As an old guy with arthritis, the advice I got about a light touch was this: first play with too light of a touch, such that you get fret buzz. Then increase your pressure just enough that the buzz stops. That is how much force you need. Of course, in the heat of battle it is common to grip too hard, but do this at the start of each practice session to remind yourself you don't need a vice-like grip to get the notes out cleanly.
@fudgesauce same here fighting arthritis in my wrist so far so good,but what really helped was putting extra lite strings on all my guitars 🎸 i have 9-42 on my electrics and 10-47 on my acoustics like BB says why you working so hard
Recording yourself also works wonders for dialing in tones. Our ears tend to decieve us when we're listening AND playing so when I get to the point where a newly dialed tone is starting to come together, I record it, listen back and play with an EQ to see if there's anything I wanna cut or boost. Then I make changes and record again. I repeat the process a until I get the tone feeling good while playing and sounding good recorded. Really takes out a lot of guess work being able to listen back properly and comparing the changes you've made
Usually it isn't tuned like a guitar. But if you do, as SG did here, then you can think of it in terms of guitar. Some people refer to ukes tuned this way as a guitalele. Sungha Jung made them fairly popular when he was still a little kid.
@@KarstenJohansson Isn't gCEA/GCEA the most common ukulele tuning? For anyone else struggling to make the connection: a guitar's top four strings are tuned DGBE and a capo on the 5th fret of a guitar raises the pitch of every open string by 5 semitones, so: D + 5 semitones = G G + 5 semitones = C B + 5 semitones = E E + 5 semitones = A i.e., standard uke tuning This was a great tip!
@@karanvasudeva5424 I had a partial derp moment. I should have been saying: if you want to play it like a guitar you need to drop the g string octave, and not do that 5 semitone transpo. That would be Guitalele tuning. Yes you can do familiar chord shapes on a standard-tuned uke, but they won't be the chords you think they are because of that transpo. Also for whatever reason (probably that even though I have a uke, I don't actually play it lol) the 5 semitones transpo had never occurred to me. I'm used to uke chords that are in key being really weird fingerings. The fact that it spells out an upside-downish Am7 threw me off lol! EDIT: Also, look at the standard Uke way of playing an E Major chord. That really disguises it's transpo'd guitar tuning. What a whacky fingering lol! You're right... it *is* a great tip! It took until your comment before I had the full lightbulb moment.
Thanks for excellent info. Footnote: I started out on the piano in 3rd grade, 9 years old (now 76), and my piano teacher taught me to count 1/16th notes like, "one-eee-and-uhh, two-eee-and-uhh. You are the first person outside of her students that counted sixteenth notes that way. Clarinet private lesson teacher, band instructor, symphony conductor, all did the Lawerence Welk, "and-a-one-and-a-two...etc... Probably only interesting to me but it is, so there you go... "Thank you boyz. uhh-hum" ;~) PS -- I made some corrections to obvious errors as I'm mildly Dyslexic meaning I transpose letters and words and numbers. Tonight it was my life's bane math terms and numbers combined. Sorry for any confusion.
I use "diddle" for 2, 4s, etc., and "diddle-ah" for 3s. .... then try to rub your belly and hit your head to those poly-rhythms. NOW you can swing, baby - YEAH!....
Wrapping up cables - great tip. Works great for any other cable/hose around the house too. We used to say "over-worked, under-paid" while wrapping to help make it stick.
More people NEED to know about the mechanical pencil trick on the nut. I do it once a year on my guitars. I've been doing it since I started playing in 2001. Never had a tuning problem!
@@Nick-v7b3l Once a year when the strings are off my guitars get a SPA day, the full deal clean, oil, frets polished, electronics blown out, screws tightened, washer tightened, tuners greased, all if needed.
I completely agree, but I was recently informed that graphite doesn't work and you HAVE to use nut lube. I use a pencil and I've never had binding or tuning issues.
@@dickpawlak354 I've heard that there are a couple of good nut lubricants out there. I just find the pencil so easy & convenient since I have 2 of them & extra lead in my desk drawer. Whatever works for you!
Soloing repetition Exhibit A: Freebird One more guitar hack: Even when drop tuning, ALWAYS tune up to the note. Example, Drop D: Bring the low E down below D, then tune up to D. Do this for all strings tuned to all notes always Reason: Backlash in the gears inside the tuning machine. When you tune up to the note, all of the tension of the string is pulling the tuning peg which has nowhere to go because you didn't leave backlash in the gears. Backlash is just the proper term for the slack in the gears
Learned the over/under cable wrap technique 40-some years ago in the Navy. It's called flaking. Mountain climbers use it to prevent ropes from snagging. Very informative video. Knew a few things (like the strap and amp cord) but most informative overall. Thanks, Sammy! Cheers....
nose oil is squalene, which is also found in shark livers. back when watches had little gears and such watch repair folk used shark liver oil for lubrication. if they had run out, or possibly were helping someone while not in their shops, they’d simply rub their nose and Bob’s your uncle.
On the point of lightening the touch, John Mayer said something similar to dynamics. Something along the lines of "if you start at 100%, you have nowhere to go", pulling back on touch like you describes leaves headroom for when you want to dig in!
