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@@offtheleashman if you got your guitar new they should come with the guitar. Otherwise just search for Fender tremolo arm tension strings. StewMac also has their own version that includes a ball bearing to prevent binding. Hope this helps!
@@offtheleashman why do you think new fenders have a sticker over the trem hole? most people lose that spring within 12 seconds of owning it and never even know it was there
The fact that he litterally uses a shot glass, the most well known guitar slide replacement, in the original tiktok just screams to me that it is on purpose to attract involvement
@@catarinabarbosa2247 I'm more outraged w y'all's conspiracy and negativity and and I'm more engagement to this chick she's dork wife material but I'm gay
@@catarinabarbosa2247 I'm still thinking about this and it's upsetting like it's just a joke he drinks from a shot glass drinks too much then comes up with a convoluted lifehack to make in essence a shot glass like I'm 100$ serious why are you all so joke numb? How come when you watched this you immediately though it's some plot to upset people and get attraction like, are you that insubordinate and cherlish that you dont understand people tell jokes by making little characters and acting out their situations and then people laugh like when you watch breaking bad are you p word that no one arrested this awful meth teacher yet it's all fake it's all just entertainment and idk science it's not a plot to get the people upset I mean yeah I'm upset but that's by attrition to you people, it's like you are the real bait to get upset attention by acting like a joke video is bait y'all are joke numb
On her “How to Cook That” channel, Ann Reardon has also included this bottle-cutting technique in one of her Dangerous Hacks compilations. Very bad, apparently… not only does it usually not work, besides the obvious fire hazard the bottle can shatter
For the "glue calluses" hack, the original video uses cyanoacrylate glue/superglue rather than elmer's white glue. Probably not gonna change your ultimate opinion of the hack, but the dried CA would definitely be harder and more securely bonded to your fingertips than the white glue would.
@@joeblough261 LOL. it just smells like cloves and antiseptic, so if thats not your thing..... But I agree. It works great and its good for all kinds of stuff- skinned knee while laying gaffer tape, fingernails/skin cracks, cracked callous. I keep a tiny bottle of that with my guitar stuff. Never know when a string will break or something and you poke yourself with the end- that sh*t hurts!
I used superglue after I slashed most of my fingers open before a gig. Held pretty well for the first 20 minutes... I guess the blood running down my hand added to the metal show, but that gig really sucked for me 😄
@@CupFullOfMead Hospitals use (sterile) CA glue all the time instead of stitching small wounds. It works great and I've used it a couple of times on myself when I couldn't be bothered to go to the hospital.
HA would never have expected to see myself in one of your videos but I'm honored!! Enjoy that tuning, you can capo it to modulate anywhere too and it still works :).
Add the double string, the drum thing. the postit, tissue paper, double string and c sus tuning too and you'd be the most unique band ever Oh and the can pick + glue fingers
I actually kinda liked the sound. Hendrix does that in Voodoo Child, and i think panning back and fourth between pickup selection is a valid technique for some added texture. Just... maybe not using that janky ass harness setup
That why there is a sticker covering the trem bar hole in a new strat. To keep you from losing the spring before you install the trem bar. Unfortunately, most of us remove the sticker and lose the spring before we install the trem bar.
@@JackieTheCatfox 🤣🤣well, I'm 43 and started playing at age 10, had a B stock Warlock before that. It was a biiiig day! I'm not much older, 55+ is old. I also still look about 30 so I am still in the game 😅
The simple fact you didn't know about the spring thing made my whole week. There's at least 1 thing I knew about guitar before Samurai did. I am complete.
My 1990 Ibanez rg570 was always loose, since they used plastic c-clips on a bar that pushed in, and not threaded. Always a problem. I miss those days, but life moves on. This is great to watch. I once made a digital echoplex since I had a background in electronics and software and it was so neat to read the A/D convertor, ADD it to the buffer, then read out an old value, and send it to the DAC. Lots of fun. I learned to write software and play electric guitar at the same time. Oh software: All 80186 assembly language. No compiler. No operating system. (those days) We just didn't have all these neat toys back 'then' and I used ICs and the PC microprocessor on a wire wrap board I made to fit my computer. A/D: Analog to Digital convertor. DAC: Digital to Analog convertor. IC: Integrated Circuits. PC: Personnel Computer (sowwy, had to)
Wow. I've played guitar for like 15 years now. I didn't know that simply taking that string down in open C tuning to a D makes such a different sound. Been fiddling with that tuning for ages now lol. So, thanks to you and thanks to the girl who made that tiktok.
For the glue hack, you really need to use cyanoacrylate glue (Krazy Glue etc). It gives the finger tips some protection when you had too many gigs in a row and your fingers never catch a break. Sworn by this for over 30 years. Actually heard it was a SRV trick but can't confirm that.
Cyanoacrylate glue could never replace real, work-hardened callus, but it certainly can and does come in handy at times. Back in my early busking days, before I graduated to fronting bands, I'd sometimes get these very nasty, extremely painful little rips in the skin of my first finger, right where it transitioned from very thick, tough callus to normal skin. (Ouch!)😲 Left untreated, those little rips could quickly become too painful for me to continue playing, so whenever that happened, I'd smear a wee bit of cyanoacrylate glue over the rip, effectively sealing it shut for a while. After giving it 30-40 seconds to harden, I'd soon be able to continue playing for another two or three hours. Since I lived entirely off the money I earned playing on the street, losing two or three hours' worth of income might mean going to bed hungry or even sleeping outdoors, if I didn't earn enough to pay for a cheap motel room or a bed in a hostel.🤣 So yeah, absolutely, cyanoacrylate glue definitely has its uses!😉
@@That70sGuitarist Totally agree. I play every day and you would think after more than 3 decades I would have petrified wood for finger tips but alas......
@@scundoalex That's one of the weirder thing about work calluses. During the first few years, most everyday players/manual labourers will develop thick, hard, almost crusty calluses to deal with the constant abuse. After over 40 years, I've noticed that my calluses are gradually getting much thinner, and developing a smoother, almost "glassy" texture. It's almost like our fingers know something, but they aren't telling us! I stopped being a working musician back in 2005 due to a physical disability, but I still play every day; after all, playing guitar requires skill, and skills need work to retain and/or improve them. I've gone much further than I ever imagined possible back when I first started out, but I'm still learning and growing as a player. Like you said, you'd think my calluses would be rock hard by now, but instead, they've gotten wider, thinner and glassier. As young Alice said, "Curiouser and curiouser."😉
I've used glue calluses after a period of not playing for a while and it worked pretty well. The big mistake you made was using the wrong kind of glue. you need to use super glue or gorila glue since it creates a much stronger bond. It still doesn't feel like having calluses but it lets your fingers undergo just enough stress to start to harden up while making the process just a little more bearable. It does add a bit of ecess friction when doing slieds and such but the people who are using this trick likely aren't at a point in their playing where they are going to worry too much about that.
I’ve done this, superglue. When I was first learning guitar, it was a thick string acoustic with a massive action that I was trying to play Johnny B Good and Sound of Truth (AILD). My fingers were bleeding, but I wanted to keep playing. It worked.
So did stevie ray ( you can look that up and confirm it) and a bass player from Crowded House used did this. It's more for when you've shredded you calluses.
Is that an actual Canadian saying if someone is appearing a little too enthusiastic? Kind of like how we'd say "calm ya' farm mate" in NZ if someone's getting over exited.
@@KelticKabukiGirl never heard "chill your dill", but alot of my fellow Americans across multiple states have all said "calm your tits" at one point or another.
6:13 Don't use toilet paper for muting but cut of a strip of a sponge and put it underneath the strings. - It's reusable - you dont have to weave it so it's easier to use - and it looks cleaner
Also, you can buy sponges in a bunch of colors, including black, grey, red… yknow, less… SpongeBob colors. If you want it to blend in a bit and not look like a hunk of kitchen sponge jammed into your guitar, it will look like nothing to an untrained eye. I know because I made a sponge mute for my niece to practice uke almost silently in her room. I took a length of purple sponge, cut it. Bit long and glued/stitched it to a piece of leather loop and added some leather cord. It looks like an actual product or something and she can hang it on the uke so she always has it. A few friends have even asked where they can buy one.. so that’s pretty cool. If I didn’t explain well and you guys want a sketch or something to make your own, lemme know. It only takes a few minutes of you’re crafty..
I think it will mute a lot more, the sponge trick works with the bass 'cause the strings have more surface to vibrate (i don't know if this is the actual term or even that how it works) but on guitar i enjoy more use toilet paper.
