Palm Muting question

[Demonofthefall]

So my band covers Inferno (from Symphony X).

This song involves D tuning (DGCFAD) and a lot of palm muting on the F string.

Whatever I do with my EQ, the palm muted notes always sounds {censored}ty ... tiny, metallic ... very unpleasant to hear.

I use the bridge pickup (stock SeymourD JB) and Daddario 11-49 strings.

I try to palm mute lightly by staying close to the bridge.

 

Any suggestions to get rid of that annoying sound ?

I guess it's a bit in the EQ and a bit in the technique ...

[Mark Wein]

Have you tried moving your muting hand up or down the string a little bit to see if it changes the tone? Try picking the stringsteadily and move your palm up and back slowly and see if you find a better sounding spot...it's usually right where the sring comes over the bridge saddle, but you should experiment. Another thing is that if you are trying to palm mute on the 3rd string ( I hope I understanding your question correctly) sometimes players will have their palm mute placed properly for the 6th or 5th strings, but the hand will angle away from the bridge after that and your mute will be sitting on the string a 1/2 inch farther up the string than is necessary. Sometimes you will see player hook their pinky behind the volume control to straighten their hand along the bridge to compensate for that...without a picture it's a little hard to describe, but I hope I have helped!

 

Try getting the sound with your hands and not the EQ, though...otherwise your whole tone might be dictated by a small need for this part...

[Demonofthefall]

Have you tried moving your muting hand up or down the string a little bit to see if it changes the tone? Try picking the stringsteadily and move your palm up and back slowly and see if you find a better sounding spot...it's usually right where the sring comes over the bridge saddle, but you should experiment. Another thing is that if you are trying to palm mute on the 3rd string ( I hope I understanding your question correctly) sometimes players will have their palm mute placed properly for the 6th or 5th strings, but the hand will angle away from the bridge after that and your mute will be sitting on the string a 1/2 inch farther up the string than is necessary. Sometimes you will see player hook their pinky behind the volume control to straighten their hand along the bridge to compensate for that...without a picture it's a little hard to describe, but I hope I have helped! Try getting the sound with your hands and not the EQ, though...otherwise your whole tone might be dictated by a small need for this part...

 

Thanks a lot, I'll try it tonight.

... and no need for a picture, your explanations are very clear.

[Mark Wein]

No problem! Hope it helps!