One thing I've noticed about pressure and picking is that in your beigginer days, you're building the strength to play the instrument, but, you're also building muscle memory on how hard you're pushing/picking and you Carry that memory as you build strength. So, as you get stronger, you don't realize how hard you're really doing things until you think about it.
6:51 Thanks for bringing this subject up! Everybody wants to be a studio engineer, but nobody wants to wrap cable. Often overlooked and not deemed important, this skill saves time, especially during setup (just hold one end and toss it to the target). I learned this when doing an internship. Learn to do this quickly and you'll be in demand for set/strike work. It's the most obvious tell of a professional, which means not doing such screams amateur.
As a model boat builder I will add, those wide makeup brushes that are super soft. They work great for model boats since even a paintbrush might ruin some rigging.
The super glue trick works so well! I just tried it on that exact issue and now there is no pain. It doesn't even need much of a fingernail to bind to. I cut mine too short and it still worked.
5:30: another thing with this is if make a mistake while recording or are coming up with a song on the spot, do the same mistake three or so more times and it'll sound intentional. Really only works while jamming but sometimes "incorrect" things sound amazing! Also amazing - and hilarious - tip with the nose lmao
I used to put my cable through my strap like that but it wasn't to keep the cable plugged in. In my case it was because i had crappy cables that had bad connectors in the solder points between the cable ends and the contacts on the plug. Putting the cable through my strap like that helped keep the connection while i played.
If you buy cheapo canles I really recommend you resolder them. You end up doing it anyway. Just add some solder to the joints and sometimes you already see one all frail and near failure. Had a cheap cable that after three monthsy a single strand was soldered to the jack and had broken. Redid it and it's now my main cable that gets treated horrible. Stuffed into the gigbag, stepped on etc... If the iron is hot it takes 30 s per jack and after that you have a rock solid cable. The cable itself won't fail unless you cut it but the jacks are where they fail and the jack itself is also nearly failure proof so it's almost always the connection and in cheap cables they save on quality control. So do your own quality control and fix it.
OMG - where has the 'Super-glue Hack' been all my life. This coupled with the 'play lighter' approach is awesome. Yep, Band-practices went to a whole next level once we started listening back to the recordings of ourselves. Thank you, as ever, Sammy G! 🙂
Man, at 1:00, you unintentionally played a riff from the song "Olhos Certos", by Brazilian band "Detonautas". I find it amazing that, knowing music theory like this, we can understand how a certain music was conceived.
I've always used a pencil to lube the nut on my guitars, but I recently ran into a player that insisted that you HAVE to buy nut lube because graphite doesn't work. Believe whichever you'd like, but I don't ever have problems with strings binding.
I found that Odie's Oil works well for keeping my hands in order. It's a food safe wood finish(mostly beeswax and oil,). I work in a warehouse and my hands used to split all the time... under the nails is the worst. Super glue does work well when that tortuous pain of your nail splitting from your finger happens, but better to keep them healthy in the first place. Keep em clean.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that I can play with a much lighter touch when my calluses have built up. If my fingers are soft and squidgy it takes more pressure to push the string down. If I practise regularly my finger tips toughen up and fretting requires much less effort. It's sort of like the difference between holding something down with your elbow or sitting on it. If your butt is not well toned the elbow is going to work better.
I’ve always had a light tough, so much that even with daily playing I don’t have callouses on my fingers. I also tend to play only my Kiesel’s or a few other higher end guitars I own.
My trick for learning a soft touch is - set your amp 2 times louder than you want to during practice. And keep to volume low and persistent only by touch.
4:21 I’ve used the super glue to mend my broken skin in the dry winters. *Pro Tip:* you may be tempted to use an accelerator to shorten the set time of the glue by using baking soda or CA glue accelerator spray. *RESIST THE URGE! DO NOT USE ACCELERATORS ON OR NEAR YOUR SKIN THAT HAS SUPER GLUE ON IT!* The chemical reaction is an *EXOTHERMIC REACTION* (a.k.a. it gets super hot!) and you will question every choice you’ve made your entire life that lead you to this bad idea. Learn from my mistakes!
Should also mention to loosen strings and before getting on the plane. That being said, I've never had an issue with guitar flying. Most agents are happy to accommodate if you talk to them 🙂
Nose oil works a charm but boy howdy does it chud up your strings. Good in a pinch/live but not one for the practice sessions unless you wanna be restringing weekly!
Hack for Floyds: string it up with extra length, and then if you break a string at the bridge you can just shorten it and use it instead of replacing it
One thing that helped me develop a lighter touch was getting a guitar with super tall jumbo frets. The frets are so tall that it feels like playing a scaloped fretboard, and that forced me to be lighter otherwise I'd be bending the notes out of tune just by touching them. I didn't get that guitar specifically for that purpose, it was more like a happy accident
I find the "record yourself" tip can also have the opposite effect. I've had friends record me live and while I walk off stage thinking I bombed it, I can watch the video and realize that actually I just made a few small errors and recovered so fast that no one would notice.