I used super/CA glue years ago when I was learning to play. I played so much for the first few months I had white blisters on my fingers. While it was already a little late, the superglue helped tremendously while the blisters formed into a callus on their own and allowed me to continue playing with only a partial amount of the pain. Elmers does not bond like super/ca does on the skin and is not near hard enough. The reason he put his fingers on caps is it causes the oils in your skin to mix into the super/ca glue - oils in your skin are what causes the chemical reaction from liquid to solid to happen so quickly in super/ca glue. So by making it "mix" (similar to mixing epoxy glues) it makes the reaction almost instant. I would opt for letting it dry on its own though, not sure I would want to be prying my finger from a cap and risk pulling off skin making things worse. Yeah most should tough it out, play, blister, let heal a few days, play more - you will get a callus building up and pain will fade away. However, if for whatever reason you cannot maintain your finger callus by playing regularly, super/ca works. I would have given at least a 7/10. For the Sitar trick, try a piece of paper that is not as wide, you have a wide piece that will overhang out too far that will buzz more. Either way not a perfect replacement, but with the right material (like a very pencil wide piece of plastic) you can make some really interesting sounds.
I remember watching an old video of Brian Setzer playing this funky blues slide and he grabbed a whole beer bottle, took a few big gulps then went crazy on the slide to the point the beer was spewing everywhere while he was playing... taking the old trick and upping the ante a bit for showmanship
The open tuning is almost identical to a tuning, GGCGCD, used by Lee Ranaldo on most of Sonic Youth’s album Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and No Star (tracks 2,3,5,6,8,11,13) as well as the songs Unwind and No Queen Blues from Washing Machine. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo both use the similar tuning CGDGCD all over the final 4 Sonic Youth albums, Thurston more so than Lee. Of course, they were not using it for anything remotely close to folk.
these are all essentially variations of Orkney tuning, a traditional Celtic folk tuning. maybe discovered independently, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were directly inspired, lots of rock and rollers over the ages have taken inspiration from old traditional folk.
I think alternative tunings are the ultimate "hack" that every guitarist should try out! It completely changes the voice of the guitar and I think encourages creativity, forcing one to think outside the box of standard chord shapes and scales. It always did feel a bit like cheating to have a tuning that sounds good strummed open...but then again, why shouldn't it? XD Of course it does sort of 'lock' you in to a particular kind of sound while in that tuning, but that's we we have numerous guitars (: Right? That's definitely why...yeah, that's it.
I been staying in one tuning for the last few months only switchin tuning to learn covers. It helped me get my ear back and my feel when it comes to soloing. I was hopin back and forth from 1/2 step drop d drop dB and standard and it made it to where I couldn't really freestyle solo. I was always pressing notes expecting a different sound. Just something to think about ✌🤘
@@blazeh5472 Hey, I think you make a great point! In my own opinion, I don't really think of drop/half step tunings as 'alternate' so much as 'modified standard', and if you are trying to nail down the fretboard for certain kinds of solos (pentatonic scaled especially) I can imagine switching between them is just confusing!! But trying something like DADGAD or FACGBE really completely changes the instrument and the way you play it. Which means, you won't necessarily be 'better at' solos that were written in standard tuning (or even able to play them lol!) but you WILL discover completely new riffs and rotations you just cannot play naturally in standard. It's what the majority of modern math-rock and old-school emo bands (like Sunny Day Real Estate & Cap'n Jazz) utilize to create these kind of airy, bittersweet chords with lots of funky double stops and such :D
@@ivanbliminse5350 y'know, I used to feel that way too (still do to some extent) lol, but it's not pretending if you're actually making sounds you like!! It's taken me awhile to realize, but just because you adapt something to be 'easier' for yourself, doesn't mean you aren't doing it right... Lefty blues legend Albert King played guitars upside down, and bent his notes down instead of up. Tony Iommi sliced the tips of his middle and ring finger off in a factory accident, and was told he'd never play guitar again...so he forged himself new metal finger 'tips', put lighter banjo strings on his guitar, and tuned it waayyy down - all so it wasn't too painful to play. He was forced to use his pinky more, so mastered pentatonic runs and power chords, now a hallmark of punk and metal...99% of guitarists that stand out as "geniuses" are doing something that's "against the rules" of standard playing - because really, there are no rules, only what sounds and feels good (:
I must confess I'm a bit surprised that you weren't aware of the trem spring thing. One word of warning - the springs (at least the genuine Fender ones) are fairly soft metal, so the 'recovery' of the spring to its original form is limited - if you tighten the trem bar too hard and really crush the spring down, it won't come back, it'll just become a small cylinder of metal at the bottom of the hole. Yes, I did. Easy does it.
Dude, we had the same reaction to the spring in the trem bar. 32 years playing and now I learned this. I kept using my Bigsby guitars and blocked my strats for this reason hahaha
Love this! The toilet paper/mute is a very old one, players in the 50's and 60's used various sponges and things to mute, especially on bass to get the electric bass to play closer to an upright.
I think I'll try that on my telecaster with the "ash tray" bridge cover soon. I never play with that thing on because it strips an entire control element from you, but this might make for a neat trick.
Another interesting tuning I've used is to tune the low E down to a bass A, leave the A at it's normal tuning, take the D off, then tune the G, B and high E to A an octave higher than the A string. You can play melodies on the high strings while letting the low strings ring out for a sort of sitar-esque psychedelic sound (this also works really well with a slide) or you can play bass notes on the low strings.
Came looking for this comment. I’ve heard of SRV, and Flea having to use super glue to repair their fingers during a performance, but as someone who likes to make mess with super glue, I can say it’s probably not a good idea to cover your finger tips with super glue, because it’s going to take skin when it cracks away.
Double bass players and harpists and slap bassists know this all too well. I dunno if there's another string instrument that isn't shy about blood sacrifices.
I did the tour at Sun Studio a few years back, and they showed us a version of the paper in the strings thing. They said that Johnny Cash weaved a dollar bill through the strings, wrapped it loosely around the neck and fixed it together with a piece of tape. He put it at about the fifth fret, or so, and started playing the Boom-chic-a rhythm. It sounded so much like a train it was ridiculous.
Ive been saying for years playing on an open tuning specifically with a slide is so good for begginers. Immediately you can make stuff that sounds good instead of muting everything and giving up and it gives you so much room to play around. It also gives you basics of scales and an idea of what sounds good together
I have a Les Paul with horrible action that I spent years trying to fix but never got it right, fret heights all over the place, but it has a nice bluesy tone. So I set it up for open D and just play it with a slide. Hours of fun.
@@yobrethren I'm not locked in to open D as such, it just happened to work well on the Les Paul, but I love tinkering with alternate tunings. I wish I'd known about things like double drop D and Nashville tuning when I was a teenager! I suggest trying EVERYTHING! Every open tuning has its own quirks and little tricks hidden inside.
Sami, you gotta use hemp twine or cotton thread for the slide hack. The cord absorbs the acetone, light it on fire and let the whole cord catch... then dunk it in some cold water and it will crack along that line most of the time. Takes a couple times to get a feel for it, so i recommend 3 or 4 bottles. Please make slides responsibly. I find long necked whiskey bottles seem to work best. Polish the sharp end with some sandpaper and ya got a classic bottleneck.
You saying this dude's got a sense of humor , you must have some Eddie Murphy playing in the background the only thing funny about him is this f****** hair,a fkn man bun WTF
The glue callouses thing has been around at least since the 80's, I remember Joey Eppard used to talk about doing that when he was first learning guitar
I loved the "using a can tab as a pick". Man that sounded awesome - you should also try boxcutter blades, they give even crisper treble. Bottlecaps make it sound more "organ-like", but they need to be "real" ones, not the screw type... Thank you for your videos, there is so much between nonsense and quirky fun, to philosophical discussion of music (and its industry) in short poignant packages. I appreciate your work and energy that goes into this channel. Greetings from another Great Lake, doc.
There's a Damien Rice song with an open Dsus2 tuning, done the same way but up a whole tone. John Butler tends to use an open C on an 11-string guitar (the high G and corresponding machinehead are removed) and I thoroughly recommend Ocean by John Butler and What You Want by the John Butler Trio. Another tuning I work with from time to time is DADGCF which I've not heard others using yet, but if you come up with anything nice with that I'd be happy to hear it.
As a strat owner, I was today years old when I learned that this was how this was supposed to be used. So thank you, Sammy, for not making me feel stupid.
