[Jan]

Originally Posted by Stitch

No one has mentioned trem springs - what is the guitar? Are your strings muted behind the headstock and after the bridge if you are using a TOM? If it's a floyd, are the trem springs being muted with foam?

It's a Blackjack - so it has a fixed bridge. I'm nor sure what you mean by "strings muted behind the headstock"... Do you mean like wrapped around with some cloth or thread or something? If that's what you mean, then no... D'you think it'd work?

HUH! Silly me! I have just understood what Zimbloth was saying in his post. Muting the strings BEHIND the nut... But what the heck is ELECTRICAL?

Originally Posted by Zand3

if you mean like those fast little riffs, like doing a fast triplet on an open B string... like that kinda riff then you might wanna just have your right hand come down on the strings right after those open notes, as if palm muting nothing right after that last note as a way to stop the note, or you should use a few fingers with your left hand to quiet the strings by just laying your fingers across the strings to avoid the harmonics

Yup, that's exactly the kind of riff I had in mind. And I am doing exactly what you say - I'd been always doing that and thought it was good enough until (in the studio) I realised I was also rpoducing this low-frequency OOMPH/THUD I've already mentioned.

I suspect my problem might be EITHER

- lack of proper coordination of my left/right hand (I MIGHT be putting my right palm a few miliseconds BEFORE I lift my left one and place it on the strings while the powerchord is still ringing)

- putting my RIGHT palm in the wrong place behind the bridge/putting too much strength into that (and thus producing additional THUD)

- putting my LEFT hand in the wrong place on the neck (like following thedownside's advice I tried muting with my hand further UP the neck (by up I mean soundwise) and it helped a little to kill the notes faster BUT I am having doubts whether that's the most efficient way of doing that (I mean moving your left hand a long way just to mute the strings makes riffs I deemed simple by now hard to play).

I guess instead of sitting at the computer I should probably take my guitar and try to figure it out myself but on the other hand, why should I try to break an open door? If you could share your experience with me, it'd be great! I really your input so far. Cheers.

[Zand3]

when i do those kinds of riffs with those fast triplet low notes, which I just used for a recording I made a couple of days ago, I think I just normally avoid getting post note thuds by palm muting stronger and not taking my right hand off or even, in that my right hand is stronger on the palm mute and never gives for the whole thing, but I guess you're trying to get open notes, so why not try this, lets say 3 notes in a triplet, palm mute the first two like I said with a strong right hand palm mute, and then let the third note open, then to stop that third note just rest down your left hand fingers (all 4 fingers even) across the strings (lightly on the strings obviously), then get your palm mute back on for the next notes

[TMM]

This sounds to me exactly like vibrations behind the nut. I had the same thing happen a long time ago when I started recording. I was like, "Where is that noise coming from? I haven't heard it before." Even after you mute the strings with your right hand (close to the bridge as you should), the bit of the strings that goes from the nut to to the tuning machines can still vibrate.

Just put something around them... I've seen everything from electrical tape, to custom cutting a piece of foam to place under the strings that rests against them. I personally take the velcro wraps that come along with my monster cables and wrap one of those around the strings so that the strings are going through the middle of the velcro.

[ZeroSignal]

I'm not sure if this has been posted because I'm to lazy to read the entire thread but when muting and you get that OOOMPH try and put your right hand in more of a Djent position than a Chug position.

[Jan]

You mean closer to the neck?
Oh, and I tried wrapping some scotch tape (just to see if it'd work at all) behind the nut and it indeed halped a bit. Anyway, I think I;m slowly getting there I guess...
So thanks to you guys! Oh, and happy Easter!

[ZeroSignal]

Originally Posted by Jan

You mean closer to the neck?
Oh, and I tried wrapping some scotch tape (just to see if it'd work at all) behind the nut and it indeed halped a bit. Anyway, I think I;m slowly getting there I guess...
So thanks to you guys! Oh, and happy Easter!

A little bit closer but not much. As if you were playing a djent.

And I "Dino" mod all my guitars (except my J. Custom). I.E. I put foam underneath the strings behind the nut to dampen vibrations.

Like this:


EDIT: Oh and make sure your trem springs are dampened too!

[WarriorOfMetal]

i dampen my trem springs on the guitars that have them, but i've never really had an issue with above-the-nut string noise. i can't describe my muting technique very well, but i mute with both hands simultaneously, and in some cases, hit my guitar's volume knob and kill that, too...depends on the length of the pause and the location of the volume knob.