Hey man, great video! I've always been doing the 'nose oil' thing but you should watch out for blood poisoning from using glue under your fingernails. No joke
So the bit about the nose oil… there are jazzers who’ve been doing this sort of thing since the 30s and 40s- by eating salami or other greasier foods before performing. Who knows? Maybe it adds to the tone.
The AirTag thing isn't actually that much help against theft - the anti-stalking measures in newer versions of iOS and Android, plus the noise that AirTags make now when the owner isn't nearby, means the thief will just find it within the span of a few seconds. Still a good idea for "regular" lost luggage incidents, but by no means are they a theft deterrent. They're apparently not supposed to be.
And even if they work you have to convince the police to do something. A friend of mine got several instruments stolen including here I-Pad. She was able to track the I-Pad, but the police said, the place is in such a big apartmenthouse, they can't search every flat in there.
Look up how to remove the speaker from an AirTag. It's very easy apparently, but something they are reportedly going to make much harder on the new version coming out next year.
When I wrap a cable, instead of doing the overhand underhand thing, I just roll the cable between my thumb and first finger so it coils the opposite way, like the underhand thing does.
This is not the first time (or even second or third) I've heard about the nose oil thing. I've heard it mostly from classical guitarists. 😂 I've also tried it and I can vouch that it's a really good hack. LOL
If i cancel my dojo membership that i got last month, and re-signup will i get those courses? I got nothin extra when i signed up and kinda not happy about it
Lip balm not pencil "lead". Graphite may lubricate it or not. Depending on humidity, it can clump and make it worse. Lip balm is very close in formulation to the ridiculously priced nut lubes that rival heroin in price per gram. I just put some carmex on my finger and rub it along so it goes in the slot and wipe off excess. Correctly cut slots will go a long way too. I also add a tiny drop of oil on the saddles and again wipe off excess. If you can bend the string by pushing it behind the nut, like in the opening of Iron Man and the string is in tune afterwards you know it's not catching on the nut and you're good and your Les Paul will stay in tune.
It's not the graphite that clumps and sticks, it's the clay that is used to stop the graphite falling apart. I've taught luthiery for over a decade. Get a soft artists pencil or 0.5mm refill. 6b is great.
@@mark.guitar Thanks for the tip, but I've been doing well with lip balm and a set of nut files. If you can bend the string behind the nut and goes back in tune it should be fine. Mainly smoothed, angled and oiled the saddles, because that's where I tend to snap strings, the wound ones anyway, so I've been endevouring to decrease friction everywhere. Depends on the guitar too, if there's no break angle and the nut is cut decently it should be fine, hence the always in tune Telecaster. I play Flying Vs and while they have a much smoother angle on the D and G strings, thanks to the tuners moving in as you go up, the angle at the E strings is very sharp and there you need a deep slot so it doesn't slip out over it and the most improvements was from making a curved nut slot, kind of a pain to do without removing the nut, but they stay in tune perfectly now, as do my Les Pauls, even the authentic Gibson, with that heavy headstock angle. And wrapping over the tailpiece rather than under has decreased the angle towards the saddles, along with making the saddle slots smooth and curve downward at the back and a drop of oil, I've been snapping a lot less wound strings. The graphtech stuff is great but I don't find it completely eliminates the need to lubricate, it certainly doesn't hurt..
@@221b-l3t From what you've said you know what your doing with a set of nut files! Refreshing for me as I taught luthiery to many who didn't have a clue. The lip balm would help a bit on the curved slots but do give the 6B pencil a try some time as it combines with the nut material and doesn't need applying more than once. I use micro-mesh 12000 to finish on saddles and nuts. I usually use mammoth ivory to make mine as the stuff is so much smoother and tougher than bone.
@mark.guitar That would be an overstatement, I did a 6 month internship kinda thingy with a luthier who was somewhat known for building classical guitars, Ana Vidovic played one of his for a couple of years. But it was pretty expensive and most of what I did was learning fretwork, changing frets and the nut was part of that of course. Pretty tedious and I didn't enjoy it very much being 16 but I got a crash course in proper woodwork and polishing and all that. I will give it a try, I might have a few for one of these refillable pencils. Pretty broke so I just use what's lying around, did the saddles with file - 120, 200, etc.... to 5k and that was the most I had. :)
@@221b-l3t Definition of luthiery: "ten percent woodwork, ten percent engineering and eighty percent fiddling about until you get it right." The "apprentice" bit explains why you know what you're doing! Who was it with? I've probably never heard of them but you never know!
If u lock your guitar case and don’t know the combination, and you don’t happen to have another key around to use, just take the 7 minutes and flip through each number from 000 to 999. My wife was a locksmith, It’s was funny how many people came in and paid a bunch of money for her to pick their combination padlocks and suitcases open…sometimes she would do it right in-front of them and they would clearly feel dumb lol
Had the opportunity to try out various models of Yamaha motorcycles in different cities from different parking lots back in the day because the keys were the same. To find the right one, you know?
