Any tips on tremelo picking? Im trying to do the Manabe's solo in hybrid, but I cant pick without hitting th other strings, or getting the pick stuck.

Mute the other strings with your index and ring (or pinky, if you swing that way) fingers.

So if you were playing a D Octave chord, it'd look like this:

[code]E-----
B--x--
G--7--
D--x--
A--5--
E--x--[/code]

Whereas the E and D strings are muted by your index finger, and the B string is muted by your ring finger.

To prevent getting your pick stuck, try to play with as little of the plectrum being exposed from your fingers as possible. That should give you more control.

[quote="sheerheartattack"]To prevent getting your pick stuck, try to play with as little of the plectrum being exposed from your fingers as possible. That should give you more control.[/quote]

Good tip. Speed picking/fanning/tremolo picking is also easier when you use a thinner pick.

Manabe also likes to tremolo pick on the neck. What I mean is...instead of holding the pick on the part of the strings over pickups...try moving over so you're picking on the strings over the neck. High on the neck.

yeah i can only agree more with sheer. manabe is the king of muting strings... it looks like he's strumming even when he's doing solos, for the most part.

[quote="zenkalia"]yeah i can only agree more with sheer. manabe is the king of muting strings... it looks like he's strumming even when he's doing solos, for the most part.[/quote]

i'm never gonna get that move down. sometimes i forget what a beast he is..

yeah, i can't really mute all the other strings when i do it D:

[quote="AWPJudy"][quote="zenkalia"]yeah i can only agree more with sheer. manabe is the king of muting strings... it looks like he's strumming even when he's doing solos, for the most part.[/quote]

i'm never gonna get that move down. sometimes i forget what a beast he is..[/quote]

This is the truth. I have no idea how (or why) he does that, but it's pretty damn cool.

Anyway, another thing, as GR mentioned, the closer you pick to the neck, the closer together the strings are, and it often times may make it easier to strum.

Tremolo picking is really just picking a single string over and over - it's not even neccessarily fast. I don't think there's an actual term for the Manabe/Hisako/Whoever else does it lightning fast strum thing. I thought I'd never be able to do it, until I realized that you're supposed to move your [i]forearm[/i] really fast, and keep your wrist in place. It's way, way easier that way.

I pick with those little Dunlop Jazz III picks. They're perfect for lead picking, but are tough to use for fast strumming. I can do it in short bursts with those, but a skinny pick makes laser-strumming much more easy. The hardest part, for me, anyway, is keeping the pick straight when I'm doing that. It seems like it always wants to move around.

Muting the strings is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. You just need to use your thumb for the sixth string and use your index to cover the rest. I'd bet that Manabe has some sort of noise reduction device(s), so without one of those you'll never get it to sound as clean. The downside is that those suck your tone. It's a win/lose situation.

the band score calls it tremolo lol. also, i use my wrist, it tires you out slower. i found the above comments of holding the pick so less is sticking out to be really helpful as well.

Tremolo picking [i]is[/i] necessarily fast. Otherwise it's just normal picking. And while it's commonly played on a single note, Manabe is more or less simply applying it to octave chords; since it has the same effect, and is generally the same technique, I think it's pretty safe to call it tremolo picking.

And on a final note, if you are Paul Gilbert, you can make tremolo picking ridiculously easy and fun by using a [i]power drill[/i] with a pick or three attached.

[quote="sheerheartattack"]Manabe is more or less simply applying it to Asian Kung-fu Generation chords; since it has the same effect, and is generally the same technique, I think it's pretty safe to call it tremolo picking.[/quote]

Seriously. All AKG = x3x5xx, x5x7xx, x7x9xx, etc.

thanks for the tips, ill practice more muting with my index finger.

And ring/pinky finger, *ahem*.

And thumb, *ahem.*

Nice.