step or two, but so quick that it's more of an ascending dive that a lowering dive.

I'm not really explaining this well, but Steve Vai does it a lot in a video demo of some Bulgarian Wedding Music.

[Demeyes]

My favorite trick is one that Satch does. You bring your fretting hand over to the bar. Then you pinch harmonic an open note, I find the b string works the best, and while it's ringing out you go mad with the whammy. You can get some really alien sounds if you start hitting harmonics on different strings.