This thin white sealing tape you can use on piping is also working wonders on the thread of the trem bar. Same effect, but the spring is more durable. Another cool hack that's not in the video: church bell sound. Weave your pick between the d and g string, twist it (top of the pick now facing the fretboard), and push it on top of the 5th fret. Pick the d and g string and you get a wicked spaghetti western showdown churchbell sound.
The glue thing, from what I know, is actually a trick that was used by people allergic to nickel (guitar string). Now there are golden/steel plated strings, so no need for it anymore. Grate video btw ^^
That open Csus2 tuning has been used by tons of people over the years, It's got roots in old celtic folk, but lots of more modern greats like joni mitchell and stephen stills used it, Led Zeppelin used it in the rain song, Mark Tremonti used it for a lot of Alter Bridge tunes, over half of the Tea Party's catalog is in that tuning or a variation of it (I've personally always referred to it as 'the tea party tuning'), Sonic youth used it a bunch, Chris Cornell used it on a few solo tracks, I'm sure there's more but that's all ive got.
@@salzulli6290 i figured a fellow nerd would call me out on that, but it's the same for all intents and purposes. The low e was tuned a step up on that one, and live the whole thing was in a d variation of that tuning, not c, though the intervals were the same, but it makes very little difference because the only time he uses the low string is for power chords in the bridge, which tuning down the extra step actually makes easier to play, like a drop d situation.
I wouldn't call this a "guitar hack" as such, but early on, Roy Buchanan managed to create a pretty convincing "wah" effect using only the tone control of his Telecaster. Then again, that was back before you could pick up a Cry Baby or a Morley in just about any music store.😉
I've watched a shitload of guitar videos on YT, and this has absolutely become one of my favorites. Great information, straight to the point with no nonsense. Truly, nice job man.
classical guitarists have been using mutes in strings for a long time. Stephen Funk Pearson even designed a bridge that goes at the 12th fret so you can play on both sides of the string. Cool stuff!
The spring in the strat is actually brilliant. I used to put little balls of paper to get the trem arm to stay in position by effectively making the hole shallower so that when arm is fully threaded in it stops in a position I’m comfortable with
The can tab guitar pick was hilarious. I thought you were serious at first. The spring the the tremelo is something I didnt know either. Your reaction was awesome.
Your sarcasm at 11:00 had me in stitches!! Well done!! Hilarious!! Thanks for posting... the hack before that sounded amazing... didn't know that one either.
You used the wrong glue… lol Superglue actually does work for “faux calluses” and stuff. I use it for first aid for sealing up cuts and stuff too, but I’ve actually made fake “calluses” for when I was doing a big paracord job for someone. I used a few layers of super glue to make some “calluses” to protect the skin on my fingers where I was pulling the knots over and over. So it does actually work, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It takes days to get the glue off completely and can rip off a ton of skin if you’re not careful.
@@coryman125 Yes, you’re correct. Super glue was invented by accident while trying to make acrylic lenses for gun optics in WW2, but was developed during the Vietnam war as “liquid stitches” and was used to close wounds in the battlefield as triage to get soldiers to a surgical team further away. I’ve actually had wounds glued shut.. I had half my right lung removed because of cancer when I was about 14 and even though it was a massive chest wound, they just closed it up with flexible and super tough super glue! It was really cool stuff and bizarre seeing a huge cut sealed shut with no stitches. It was flexible but very strong, and just slowly dissolved or broke down as my body healed.. the extra stuff around the wound just kinda rolled and peeled off as I bathed. I like that they used glue for me, because apparently they had different types which allowed them to do really cool and intricate work to precisely seal me up! They stitched the underlying muscles together properly with super tiny micro sutures that dissolve, in tandem with glue (kinda like glue and screws in wood. The screws/stitches just hold everything in place and aligned while the glue sets/my body heals!) and then glued the fat and lower skin levels together with only a few dissolving sutures to keep it from potentially pulling open and then the top most layer was just glued shut and coated with a top layer of protective stretchy flexible glue to seal everything up and close the wound up completely. Pretty cool! Modern medicine is incredible and I’m very thankful for it. It all started as a mistake that saved lives in a war and then it helped my body heal up almost perfectly to 99.9% so I could still do stuff and enjoy life! Super glue is pretty damn cool. Fun fact: Super glue was actually much more common in veterinarian work because animals are more unpredictable and would rip stitches and whatnot.. Vets would use it to mend bones, fix shells, beaks, claws, horns… you name it! After Vietnam it saved animals, then was further developed into more medical specific glue types like the ones used on me. That’s pretty sweet… I like animals so knowing the same thing that helped me, saved some animals too is cool as hell!
I've seen on other forums and videos where people don't know about the spring for the trem bar. All Fender Strats come with the spring in the hole with a little round sticker over the hole to keep the spring from falling out. It's so surprising that someone as great as Samuraiguitarists didn't know this. I guess anyone can learn something new. I really like Samurai's videos, including this one.
About the glue callouses, you have to use super glue. Elmer's glue doesn't dry as hard. I accidently had some super glue dry on a couple finger tips one time, and it feel pretty good to play.
The tp trick is very similar to a bass trick I learned where if you stuff a small roll of tp or felt (something soft) right before the nut, it helps with the possible string buzz.
Sammy I freaking love your videos. You deadpan tying your luscious manbun to the guitar toggle switch to emulate a way pedal is the funniest thing I have seen all week.
Dépend on your can opener, mine doesn't leave the lid sharp... It just remove the glue between the can and the lid and it's never sharp Get a better can opener 😜
The Krazy glue/super glue trick does work, I used it when I was first starting guitar and it helped ease the pain while the calluses built up underneath (and also, I like most people started playing on used guitars with super high action because they hadn't been set up in literal years). The problem is you used Elmer's school glue, which is supposed to be soft, very weak, and easily removable adhesive in case kids get messy with it and so they're not having to peel layers of skin off with the glue. Granted, I have no clue why the guy in the video stuck them on plastic (maybe for texture?), but that part is useless. Just a few dabs on the fingertips and wait 30 seconds before touching anything, and it does its job.
I remember having a hard time to find the strat trem arm spring in where I live, so I tried another (and cheaper) hack: wrapping the trem arm thread with plumbers tape. Worked like a charm.
This is the way to fix that on Mexican Strats as well, since the hole for the term arm goes all the way through the block. I tried putting a spring in and it just fell through the other side. Plumber's tape on the other hand works like a charm.
For that Fender spring - there should also be a small metal ball that goes in before the spring. it stops the spring from twisting when you tighten the whammy bar.
2 things: I had some lessons with Carol Kaye, and she also has a mute on her bass -- but it's made out of duct tape and a cut-up kitchen sponge! Sounds great! Second, an 11/16 deep socket (from a socket wrench set) makes a decent slide in a pinch, if you happen to have tools in the car you drove to the gig. The kind of car I used to drive, I ALWAYS had tools with me :-)
I've used sockets as slides before, they sound a bit different to a normal slide and I think that it's down to the weight of them, possibly the finish 🤔
I've got a mate that played Strat's for 60yrs before discovering what that wee spring was for. They do a nice job. But in lieu of the trem spring (or even something you can use along with the spring for extra stay-put-ness), plumbers tape is awesome. Wrap a bit of that around the screw of the whammy bar; I reckon it works a little better than the spring in terms of keeping it in position, the down side being having to redo it every time you remove the whammy bar. Another awesome use for plumbers tape that I do as part of the setup for all my guitars; undo the nut on the jack, a couple of wraps of tape, then screw the nut back on. Voila! A guitar jack that will never come loose!
One of the first times I had a jam session and my fingertips were all chewed up from practice, I tried Liquid Band-Ade. It worked like a CHARM. Lasted a good 3 hours into jam time until they started to peal off, But then I could just re-apply a second coat and it dries hard in 2 minutes. TWO THUMBS UP!
I bowled competitively for 20plus years and we did the same thing...whether it was split fingertips or a ripped open thumb, nu-skin or super glue was a game saver. Cool that other folks figured that out...
Phil X used that first "bazooki" string trick when he was recording session work for Chris Daughtry on the track "It's not over" he talked about it and demonstrated it on his TH-cam channel, was actually a really cool case of something that doesn't seem practical actually being used perfectly musical
I was once in a real life situation where I needed a slide and didn't have one. The shot glass was also my favoured choice of replacement. Works great!
