Dunlop again!

Yep i heard there were some Ultexs in town, went there and i found a pick that i prefer over it. Dunlop stubby 1.0 mm :D. A true successor to my old Alice, less noise and more comfy to grip. Also it is just a lil less rounded so it seems easier to sweep with this pick

Its been at least two weeks since i got this pick along with the dunlop triangle. I bought that one simply becos it looks cool xD.

Now my strings have really worn and are showing the effects of it. Cant play a damn thing without background noise.

Speaking of noise now that i am able to play 6 string arpeggios properly and somewhat at speed, i observed a few things

1) I have a rather odd way of learning new licks or riffs, first id play it till i get the fingering right at slow speed, then immediately attempt to play it fast and struggle for a long time until i play it smoothly and cleanly, and right after that i attempt to play it at hyper speed, and when i eventually do get there i want to learn a more advanced version of it._. Its not really voluntary, this same pattern has been repeating ever since i started playing guitar in the first place.

This is not exactly the best way to learn techniques but its just how i roll *shrugs*

2) Palm muting is even harder with six string arpeggios. I have this problem of raising my right hand up so much when i sweep across the thick strings that i do not maintain contact on the strings with my palm, its just easier for me to sweep if i raise my hand to that position just above the strings, guess its easier to apply more and constant force to the pick, which is crucial to get a smooth sweep >.<. The issue is as my left hand fingers leave the thin strings to go for the thicker ones there is nothing to mute those strings thus make a small hum which is a bitch when i play at higher distortion levels.

3) my thickest string, makes a totally unrelated sound compared to the other strings, i didn't notice this until i realized i was sweeping perfectly and the thick string still makes a 'thunk' sound which sounds almost comical compared to the rest of the strings played. I cant tell for sure if that is the sound that string is supposed to make, or its an issue with my pickups, guitar rig or guitar itself. But i do know that ppl like jeff loomis who do a lot of 6 string stuff have a custom gauge set and the thickest string they use is far far higher a gauge compared to the standard gauge sets sold in shops, for example jeff used .10 on his older 25.5" scale guitars but where the 6th should be a 46 he used a 52 as i remember. Maybe it is to address this thunk sound and ofcos to get a tighter riff sound.

With those things observed i did notice my song learning speed has increased dramatically, before id have trouble just syncing the left and right hand if it was a new song. Now its like, a few days practicing and i can get the song dead on xD. Guess the guitar has stopped being such a new thing to me i spose. Not like ive been sucking in theory so much that i know how phrases are supposed to go without really bothering about what it says on the tabs. But i can hear and imagine the song and what im supposed to play and what does what on the guitar more i spose. Its not like i have reached the "can tab stuff by ear" level just yet O_O, hell i dunno how ppl do that, its amazing in my opinion O_O. But i spose its not THAT hard or its a gift or something...when someone talks nearly anyone can copy the accent simply by listening, guess i am not that in touch with the instrument just yet. Or rather, im not too sharp in the language of the guitar :P

One of my good friends, i showed him no boundaries by Michael Angelo Batio, and just by listening he managed to figure out the tabs real time...though he could not keep up to speed he could definitely tell what exactly Batio was doing, i was pretty much shocked for words O_O. Well i spose there is nothing much else to write here, besides maybe how gamefest is probably gonna suck away whats left of my practice time, commitments are such a bitch. Also, note to self, never keep a string set on for this long...its just bleargh to be blunt >.<

Also one last note, tuned back down to Eb simply becos i have no trouble sweeping in that tuning now and its just so much easier to do vibrato in this tuning XD

Well back to practice, lots to do, so very little time.

Its E standard nao!

Yep, just for the heck of it i tuned all the way up to standard tuning. And i remember very clearly the first time i tuned up to E on gauge 10 strings like two months ago, it was literally incompatible with me back then D:. Just way waaay too tight.

Now, its the best tension i found to play any arpeggios. The strings do not budge but a little and my pick can slide across them with greater ease. Kinda reduces the slight jolts i make to my fingers while sweeping. Less jolts means i can play faster and the sound is smoother and closer to what it should sound as played by a computerized guitar simulator (yes i compete with the machine! )

Its only been a few days but i have no intention of going back to eb tuning. this is clearly more suited to me right now. Apparently John Petrucci uses standard gauge 10 Ernie ball strings for his E tuning guitars as well. Well he is one of the most articulate shredders Ive ever heard so i can see how he gets his sound.

It does limit what kinda music i can play now that its on E standard, most neo classical stuff like malmsteen or galneryus are in eb after all. Well doesn't matter that's what pitch shifters are for, right now all i want is to master guitar technique rather than actually play songs mm.

Next thing, i adjusted the string heights on my bridge individually by grinding off bits of the metal pivot with a scissor. the aim here is to make all the strings rest in a line. Right now its in a curve like the fretboard radius. Not exactly suitable. The strings are comfy for sweeping if the thickest string is highest height and descending in height until the thinnest one is lowest, in a angled line.But for now just adjusted the third thin string. It has already proved to aid my 5 string sweeps. ^_^

And finally today i finally got my hands on a dunlop ultex sharp pick O_O. well it's my cousin's really. Anyhow, its too pointy, Ive gotten too used to playing on a more tear drop shaped pick. Ultex did have better tone as it was less scratchy and felt nicer to the tough and gripped better too. Rhythm playing was better too. I could actually feel the coils on the thick strings O_O. Also alternate picking was slightly better sounding too. The only thing difficult was sweep picking which i rely on the alice picks rounder shape to make contact on the guitar.

It wud seem i need to get the wider ultex pick or syu's signature pick. Only those two seem to be able to properly replace my current one. My current is an Alice brand (its Chinese O_O ) 1 mm pick with a pointy tip and rounder sides. I have to smooth out the edges with sandpaper now and then since notches form very easily O_O. It needs to be replaced but so far non seems better.

Thats it for now back to practice.