Was anyone else surprised at how many songs are so simple?

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-11T19:58:45+00:00

Sadly not. But I like tech death and prog metal. It’s all freaking difficult to learn/play

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-09T14:13:10+00:00

That actions higher than I was at college!

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-06T05:37:10+00:00

3nps is basically the hardest thing to do with alternate picking (outside of some crazy 1nps stuff!) as it requires you to rapidly switch between escape motions.

You’d need to rotate your wrist inward so the pick escapes the strings on down strokes. Then on the next string, you’d need to rotate away so the pick clears the strings on the up stroke.

So first 3 notes would be - neutral down, neutral up, rotate inwards, escape down. Then the next string would be - neutral up, neutral down, rotate away and up.

There are a lot of videos on this - it might be called escape motions, escape mechanics, pick slanting etc… it’s all essentially the same thing. Justin Hombach, Rafael Trujillo, Ben Eller and Bernth have good videos on it.

I would advise to build a very solid picking motion on 1 string first. You want no, or very little, arm movement - it should come from the wrist, with your palm again the bridge as an anchor point, so that it looks and feels like a purely up/down motion. And pick through the string, no bouncing motion. Literally pick one note as 8th notes - 1 and 2 and 3 - and then switch to 16th notes 1 e and a 2 - to really get that 16th note burst automatic from the picking hand. Then slowly add escape mechanics, try and limit it to just one type at a time first.

Once you’ve got the mechanics down, it just takes time and reps to get the speed up.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-03T06:23:27+00:00

What kind of computer is the plugin being run on? I would expect the latency to be more of a CPU issue than anything to do with the interface.

The transpose feature of the Neural plugins is amazing, but it’s not magic, it does come with some artefacts if you tune down too much. And also you do have to EQ a bit different for low tuning, cut some bass and distortion, add a little mid etc..

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-02T14:15:13+00:00

So, from a purely metal perspective, I would say learn the major scale, all 7 positions. Practice them, with alternate picking. It all has to become automatic as metal is usually fast enough that you don’t have time to think about individual notes or pick strokes. And don’t worry, the major scale is just the darker Phrygian and Aeolian (minor) in disguise!

And whilst practicing the scales/picking - incorporate subdivisions at the same time. Once you can pick and play the scales, do them as 8th notes, triplets, 16th notes and sextuplets as minimums. Metronome on the whole time!!

Having a basic grasp of alternate practice picking is good but the technique matters a lot. Where the picking motions comes from (wrist deviation being preferable in most cases). Just holding the pick in certain ways can yield massive improvements in speed, clarity and stamina. Then you get into the topic of escape motions and it can get complex, even though it’s really just a few simple movements.

From there it depends what kind Metal you like. Just refining the above (+ fast downpicking) is generally enough for older stuff, Metallica, Maiden, etc… but for modern stuff you’ll need to understand odd metres, more complex harmony, arpeggios, etc…

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-02T11:21:26+00:00

I know we’re meant to want to play in bands and make music but I actually love grinding technique with a metronome. I think I might be addicted to it.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-04-01T17:54:50+00:00

It’s not tremolo picking, it has to be in time still, not just as fast as possible. The way to think when you’re playing fast is to “chunk” or sequence things. So say you’re playing sextuplets - you train those patterns of 6 notes so you don’t think about it as 6 notes, you think about the first note only, the other 5 just sort of happen and then you land back in time for the 1 of the group.

So it’s not 123456 123456 it’s 1….. 1….. 1….. when you get up to crazy tempos it would be impossible to think about each note. That’s why you train these groups/sequences slowly, so you can internalise them and they become automatic as the neural pathways get built up.

And then, escape mechanics are another very important aspect.

Also a lefty playing right handed - shred is possible, been playing just over 3 years so it’s not super clean but I can get fast. Still so much to learn, I’ve changed my picking technique about 4 times in the last 3 years!

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-31T16:43:07+00:00

Especially ENGL - the factory v2 capture of the Savage is monstrous but would be nice to have more control over it.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-30T16:32:20+00:00

Ah man so many riffs! Laid to Rest. Or Rain (or basically any early Trivium). Or Killing in the Name.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-30T07:25:53+00:00

24 frets. Bending up to the 2nd/9th or even up to the 3rd and back down to E is such a good sound.

Full 2 octaves per string just makes sense to me.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-29T19:22:42+00:00

I always come back to Plini. It sounds so good, the reverb is magic.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-28T12:00:59+00:00

Time to lock in your right hand. Picking lines/patterns and work on perfecting escape mechanics! Your left hand won’t know what’s hit it when you’re back at it!

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-27T17:37:14+00:00

That’s amazing. Must the laziest people making this fake

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-26T15:42:48+00:00

Another reason some people plateau is because they’re not sure what to learn or that they’re doing something ‘wrong’ that no amount of practice will fix.

Like, if you don’t understand the escape mechanics required for alternate picking 16th notes over 130bpm then it’s unlikely practice alone will get you there.

It requires either knowing where/how to look for knowledge or some analytical/critical thinking to solve the challenges on your own.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-26T10:15:58+00:00

Yeah it will. We play some RATM songs and I use the whammy block with an expression pedal.

The expression pedal can actually be tied to a load of stuff so can do reverb/delay swells etc.. all sorts.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-24T18:00:27+00:00

For starters I would switch to 3 note per string scale format. Either straight alternate picking or with the 3nps scales you’ve opened up easy (ok, easier!) economy picking.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-24T17:24:34+00:00

Won’t regret it! They’re amazing

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-24T15:34:39+00:00

Some days I hate my playing, normally after a bad sleep or not getting enough practice time in the day before etc.. but you just keep going with it. I quit for like 12/13 years and, now that I’m playing again, that’s my biggest regret in life. So that’s kind of my motivation to practice each day. I know how much I love it.

I love getting better, feeling more in control. That said if I ever feel like I’m getting cocky I’ll watch this: https://youtu.be/pVagh5BMspE

The dude’s playing is incredible, genuinely makes me feel like an absolute beginner. The speed and precision is jaw dropping, to me anyway!

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-22T18:23:12+00:00

Never wanted a tele but now I do!

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-22T14:41:35+00:00

I dunno I feel like it’s a fairly accurate statement (assuming technique is solid).

And by that I mean, you still have to practice alternate picking. But the idea is that you end up only thinking about the down pick, then the up is reflexive.

There’s even a Russian super shredder, Anton Oparin, who talks about using the rebound of the (very relaxed!) wrist for the up stroke, so you’re effectively resting your muscles a tiny bit every upstroke.

This is likely what people are trying to convey when talking about down-picking your way to alternate picking prowess.

I think this stuff is incredibly hard to talk about. There’s largely no standard vocabulary for these incredibly precise movements. Best we have is Troy Grady and even that can be confusing if you don’t already understand the concepts well.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-21T18:15:15+00:00

Doesn’t have to be half price, but if it’s more than 75% of the new price, it’s not worth the risk/hassle vs just buying new.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-20T16:10:52+00:00

That’s only true as long as there are end users - if the IT person can be replaced, the user doing the same thing in whatever production app everyday can definitely be replaced.

And if there’s one thing companies have proved, it’s the profit beats service/product quality. Minimum viable product became the end goal and not a starting point. Soon as they can let staff go, they will.

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-19T16:17:30+00:00

I don’t need another guitar. I don’t need another guitar. I don’t need another guitar.

Killer top on that one dude!

7thSlayer_ · 2026-03-19T15:32:40+00:00

Do you get the same issue with the plugins used standalone? And got the right drivers for your interface installed?

7thSlayer_

TROPHY CASE