The thing you did for the Sitar sound I've been doing for years just in a totally different way. On my main guitar it didn't have attachment points for a guitar strap so I used a nylon strap from a old army backpack (Vietnam War Era). I tied a slip knot (the actual knot not the band), and looped it around the belly of the guitar under the strings (laying over the hole) and then tied it the end of the strap to the head through one of the tuner cutouts. So whenever I play the strings very lightly hit that nylon strap and create a very unique buzzint sound that is really quite awesome. The tone is similar to what you hear on The Doors - The End. I highly recommend you try this, it really sounds wonderful. It's been my signature guitar sound since like 2005. *edit: this is with a acoustic guitar
Man. One of the favourite items I ever owned was this beautiful vintage ceramic guitar slide which fitted my finger perfectly. The sound it made was so damn good. It was this really cool deep cobalt blue which had this deep effect which was just amazing to look at while high... Then I accidentally dropped it on a tile floor and it shattered... I was genuinely sad foe a long time due to it. Never seen a similar one since. Dunno even what brand it was from.
I found out about the Strat springs a couple of years ago. Never looked back. I thought I was the only one who didn't know so I am glad you shared the knowledge.
What Malinda did with the open Csus tuning is basically what Joni Mitchell has been doing her whole life. Learn some of Joni's tunings and playing style, they're utterly sublime.
Can you explain what they are saying/doing after 9:18? I don't understand what he means by fretting the bottom 3 strings and letting the top 2 ring out... He is playing a SIX string right??
@@QuantumLeap89 yeah, maybe he's talking about the bottom two in regards to how they sound with the rest of the chord. Not sure. Maybe he's muting the G string? Doubt it. The bottom three should just be played out I assume.
Yeah, open tunings like this we're all the rage back in the 90s. Goo Goo Dolls, Common Children. Another popular version of this was DADAAE. Really great for 3 piece bands!
@@steelbluesleepR It's commonly rumored that SRV superglued his fingertips because the bridge cables he used as strings would rip his regular calluses, so there's that.
funny with the glue.. when I first started playing I got some of that skin patch or skin repair stuff from the bowling alley to make excellent new callouses. Now days if the fingers get a little tender I just numb them with lidocaine creme, and ya know, the callouses just build back up, but without the pain.
After letting the cloth burn around the glass you need to tap it on the side of the glass of ice water. That gives it the clean (incredibly sharp) edge. Gonna need to sand that down too.
Dude your shit made me laugh so hard but when you plucked the acoustic and gave the electric riffs, That made my day lmao genius. This was a really good idea and a fun video to watch!
Using the shot glass as a slide would be safer than using part of a bottle that would have very sharp edges that could seriously cut your hand. I like the idea of a watch company that uses recycled materials. I recently saw a video about Taylor Guitars from NAMM and found out they are using wood from sustainable sources.
Hey Sammy. I'm a cabinet/furniture design builder. I imagine you just didn't realize this, but of course the type of glue you used would never work and would be worse than using nothing even for a beginners soft fingertips. On the other hand, using superglue is an old trick that's been around at least since I was a child. Players often used it when they got cuts on their fingertips to hold the wound together. I know for sure Jimmy Page did that.
02:37 it’s important to determine what type of glue is used. Here I’m pretty sure it’s cyanoacrylate aka super glue. NOT Polyvinyl Acetate aka wood glue/ white glue that you used. And the reason he used bottle caps is to create a flat surface by building up the glue between the fingertips and the bottle caps.
The superglue trick is pretty commonly used for heavy players on the road. Putting everything into it 2 hours a night 7 days a week, your fingertips can become really messed up I think superglue was developed for field medics The nut slot trick is my favorite one here, can't wait to try it out Thanks Sam! Keep up the good work!
Break out of your intermediate rut with a straight forward path to improvement. Join the Dojo for weekly lessons samuraiguitartheory.com/p/the-samurai-guitar-theory-dojo-m
I love how you used a part for its created purpose and gave it a 10.
Blame whoever doesnt explain that to people lol
and it was a game changer! where do you get them? the guy said they were fender parts
rtfm
@@offtheleashman if you got your guitar new they should come with the guitar. Otherwise just search for Fender tremolo arm tension strings. StewMac also has their own version that includes a ball bearing to prevent binding. Hope this helps!
@@offtheleashman why do you think new fenders have a sticker over the trem hole? most people lose that spring within 12 seconds of owning it and never even know it was there
The fact that he litterally uses a shot glass, the most well known guitar slide replacement, in the original tiktok just screams to me that it is on purpose to attract involvement
oh absolutely it was done to get that outrage engagement
Yeah yep. Agreed. Click bait
@@catarinabarbosa2247 I'm more outraged w y'all's conspiracy and negativity and and I'm more engagement to this chick she's dork wife material but I'm gay
@@catarinabarbosa2247 I'm still thinking about this and it's upsetting like it's just a joke he drinks from a shot glass drinks too much then comes up with a convoluted lifehack to make in essence a shot glass like I'm 100$ serious why are you all so joke numb? How come when you watched this you immediately though it's some plot to upset people and get attraction like, are you that insubordinate and cherlish that you dont understand people tell jokes by making little characters and acting out their situations and then people laugh like when you watch breaking bad are you p word that no one arrested this awful meth teacher yet it's all fake it's all just entertainment and idk science it's not a plot to get the people upset I mean yeah I'm upset but that's by attrition to you people, it's like you are the real bait to get upset attention by acting like a joke video is bait y'all are joke numb
On her “How to Cook That” channel, Ann Reardon has also included this bottle-cutting technique in one of her Dangerous Hacks compilations. Very bad, apparently… not only does it usually not work, besides the obvious fire hazard the bottle can shatter
For the "glue calluses" hack, the original video uses cyanoacrylate glue/superglue rather than elmer's white glue. Probably not gonna change your ultimate opinion of the hack, but the dried CA would definitely be harder and more securely bonded to your fingertips than the white glue would.
Old school sand fingernail file will create callus faster. olive oil and be gentle. Also eat jello.
@@joeblough261 LOL. it just smells like cloves and antiseptic, so if thats not your thing..... But I agree. It works great and its good for all kinds of stuff- skinned knee while laying gaffer tape, fingernails/skin cracks, cracked callous. I keep a tiny bottle of that with my guitar stuff. Never know when a string will break or something and you poke yourself with the end- that sh*t hurts!
I used superglue after I slashed most of my fingers open before a gig. Held pretty well for the first 20 minutes... I guess the blood running down my hand added to the metal show, but that gig really sucked for me 😄
@@CupFullOfMead “hey, that guy off the album cover is playing guitar!!” * points at Cup, mistaking him for Eddie from Iron Maiden *
@@CupFullOfMead Hospitals use (sterile) CA glue all the time instead of stitching small wounds. It works great and I've used it a couple of times on myself when I couldn't be bothered to go to the hospital.
HA would never have expected to see myself in one of your videos but I'm honored!! Enjoy that tuning, you can capo it to modulate anywhere too and it still works :).
Open Cm with capo also great (at least for fingerstyle)
Tallest man on earth uses something very similar in "The Wild Hunt" and it's beyond beautiful. Great hack
Don't tell!?
I mean, using a capo to modulate it anywhere is a feature of all tunings.
Jimmy page did that 50 years ago
And in this episode, SG discovers the power of both open tunings, and reading the owner's manual.
The poor man's wah is a solid 10/10 in terms of how much I enjoyed watching you try it 😂
That one should be beer commercial
I might do it at my next gig as a way of leaving my covers band, it's the perfect exit strategy.
Wear out your pickup switch in a hurry! I think the pedal is cheaper and much better.
Add the double string, the drum thing. the postit, tissue paper, double string and c sus tuning too and you'd be the most unique band ever
Oh and the can pick + glue fingers
I actually kinda liked the sound. Hendrix does that in Voodoo Child, and i think panning back and fourth between pickup selection is a valid technique for some added texture. Just... maybe not using that janky ass harness setup
That why there is a sticker covering the trem bar hole in a new strat. To keep you from losing the spring before you install the trem bar. Unfortunately, most of us remove the sticker and lose the spring before we install the trem bar.
This is blowing my mind.
I remember that on my 93, had no idea what happened to it. Had it in with the guitar, no idea where it went. Also it was 30 years ago
@@KelticKabukiGirl I was born in 93 and refusing to accept it was nearly 30 years ago
@@JackieTheCatfox 🤣🤣well, I'm 43 and started playing at age 10, had a B stock Warlock before that. It was a biiiig day! I'm not much older, 55+ is old. I also still look about 30 so I am still in the game 😅
@@JackieTheCatfox You got probs!? I'm trying to adjust to the idea that there are OLD people the same age as me!
The simple fact you didn't know about the spring thing made my whole week.
There's at least 1 thing I knew about guitar before Samurai did. I am complete.
My 1990 Ibanez rg570 was always loose, since they used plastic c-clips on a bar that pushed in, and not threaded. Always a problem. I miss those days, but life moves on. This is great to watch.
