TALES FROM NERDVILLE by Joe Bonamassa
SWELL TIME
One of the most expressive tools for electric guitar players is the use of the volume swell. An essential element in the arsenals of such legendary players as Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, Walter Trout, and, of course, Jeff Beck, a volume swell is produced by raising the volume of the guitar from zero to “on” after picking a string.
SWELL TIME
One of the most expressive tools for electric guitar players is the use of the volume swell. An essential element in the arsenals of such legendary players as Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, Walter Trout, and, of course, Jeff Beck, a volume swell is produced by raising the volume of the guitar from zero to “on” after picking a string.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 What's up ladies and gentlemen, Joe Bonamassa here for Guitar World Magazine.
00:13 Today we're gonna talk about volume swells.
00:15 Now I would like to explain this using the front pickup, but
00:19 I will demonstrate what happens when a guitar sits around for too long.
00:23 So we're gonna talk about volume swells.
00:28 And I'm gonna use the only pickup that's working right now.
00:32 And I use these a lot.
00:35 I really like them, I think they're very emotive.
00:37 I learned from, to me, the best was Danny Gatton,
00:42 Roy Buchanan, and even Walter Trout was really stellar at it.
00:47 And a lot of people have done it, Jeff Beck, and there's a bunch of people.
00:51 But when you bring the dynamics down in a band, so if you're playing in C minor,
00:55 [MUSIC]
00:57 You'll always get the crowd going if you play something like this.
01:00 [MUSIC]
01:10 So what you can do, and the technique is, is every time you play a chord,
01:16 you can play a chord that's a little bit longer than the other chord.
01:22 So if you're playing a chord that's a little bit longer than the other chord,
01:28 you can play a chord that's a little bit longer than the other chord.
01:33 So if you're playing a chord that's a little bit longer than the other chord,
01:39 is every time you use your thumb, and every time you pick down,
01:44 it's a counteraction.
01:46 So your little finger is linked to the volume control, so down, down, up.
01:51 So you see my thumb, down, up, down, up.
01:54 And you just find the sweet spot on every guitar is different.
01:58 You find the sweet spot, so.
02:00 [MUSIC]
02:10 And you just kind of practice until you find this place where you can either do
02:20 single or no.
02:22 [MUSIC]
02:32 And just watch the fans come up to you and say, hey,
02:36 you know that part that sounds like a cello?
02:38 I really like that.
02:39 That was my favorite part of the night.
02:40 You're like, but I play other stuff too.
02:43 But that's my volume technique.
02:46 And a little pro tip on the setup.
02:49 It's nice to have a delay, nice to have a reverb on it.
02:52 I know this is dry, I'm pretty honest.
02:54 But if you put a little effect on it, and you can really get some cool sounds
03:01 with the volume control and these kind of volume sweeps.
03:08 [MUSIC]