- This topic has 16 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 11 months ago by
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Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good at all. Have you had the guitar set up?, I would say that the string height is too high and the action needs lowering before you go any further in your bending quest.
..Billy..
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Hi Billy, thanks again for your advice.
Guitar was adjusted only in factory. I tried some things like as lowering bridge but it didnt help with this problem and strings began make buzz (needs bigger adjustment probably).
I have one guitar maker nearby, we have arrange appointment next week, so i hope that he knows help me.
I hope that it is not about my shape of fingertips 😀 or about bad guitar geometry.
I tried make better my vibrato and bending but this problem irritate me.
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Hi Nataly.
On the very first bend there doesn’t seem to be any string noise. The noise starts When you put your first and second fingers down for support. It looks like those first and second finger nails are getting caught on the string above and picking it on the way down. At least that’s what I think I see. If that is the case try lowering your action until the string height pushes against the fleshy part of the finger tips. That will help dampen the noise. -
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Hi Nataly,
Have you watched Brian’s lesson on bending strings? (LEG032) If not, you should check it out. Pay particular attention to how Brian uses his wrist and not his fingers to bend the strings. Also notice how his fingers are much more curved than yours. It looks to me that your fingers are flat, especially fingers 1 & 2 which may cause your nails to be a problem. Brian’s fingers are hitting the strings more on the tips. Again, the bending and vibrato are not really from pushing the fingers but turning the wrist like a lever. I hope that makes sense.
Jim
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Nataly,
I think strings can be set too low and, also, make a problem with bending. You have to find the sweet spot on the fleshy part of your finger tip that allows you to bend the note and push the string above out of the way without trapping it underneath your fingertip. If the string above gets caught under the fingertip you are almost doing a pulloff as the bend is released. Using the side of the palm of your picking hand to mute the string above while not muting the bent string also helps.
John -
Hey guys,
i read your suggestions. I practised a little bit, my fingers maybe were very flat and i didnt used my wrist enought, only strong of my fingers. The problem is not so evident but i think that it still appears there. I made another video.
My feeling is that should help lower the strings and of course practise more 🙂 -
Nataly,
You definitely don’t want your fingernails to get underneath the bent strings.Like I mentioned before, you want to carry the next higher string with the bend but not pinch it under your fingertip. It may help to subtly roll your wrist back as you release the bend which slightly flattens the fingers, so as not to pinch the thicker string on descending.
John -
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Nataly,
Go to 14:25 part 1 of this lesson where Brian discusses bending.
John -
I think good bending technique can be done in several ways. It just depends on what works best for you.
First of all, I don’t think your string height is the cause, and you can easily adjust them yourself if you are in doubt. You don’t need a “professional”. Just Google it, if the method is not apparent. The criteria is this: You want to have your strings as low as possible, but not so low that you get string buzz on any string when you fret it around the 12th to 15th fret. If, for example, you press down on a string on the 14th fret and pick it, and you hear a buzz where it passes over the 15th fret wire, that means the upward angle as the string leaves the 14th fret is too low. So raise that string up a little. If you don’t hear a buzz to begin with, then lower the string until you do. Then raise it back up just a little until you don’t hear it anymore.
Second, string gauge does matter. BB King always used 008s, because he said they were much easier to bend and easier on his fingers. But the downside of light gauge strings is you may have to set them a little higher, because light strings can give you string buzz. If you pluck a light string, it will vibrate at the same frequency as a thicker string, but it has greater range of movement.
I have found the length of my left hand fingernails matters. Yours are a bit shorter than mine, so you could experiment with that.
I also notice that you hold your left hand perfectly like a classical guitarist, so that your fingers are exactly at right angles to the neck. A lot of blues guitarists play with their fingertips pointed slightly more toward the bridge. So you could experiment with your finger angle a bit.
I know someone who has nice bends, and he does it by holding his fingertips straight down onto the fret board, so that the adjacent strings are pushing against his fingernails. Sometimes (rarely) I do that also – especially on the lower strings. But mostly my fingers are approaching the neck at about a 45 degree angle downward, and the adjacent strings are pushed against the fleshy part of my fingertips. Sometimes the adjacent string slips downward and there is a tiny bit of noise because of it, but it’s not noticeable to me when I play.
I would suggest watching some Youtube videos of guitarists who are doing a lot of bending. The trick is to find some videos where you can see their fingers close up.
Good luck to you Natalie!
Sunjamr Steve
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String height is an individual thing, but a good place to start would be 4/64 at the 12th fret for low E, measured from fret top to string bottom and 3/64 for high E. Setup is something you can do yourself, but it would be a great help to get a real guitar mechanic to show you how, the neck relief, the nut are also factors. Paying for a setup is worth the money.
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Hi Nataly,
An important thing to my mind is that bending is something that takes a little bit of learning ones fingers are nearly always a bit clumsy in the first place and I think that whilst its good to do it right from the outset you will only really pick it up by going for it. Try a few of those numbers we have talked about and I think you will find that a good part of your troubles will fall away in fairly short order. Your fingers will micro tune them selves to a degree and you don’t get that until you do it, they need to learn and you will discern what is right and what is not so good. I hope that makes some sense just get on and practice a few bends in action and I bet you improve dramatically. Yes you do need to be pretty well set up and not necessarily too low. Many players bend with fingertips a lot straighter not any where near the right angle that you are trying. So a little less angle may be helpful to get the nails out of the way. Bear in mind i am pretty amateurish myself!. All the Best JohnStrat
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Nataly
Without being able really look at your guitar, I will venture a guess that the truss rod needs to be adjusted and then set the string height. Judging from what little that I can see in your second video, it seems that there may be too much of a forward bow to the neck.
As mentioned before, a set up by a knowledgeable tech would be a good idea
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