I once made a digital echoplex since I had a background in electronics and software and it was so neat to read the A/D convertor, ADD it to the buffer, then read out an old value, and send it to the DAC. Lots of fun.
I learned to write software and play electric guitar at the same time.
Oh software: All 80186 assembly language.
No compiler. No operating system. (those days)
We just didn't have all these neat toys back 'then' and I used ICs
and the PC microprocessor on a wire wrap board I made to fit
my computer.
A/D: Analog to Digital convertor.
DAC: Digital to Analog convertor.
IC: Integrated Circuits.
PC: Personnel Computer (sowwy, had to)
FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
Wow. I've played guitar for like 15 years now. I didn't know that simply taking that string down in open C tuning to a D makes such a different sound. Been fiddling with that tuning for ages now lol. So, thanks to you and thanks to the girl who made that tiktok.
One of my guitars is tuned to open C for slide so that makes it even simpler.
Do you, by chance, know the strat he's playing?
@@timothyelems1357 I do indeed my friend, it's a Fender Stratocaster Special Edition Reclaimed Wood :)
@@kieranzgoku Thanks man!!
For the glue hack, you really need to use cyanoacrylate glue (Krazy Glue etc). It gives the finger tips some protection when you had too many gigs in a row and your fingers never catch a break. Sworn by this for over 30 years. Actually heard it was a SRV trick but can't confirm that.
Cyanoacrylate glue could never replace real, work-hardened callus, but it certainly can and does come in handy at times. Back in my early busking days, before I graduated to fronting bands, I'd sometimes get these very nasty, extremely painful little rips in the skin of my first finger, right where it transitioned from very thick, tough callus to normal skin. (Ouch!)😲
Left untreated, those little rips could quickly become too painful for me to continue playing, so whenever that happened, I'd smear a wee bit of cyanoacrylate glue over the rip, effectively sealing it shut for a while. After giving it 30-40 seconds to harden, I'd soon be able to continue playing for another two or three hours.
Since I lived entirely off the money I earned playing on the street, losing two or three hours' worth of income might mean going to bed hungry or even sleeping outdoors, if I didn't earn enough to pay for a cheap motel room or a bed in a hostel.🤣
So yeah, absolutely, cyanoacrylate glue definitely has its uses!😉
@@That70sGuitarist Totally agree. I play every day and you would think after more than 3 decades I would have petrified wood for finger tips but alas......
@@scundoalex That's one of the weirder thing about work calluses. During the first few years, most everyday players/manual labourers will develop thick, hard, almost crusty calluses to deal with the constant abuse. After over 40 years, I've noticed that my calluses are gradually getting much thinner, and developing a smoother, almost "glassy" texture. It's almost like our fingers know something, but they aren't telling us!
I stopped being a working musician back in 2005 due to a physical disability, but I still play every day; after all, playing guitar requires skill, and skills need work to retain and/or improve them. I've gone much further than I ever imagined possible back when I first started out, but I'm still learning and growing as a player. Like you said, you'd think my calluses would be rock hard by now, but instead, they've gotten wider, thinner and glassier.
As young Alice said, "Curiouser and curiouser."😉
SRV stole the trick from glues players
@@bobjones2041 "SRV stole the trick from glues players?" 🤣Very punny, very, very punny Indeed!🤣
I've used glue calluses after a period of not playing for a while and it worked pretty well. The big mistake you made was using the wrong kind of glue. you need to use super glue or gorila glue since it creates a much stronger bond. It still doesn't feel like having calluses but it lets your fingers undergo just enough stress to start to harden up while making the process just a little more bearable. It does add a bit of ecess friction when doing slieds and such but the people who are using this trick likely aren't at a point in their playing where they are going to worry too much about that.
Well, darn I made my own comment. Liquid stitches is how I got the idea in the first place. One trip to the ER learns you so much.
yeah i actually saw once that travis barker did it for drumming as well on his hands
Liquid band-aid, widely available.
I’ve done this, superglue. When I was first learning guitar, it was a thick string acoustic with a massive action that I was trying to play Johnny B Good and Sound of Truth (AILD). My fingers were bleeding, but I wanted to keep playing. It worked.
So did stevie ray ( you can look that up and confirm it) and a bass player from Crowded House used did this. It's more for when you've shredded you calluses.
"Holy f***** sh** boys, that's a game changer" - that is true Canadian enthusiasm, eh?
Keep your stick on the ice, Sammy
"LEAVE IT ON THE IIIICE!"
And don't be afraid to giver!
Is that an actual Canadian saying if someone is appearing a little too enthusiastic? Kind of like how we'd say "calm ya' farm mate" in NZ if someone's getting over exited.
@@michaelwaynemartin3291 Americans say "Chill your dill" amongst other idioms
@@KelticKabukiGirl never heard "chill your dill", but alot of my fellow Americans across multiple states have all said "calm your tits" at one point or another.
6:13 Don't use toilet paper for muting but cut of a strip of a sponge and put it underneath the strings.
- It's reusable
- you dont have to weave it so it's easier to use
- and it looks cleaner
Also doesnt look like a joint
@@IanSzot use a joint!
Also, you can buy sponges in a bunch of colors, including black, grey, red… yknow, less… SpongeBob colors.
If you want it to blend in a bit and not look like a hunk of kitchen sponge jammed into your guitar, it will look like nothing to an untrained eye.
I know because I made a sponge mute for my niece to practice uke almost silently in her room. I took a length of purple sponge, cut it. Bit long and glued/stitched it to a piece of leather loop and added some leather cord. It looks like an actual product or something and she can hang it on the uke so she always has it. A few friends have even asked where they can buy one.. so that’s pretty cool.
If I didn’t explain well and you guys want a sketch or something to make your own, lemme know. It only takes a few minutes of you’re crafty..
I think it will mute a lot more, the sponge trick works with the bass 'cause the strings have more surface to vibrate (i don't know if this is the actual term or even that how it works) but on guitar i enjoy more use toilet paper.
Yeah I've been using sponges on both guitar and bass like this and it does the exact same thing but both better and sexier.
I used super/CA glue years ago when I was learning to play. I played so much for the first few months I had white blisters on my fingers. While it was already a little late, the superglue helped tremendously while the blisters formed into a callus on their own and allowed me to continue playing with only a partial amount of the pain. Elmers does not bond like super/ca does on the skin and is not near hard enough. The reason he put his fingers on caps is it causes the oils in your skin to mix into the super/ca glue - oils in your skin are what causes the chemical reaction from liquid to solid to happen so quickly in super/ca glue. So by making it "mix" (similar to mixing epoxy glues) it makes the reaction almost instant. I would opt for letting it dry on its own though, not sure I would want to be prying my finger from a cap and risk pulling off skin making things worse. Yeah most should tough it out, play, blister, let heal a few days, play more - you will get a callus building up and pain will fade away. However, if for whatever reason you cannot maintain your finger callus by playing regularly, super/ca works. I would have given at least a 7/10. For the Sitar trick, try a piece of paper that is not as wide, you have a wide piece that will overhang out too far that will buzz more. Either way not a perfect replacement, but with the right material (like a very pencil wide piece of plastic) you can make some really interesting sounds.
I remember watching an old video of Brian Setzer playing this funky blues slide and he grabbed a whole beer bottle, took a few big gulps then went crazy on the slide to the point the beer was spewing everywhere while he was playing... taking the old trick and upping the ante a bit for showmanship
That sounds exactly like something he would do
The open tuning is almost identical to a tuning, GGCGCD, used by Lee Ranaldo on most of Sonic Youth’s album Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and No Star (tracks 2,3,5,6,8,11,13) as well as the songs Unwind and No Queen Blues from Washing Machine.
Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo both use the similar tuning CGDGCD all over the final 4 Sonic Youth albums, Thurston more so than Lee.
Of course, they were not using it for anything remotely close to folk.
They were not using it for anything remotely close to music, either.
@@aprilkurtz1589 i love sonic youth but this made me lol
@@simonjenkin Yeah, lots of people love them! I wasn't being mean, just being a smart ass. Happy Memorial Day!
these are all essentially variations of Orkney tuning, a traditional Celtic folk tuning. maybe discovered independently, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were directly inspired, lots of rock and rollers over the ages have taken inspiration from old traditional folk.
I'm pretty sure Devin Townsend uses that tuning too.
