Grateful Dead Music Forum

Ive been playing for about year, Ive noticed that when I bend on my electric often times I'll catch the string above the one Im bending on my finger and when I bring the bent string down it makes an annoying noise, almost like Im pulling off on the upper string. Anyone know a way to correct this?

I read in a Guitar Player interview that Jerry learned to play with the tips of this fingers and because of that the other strings never really got in the way.

I have the same problem. Every one does. You'll hear Clapton do it on the Layla allbum

One thing to try is to push the next string out of the way with your bending finger deliberatly, so that you are controling it. In other words, rather than letting the finger get under the string, angle your finger to get some part pushing the string out of the way. It's hard to describe.

Also, higher string action can help, and it helps with tone as well.

Good luck.

lyghtningod wrote:
Also, higher string action can help, and it helps with tone as well.

Good luck.

yeah thats the reason I only have this problem on my electric and not my acoustic. the action on Fenders is pretty low

You can have the string height adjusted on Fenders. It cost me about $65 to have it done on my Tele a few years ago. They'll set the height to your specs, make sure the intonation is correct, maybe set the fret board bow, and more. If you haven't had your guitars set up before, it might be worth looking into.

I remember reading that jerry said he liked high action, heavy strings and a thick pick.

I have a good friend who works for Roger Sadowsky of Sadwosky guitars in NYC, well they are in Brooklyn now. They are the top dog for set ups and whenever musicians have NYC shows planned, they send their guitars to Roger for set ups. My buddy tells me that most pros out there have a lot higher action than you would expect. My advice is to get used to playing with high action, 10's or 11's for strings, and in the long run, your tone will reap the benefits.

lyghtningod wrote:I remember reading that jerry said he liked high action, heavy strings and a thick pick.

That's all true, but only if you consider .010's to be heavy strings.

The way I solved this problem is when bending a string (upward) I've gotten used to only keeping my finger perpendicular to the fretboard. By doing this the only part of my finger that touches the string in the way is my fingernail.

From what i remember reading somewhere, prolly a guitar mag interview, Jerry liked to customize his strings by usin fat strings for the coiled then a smaller gauge for the high strings. So he would need 2 packs of strings. I also do this for my fender cause i like the tone of fat coiled strings but dont like the high strings to be so thick cause then my bends arent as easy as id like. As for your problem Ive had it too and I cant explain what I do differently but after a while I dont have that problem anymore. So just keep playin and itll fix itself

I use the meaty part of my palm right below the thumb to mute the top three strings when I'm not playing them. that what solved it for me. I like to bend into a dominant chord on the 3 high strings while still stumming, so the muteing has brought me a long way in that regard

tigerstrat wrote:

lyghtningod wrote:I remember reading that jerry said he liked high action, heavy strings and a thick pick.

That's all true, but only if you consider .010's to be heavy strings.

The article didn't mention the string size. 0.010s are sort of thin for my taste, but I rarely bend beyond a ful step, so it wouldn't matter much to me.

But I do use a thick pick (1.2mm, the brown Clatyons) and higher than normal action.

Ive found that palm muting works wonders. At first it may be tough to get used to because of the precision you need in order not to obstruct other strings, but that is enough to dampen all unwanted noises. Also I have found I have less of a problem with that when I only bend using two fingers, as opposed to three which some players prefer.

guitar world magazine did an article on David Gilmour and his guitar technique, he said to stop the problem he used two fingers to bend the string and have added control, as well as for more skin to hold the string above the bend to keep it from making noise, hopefully that makes sense and helps

I find what works best not only for string bending but for any kind of scale run or solo is to consciously make sure you are bending you knuckles at your very top knuckle, closest to your finger nail when you are practicing. The really helps to strengthen those muscles so your fingers stay arched (Imagine the nasty piano teacher slapping the underside of your hand with a ruler when you flattened your fingers). It also ensures you don't get tired and develop flattened lazy fingers when playing a song. I find then when my fingers get tired and flatten out a bit, I tend to start accidentally hitting notes on other strings that I didn't mean to do, especially when bending a note. When you play with arched fingers, the strength to bend comes solely from your wrist by simply turning it. None of it comes from my finger itself. Hope this makes sense and helps.

hi.. i am getting ready to restring and saw a couple of posts that make me think it might be worth tryin heavier..here is strumminsix:
lyghtningod wrote:
I remember reading that jerry said he liked high action, heavy strings and a thick pick.


That's all true, but only if you consider .010's to be heavy strings.
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what weight would that be? .011s right? i know that is a dumb question, probably, but,...