The secret to a successful pinch harmonic every time?

zepp76

Is there a certain technique I should be practicing to get a successful pinch harmonic every time I try or is it a given that there is always a chance of failure? I’m starting to dread practicing songs with them in for fear of not being able to nail it every time. 

Phil_C

Pick close in towards your thumb/finger and pick downwards near vertically 

Works for me everytime

Vibetronic

I tell people to pick 'through' the strings instead of attempting it and raising the pick up and away from the strings after. 

pintspiller

Practise makes perfect. There was a period were I always pinched the last phrase on the break.

I play bass these days, so not much call to do it. Well, none in fact.

Gassage

New strings.

roberty

If anyone knows, it's @Vibetronic :-) 

merlin

Remember it's a harmonic you're after, so the position of the pick needs to be in a good place to really ping. Try moving your hand towards the neck and towards the bridge and you'll see how the frequency of the squealer changes. "Longer" harmonics tend to jump out more and more gain and harmonic complexity in your sound will help too. Fuzz/dist/overdrive etc

Lestratcaster

Sharp pick tip, loads of gain.

duotone

I find it works best for me if I turn the Mids right up.

axisus

They go well for me generally and I don't even use a pick

pintspiller

It's like finding your way to Carnegie Hall

mudslide73

I wish I didn't do it so much. My guitar teacher told me to "leave a bit of thumb in there" and it worked straight away. 

PolarityMan

The position along the length that you pick the string is actually the largest factor, far more so than the actual pick / thumb technique. 

ColWilkie

Lot of good advice.  I get them both on the down pick with the thumb, and up with the second finger.
I would agree with @PolarityMan that the position you play it is a major factor.  This actually changed it for me, as soon as I started shifting around I found where it worked.
Also, I started off with minimal gain (counterintuitive I know!).  This meant that once I had them down, they sounded absolutely spot on with the gain added!

rossyamaha

Mids 

mrkb

They’ll also vary with the fret position (if it’s not an open string) as you are exciting a natural frequency of the string length. 

Danny1969

PolarityMan said:

The position along the length that you pick the string is actually the largest factor, far more so than the actual pick / thumb technique. 

Yeah this, plus where you do dictates if it's an octave or fifth etc. If you don't consider this then the results can be a bit random but you can choose what harmonic your gonna get by using the pickups as landmarks ..... essential on the top E and B strings where  pinch harmonics are generally hardrer to do.

The type of guitar makes a different. A Les Paul fitted with EMG's is probably the easiest guitar even with only moderate gain. 

DeeTee

Danny1969 said:

The type of guitar makes a different. A Les Paul fitted with EMG's is probably the easiest guitar even with only moderate gain. 

Ah, the Zakk Wylde formula.

zepp76

DeeTee said:

Danny1969 said:

The type of guitar makes a different. A Les Paul fitted with EMG's is probably the easiest guitar even with only moderate gain. 

Ah, the Zakk Wylde formula.

The man who’s music has the most pinch harmonics in musical history!

 Thank you to you all for your advice.

hollywoodrox

I have no trouble with the technique as such but on some songs it’s hitting the node point on the string in the exact right place . I was playing the 18 & life solo by skid row for months but if I did not hit the string in that exact node point it was unsuccessful , I even tried drawing a line on my right hand to line up with a certain place on the bridge to get my hand in the right place so I would pick where the node was , plus I was using mega gain & a compressor to make them pop .

a lot of places they pop out so easy 

Kebabkid

zepp76 said:

DeeTee said:

Danny1969 said:

The type of guitar makes a different. A Les Paul fitted with EMG's is probably the easiest guitar even with only moderate gain. 

Ah, the Zakk Wylde formula.

The man who’s music has the most pinch harmonics in musical history!

 Thank you to you all for your advice.

And John Sykes, actually a bit too much when I saw him live with Thin Lizzy in the comeback stuff but he could hit a good 'un, as could Alex Lifeson and Billy Gibbons. They were the first guys I heard doing it but there are so many now.