Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

[Gamera]

I've always been a Strat kinda guy and I'm used to Strat bridges and Floyd bridges. Since the bridge has always been so close to the body of the guitar I've found it very natural and comfortable to rest my palm half on the bridge, half on the strings. And when trying to pull off some chunky, gallop-like metal rhythms it's been great having that low, flat surface to rest on.

Enter my new Dean '79 V that I just received today. So far everything is great but I've noticed I may need to adjust my playing style a little, particularly for palm muting, to accommodate the height of the Gibson-like bridge. So far there doesn't seem to be a comfortable sweet spot to rest my palm. Currently I place it between the bridge and the pickup. It feels alright but it seems less stable and a little harder to pull off the quick rhythms. It seems I really miss the low, flat bridge area and adjust to a taller, skinnier bridge may take some effort for me.

It's brand new, just out of the box so I'll need to restring it and lower the action a little which I'm sure will help. But before I get carried away trying to find that sweet spot, does anyone have any playing pointers for me? Particularly anyone who regularly switches between Strat-like and Gibson-like guitars regularly. Any modifications you've had to make in your playing to make the transition smoother? Thanks!

 

[danglybanger]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

hmm... mypalm kind of wraps around the bridge if that's understandable... I dislike strat bridges (trem bridges in general) because when I rest my palm on it while playing, it pushes it down.

It's not too different of a position... just a different feel.

slade

 

[some_dude]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

When I bought my Les Paul I was used to Floyd style bridges and I had much the same problem.

I'd heard of stringing through the stop tail backwards, then wrapping the strings over, which reduced the breaking angle over the saddles. I ended up trying that and found it gave me more area to rest my palm while playing.

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

Ok... this may seem dumb, but how the f***in' hell can you rest your palm on the bridge while playing? My palm never touches anything except the strings when I mute them...

 

[Gamera]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

My palm never touches anything except the strings when I mute them...

I'll bet you play a Gibson-like guitar, don't you? That's kind of my point. I can't really do that now and I wonder the best way to compensate.

I like the "wraparound" solution. I'll have to give that a try. And I like the
backwards stoptail solution too but the Dean doesn't have a stoptail, it's strung through the body. It's just the height and "skinnyness" of the bridge that I need to adjust to.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

Ok... this may seem dumb, but how the f***in' hell can you rest your palm on the bridge while playing? My palm never touches anything except the strings when I mute them...

I do that periodically for playing quick intricate rhythm sections - I find that it really stabilizes your pick hand. And was the explicative really necessary to get your point across?

Anyway, you get to a point where you learn to make contact with the strings behind the saddle so you aren't constantly muting the strings (on tune-o-matic style bridges). It is true, though, that this habit began at an early age, on tremolo equipped guitars. Admitedly, the TOM bridge took a little getting used to, but you'll either break yourself of the habit or adapt your playing style when the Dean is in your hands.

 

[big_black]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I had a hard time adisting to TOM after playing low profile Fender type bridges for so long. I kept getting hung up on the space between the stop tail and the TOM. Top wraping does make it easier for me. It gives you that flat place to rest your palm. It feels more like a low profile bridge.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I think that's why there's so many guys, like myself, who prefer strats and Les Pauls. There's two different tones, and two different feels, so if you can toggle between them easily, your playing comfort zone is widened. If you just get used to a bunch of different guitars, you can pick up virtually anything and be comfortable on it.

Comfortwise, I think the best one is a PRS McCarty. Probably because all it's features are centered between a strat and paul. The wraparound stop tail is the smoothest bridge you can rest your palm on, IMO.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I don't get this at all. I find palm muting so much easier on a smooth Gibson-style bridge with separate tailpiece than on a Fender where you have saddle adjustment screws sticking up. Have I missed something or is it just a case of what you play most feels most comfortable?

 

[FELIX57]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

And I like the backwards stoptail solution too but the Dean doesn't have a stoptail, it's strung through the body.

i know exactly wat u mean at first i thought u had a stop tail but yeah the string throughs take a lot of getting used too its very awkward i was gonna contribute because i have a gibson style dean but it has a stop piece sorry

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

i have a strat and i never keep my hand on the bridge for picking or anything. sometimes ill rest my pinky and ring fingers on the pickguard when playing something hard though.

 

[Pandemonium]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I never rest my hand on the bridge either. I do keep my forearm just below the elbow in contact with the body most of the time.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

i have a strat and i never keep my hand on the bridge for picking or anything. sometimes ill rest my pinky and ring fingers on the pickguard when playing something hard though.

I never rest my hand on the bridge either. I do keep my forearm just below the elbow in contact with the body most of the time.

My hand is always resting on the bridge/strings. I need to to keep the unused strings muted....otherwise they'd feedback like mad at the volume & gain levels I play at. I also sometimes grab the high strings with my pinky and ring fingers if I'm doing alot of riffing on the low strings and don't want too many accidental notes.

 

[ex-250]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

ah man i f*cking hate the feel of palm muting fender and FR bridges. all tune-o and kahler for me

 

[Pandemonium]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I've got my hand on the strings most of the time too, but not on the bridge. I do rest the heel of my palm on the bridge when i'm playing lap steel.

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

Well, first guitar bridge was a strat, then a paul, now a floyd. Lol. I've had the Floyd guitar since saturday and i'm getting used do it, and i havent had the problem with the strings going out of pitch. But for palm muting i prefer a TOM and i dont mind a fender bridge at all.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I usually rest my hand on the bridge, so it's not a big stretch to mute. If you want to listen to the master of muting grab any recording by Al DiMeola. He's the best.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I never rest my hand on the bridge either. Just seems unnatural and limits your picking possibilities. If I have to mute strings, which I do all the time, I do it with my fingerboard hand. Just seems much more natural.

With the three electrics I've had, I've gone from a strat-trem to a floyd and finally to a TOM. I find the TOM easily the most comfortable of them, because the hand angle seems more ergonomic to me. Not because I like to press the bridge with my hand, I've never quite understood that.

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: Palm muting: Fender vs Gibson

I'm just the opposite, I have a terrible time getting into the right position for a strat. LP's and Tele's are much more comfortable for me. It's something that I need to work a bit harder on because I love Strats......oh who's kidding who, I love all guitars!