Lighten my touch? To me playing guitar is a battle. I have to force these wires to do what I want while they are trying as hard as possible to stay at rest. Every note requires extreme force. 2 1/2 step Gilmour bends? All my strength. If I play any lighter than full force I get buzzy strings, particularly with chords. Like say I do a full 6 barre chord. For me I have to squeeze so hard that some notes go out of tune because the strings are dipping between the frets, but if I don't do that a couple of strings will buzz. You have to beat the guitar into submission
SAMMY G! I understand that you live in Canada, but down here in the more southern United States it is much more humid and will cause graphite in the nut slot to actually clump up and cause string buzz and extra friction causing tuning instability. Could you recommend Big Bends instead, or at least explain that it does the opposite in more humid areas?
I actually had a guitar tech in Texas reach me about graphite in the nut slots and used it in the decades I lived there and have continued to use it since. Never had an issue. Maybe you're using too much.
Pencil nut lube : c'mon: there are graphite nuts around for decades, as well as rolling nuts... Gotoh even makes a nice one with brass-bell rollers which is great for those who like brass-bell nuts
@@no_nameyouknow For sure, a $13.98 self-lubricating Graph Tech nut can't compete $50ct pencils, although, if you consider this likely 1979 Antigua-Strat, on the long term... BTW, I used the pencil trick 35 years ago then installed a roller-nut
While graphite nuts are fairly affordable (as far as nuts go), not everyone has the skill required to replace a nut on their guitar, nor are most people comfortable with modifying their guitar in the first place.
@@cambienvenu Overhead bin. I have to admit I have a little schadenfreude when someone thinks they found an empty overhead bin only to find my guitar case. :)
Years ago airlines and musicians were frequently bumping heads about this. At the time I was touring and flew multiple times a week. I once downloaded a letter from the Musicians Union in regards to allowing my instrument on the plane and was forced to show it when an agent was giving me a hard time. He laughed at it and told me they're rules allow them to reject items. Bottom line, gate agents are in control and if you ask for a supervisor you'll end up missing your flight while waiting on one to show up.
As an old guy with arthritis, the advice I got about a light touch was this: first play with too light of a touch, such that you get fret buzz. Then increase your pressure just enough that the buzz stops. That is how much force you need. Of course, in the heat of battle it is common to grip too hard, but do this at the start of each practice session to remind yourself you don't need a vice-like grip to get the notes out cleanly.
Took me a while to learn to stop squeezing so hard. Both the pick and my left hand. But I feel now that I’m loosened up, my dynamics have improved
@fudgesauce same here fighting arthritis in my wrist so far so good,but what really helped was putting extra lite strings on all my guitars 🎸 i have 9-42 on my electrics and 10-47 on my acoustics like BB says why you working so hard
@@michaelmetal71 -- I play bass, so 40/60/80/100 *are* the light strings.
I would go even thinner if you have arthritis. 8 gauge. I'm young but I still love them.
Bar chords take alot tho!
You said all guitar hacks but I don’t see myself anywhere in this video
smart......very smart......
Lmao!
Solid.
Heh! 😂😂
Looool
Recording yourself also works wonders for dialing in tones. Our ears tend to decieve us when we're listening AND playing so when I get to the point where a newly dialed tone is starting to come together, I record it, listen back and play with an EQ to see if there's anything I wanna cut or boost. Then I make changes and record again. I repeat the process a until I get the tone feeling good while playing and sounding good recorded. Really takes out a lot of guess work being able to listen back properly and comparing the changes you've made
dude the uke thing i could never wrap my head around... thank u sooo much
Usually it isn't tuned like a guitar. But if you do, as SG did here, then you can think of it in terms of guitar. Some people refer to ukes tuned this way as a guitalele. Sungha Jung made them fairly popular when he was still a little kid.
@@KarstenJohansson Isn't gCEA/GCEA the most common ukulele tuning?
For anyone else struggling to make the connection: a guitar's top four strings are tuned DGBE and a capo on the 5th fret of a guitar raises the pitch of every open string by 5 semitones, so:
D + 5 semitones = G
G + 5 semitones = C
B + 5 semitones = E
E + 5 semitones = A
i.e., standard uke tuning
This was a great tip!
@@karanvasudeva5424 I had a partial derp moment. I should have been saying: if you want to play it like a guitar you need to drop the g string octave, and not do that 5 semitone transpo. That would be Guitalele tuning. Yes you can do familiar chord shapes on a standard-tuned uke, but they won't be the chords you think they are because of that transpo.
Also for whatever reason (probably that even though I have a uke, I don't actually play it lol) the 5 semitones transpo had never occurred to me. I'm used to uke chords that are in key being really weird fingerings. The fact that it spells out an upside-downish Am7 threw me off lol!
EDIT: Also, look at the standard Uke way of playing an E Major chord. That really disguises it's transpo'd guitar tuning. What a whacky fingering lol!
You're right... it *is* a great tip! It took until your comment before I had the full lightbulb moment.
That delay pedal trick is what Rob Scallon used to write Rain over 10 years ago its such a good trick and makes songs sound so spacey and amazing!
Thanks for excellent info.
