The Steel Guitar Forum

Is there a trick to doing good pulloffs with a bullet bar? I finally managed it by putting a finger to the left of the bar and using it simultaneously, but I have no idea whether that's normal. If I don't do this, I get a buzz.

I do pull offs and hammer ons with a bullet bar pretty often. The trick is to do it hard and accurate. If you are getting a buzz it means you are not accurate enough. I tend to think it is better to correct the problem with practice than to cover up the problem with added stuff.

Another thing to try out is turn the bar around and do pull offs with the edge of the back of the bar. The sacred steels guys showed me that move.

I found a video of a guy doing it, and it looks like he makes no effort to pluck the string with the bar. He just picks up very quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpW0y1G7S60

For the best results, and to get rid of the "buzz" you need to use pick blocking with the hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Click this----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSh4fP4TklU&t=0m37s

Nice demonstration Doug......
I enjoyed it.

Thanks Ray!

Watching that video makes me feel like a tourist watching a game of three-card Monte. I'll keep staring at it though.

Here's another video showing hammer-ons and pull-offs and pick blocking. The video is not too clear but it gives you an idea of how it works.

-----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsDihpUckVM&t=1m20s

That tone is so great. It looks like you're picking around frets 15-17. I find my hand naturally moves toward the bridge, where the tone is tinny.

I tend to move my right hand all over the place, trying to get different tones, I guess. I was not aware that I did that until I started making videos and a couple of people asked me about it. Yeah, in general, picking near the bridge will give you a thinner tone.