Is there a "chug" book?

[solspirit]

There are other extended versions of what I described above, but start with the root-fifth shape. If you want, give me a call sometime if you need more description of the more subtle stuff like pick angle.

I think pick angle, finger & wrist technique is very important.

 

[Bogner]

I think pick angle, finger & wrist technique is very important.

In addition to how much pick is actually hitting the string. Too much pick exposure and you get locked up and its over. Pick thickness and how much pick you are using is crucial. I see players using too much pick so they go with a thinner pick not to get hung up and they lose the crispness and aggression. The attack is lost. Pick angle on a proper thickness pick without to much pick hitting the string makes a big difference. How you mute, pick, dig into the string has a radical effect overall and shifting those things a bit can make for interesting rhythmic variances to spice a riff up.

 

[Artie]

It requires skill, anyone thinking all of this stuff is easy is fooling themselves.

Yup. Like soldering. It ain't as easy as it looks. Thanks. I'll practice.

 

[solspirit]

In addition to how much pick is actually hitting the string. Too much pick exposure and you get locked up and its over. Pick thickness and how much pick you are using is crucial. I see players using too much pick so they go with a thinner pick not to get hung up and they lose the crispness and aggression. The attack is lost. Pick angle on a proper thickness pick without to much pick hitting the string makes a big difference. How you mute, pick, dig into the string has a radical effect overall and shifting those things a bit can make for interesting rhythmic variances to spice a riff up.

I use a coin pick for it and rake the pick a bit on the string as I'm picking.

 

[alex1fly]

Helps to have the right distortion settings too. Lots of distorted sounds out there but only a few are that specific Swedish style chug.

Helps to have long, luscious locks as well.

 

[Artie]

Swedish chug's Luscious locks?

Elaborate.

 

[LLL]

Key point for getting "chug" style tone is enough bass to let the "balls" though without extra "flab/flub".

May have to EQ sculpt a little in the 60-125Hz and 160-250Hz range.

Start by lowering 200 or 250Hz a few dBs... that's a "flab/flub" area.

Remember, standard tuning low "E" is about 80Hz.

 

[Top-L]

That might work.

I've learned a few things that way.

 

[Demanic]

Sweet! But which two notes? :headbang:

Well, that depends on what chord you're playing. Those do change of course, but for metal rhythm, you're usually just playing a two note chord and palm muting them. Occasionally you might use three notes, but very rarely do you strum straight across all six strings.

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[Artie]

If you want, give me a call sometime . . .

I just might take you up on that.

 

[UnderTheFlame83]

Also do hand exercises before playing. It really helps. I can't add anything new. Everyone else has already covered it. Just keep practicing. You'll be chugging before long.

 

[Demanic]

Let go...

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[nexion218]

Here's the mentioned video of Ola teaching how to chug:

I"m a bit oversimplifying here, but don't get caught up in the exact chords. Chug is right hand and properly set up gear. You've mentioned Ola... He has the "will it chug?" series. If you notice, it's not about technique, but gear. He just does randpm palm muted riffs there, the rest is tweaking knobs.

Also, as it has been said: power chords, power chords and power chords. You can try palm muted perfect fourths too by fretting the same fret on adjacent strings (except for G and B, but you're not gonna chug up there anyways), they sound rad! Oh, and get a Nazgûl! jk

 

[dave74]

I know this all joking here in this thread, or mostly at least, but it does touch upon (p.i.) something that I've really noticed on a lot of the young "prodigy" videos where they are doing covers well beyond their years, as well as many guys (and girls too) doing gear demo and show-off videos.

Muting/dampening seems to be a vastly under-developed/utilized/appreciated skill. Many players sound like they only have on and off, and on tends to be so light it's barely perceptible.

It's almost like people are so concerned with pushing out of tune that they are afraid to make it oomph and get some real speaker grab going.

Obviously if you over dampen on a floyd it will indeed start pitching sharp, and that's where the skills control is needed to develop, so that there is a full range of dampening-pressure dynamics at his or her disposal.

IMO riffs sound much more interesting when there is a constant variance of dampening, from open to soft to medium to hard-chug where the speaker is clutching and grabbing tight.

Plenty of metal players get it and use it, but many don't even try to develop their muting annunciation.,,,, and yes as previously posted, that goes right along in tandem with picking angle and attack.

 

[dave74]

Let go...

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That's not wrong at all!

Close those eyes and join with the speaker,,,,,,make it your b****!

 

[nexion218]

Muting/dampening seems to be a vastly under-developed/utilized/appreciated skill. Many players sound like they only have on and off, and on tends to be so light it's barely perceptible.

Word! Right hand dynamics in metal are vastly overlooked. Hand placement can be crucial to the chug and it's really worth experimenting with it! Though with some of today's music it's a pretty moot point with boosted EMGs run into Tubescreamers and at least 3 compressors and noisegates hooked up to ultra gain amps... No matter what Yngwie says, less can be more. And the more I tweak gear, the more I find that the amount of gain is one of those instances where less is more, even in full blown extreme chuggachugga metal.

 

[El Dunco]

Let go...

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RELEASE YOUR ANGER!

 

[Artie]

You've mentioned Ola... He has the "will it chug?" series.

Good video. Thanks. And yeah, I like Ola. His videos are fun.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

A big part of what you’re hearing from Ola is chugging on the open low string (he’s typically down a whole step or drop C) and playing lots of single note riffs or power chords on the 4th and 5th string. I know that he uses 10-52 strings, and the lower tension on a 52 at C is definitely a big part of that sound.

Tuning the 6th string a whole step lower than the others increases the interval between the open low note and is a big ingredient in that sound, so there’s more to it than just playing power chords with one finger.

But seriously, call me about this sometime. Ola and I are about the same age, seem to have cut our teeth on the same stuff.

As a side note, he holds his pick strangely relative to everyone else. Most people angle the pick with the edge toward the bridge higher, his is the opposite. Watch his right hand closely... it’s weird looking.

 

[Iron1]

It has nothing to do with tuning or chords and everything to do with pick angle and palm mute location. Every bridge/trem has a sweet spot where you lay your palm. Flat picking won't do it, you need to angle the pick to get a bit of a scraping/sawing effect on the string(s). As said above, Ola has the trailing (bridge side) edge of the pick angled down, but most angle down the leading (neck side) edge. You can find examples of popular bands chugging as far back as the 70s (Sabbath, Heart, to name a few) and nearly every metal band after the early 80s does it. If you can't chug, you can't metal.

Gear does play a part in making it sound great, but any decent metal player can make a guitar chug acoustically.