I think alternative tunings are the ultimate "hack" that every guitarist should try out! It completely changes the voice of the guitar and I think encourages creativity, forcing one to think outside the box of standard chord shapes and scales. It always did feel a bit like cheating to have a tuning that sounds good strummed open...but then again, why shouldn't it? XD Of course it does sort of 'lock' you in to a particular kind of sound while in that tuning, but that's we we have numerous guitars (: Right? That's definitely why...yeah, that's it.
I been staying in one tuning for the last few months only switchin tuning to learn covers. It helped me get my ear back and my feel when it comes to soloing. I was hopin back and forth from 1/2 step drop d drop dB and standard and it made it to where I couldn't really freestyle solo. I was always pressing notes expecting a different sound. Just something to think about ✌🤘
@@blazeh5472 Hey, I think you make a great point! In my own opinion, I don't really think of drop/half step tunings as 'alternate' so much as 'modified standard', and if you are trying to nail down the fretboard for certain kinds of solos (pentatonic scaled especially) I can imagine switching between them is just confusing!! But trying something like DADGAD or FACGBE really completely changes the instrument and the way you play it. Which means, you won't necessarily be 'better at' solos that were written in standard tuning (or even able to play them lol!) but you WILL discover completely new riffs and rotations you just cannot play naturally in standard. It's what the majority of modern math-rock and old-school emo bands (like Sunny Day Real Estate & Cap'n Jazz) utilize to create these kind of airy, bittersweet chords with lots of funky double stops and such :D
when I want to pretend I can actually play guitar I mess around in the DADGAD
@@ivanbliminse5350 y'know, I used to feel that way too (still do to some extent) lol, but it's not pretending if you're actually making sounds you like!! It's taken me awhile to realize, but just because you adapt something to be 'easier' for yourself, doesn't mean you aren't doing it right...
Lefty blues legend Albert King played guitars upside down, and bent his notes down instead of up. Tony Iommi sliced the tips of his middle and ring finger off in a factory accident, and was told he'd never play guitar again...so he forged himself new metal finger 'tips', put lighter banjo strings on his guitar, and tuned it waayyy down - all so it wasn't too painful to play. He was forced to use his pinky more, so mastered pentatonic runs and power chords, now a hallmark of punk and metal...99% of guitarists that stand out as "geniuses" are doing something that's "against the rules" of standard playing - because really, there are no rules, only what sounds and feels good (:
Drop that high E string to C instead of D and you are ready to play "Love The One You're With".
I must confess I'm a bit surprised that you weren't aware of the trem spring thing.
One word of warning - the springs (at least the genuine Fender ones) are fairly soft metal, so the 'recovery' of the spring to its original form is limited - if you tighten the trem bar too hard and really crush the spring down, it won't come back, it'll just become a small cylinder of metal at the bottom of the hole.
Yes, I did.
Easy does it.
What if you double up the spring?
@@thedevilsadvocate5210 If you crush that one as well you get two lumps of metal down the hole! Better not to squish it too hard to begin with.
I lost my spring shortly after I bought my strat in 1996 and still haven't replaced it.
OK, your screen name is amazing! lol
"The added metal improves the tone"
On the last hack, my first thought was why not use the shot glass as a slide.
Glad to see that you had the same idea.
Dude, we had the same reaction to the spring in the trem bar. 32 years playing and now I learned this. I kept using my Bigsby guitars and blocked my strats for this reason hahaha
Love this! The toilet paper/mute is a very old one, players in the 50's and 60's used various sponges and things to mute, especially on bass to get the electric bass to play closer to an upright.
also the Johnny Cash muting to "get rythm" (th-cam.com/users/shortsRENNBR-14xY?feature=share)
I think I'll try that on my telecaster with the "ash tray" bridge cover soon. I never play with that thing on because it strips an entire control element from you, but this might make for a neat trick.
Carol Kaye is noted for doing this with a piece of felt. I've done it on bass and it helps getting that 60's thump.
Also: have you tried to glue springs on your fingertips to give a nice spring reverb touch to your playyyyying? It works wonders!
What?
@@d_murdatorres50 Im pretty sure this is a joke.. I hope
@@Water-Wheelz lmao i was baked last night
The can lid hack still sounds better than the snare from St. Anger.
Factual
Lars needs atunacan or tune eh
You can tune a piano, but you can't tunafish. Lars can't tuna drum?
Actual fact
9:53 I love listening to the sound of this; I love the acoustic guitar SO much! The rhythm just emulates a heartbeat effect on me. So smooth.
Another interesting tuning I've used is to tune the low E down to a bass A, leave the A at it's normal tuning, take the D off, then tune the G, B and high E to A an octave higher than the A string. You can play melodies on the high strings while letting the low strings ring out for a sort of sitar-esque psychedelic sound (this also works really well with a slide) or you can play bass notes on the low strings.
By “take the D off,” do you mean remove the D string? And do you tune the top 3 strings all to the same high A?
Not disagreeing about the glue/callous thing, but superglue on the fingertips actually works and is useful if you have cracks/cuts on them.
He is using normal glue instead of superglue on this video, that's why it didnt work for him
Stevie Ray once had his callous fall off in the middle of a gig, he asked for some super glue, glued it back on and kept playing.
Came looking for this comment. I’ve heard of SRV, and Flea having to use super glue to repair their fingers during a performance, but as someone who likes to make mess with super glue, I can say it’s probably not a good idea to cover your finger tips with super glue, because it’s going to take skin when it cracks away.
Double bass players and harpists and slap bassists know this all too well. I dunno if there's another string instrument that isn't shy about blood sacrifices.
@@hraefn1821 what a disgusting human being
I did the tour at Sun Studio a few years back, and they showed us a version of the paper in the strings thing. They said that Johnny Cash weaved a dollar bill through the strings, wrapped it loosely around the neck and fixed it together with a piece of tape. He put it at about the fifth fret, or so, and started playing the Boom-chic-a rhythm. It sounded so much like a train it was ridiculous.
Ive been saying for years playing on an open tuning specifically with a slide is so good for begginers. Immediately you can make stuff that sounds good instead of muting everything and giving up and it gives you so much room to play around. It also gives you basics of scales and an idea of what sounds good together
i sometimes like to drum about by muting strings, a similar effect, and always available unless you have 2 or even less fingers
I have a Les Paul with horrible action that I spent years trying to fix but never got it right, fret heights all over the place, but it has a nice bluesy tone. So I set it up for open D and just play it with a slide. Hours of fun.
@@ThatSockmonkey open E does it for me, but i want to experiment with open A
@@yobrethren I'm not locked in to open D as such, it just happened to work well on the Les Paul, but I love tinkering with alternate tunings. I wish I'd known about things like double drop D and Nashville tuning when I was a teenager! I suggest trying EVERYTHING! Every open tuning has its own quirks and little tricks hidden inside.
Jesus Christ died for your sins please repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand 🤸🏾🏋🏽🥌🎿🎿⛸⛸
Sami, you gotta use hemp twine or cotton thread for the slide hack.
The cord absorbs the acetone, light it on fire and let the whole cord catch... then dunk it in some cold water and it will crack along that line most of the time. Takes a couple times to get a feel for it, so i recommend 3 or 4 bottles.
Please make slides responsibly.
I find long necked whiskey bottles seem to work best.
Polish the sharp end with some sandpaper and ya got a classic bottleneck.
6:23 I love how strong levels of excitement seems to bring out the Ricky in Canadians.
I love this guy. Idk why, but his sense of humor is just so great. Brilliant.
Sammy G is intelligent as F. That's why he is nice to watch. He pulls of some great licks. That slide thing was delicious!
You saying this dude's got a sense of humor , you must have some Eddie Murphy playing in the background the only thing funny about him is this f****** hair,a fkn man bun WTF
Canadian dry irony humor at it's finest
The glue callouses thing has been around at least since the 80's, I remember Joey Eppard used to talk about doing that when he was first learning guitar
Devin Townsend uses open C tuning quite a lot, I immediately recognized the feeling he has in some of his more acoustic songs when you used it.
I thought of The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin
I loved the "using a can tab as a pick". Man that sounded awesome - you should also try boxcutter blades, they give even crisper treble. Bottlecaps make it sound more "organ-like", but they need to be "real" ones, not the screw type...
Thank you for your videos, there is so much between nonsense and quirky fun, to philosophical discussion of music (and its industry) in short poignant packages. I appreciate your work and energy that goes into this channel.
Greetings from another Great Lake, doc.
is the can tab thing works ?
