How can I make my palm mutes sound more metal?
Whenever I palm mute some notes, it always sounds really soft and weak -- almost like a "blump" kind of sound. I've been wanting to get the metal and shorter palm mutes (like this). Even if I use more distortion or change the drive, it almost always stays the same. What exactly is the problem?
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In addition to Raymond's comments, you could try:
Use thicker strings or drop your
tuning - this will give a chunkier
sound
Lower the action or raise your
pickups to increase signal levels
Some pickups - eg Dimebuckers - give
an excellent frequency response which
works well for this kind of thing
Sometimes a mid pickup selector
position can help, combined with more
treble on the amp
Using really hard muting or combining left and right hand muting can beef up the sound
Well, I think you should play the chords with more strength.
The secret of palm mutting its the way and strenght that you play with your right hand.
Try that.
Your link is broken. Before you start changing your gear to address this problem, here is my two cents:
Morone has it right - Play hard. Whether you do it by putting forth a lot of power via your wrist, or if you decide to dig in at a steeper angle, it sounds "more metal" and sounds 100x better (especially with passive pickups). Do not however strain your playing: do it in a way that feels very natural.
Concentrate on your down-picking technique. Though I pick really hard either way, I found that up-strokes have a tendency to sound flat more often than down-strokes.
Check out flutter picking technique for a mean sounding "sloppy" palm mute sound. At certain tempos, I personally think it sounds awesome. Even for single notes, it sounds really good when you are trying to be heavy (IMO).
Hit the bottom THREE strings (E.G. for Drop D tuning - D,A,D) instead of just the bottom TWO strings. On a record, I can hear it instantly when a band is not using all three strings - it does not sound nearly as heavy. In my music (7 string), I sometimes use 5-string power chords, simply because they sound very heavy once the technique is down.
Also, I have better luck achieving a heavy palm-mute sound with thin picks than I do thick picks. A thin pick will allow you to REALLY dig into a string(s) without risk of dropping the pick and sacrificing speed/accuracy. Not that thick picks are bad though - find what is right for you when you really start honing in on your technique.
well there are a lot of things that can make your mutes sound harder, i think first off using a pick with a nice pointed tip helps, round edged tips tend to slide across or brush over the string
also where you place the palm of your hand, either towards or away from the bridge makes a huge difference, the further you get from the brigde, the tighter it'll sound
using a good noise gate helps to eliminate any ringing in between chugs too
lastly, i think if you want to get a beefier mute, for instance instead of playing the low E on its own, play an E power chord and it'll sound fuller
i hope this helps!
Use the pickups closest to the neck and make sure your hand is as close to the bridge as can be without ruining the sound.
I found changing pickups not only makes it sound heavier, but bigger too.
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