Footnote: I started out on the piano in 3rd grade, 9 years old (now 76), and my piano teacher taught me to count 1/16th notes like, "one-eee-and-uhh, two-eee-and-uhh. You are the first person outside of her students that counted sixteenth notes that way. Clarinet private lesson teacher, band instructor, symphony conductor, all did the Lawerence Welk, "and-a-one-and-a-two...etc... Probably only interesting to me but it is, so there you go... "Thank you boyz. uhh-hum" ;~)
PS -- I made some corrections to obvious errors as I'm mildly Dyslexic meaning I transpose letters and words and numbers. Tonight it was my life's bane math terms and numbers combined.
Sorry for any confusion.
I use "diddle" for 2, 4s, etc., and "diddle-ah" for 3s. .... then try to rub your belly and hit your head to those poly-rhythms. NOW you can swing, baby - YEAH!....
My 6th grade band teacher taught us "one-ee-and-uh" to count sixteenth notes, so that's how I've always counted them.
Wrapping up cables - great tip. Works great for any other cable/hose around the house too. We used to say "over-worked, under-paid" while wrapping to help make it stick.
More people NEED to know about the mechanical pencil trick on the nut. I do it once a year on my guitars. I've been doing it since I started playing in 2001. Never had a tuning problem!
I do it every time I change strings. It's getting cleaned at that time anyway
@@Nick-v7b3l Once a year when the strings are off my guitars get a SPA day, the full deal clean, oil, frets polished, electronics blown out, screws tightened, washer tightened, tuners greased, all if needed.
I completely agree, but I was recently informed that graphite doesn't work and you HAVE to use nut lube. I use a pencil and I've never had binding or tuning issues.
I use lock deicer. Liquid graphite (graphite suspended in penetrating oil). You can do this with the strings in the slots
@@dickpawlak354 I've heard that there are a couple of good nut lubricants out there. I just find the pencil so easy & convenient since I have 2 of them & extra lead in my desk drawer. Whatever works for you!
Soloing repetition
Exhibit A: Freebird
One more guitar hack: Even when drop tuning, ALWAYS tune up to the note.
Example, Drop D: Bring the low E down below D, then tune up to D. Do this for all strings tuned to all notes always
Reason: Backlash in the gears inside the tuning machine. When you tune up to the note, all of the tension of the string is pulling the tuning peg which has nowhere to go because you didn't leave backlash in the gears.
Backlash is just the proper term for the slack in the gears
The nose oil and behind the ear work!!! The use of the natural oils that protect us has been useful in so many ways.
Around the hairline works well, too! It helps with immediate burns, too!
Eyebrows also work
Butthole?
Yeah one way is it helps if you rub your fingers on your arm after you just broke up a sticky ass nug
I've heard plenty about but never understood the dotted 8th note thing before but that 2 second example made it all click perfectly clear.
Learned the over/under cable wrap technique 40-some years ago in the Navy. It's called flaking. Mountain climbers use it to prevent ropes from snagging. Very informative video. Knew a few things (like the strap and amp cord) but most informative overall. Thanks, Sammy! Cheers....
nose oil is squalene, which is also found in shark livers. back when watches had little gears and such watch repair folk used shark liver oil for lubrication. if they had run out, or possibly were helping someone while not in their shops, they’d simply rub their nose and Bob’s your uncle.
Ohh, that explains why that one band member always brings along a bag of shark livers. I always thought that was strange.
@ maybe had a side gig repairing watches? 🤷🏻♂️
On the point of lightening the touch, John Mayer said something similar to dynamics. Something along the lines of "if you start at 100%, you have nowhere to go", pulling back on touch like you describes leaves headroom for when you want to dig in!
One thing I've noticed about pressure and picking is that in your beigginer days, you're building the strength to play the instrument, but, you're also building muscle memory on how hard you're pushing/picking and you Carry that memory as you build strength. So, as you get stronger, you don't realize how hard you're really doing things until you think about it.
These recent videos of the past few months have been a huge change in quality, pacing, and quantity. Hats off to you, SammyG!
6:51 Thanks for bringing this subject up! Everybody wants to be a studio engineer, but nobody wants to wrap cable. Often overlooked and not deemed important, this skill saves time, especially during setup (just hold one end and toss it to the target). I learned this when doing an internship. Learn to do this quickly and you'll be in demand for set/strike work. It's the most obvious tell of a professional, which means not doing such screams amateur.
Hack: To clean the dust off your headstock, use a dry paintbrush.
To customize your guitar, use a wet paintbrush on your headstock
As a model boat builder I will add, those wide makeup brushes that are super soft. They work great for model boats since even a paintbrush might ruin some rigging.
The super glue trick works so well! I just tried it on that exact issue and now there is no pain. It doesn't even need much of a fingernail to bind to. I cut mine too short and it still worked.
The airtag should be in the guitar, if there's a cavity underneath a pickgaurd that would never be found. Or if acoustic velcro inside
5:30: another thing with this is if make a mistake while recording or are coming up with a song on the spot, do the same mistake three or so more times and it'll sound intentional.
Really only works while jamming but sometimes "incorrect" things sound amazing!
Also amazing - and hilarious - tip with the nose lmao
8:36 I have a set of those D’Addario earplugs that can switch between -10db and -20db. They work great.
I used to put my cable through my strap like that but it wasn't to keep the cable plugged in. In my case it was because i had crappy cables that had bad connectors in the solder points between the cable ends and the contacts on the plug. Putting the cable through my strap like that helped keep the connection while i played.