There's a Damien Rice song with an open Dsus2 tuning, done the same way but up a whole tone. John Butler tends to use an open C on an 11-string guitar (the high G and corresponding machinehead are removed) and I thoroughly recommend Ocean by John Butler and What You Want by the John Butler Trio. Another tuning I work with from time to time is DADGCF which I've not heard others using yet, but if you come up with anything nice with that I'd be happy to hear it.
laureate 🎸🎸🎸-
th-cam.com/video/ww0m8xY1ozE/w-d-xo.html
I'm shocked you didn't know about the trem spring in your strat!
I did not but have only been playing since 1970. Dont be too shocked, none of my musical peers knew about it either.
It's embarrassing really
I don't even own a strat and I knew about that years ago
As a strat owner, I was today years old when I learned that this was how this was supposed to be used. So thank you, Sammy, for not making me feel stupid.
This thin white sealing tape you can use on piping is also working wonders on the thread of the trem bar. Same effect, but the spring is more durable.
Another cool hack that's not in the video: church bell sound. Weave your pick between the d and g string, twist it (top of the pick now facing the fretboard), and push it on top of the 5th fret. Pick the d and g string and you get a wicked spaghetti western showdown churchbell sound.
The glue thing, from what I know, is actually a trick that was used by people allergic to nickel (guitar string). Now there are golden/steel plated strings, so no need for it anymore. Grate video btw ^^
That open Csus2 tuning has been used by tons of people over the years, It's got roots in old celtic folk, but lots of more modern greats like joni mitchell and stephen stills used it, Led Zeppelin used it in the rain song, Mark Tremonti used it for a lot of Alter Bridge tunes, over half of the Tea Party's catalog is in that tuning or a variation of it (I've personally always referred to it as 'the tea party tuning'), Sonic youth used it a bunch, Chris Cornell used it on a few solo tracks, I'm sure there's more but that's all ive got.
Rain Song had a different tuning, but it was a similar concept. There's lots of variations on that tuning that all sound amazing
@@salzulli6290 i figured a fellow nerd would call me out on that, but it's the same for all intents and purposes. The low e was tuned a step up on that one, and live the whole thing was in a d variation of that tuning, not c, though the intervals were the same, but it makes very little difference because the only time he uses the low string is for power chords in the bridge, which tuning down the extra step actually makes easier to play, like a drop d situation.
I wouldn't call this a "guitar hack" as such, but early on, Roy Buchanan managed to create a pretty convincing "wah" effect using only the tone control of his Telecaster. Then again, that was back before you could pick up a Cry Baby or a Morley in just about any music store.😉
I've watched a shitload of guitar videos on YT, and this has absolutely become one of my favorites. Great information, straight to the point with no nonsense. Truly, nice job man.
classical guitarists have been using mutes in strings for a long time. Stephen Funk Pearson even designed a bridge that goes at the 12th fret so you can play on both sides of the string. Cool stuff!
Jesus Christ died for your sins please repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand 🤸🏾🏋🏽🥌🎿🎿⛸⛸
The spring in the strat is actually brilliant. I used to put little balls of paper to get the trem arm to stay in position by effectively making the hole shallower so that when arm is fully threaded in it stops in a position I’m comfortable with
PTFE tape ....
The can tab guitar pick was hilarious. I thought you were serious at first. The spring the the tremelo is something I didnt know either. Your reaction was awesome.
Not only did it sound cool... it looked really cool as well.. @2:15 Hendrix is probably rolling in his grave with envy over that one.
Your sarcasm at 11:00 had me in stitches!! Well done!! Hilarious!! Thanks for posting... the hack before that sounded amazing... didn't know that one either.
You used the wrong glue… lol
Superglue actually does work for “faux calluses” and stuff. I use it for first aid for sealing up cuts and stuff too, but I’ve actually made fake “calluses” for when I was doing a big paracord job for someone. I used a few layers of super glue to make some “calluses” to protect the skin on my fingers where I was pulling the knots over and over.
So it does actually work, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It takes days to get the glue off completely and can rip off a ton of skin if you’re not careful.
Or... You may just soak it in water and let the natural flexibility of the skin peel it off for you...
Agreed. Have done It. Used light grit sandpaper to take It off after. Would not recommend. Only if absoluty had to.
If I remember correctly superglue actually has a long history in medicine, so that checks out
@@coryman125 Yes, you’re correct.
Super glue was invented by accident while trying to make acrylic lenses for gun optics in WW2, but was developed during the Vietnam war as “liquid stitches” and was used to close wounds in the battlefield as triage to get soldiers to a surgical team further away.
I’ve actually had wounds glued shut.. I had half my right lung removed because of cancer when I was about 14 and even though it was a massive chest wound, they just closed it up with flexible and super tough super glue! It was really cool stuff and bizarre seeing a huge cut sealed shut with no stitches. It was flexible but very strong, and just slowly dissolved or broke down as my body healed.. the extra stuff around the wound just kinda rolled and peeled off as I bathed.
I like that they used glue for me, because apparently they had different types which allowed them to do really cool and intricate work to precisely seal me up! They stitched the underlying muscles together properly with super tiny micro sutures that dissolve, in tandem with glue (kinda like glue and screws in wood. The screws/stitches just hold everything in place and aligned while the glue sets/my body heals!) and then glued the fat and lower skin levels together with only a few dissolving sutures to keep it from potentially pulling open and then the top most layer was just glued shut and coated with a top layer of protective stretchy flexible glue to seal everything up and close the wound up completely.
Pretty cool!
Modern medicine is incredible and I’m very thankful for it. It all started as a mistake that saved lives in a war and then it helped my body heal up almost perfectly to 99.9% so I could still do stuff and enjoy life!
Super glue is pretty damn cool.
Fun fact: Super glue was actually much more common in veterinarian work because animals are more unpredictable and would rip stitches and whatnot.. Vets would use it to mend bones, fix shells, beaks, claws, horns… you name it! After Vietnam it saved animals, then was further developed into more medical specific glue types like the ones used on me.
That’s pretty sweet… I like animals so knowing the same thing that helped me, saved some animals too is cool as hell!
@@DanteYewToob Oh wow, that is very cool, thank you for sharing! :) glad you healed up well
I've seen on other forums and videos where people don't know about the spring for the trem bar. All Fender Strats come with the spring in the hole with a little round sticker over the hole to keep the spring from falling out. It's so surprising that someone as great as Samuraiguitarists didn't know this. I guess anyone can learn something new. I really like Samurai's videos, including this one.
They often pop out during shipping because the bar isn’t shipped screwed in. I know a ton of folks who don’t know this.
About the glue callouses, you have to use super glue. Elmer's glue doesn't dry as hard. I accidently had some super glue dry on a couple finger tips one time, and it feel pretty good to play.
I would think any type of glue would be wearing down or damaging the strings in some way, possibly the fretboard too 🤔
why are you trying to make it work: "just tough it out like the rest of us"
The tp trick is very similar to a bass trick I learned where if you stuff a small roll of tp or felt (something soft) right before the nut, it helps with the possible string buzz.
Sammy I freaking love your videos. You deadpan tying your luscious manbun to the guitar toggle switch to emulate a way pedal is the funniest thing I have seen all week.
Definitely be careful with the can lid drum trick. Those lids can be incredibly sharp.
Dépend on your can opener, mine doesn't leave the lid sharp... It just remove the glue between the can and the lid and it's never sharp
Get a better can opener 😜
That´s probably the most emotion I´ve seen from Sammy G at 6:05
I’ve been playing in Csus tuning for years and years. You can play anything from pop progressions to metal and it all sounds great.
The Krazy glue/super glue trick does work, I used it when I was first starting guitar and it helped ease the pain while the calluses built up underneath (and also, I like most people started playing on used guitars with super high action because they hadn't been set up in literal years). The problem is you used Elmer's school glue, which is supposed to be soft, very weak, and easily removable adhesive in case kids get messy with it and so they're not having to peel layers of skin off with the glue. Granted, I have no clue why the guy in the video stuck them on plastic (maybe for texture?), but that part is useless. Just a few dabs on the fingertips and wait 30 seconds before touching anything, and it does its job.
That guitar tuning was amazing. I love that sound and it really makes the acoustic sound beautiful.
Good choice on swapping to the Orangewood for the glue one. I was worried about the strat
I remember having a hard time to find the strat trem arm spring in where I live, so I tried another (and cheaper) hack: wrapping the trem arm thread with plumbers tape. Worked like a charm.
This is the way to fix that on Mexican Strats as well, since the hole for the term arm goes all the way through the block. I tried putting a spring in and it just fell through the other side. Plumber's tape on the other hand works like a charm.
I use heat shrink, cheers!
That feeling when you finally realize what those extra parts that came with some product (which you purchased years earlier) are _actually_ for.
