Re:Percussive Sounds on El. Guitar

[a k butler <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk>]

>I am interested to find out about technique/looping tools/effects 
>that would allow one to produce percussive/drum-like sounds on el. 
>guitar without having to resort to a synth guitar.
>
>I would appreciate if someone could direct me to a resource or make 
>any suggestions on this subject.
>Thanks,
>Rale


First drop your plectrum

1) Rest left hand fingers across strings to completely deaden the 
string, around the 17-18 fret works good. Then:
   a) strike downwards hard and fast with right hand, brushing all 6 
strings rapidly with the back of your fingernails.  =snare
   b) thump with the flat of you right hand over the neck p/u. Very 
definite, but not too hard. =Kick drum  (might not work on some guitars)
   c) rhythmic rolls with the fingers can sound a bit like tablas, it 
helps if you can already get a good sound out of a real drum.

2) Grab 1st string hard between left hand thumb and finger, as near 
to the bridge as you like (but not nearer than the  bridge p/u). Then 
pluck hard with right hand finger. = Woodblock

3) Muffle string with left hand near the nut, pull string away from 
fretboard with right hand and let it slap onto the fingerboard. Some 
say a reasonable snare can be had from the D string.

To get a good sound on these takes a bit of practice.
Just keep trying and thinking about the sound you want.

...and it's nice to record them onto a loop to check how good they 
sound without the acoustic sound that you'll hear when doing it.

Effects can help. Nice resonant flanger, or triggered filter.
...and EQ obviously

Examples of 1a to be found by checking out Andre Lafosse, who uses 
that quite a lot for his more IDM stuff.

Examples of me doing this on www.andybutler.com

andy