If you buy cheapo canles I really recommend you resolder them. You end up doing it anyway. Just add some solder to the joints and sometimes you already see one all frail and near failure. Had a cheap cable that after three monthsy a single strand was soldered to the jack and had broken. Redid it and it's now my main cable that gets treated horrible. Stuffed into the gigbag, stepped on etc... If the iron is hot it takes 30 s per jack and after that you have a rock solid cable. The cable itself won't fail unless you cut it but the jacks are where they fail and the jack itself is also nearly failure proof so it's almost always the connection and in cheap cables they save on quality control. So do your own quality control and fix it.
I love the major 6th interval a lot too! ❤
OMG - where has the 'Super-glue Hack' been all my life. This coupled with the 'play lighter' approach is awesome. Yep, Band-practices went to a whole next level once we started listening back to the recordings of ourselves. Thank you, as ever, Sammy G! 🙂
Man, at 1:00, you unintentionally played a riff from the song "Olhos Certos", by Brazilian band "Detonautas". I find it amazing that, knowing music theory like this, we can understand how a certain music was conceived.
I've always used a pencil to lube the nut on my guitars, but I recently ran into a player that insisted that you HAVE to buy nut lube because graphite doesn't work. Believe whichever you'd like, but I don't ever have problems with strings binding.
i could buy graphite, but i already have pencils. some people just want to burn money. ive used pencil lube since the 90s. 🍻
I found that Odie's Oil works well for keeping my hands in order. It's a food safe wood finish(mostly beeswax and oil,). I work in a warehouse and my hands used to split all the time... under the nails is the worst. Super glue does work well when that tortuous pain of your nail splitting from your finger happens, but better to keep them healthy in the first place. Keep em clean.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that I can play with a much lighter touch when my calluses have built up. If my fingers are soft and squidgy it takes more pressure to push the string down. If I practise regularly my finger tips toughen up and fretting requires much less effort. It's sort of like the difference between holding something down with your elbow or sitting on it. If your butt is not well toned the elbow is going to work better.
About the delay hack: a very cool example of this trick is the song Rain by Rob Scallon
An alternative for the nose thing off the stage is that GHS fast fret stuff. It can bring stings back to life if needed lol
My man! The super glue hack is great. Thank you.
100% agree on saving up for thing you actually want instead of spontaneously buying a cheaper version. I’ve definitely lost some money on crap gear
There is an easier over & under cable wrap... use your thumb and forefinger to twist the cable to make the over & unders... faster too...
The nose oil trick works so well.. use it all the time... i also put some oil in a rag sometimes
Some famous 6th interval riffs in songs we've all played and likely over-played: "Wanted, Dead or Alive", "Margaritaville", and "Brown Eyed Girl".
Thoroughly enjoyed this video, thank you.
Well done. Very informative and practical, things that I would have never thought of.
I’ve always had a light tough, so much that even with daily playing I don’t have callouses on my fingers. I also tend to play only my Kiesel’s or a few other higher end guitars I own.
My trick for learning a soft touch is - set your amp 2 times louder than you want to during practice. And keep to volume low and persistent only by touch.
What a beautiful strat ❤
4:21 I’ve used the super glue to mend my broken skin in the dry winters. *Pro Tip:* you may be tempted to use an accelerator to shorten the set time of the glue by using baking soda or CA glue accelerator spray. *RESIST THE URGE! DO NOT USE ACCELERATORS ON OR NEAR YOUR SKIN THAT HAS SUPER GLUE ON IT!* The chemical reaction is an *EXOTHERMIC REACTION* (a.k.a. it gets super hot!) and you will question every choice you’ve made your entire life that lead you to this bad idea. Learn from my mistakes!
Should also mention to loosen strings and before getting on the plane. That being said, I've never had an issue with guitar flying. Most agents are happy to accommodate if you talk to them 🙂
Thank you for the hacks! I just signed up for your awesome Black Friday deal!
Nose oil works a charm but boy howdy does it chud up your strings. Good in a pinch/live but not one for the practice sessions unless you wanna be restringing weekly!
Bro that ukelele tip is gold holy shit
Hack for Floyds: string it up with extra length, and then if you break a string at the bridge you can just shorten it and use it instead of replacing it
One thing that helped me develop a lighter touch was getting a guitar with super tall jumbo frets. The frets are so tall that it feels like playing a scaloped fretboard, and that forced me to be lighter otherwise I'd be bending the notes out of tune just by touching them. I didn't get that guitar specifically for that purpose, it was more like a happy accident
I find the "record yourself" tip can also have the opposite effect. I've had friends record me live and while I walk off stage thinking I bombed it, I can watch the video and realize that actually I just made a few small errors and recovered so fast that no one would notice.
This one could get a lot of views, Sammy G. 🙏🏻
Great video as always Sammy.
Wear earplugs during soundcheck so that when you perform with earplugs, the levels are set so you can hear them with earplugs.
Hey man, great video! I've always been doing the 'nose oil' thing but you should watch out for blood poisoning from using glue under your fingernails. No joke
The delay trick is so amazing! I cannot playing it !
