The Steel Guitar Forum

I play a Mullen G2 and when I move the bar up to the 12th fret on my E9th neck, I get a noticeable chorus/shimmer effect. Even with the reverb and delay effects off, this is still happening...

For any of you more experienced players out there, is this happening as a result of my bar hand technique? I've tried to focus on having my fingers behind the bar evenly dampening the strings and it does help somewhat...

I don't believe that it's the guitar causing this problem...

Any advice would be appreciated!

Evan

Sounds like a classic case of inadequate trailing fingers damping since you state that does help some.

When you go above the 12th fret, you are dealing with harmonics of the fundamental. Try this. Strike a chord at a fret of your choosing above the 12th then lift your trailing bar fingers completely off the strings. Notice the dead sound and sitar effect.

Just practice the damping technique with your trailing fingers solidly spread out behind the bar.

I know the issue well as I fought it myself for years before finally discovering what I was doing wrong.

With practice, it will be mitigated at the least and likely become unnoticed with time.

There are times though if you understand the phenomenon, that you can use the effect to your advantage in a particular situation.

Sometimes it's fun to play behind the bar (no finger dampening) on the 12th fret...

The twelfth fret is the worst as the string wants to vibrate in two halves. Firm left hand damping is the key, and that includes only covering the strings you need with the bar.

Ian, Dave and Jerry

A big thank you for the advice... I've been focusing on spreading my fingers out more on my bar hand and that makes a big difference...

Thanks guys!