9 part interview by D’Addario’s Guitar.com. The quality isn’t great, it’s a 2nd or 3rd generation copy but the info is good. I wish they would re-post this on guitar.com. Enjoy some amazing picking!
Thanks to garageink74 on Youtube, this is one of the best Rockabilly/Psychobilly Guitar vids I’ve seen. If anyone knows where I could find the originals, do tell.
People ask me all the time “how do I get that Twangy sound?” The secret is 95% technique, not just a particular Guitar or amp setting. When the solid-body electric Guitar first became widely available in the 1950’s, most folks were used to mellow sounding hollow-bodied Guitars. Link Wray, the Ventures and Dick Dale were among the first to take advantage of this new sound. In terms of equipment, single-coil pickups, with some echo or reverb through a Fender Amp is a good place to start.
A lot of the sound comes from imitating Banjo and Steel Guitar licks. Using Open strings and Hammer-ons emphasize the brightness of your sound. Also experiment with picking near the bridge and right hand muting. Steel Guitar like bends can be made by bending the 2nd degree of the scale up to a maj 3rd, under the Root and fifth
You’ve probably noticed that twangy sounding players use a lot of single strings. Single strings cut through the sound of a band better than Chords or 2 string phrases. Also you want to avoid using more than just a hint of distortion or overdrive. This means your technique has to be spot-on and your choice of notes is very important. Sparseness is a virtue! If you have to ask yourself whether or not a note fits, it probably doesn’t.