So the bit about the nose oil… there are jazzers who’ve been doing this sort of thing since the 30s and 40s- by eating salami or other greasier foods before performing. Who knows? Maybe it adds to the tone.
Is this a reupload? 🤔
The AirTag thing isn't actually that much help against theft - the anti-stalking measures in newer versions of iOS and Android, plus the noise that AirTags make now when the owner isn't nearby, means the thief will just find it within the span of a few seconds.
Still a good idea for "regular" lost luggage incidents, but by no means are they a theft deterrent. They're apparently not supposed to be.
And even if they work you have to convince the police to do something. A friend of mine got several instruments stolen including here I-Pad. She was able to track the I-Pad, but the police said, the place is in such a big apartmenthouse, they can't search every flat in there.
Look up how to remove the speaker from an AirTag. It's very easy apparently, but something they are reportedly going to make much harder on the new version coming out next year.
When I wrap a cable, instead of doing the overhand underhand thing, I just roll the cable between my thumb and first finger so it coils the opposite way, like the underhand thing does.
This is not the first time (or even second or third) I've heard about the nose oil thing. I've heard it mostly from classical guitarists. 😂 I've also tried it and I can vouch that it's a really good hack. LOL
If i cancel my dojo membership that i got last month, and re-signup will i get those courses? I got nothin extra when i signed up and kinda not happy about it
I know about 1/2 of these & the rest are great. I thank you, oh great samurai guitar ancient secret wizard man....
recording yourself is so important
I love slightly weird guitars.. that Antigua looks gorgeous
Lip balm not pencil "lead". Graphite may lubricate it or not. Depending on humidity, it can clump and make it worse. Lip balm is very close in formulation to the ridiculously priced nut lubes that rival heroin in price per gram. I just put some carmex on my finger and rub it along so it goes in the slot and wipe off excess. Correctly cut slots will go a long way too. I also add a tiny drop of oil on the saddles and again wipe off excess. If you can bend the string by pushing it behind the nut, like in the opening of Iron Man and the string is in tune afterwards you know it's not catching on the nut and you're good and your Les Paul will stay in tune.
It's not the graphite that clumps and sticks, it's the clay that is used to stop the graphite falling apart. I've taught luthiery for over a decade. Get a soft artists pencil or 0.5mm refill. 6b is great.
@@mark.guitar Thanks for the tip, but I've been doing well with lip balm and a set of nut files. If you can bend the string behind the nut and goes back in tune it should be fine. Mainly smoothed, angled and oiled the saddles, because that's where I tend to snap strings, the wound ones anyway, so I've been endevouring to decrease friction everywhere. Depends on the guitar too, if there's no break angle and the nut is cut decently it should be fine, hence the always in tune Telecaster. I play Flying Vs and while they have a much smoother angle on the D and G strings, thanks to the tuners moving in as you go up, the angle at the E strings is very sharp and there you need a deep slot so it doesn't slip out over it and the most improvements was from making a curved nut slot, kind of a pain to do without removing the nut, but they stay in tune perfectly now, as do my Les Pauls, even the authentic Gibson, with that heavy headstock angle. And wrapping over the tailpiece rather than under has decreased the angle towards the saddles, along with making the saddle slots smooth and curve downward at the back and a drop of oil, I've been snapping a lot less wound strings. The graphtech stuff is great but I don't find it completely eliminates the need to lubricate, it certainly doesn't hurt..
@@221b-l3t From what you've said you know what your doing with a set of nut files! Refreshing for me as I taught luthiery to many who didn't have a clue. The lip balm would help a bit on the curved slots but do give the 6B pencil a try some time as it combines with the nut material and doesn't need applying more than once. I use micro-mesh 12000 to finish on saddles and nuts. I usually use mammoth ivory to make mine as the stuff is so much smoother and tougher than bone.
@mark.guitar That would be an overstatement, I did a 6 month internship kinda thingy with a luthier who was somewhat known for building classical guitars, Ana Vidovic played one of his for a couple of years. But it was pretty expensive and most of what I did was learning fretwork, changing frets and the nut was part of that of course. Pretty tedious and I didn't enjoy it very much being 16 but I got a crash course in proper woodwork and polishing and all that. I will give it a try, I might have a few for one of these refillable pencils. Pretty broke so I just use what's lying around, did the saddles with file - 120, 200, etc.... to 5k and that was the most I had. :)
@@221b-l3t Definition of luthiery: "ten percent woodwork, ten percent engineering and eighty percent fiddling about until you get it right."
The "apprentice" bit explains why you know what you're doing! Who was it with? I've probably never heard of them but you never know!
The RAIN delay trick
is the glue under the nail safe? what kind of glue super glue?xD Is it easy to wash it after wards?
2:32 thats what i been working on lately WHAT A HARD LESSON TO LEARN
Going to try to lighten my touch so I don't get hand cramps when I play.
With the uke trick, its the Same with Mandolin except backwards.
