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The infamous pinch harmonics -any great moments?


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I was listening to John Sykes in "Looking for Love" from Whitesnake and thought that his pinch harmonics on that song do add a lot of drama to it. This is the song -the squeals start around 2:20, but I guess it's better to listen to the whole thing and appreciate how it builds up to that moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oss8azqPcc0&sns=em

Another song whose pinch harmonics are also on the spot (in spite of their constant presence) is Pantera's "Cemetery Gates":

So, while this device can become pretty annoying if overused (Zakk Wylde any?) it can add a lot of spice to the song if used with taste and intelligence.

Now please share your great pinch harmonics examples here -would you? :)

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I recall a couple of rather wicked pinches in fills on the Eagles' "Already Gone" and Skynyrd's "The Breeze". Not sure which Eagle did that fill, but I think Rossington played that bit for Skynyrd'. Billy Gibbons has so many god ones, I wouldn't know where to begin....LaGrange?

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wicked pinches in fills on the Eagles' "Already Gone"

My first thought.

Had to be Don Felder on that part. The other guitar part is 100% Glenn Frey.

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Some different ones that came to mind...

Beginning of second "Comfortably Numb" solo. Skid Row "I Remember You" solo. Every Zakk Wylde song. Every Danzig song when John Christ was the guitarist. And one you guys might not know but in the Kenny Chesney song "Never Wanted Nothing More" the guitarist really pinches a good one on the first note of electric solo (around the 2:00 mark.)

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I was listening to John Sykes in "Looking for Love" from Whitesnake and thought that his pinch harmonics on that song do add a lot of drama to it. This is the song -the squeals start around 2:20, but I guess it's better to listen to the whole thing and appreciate how it builds up to that moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oss8azqPcc0&sns=em

...

So, while this device can become pretty annoying if overused (Zakk Wylde any?) it can add a lot of spice to the song if used with taste and intelligence.

Now please share your great pinch harmonics examples here -would you? :)

Looking for Love - I can't help myself, I always felt Coverdale starts singing to fast right from the beginning. Otherwise, I think the song is epic.
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Zakk from No Rest through Book of Shadows (which actually had very few if any).

After that, I feel like he kind of became a stale, but that first run of stuff through the mid 90s I liked and was what made me learn how to do artificial harmonics. The southern-fried, hybrid stuff he'd throw in here in there along with the clear Randy influence in his early playing was pretty interested I thought. I know BLS became a stable living for him, but I got bored pretty fast with the lightening-quick pentatonic thing he pretty much only does now.

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wicked pinches in fills on the Eagles' "Already Gone"

My first thought.

Had to be Don Felder on that part. The other guitar part is 100% Glenn Frey.

Just Don, his Les Paul, and a cranked Deluxe! - Good taste from you guys, 'cause that's the best that's been done for my 2 cents.

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I was listening to John Sykes in "Looking for Love" from Whitesnake and thought that his pinch harmonics on that song do add a lot of drama to it. This is the song -the squeals start around 2:20, but I guess it's better to listen to the whole thing and appreciate how it builds up to that moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oss8azqPcc0&sns=em

Another song whose pinch harmonics are also on the spot (in spite of their constant presence) is Pantera's "Cemetery Gates":

So, while this device can become pretty annoying if overused (Zakk Wylde any?) it can add a lot of spice to the song if used with taste and intelligence.

Now please share your great pinch harmonics examples here -would you? :)

The guitar work Sykes did on the last Whitesnake album is at the top of the list imo. I have always put him in my list of favorite guitar gods. The solo on Crying in the rain is the best part of the song. And yes I love his trademark pinch harmonic wide vibrato. That Wide vibrato is his trademark imo. He also has a move that Jake E. Lee also does where he he's picking a note and then does a double pick of a note, next string up, maybe a couple of frets up. Similar to the Bark at the Moon riff but with two strings.

I was happy that musician's were all over Coverdale's bait and switch after the album release. I read that Coverdale didn't add the singing until the last minute and he and Sykes and were in dispute over some of that. But to fire him and believe people would overlook his contributions to the album was naive, and as a sell out move for the short end money, cost Coverdale in the long run. Hell Sykes solo work was better than the new Whitesnake. Sure there are two sides to the story, but bottom line, Sykes was 70% of the reason that album is a classic.

So here is too the Master John Sykes. As good and as original as any metal guitarist, ever.

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ZZ Top. A lot more judicious use of the pinch than Zakk Wylde. Also I can't stand zakk Wylde's tone on the pinches. It's so unmusical, and he does them so often it just because annoying.

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So here is too the Master John Sykes. As good and as original as any metal guitarist, ever.

Gonna have to third that. He busts out with a pretty awesome one at the 16 sec mark of this one. Just don't look if you're annoyed by extreme controls-checking OCD :lol:

-

Austin

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So here is too the Master John Sykes. As good and as original as any metal guitarist, ever.

Gonna have to third that. He busts out with a pretty awesome one at the 16 sec mark of this one. Just don't look if you're annoyed by extreme controls-checking OCD :lol:-

Austin

Great stuff!

I wonder if Zakk Wyldle's over the top usage of that wide vibrato was influence by Sykes and also that double picking I can't describe. Sykes used it with taste. where Zak uses it aggressively and obsessively. If you want to see obsessive, watch Ozzie with Wylde playing Bark at the Moon live in 2013. I counted over 20 instances. Maybe brought someone out of retirement?

Not to hijack but if anyone wants to see. Still don;t know he did it with his right arm pointing to the sky. Goto 1:05 if you want to get down to it. One time his right hand is pointing to the sky, hope that was a not a live shot. Maybe Sharon was triggering it back stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMLwslRNThM&list=RDLMLwslRNThM#t=0

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