My tapped harmonics seem better between frets than over the actual frets ?

hollywoodrox

Recently been using these in trying to play the first bit of verse of hear about it later by van halen 
  It looks like my finger is hitting between the frets and I get best results . I’m thinking actually it’s probably a part of the side of my finger hitting over the fret itself and it just looks like the pad is hitting in the middle 

viz

Video!!!

Plus I guess your intonation may be slightly out - maybe. 

hollywoodrox

viz said:

Video!!!

Plus I guess your intonation may be slightly out - maybe. 

Very possible , it’s tuned down a step with drop C#

viz

That shouldn’t matter per se, though looser strings are more forgiving for harmonics positioning. But check yer intonation just in case coz it’s good to have good intonation anyway. 

Danny1969

What bit in Hear about it later is it ? I don't remember it using any tapped harmonics but probably wrong 

I always use the middle of the fret myself though for tapped harmonics and they jump out fine. In my experience the results are massively influenced by the guitar it's self rather than the accuracy of the player ... on some guitars they just ring out easy, on others it's a bigger challenge to get anything without a lot of gain.

viz

THere's a little bit at 1:45 maybe. Well, not necessarily tapped, but harmonics. HWR, do you definitely mean tapped harmonics (ie right hand)?

Danny1969

Yeah tapped harmonics to me are generally right hand like Dance the night away, Women in love etc

jasonbone75

A tapped harmonic is on a reduced scale length - your fretted note becomes the new "nut" 

Edit for clarity: some open string tapped harmonics will be over the frets because that is the one scale length where the frets are positioned at the divisions.

hollywoodrox

viz said:

THere's a little bit at 1:45 maybe. Well, not necessarily tapped, but harmonics. HWR, do you definitely mean tapped harmonics (ie right hand)?

Yes right hand octave higher 

DavidR

No guitar is a perfect instrument. The physics are very slightly out and so the harmonics on a string very often aren't exactly over the fret. The harmonic at half the length of the string (12th fret), a third the length (7th fret) and a quarter the length (5th fret) are all reasonably over the fret but even there it's not perfect. Other quieter harmonics can be even more off.

Additionally, individual instruments are different. You just have to get to know them and find the best place to touch the string. Also individual harmonics on an acoustic will be quiet or loud depending upon the resonant frequency of the soundbox.  So if the resonant freq. of the soundbox is G, the harmonic at the 12th fret on the G string will be loud because the string harmonic is also a G. (The soundbox of an acoustic also generates its own harmonics too. It's all a bit complicated!)

If you expect to always be guided to the harmonics by the frets you can be disappointed. You have to 'find' them. Sometimes, and from instrument to instrument, they're not where you think they should be. And sometimes the same harmonic is loud on one instrument and barely audible on another. 

:-)

viz

^ ah, that just made me think of something. HWR, are you trying to play harmonics that specificaly don’t fall exactly over the fret? Because the higher order harmonics don’t. The octaves and fifths do though.

hollywoodrox

viz said:

^ ah, that just made me think of something. HWR, are you trying to play harmonics that specificaly don’t fall exactly over the fret? Because the higher order harmonics don’t. The octaves and fifths do though.

 Frets 3 2 & 0 tapped at 15 14 12 

viz

Oh right. Hm. Weird. 

PAL

If it works don't worry about it !