If u lock your guitar case and don’t know the combination, and you don’t happen to have another key around to use, just take the 7 minutes and flip through each number from 000 to 999. My wife was a locksmith, It’s was funny how many people came in and paid a bunch of money for her to pick their combination padlocks and suitcases open…sometimes she would do it right in-front of them and they would clearly feel dumb lol
That light coloured Strat has a beautiful finish! What's the name of that colour?
I think it's Antigua.
Antigua. Some love it, some hate it. Me? Meh. Cheers....
Thanks! :)
Had the opportunity to try out various models of Yamaha motorcycles in different cities from different parking lots back in the day because the keys were the same. To find the right one, you know?
Lighten my touch? To me playing guitar is a battle. I have to force these wires to do what I want while they are trying as hard as possible to stay at rest. Every note requires extreme force. 2 1/2 step Gilmour bends? All my strength. If I play any lighter than full force I get buzzy strings, particularly with chords. Like say I do a full 6 barre chord. For me I have to squeeze so hard that some notes go out of tune because the strings are dipping between the frets, but if I don't do that a couple of strings will buzz. You have to beat the guitar into submission
Sometimes you have to hammer or file your frets, you can practice this on a cheap guitar.
Hey, so I'm not a music maestro, am I able to get an explanation of the 6th interval?
the pencil hack works even better with 4b or 6b pencils
I personally only use 1960s Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils. The vintage graphite sounds so much better. 😆 Seriously though, thanks for mentioning this!
SAMMY G! I understand that you live in Canada, but down here in the more southern United States it is much more humid and will cause graphite in the nut slot to actually clump up and cause string buzz and extra friction causing tuning instability. Could you recommend Big Bends instead, or at least explain that it does the opposite in more humid areas?
I actually had a guitar tech in Texas reach me about graphite in the nut slots and used it in the decades I lived there and have continued to use it since. Never had an issue. Maybe you're using too much.
@ idk man, thanks tho
What do you mean, you hired the pitch? No, no, I highered the pitch.
I hadn't heard that before 🙂
just found out I have the same phone as our Samurai lord, now I will become even mutch better at guitar!
Nose oil is great for playing bass
Not using over-under wrapping is grounds for immediate firing from the band.
ATTENTION if you spin your strings off when you change them they can sometimes be needle-sharp.
Krazy Glue is cyanoacrylate, right? aka SuperGlue, SekundenKleber, colles instantanée etc.. I guess Krazy Glue is a Canadian brand?
Why is guitar so fun bro 😮
2:32 - if you're operating at 10, there's no where to go. Unless you're Spinal Tap. In which case why aren't you already at 11?
Pencil nut lube : c'mon: there are graphite nuts around for decades, as well as rolling nuts... Gotoh even makes a nice one with brass-bell rollers which is great for those who like brass-bell nuts
C'mon? C'mon what? It's a hack, and it works. Suggesting that you completely replace your nut isn't a hack.
Yeah but if you don't have one of those mechanical pencils are like 50 cents.
@@no_nameyouknow For sure, a $13.98 self-lubricating Graph Tech nut can't compete $50ct pencils, although, if you consider this likely 1979 Antigua-Strat, on the long term...
BTW, I used the pencil trick 35 years ago then installed a roller-nut
Not everyone can afford those
While graphite nuts are fairly affordable (as far as nuts go), not everyone has the skill required to replace a nut on their guitar, nor are most people comfortable with modifying their guitar in the first place.
Guitar hacks list without the classic String Boiling technique? I am shocked.
Regarding breathing to relax during performances, the ol' grey matter needs oxygen to function at its best.
Rather than the glue, I've found that CLIPPING MY FINGERNAILS works great.
What if we're already members? Do we have to cancel and resubscribe to get the courses for free?
Why do open strings ring out and shimmer when compared to fretted strings?
Nose oil... slick idea!
Repetition- solid advice.
Attempted to sign up for the Dojo but the teachable platform is not accepting any of my payment methods. I will try again tomorrow.
I had to use a different email address to complete the purchase. Teachable didn't like my email. Signed up successfully now.
Don't gate check your guitar. Obama signed a law requiring airlines to let you bring your guitar on the airplane.
United kills guitars.
Where does it go? Is it able to stay with you or does it go into overhead? Really curious
@@cambienvenu Overhead bin. I have to admit I have a little schadenfreude when someone thinks they found an empty overhead bin only to find my guitar case. :)
Years ago airlines and musicians were frequently bumping heads about this. At the time I was touring and flew multiple times a week. I once downloaded a letter from the Musicians Union in regards to allowing my instrument on the plane and was forced to show it when an agent was giving me a hard time. He laughed at it and told me they're rules allow them to reject items.
Bottom line, gate agents are in control and if you ask for a supervisor you'll end up missing your flight while waiting on one to show up.
@@nuthinbutlove Bottom line, airlines have to obey Federal Law. By the way "they're" means "they are."
Is this a re-upload?
DAMN RIGHT LOOK AFTER THE FUCKIN PLANET! No music on a dead planet.
I swear I've seen this whole video before. Sammy G, is this a repost???
Traditionally, I recall Samurai as donning a ponytail but never a bun. Hard to take any guy with a bun seriously…seriously.
I hate the over/under technique - doing the underhand thumb-roll is so much faster and works for all cables, hoses and ropes