Whammy Bar Tricks.

Trick Number One.

Whammy Bar Gargles.

This is a fun whammy bar trick used by a whole host of guitarists such as Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt and Joe Satriani among others.

You need to have a few bit of gain for this one to work and a Floyd Rose trem is best. Okay here we go. Point the whammy bar so it is pointing away from the neck, play any note (one that sustains for a long time is best like a high bend and vibrato) then quickly slide any finger with your picking hand along the whammy bar until it twangs off the end. If done correctly you should hear a 'gargling' effect.

I like this trick because it is easy to do, sounds good (in isolation) and is looks pretty flash!

Trick Number Two.

The Dive Bomb.

I think everyone knows how to pull this one off. Just in case anyone has been living on Mars since the Sixties let me explain.

Easy as pie this one. Hit the open low E and lower the Whammy Bar until the string has gone all flabby. You can then either cut off the sound with your fretting hand or bring the note back up to pitch. Of course you don't have to use the E string, any string will do, but I feel the original Dive Bomb is the open E.

Listen to any Hendrix records, especially the live one's to hear this probably being performed for one of the first times.

Trick Number Three.

Motorbike Noises.

Most people first heard this effect in MeatLoaf's Bat Out Of Hell song. It can be done in a variety of ways ranging from easy to hard. Lets start off with the easy versions.

One way to make your guitar sound like a motorbike (or car if you like) is to simply use a glass slide (you know, the ones old blues players use). Just slide from the first fret slowly up the neck as far as you want, be careful to only gently depress the strings as you don't want contact with the frets. Simple!

Another simple way is really an opposite Dive Bomb. Lower the trem until the strings are 'flabby', hit the low E (or E, A and D) and slowly bring back to pitch. Try to mute the strings when first getting the trem in position to cut out any unwanted noise.

Yet another way, and this is a bit more tricky, is to set the volume on the guitar to off, lower the trem as before, hit the E A and D strings over the harmonics at the 5, 7, or 12 fret* (depending on what sort of noise you want...Vespa, 125 or Ducatti...figure it out yourself). Then as before bring up the trem, but (and here is the tricky bit) reach over with your fretting hand and bring up the volume. You can also quickly back off the volume slightly then bring it up again to simulate gear changes.

*See trick five for more info on harmonics.

So instant race track noises from a plank of wood. Groovy huh? So, that should have got the ladies drooling (or the blokes of course), if not it's certainly got the attention of the gang of fat hairy bikers at the bar. (No offence to any fat hairy bikers). Anyway after all that burning rubber and stuff it leads me onto the next trick.

Trick Number Four.

Police car sirens.

So the fuzz are out and after all those out of control bikers and joyriders. Iv'e got just the trick and it not too difficult to pull off. Here we go.

Ok, lots of gain and use the bridge pickup (humbuckers work best, but you can get away with single coils, I've done it on a Strat). Hit a high sounding harmonic (I use the G string directly over the 4th fret, but as always experiment with what suits you) then raise the pitch of the note and jerk the whammy bar to get the WAWAWA effect. It is a bit of a tricky one to describe in words but just have a go and go with what you think sounds best. You should get a sound like this....

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaWAWAWA.

You can also listen to other countries police sirens in case you get that World Tour your always telling your mates about.

Trick Number Five.

Open Harmonics.

You can get some wonderful sounds combining open harmonics with the whammy bar. Just to recap, to achieve open harmonics there are certain points on a string where harmonics happen, these are called nodes (the most common being 5, 7 and 12 fret). To sound open harmonics gently touch the string over a fret, then pluck the string, then immediately remove the fretting finger and let the harmonic ring out.

The first trick is a simple one (a sigh of relief is heard). All you need to do for this one is pick a harmonic then push the Whammy Bar towards the body. This technique sounds good slowly or fast, use at the end of flash licks or at the end of solos. You can even get away with using this technique in blues playing.

This example is really the reverse of the previous one. Bit more tricky though. Roll the volume all the way off, pick a harmonic, lower the trem, then bring the volume and trem up simultaneously (you have to reach with your fretting hand under the neck to reach the volume pot, or use a volume pedal).

Ok time for another easier example. Play any harmonic then take the Whammy Bar straight down, then up past the original note then back to the original point.

Of course these are only a handful of harmonic trickery that you can achieve, the trick (once more) is to experiment.

Trick Number Six.

The Lizard Down the Throat.

This is an excellent but very tricky technique popularized by Joe Satriani on his album 'Surfing with the Alien'. If you can pull this one off you can consider yourself a guitar hero!

Pick the A on the third string and gradually slide up to the 14th fret. While doing this lower the Whammy Bar to keep the approximate pitch of the original note. Then release when you reach the top. Phew!

Well that bring the Whammy Bar Antics to a close. I am sure there are many more weird techniques I have not covered, but for now keep at it.

Nez.