This is something that has bugged me since I started playing. When taping, or strumming, or say playing on a single string, how do you control sympathetic vibrations coming from the open strings? For example...

Tonight I thought give tapping a try, so I found a YouTube video on how to do a basic tap routine. When he did it, the tap and pulloffs rang clear, but when I tried it it sounded like I bumped the body; all of the strings were slightly ringing along with the string I tapped. I find this happening during simple strumming or picking on say the E B G strings, and the D A E strings will start ringing.

So... what's up with that? Is it my cheap guitars, do I need to learn how to mute open strings?

(please say I need to buy an American Strat or Tele so I can tell the wife I ABSOLUTELY have to have one!)

You need to buy an American Strat or Tele, so tell your wife you ABSOLUTELY have to have one.

There. I told you.

The better and more sensitive and sustaining the guitar you get- the better said Strat or Tele are- the more it will be capable of sympathetic string vibration. So, that won't make that go away, it will only make you practice more.

Seriously, damping and muting out unwanted sympathetic string vibration is all down to your hands and fingers. (And a guitar's tendency to sympathetic string vibration usually indicates a good, healthy guitar.) I tend to let the side and heel of my picking-hand's palm rest on the strings, somewhat like when "palm muting" for chunk rhythms and Al Dimeola approved "Elegant Gypsy"-esque muted picking, and any unused fingers or thumbs on either hand go on and/or in-between the strings where they'll conveniently reach.

This takes some thought and focus at first, but the longer you're at it, the more it becomes automatic second-nature, to the point of having to take a moment to figure out how you've been doing it all along if, for instance, you want to explain how it's done to someone.

This has been touched upon in some of the online lesson-videos that Arlen Roth has been doing for the Gibson Lifestyle 'site and e-newsletters, like " Slide Guitar Blocking and Damping Techniques".

Compression with careful threshold placement.

WTF Bill? Engineering for Guitars or what? ROFL

How are you doing the "tap"? With your finger or the pick? I'm ok with using the edge of the pointy end of the pick.

Muting open strings is one of those things that can be tough to master. I'm very good with left-hand muting on open strings, but find my right-hand palm-muting really needs work; for me it's usually "all or nothing" on the mute LOL

I think a lot of mine are the bridges too...I can palm mute best to worst on Tele, LP, then Strat.

Turn up your amp and mess around with it; this really is a case of "less is more"; it really doesn't take much to deaden a string at all.

It was a tip from Joe Walsh....

Presuming that you're tapping with your picking hand, try letting a finger on your fretting hand lay lightly on the strings.

Some players who use extended two-handed tapping techniques on the fretboard use some sort of device to mute the strings. Jennifer Batten has a contraption that mounts on the headstock and flips down when needed to mute the strings at the nut. A "scuncii" (frilly hair band) also works.

You could also spring for an old Gretsch with the string mute.

IMHO its better to learn to do as much with your hands as you can.

I just don't see how you can possibly string mute when you are moving as fast as some players do. I guess it comes down to...

PRACTICE

Yeah, the muting is all part of those fast movements. You can mute with the heel of your picking hand, or any part of any available fret hand finger.



George Van Eps!

that's useful...not just for tapping but for heaps of stuff. If You can mute stuff with your fretting hand, then your picking hand is free to really go hard (think SRV 'Cold Shot' or Niles Rodgers 'Le Freak').

When tapping I like to rest my RH thumb (I'm right handed BTW)on the side of the neck because 1/ It stabilises the tapping hand 2/ It can mute the 6th string. 3/ It places the RH heel in a good spot to mute other low strings.

It is really a combo of both hands though IMO

It also occurs to me that you might try practicing the tapping stuff with a clean or semi-clean low or medium-gain setting, concentrating on cleanly fretting the notes without brushing the adjacent strings, as well as working on right- and left-hand damping.

I saw Ms. Batten using the device Gabriel E. was talking about in this Jeff Beck video. At approximately 2:36 you can clearly see her flip it down before her solo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vOsTLyh1uE&feature=related

BTW - I see Mr. Beck is not afraid to share the spotlight when playing with other great musicians. He just steps back and lets her go. Classy.