Hi guys. Need some assistant in getting them clean bends with vibratos.

For instance, on always with me / you, I'm just doing basic bends up the neck, whole step bends usually.

I have slight problems because on my new guitar (the action is a bit lower)
when i bend up (or towards the heavier gauged strings), the above strings also bend and sit on my nail, and then doing the vibrato they sorta snap off my nail into my finger and make all sorta of crappy noise that, even pick hand muting cannot eliminate.

my old guitar had high action so when i bent, i went underneath the above heavier strings, so for example they would be further out from the fret board than the string being bent because i would get "underneath" the other strings so easily.


When I bend, i keep my thumb more towards the head stock of the guitar and wrapped as high around the neck as possible (thumb over neck), and do a bend like my wrist is turning. Like face your palm away and then face it towards you, that's what it feels like when i do a bend / vibrato.

Should I bend with my thumb positioned over the neck but right in the middle of my palm, or the way I just described?

for starters..cut your nails..yeach
then use the pads of your fingers to stretch the string and all other strings that are in the way, it works well in keeping all the other strings quiet....if the action is that high...fix it
as long as it works, doesnt matter where your thumb is

Thanks Alex,

so when you bend, do you get underneath the other strings in the way? or do you push them up along with the string being bent?

whos alex? :blink:

you push them up along with the string being bent

hey axes, sorry about the Alex.

Ok. bending is kicking me in the ass.
I can't get the strings that are being pushed up on to shut up!
they make so much noise! Do you use your right hand to silence them?
Maybe bigger frets?

as Axeshredder says, I think you are supposed to push the other strings along with the one being bent. If you watch concert videos of guitarists, that's how they do it.

And yes, you have to exert control between your left and right hands to dampen the noise. When I first started out bending strings, I had this problem too. Today, it's natural for both my hands to mute the string noise so don't worry, it's not as hard as you think it might be.

cool, thanks guys, as long as i kno how it should b done, i can wholeheartedly go do it.

You can bend either way up or down except for the high e string where if you bend down you go off the fretboard and it makes a weird sound. But yeah do what's more comfortable for you I started off bending down on all strings except for like the B and the E but now I just switch it up to my liking but I think it looks cooler when you do some nice bends and bend up on like say the G string. If you have problems with bendingI suggest bending down on all strings except for B and E because you tend not to have a problem with hitting other strings I don't know why but I used to have the saem problem but when I bent down I never had a problem but also it could just be my hand. Also alot people get more strength in their bends if their other fingers are resting on the adjacent frets again I don't know why but just play to your liking eventually you will find a way to bend to your liking trust me.

Perhaps cut your nails? (No offence)

When I bend on the first 3 strings, I will palm mute the strings that are not being played, so when it is time to return the bend, those strings will not sound. My right hand is usually resting on the strings when I'm not playing the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings. And yes, having short nails does help alleviate the problem. I wouldn't slide my finger underneath strings either, eventually that will wear out your nails and get them really thin and brittle.

yep all i can say will be a repetition- bend the other strings along with the one you want to bend... if you want, have another finger there to push all the other strings.
be careful when you do big 1 1/2 step bends... on the release bend, it really helps to have that extra finger or atleast be concious of the other strings....so u can set the string back gently in its original place without any other noise.

i love chord bending... generally 2 note chords where u turn up the overdrive... hit a 2note chord and bend one of the strings.... i think it sounds amazing... but if u bend too much or too little it sounds like shit...

To get bends with great vibrato you should scallope your fingerboard like i'm doing at the moment :P

And then you will play also more accurate