Guitarists- how is this sound played? palm mute?
 

first things first, let's get kudos and accolades out of the way-

Tom Morello is a fucking guitar GOD!


OK, in RATM's Killing in the Name, the lick that begins ~1:40...it's that ch-ch sound, i try to play it with a palm mute but can't duplicate the crunchy.

how do i do that?

@ 1:41

It's actually very simple, place your fretting hand flat against all strings near the 12th fret and chug away. No palming needed. You'll need to experiment at it's exact location but its around the 12th fret. Sometimes it works (depending on string thickness) around the 7th fret, too.

When we played this cover in my old band, my buddy would also push the wah pedal a bit forward to help make it more audible.

NICE! i get this. can't do it yet, but i get it. do you know what this technique is called?

thanks!

Not 100% sure how tom Morello does it haha, but I think its palm muting + harmonics. You should look up videos on natural harmonics for more info. Its way easy to do.

Also, learn pinch harmonics because its metal as fuck hahah

its kinda like that, but its the flattened (all 4 fingers) approach that gets the muting and harmonics at once. Nevermore does it a lot, too. Muting the strings near the bridge would kill the harmonic ring, though.

But since mentioning pinch harmonics, a band that has been paramount in me learning good pinching is Danzig, believe it or not.

i got it sorted out today, thanks to y'alls comments. i'm still getting it right but it's a bit of palm muting with a super light touch with the fretting hand on the same notes around the chunky chunk harmonic.

super thanks! :thumbsup:1orglaugh

Tom Morello has a huge bag of tricks that are unique to his playing, including draggin an allen wrench accross the strings while working the wah and installing a custom "kill switch" toggle in his guitar to get the stutter effect. There are quite a few videos about how to achieve his various techniques, it's pretty interesting.

This thread makes me smile. :thumbsup

Damn already answered! Btw how long have you been playing? I have been playing since around 5 years old, but the last 3 years my ulna nerve went bad and 6 or 8 months ago I had surgery my left fret hand is still numb from middle to pinky finger and then down to palm. I just started back picking it up and it's a bitch the pain at times still hurts bad, with a tennis ball I have gotten more strength back and it's starting to feel better when I play.

killer info, thank you.

i watched the youtube vids on his technique

he goes through several killer tracks and how he plays the licks

he talks a bit re: killing in the name in part 3, but doesn't really reveal the technique



but i struck gold with this interview


10 Things You Gotta Do to Play Like Tom Morello | GuitarPlayer

The tune that got it all started for Morello has to be ?Killing in the Name,? off the first Rage record. In the space of a few bars we get to hear Morello blur the distinction between major and minor, slam greasy, dropped-D power chords, and employ the extreme dynamics that give the song its depth and power. Before we examine the notes themselves, let?s remember what Morello said back in 2000: ?Dynamics are a big part of the heavy factor for us. They?ve become an innate part of the songwriting process?the quiet parts that build the tension that triggers this huge release that makes 100,000 kids jump up and down.?

The tune opens with huge D power chords that lead into a disturbing bass figure that jumps between the root and the b9. It?s over that bass line that Morello plays Ex. 7a , a line that not only contains the major 3 but also the major 7. Repeat that three times, adding the bend on the fourth pass. Although it?s not notated, the guitar and bass then do a few bars of root/b9 (D to Eb) quarter-note triplets before kicking into the main groove in Ex. 7b. (For the sake of continuity, this is notated as a faster 4/4 tempo, although the drums are actually playing a half-time feel.)

http://www.guitarplayer.com/Portals/0/Morello%207.jpg

Morello plays the part wide open in the intro and then pulls it back in the verse, picking more lightly and using light palm muting on the power chords. In a later verse he plays the chromatic-flavored blues run in the second ending. Jam along with any of the youtube videos of ?Killing? and you?ll hear how Morello fleshes out the other sections with big power chords, funky, muted chucks, and a Whammy pedal rave-up for the solo. Once you get a feel for the structure, make sure you throw in your own techniques to keep it original. (If you don?t add some of your own trip, you?ll be a mere cog in the very machine against which you claim to rage, which would suck.) Mix in your personality over the ?Killing? groove and soon enough you?ll be paraphrasing the soothing, mellow lyric at the song?s end: ?With all due respect, I won?t do what you tell me.?



:thumbsup

nice to hear ya getting playing again, hopefully it helps.

i'm coming up on learning guitar for 2 years now, i started July 2013.

getting the hang of this track!
http://i.imgur.com/tVlbqJk.jpg

Awesome track bro it really is. I Love all types of music my fav is blues metal my band Led Zep the only one I consider the best out of everyone. Bbking Lead Belly Lighting etc:Oh crap

i've got bb king's the sky is crying in my to-learn box, i like albert king too, i've got his and SRV's "Born under a bad sign" in my repetoire now, i'm @~92% on that track. but yeah, the blues, also fan of Gary Clark Jr and have several black keys tracks down pretty good too!

i've got to get some zep in there! :1orglaugh

DAMN wish you were in VA brother I would love to jam with you. You got the same likes and taste in music as I do. :pimp:warning:pimp

right on man! i'm down. :1orglaugh

:thumbsup

I guess one thing to consider too is that all guitars and hands are not created equal, what works for me to get that same sound, might be different for you. strings, thicknesses, intonation, scale of neck, everything.

its like the whole dimebag squeal thing too, i cant do it using his method, I have to use my own way of doing it on my guitar (especially since no whammy bar heh)

Check out the rest of the tracks on that album too, especially Township Rebellion and Know Your Enemy's solos. They're great ones for getting into a bit of "fusion" and learning to play smoothly as well as dynamics.