Have you seen this style of tapping and is it safe for my guitar?
 

So I'm a huge fan of guys like Andy McKee and Trace Bundy and try to achieve their styles all the time... I recently came across this guy tapping, the song is awesome but I noticed that he gets one of his percussive sounds via a thumb ring hit on the neck of the guitar. First, is this going to damage the guitar or is there a certain specialized type of ring not to? And where can I find more videos or tutorials for this technique? (links appreciated0 thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7XnIYaaxhU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7XnIYaaxhU

i don't know what you mean by saying "safe" but they will wear your guitar down a bit i guess though i don't know how fast in comparison to conventional playing since it all depends on how much you play. home players using the same technique will wear it down less than someone that gigs regularly, going through a set 1-2 sets a week or more. i guess you can use these techniques and minimize wear, just don't hit the guitar too hard haha. if you find that the wear and damage doesn't sit well with you, don't use the technique. Don Ross is known in guitar circles for being pretty tough on his guitars. Ditto for Monte Montgomery. their playing wears down their guitars and it really shows. i met don a couple of times and his Beneteaus sound great but def shows wear. Monte's guitar...well...it is def a workhorse and that guitar sounds great but it has literally been through a ton of repair work and the neck is held by bolts because Monte has snapped it off a few times. Nevertheless, that DY62 sounds amazing. i imagine if you tone down the aggressive approach, all should be well.

i use tapping quite a lot and do overhand playing a good bit so my guitars all have noticeable wear up and down the binding, on the back of the neck and on the frets. i don't use rings to make percussion effects on my fretting hand and i still wore down my the back of my guitar neck and the bindings. my frets need work regularly but i can't say my playing has wrecked my guitars though they do show wear over time which is fine by me.

Simple rule of thumb: any percussive technique which creates a "knocking" sound, regardless of where the guitar is hit, will leave a mark. The more you knock, the more marks you'll leave.

-Raf

Right. I do use some thumping and tapping in various songs, but I generally use the side of my thumb on the pickguard. If you tap the guitar any place else, eventually you'll leave a mark, even if it isn't visually apparent the first few times you do it.

The guitars owned by those who make aggressive tapping and other percussive sounds a large part of their musical style invariably show it.


whm