On the "no slide hack" It's nice to see that after a long enough time slide will be rediscovered as they originally were (hence the name "bottleneck")
For that Fender spring - there should also be a small metal ball that goes in before the spring. it stops the spring from twisting when you tighten the whammy bar.
2 things: I had some lessons with Carol Kaye, and she also has a mute on her bass -- but it's made out of duct tape and a cut-up kitchen sponge! Sounds great! Second, an 11/16 deep socket (from a socket wrench set) makes a decent slide in a pinch, if you happen to have tools in the car you drove to the gig. The kind of car I used to drive, I ALWAYS had tools with me :-)
I've used sockets as slides before, they sound a bit different to a normal slide and I think that it's down to the weight of them, possibly the finish 🤔
I prefer a 3/4 in the textured finish (ie. impact sockets) but hey, fat fingers
Andy Summers would use a kitchen sponge on his guitar as well
That TP/palm muting one is one thats probably more a 9/10 but only going to be used in *very* specific instances.
You can also do the opposite and put the tp at the nut to help mute unwanted open strings when recording guitar solos. Probably more widely useful.
Seeing how enthusiastic he gets over some of these hacks is fun to see
I've got a mate that played Strat's for 60yrs before discovering what that wee spring was for. They do a nice job. But in lieu of the trem spring (or even something you can use along with the spring for extra stay-put-ness), plumbers tape is awesome. Wrap a bit of that around the screw of the whammy bar; I reckon it works a little better than the spring in terms of keeping it in position, the down side being having to redo it every time you remove the whammy bar.
Another awesome use for plumbers tape that I do as part of the setup for all my guitars; undo the nut on the jack, a couple of wraps of tape, then screw the nut back on. Voila! A guitar jack that will never come loose!
One of the first times I had a jam session and my fingertips were all chewed up from practice, I tried Liquid Band-Ade. It worked like a CHARM. Lasted a good 3 hours into jam time until they started to peal off, But then I could just re-apply a second coat and it dries hard in 2 minutes. TWO THUMBS UP!
I bowled competitively for 20plus years and we did the same thing...whether it was split fingertips or a ripped open thumb, nu-skin or super glue was a game saver. Cool that other folks figured that out...
Phil X used that first "bazooki" string trick when he was recording session work for Chris Daughtry on the track "It's not over" he talked about it and demonstrated it on his TH-cam channel, was actually a really cool case of something that doesn't seem practical actually being used perfectly musical
I was once in a real life situation where I needed a slide and didn't have one. The shot glass was also my favoured choice of replacement. Works great!
I'm honestly surprised you didn't know about the spring for the trem bar. 🤯
The thing you did for the Sitar sound I've been doing for years just in a totally different way. On my main guitar it didn't have attachment points for a guitar strap so I used a nylon strap from a old army backpack (Vietnam War Era). I tied a slip knot (the actual knot not the band), and looped it around the belly of the guitar under the strings (laying over the hole) and then tied it the end of the strap to the head through one of the tuner cutouts. So whenever I play the strings very lightly hit that nylon strap and create a very unique buzzint sound that is really quite awesome. The tone is similar to what you hear on The Doors - The End. I highly recommend you try this, it really sounds wonderful. It's been my signature guitar sound since like 2005.
*edit: this is with a acoustic guitar
LOL @ "the poor man's wah pedal!" I'm dying over here! (It actually sounded pretty cool.)
4:15 I can see it working the guy in the vid used 2 ethyl cyanoacrylic glue (super glue) and you used Elmer's glue so there would be a big difference.
Man. One of the favourite items I ever owned was this beautiful vintage ceramic guitar slide which fitted my finger perfectly. The sound it made was so damn good. It was this really cool deep cobalt blue which had this deep effect which was just amazing to look at while high... Then I accidentally dropped it on a tile floor and it shattered... I was genuinely sad foe a long time due to it. Never seen a similar one since. Dunno even what brand it was from.
that's what she said!😀
Justin Johnson has a couple to look at.
Try a search I bet you’ll find what your looking for!
@@patrickodell7654 thanks, I'll check it out!
Sorry for your loss. Just remember the good times.
@@mike-ue4wy I love how it seems he's lost his partner or something
I found out about the Strat springs a couple of years ago. Never looked back. I thought I was the only one who didn't know so I am glad you shared the knowledge.
I couldn't even make it to you putting the string around your head before I totally cracked up. Then watching you trying to play...priceless!!!!!!!!
Super glue works great for sealing cuts on your fingertips. You can’t just “tough it out” when you rip calluses off in the middle of a gig.
What Malinda did with the open Csus tuning is basically what Joni Mitchell has been doing her whole life. Learn some of Joni's tunings and playing style, they're utterly sublime.
Can you explain what they are saying/doing after 9:18?
I don't understand what he means by fretting the bottom 3 strings and letting the top 2 ring out...
He is playing a SIX string right??
@@QuantumLeap89 yeah, maybe he's talking about the bottom two in regards to how they sound with the rest of the chord. Not sure. Maybe he's muting the G string? Doubt it. The bottom three should just be played out I assume.
Yeah, open tunings like this we're all the rage back in the 90s. Goo Goo Dolls, Common Children. Another popular version of this was DADAAE. Really great for 3 piece bands!
I love that one of these 'Hacks' is using a Strat properly hahahaha
Lmfao the other 10/10 is that alternate tuning is a 'hack'
Super glue doesn't act like school glue, though...
Yeah… it feels much worse.
@@joermnyc it works far better as a false callus, though
@@steelbluesleepR yeah, it's what pros use for emergency calluses. Flea had to do it. I've done it too.
@@steelbluesleepR It's commonly rumored that SRV superglued his fingertips because the bridge cables he used as strings would rip his regular calluses, so there's that.
@@PikkaBird I read the man used 13 gauge strings and was known for accidently breaking necks. So not super shocking, lol
The springs that came with the Strat in a bag.,, love it.
Malinda usually does vocal videos, but it’s nice of her to come across with a guitar hack.
funny with the glue.. when I first started playing I got some of that skin patch or skin repair stuff from the bowling alley to make excellent new callouses. Now days if the fingers get a little tender I just numb them with lidocaine creme, and ya know, the callouses just build back up, but without the pain.
After letting the cloth burn around the glass you need to tap it on the side of the glass of ice water. That gives it the clean (incredibly sharp) edge. Gonna need to sand that down too.
another thing for muting is a cut up kitchen sponge (the bass trick)
Dude your shit made me laugh so hard but when you plucked the acoustic and gave the electric riffs, That made my day lmao genius.
This was a really good idea and a fun video to watch!
Using the shot glass as a slide would be safer than using part of a bottle that would have very sharp edges that could seriously cut your hand. I like the idea of a watch company that uses recycled materials. I recently saw a video about Taylor Guitars from NAMM and found out they are using wood from sustainable sources.
Bouzouki tuning was invented by another Canadian guitarist, Phil X.
Hey Sammy. I'm a cabinet/furniture design builder. I imagine you just didn't realize this, but of course the type of glue you used would never work and would be worse than using nothing even for a beginners soft fingertips. On the other hand, using superglue is an old trick that's been around at least since I was a child. Players often used it when they got cuts on their fingertips to hold the wound together. I know for sure Jimmy Page did that.
7:52 POV:youre on hold
I love that you used your orangewood in this. I LOVE their products
That first one was pretty sweet tbh, I could see that being used in a pretty clean tone with just a bit of gain and some reverb.
02:37 it’s important to determine what type of glue is used. Here I’m pretty sure it’s cyanoacrylate aka super glue. NOT Polyvinyl Acetate aka wood glue/ white glue that you used. And the reason he used bottle caps is to create a flat surface by building up the glue between the fingertips and the bottle caps.
The superglue trick is pretty commonly used for heavy players on the road.
Putting everything into it 2 hours a night 7 days a week, your fingertips can become really messed up
I think superglue was developed for field medics
The nut slot trick is my favorite one here, can't wait to try it out
Thanks Sam! Keep up the good work!
Ye super glue was first made to stitch wounds on the battlefield
5:15 sounds like tapping the pickguard with finger picks but worse
Find the original youtube video playing Billie Jeans. It lets you make the snare sound while sustaining notes
The crazy guitar hack is just brilliant 🤣 You don't even need to know how to play anymore, I love it.
That tune you played at the end with the slide hack sounds like some OG Trigun music. Good stuff.
1:00 anyone know if this is a real song cuz it is absolutely fire
10:22 He was definitely simping for that woman 😂
I've thrown every spring like that away. I learned this about three years ago
loved the playing slide with shot glass.. epic rebuttle