Beat it without a whammy?

jesone

Anyone play MK's Beat it without a whammy bar? Or suggestion for cheap guitar with whammy?

bloodandtears

From recollection I think there are only parts of the the solo that use a whammy.. the beginning depressed-bar release (which could be played with a slow slide to destination note) and the end of the first half of the solo which could be managed with string bends in the main... I'de be more concerned with the tapping sections than buying a guitar with a whammy just for this solo.

John_A

Don’t need a whammy to make it sound convincing for the most part

bigjon

I played it on a guitar without whammy at last year's Quad Jam. I didn't follow the EVH solo slavishly, just approximated the general contours. I alluded to the whammy-bar scoop which begins the solo by sliding up to the D on the 5th fret of the 5th strong and bending it up to an E (we were playing the song in Em)

It's at 3:25 in this recording

Winny_Pooh

It's a great excuse to get another guitar, go on.

ICBM

https://www.guitar.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/800x400/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/D/I/DIG0154.jpg

Cheaper than another guitar and doesn't go out of tune if you break a string.

jesone

Doesn’t look as cool as a new guitar but I take your point.

Teetonetal

2 mins 31


Yeah, I know its not THE solo, but it's fucking cool

viz

bigjon said:

I played it on a guitar without whammy at last year's Quad Jam. I didn't follow the EVH solo slavishly, just approximated the general contours. I alluded to the whammy-bar scoop which begins the solo by sliding up to the D on the 5th fret of the 5th strong and bending it up to an E (we were playing the song in Em)

It's at 3:25 in this recording

That. Was. Awesome. 

jesone

WOW!!!!!!!!

hollywoodrox

I would be more worried about the huge finger stretches  

axisus

Superb acoustic arrangement there, very nice playing. I shall check out more of her stuff.

JMP220478

look at boss ps 6 - bit more board friendly than Digitech whammy units 

p90fool

Is anyone going to mind? I've been a guitar nerd for 40 years and I like Michael Jackson, but honestly can't remember the Beat It solo, so I doubt your average audience member would. 

Musicwolf

p90fool said:

Is anyone going to mind? I've been a guitar nerd for 40 years and I like Michael Jackson, but honestly can't remember the Beat It solo, so I doubt your average audience member would. 

+1

John_A

p90fool said:

Is anyone going to mind? I've been a guitar nerd for 40 years and I like Michael Jackson, but honestly can't remember the Beat It solo, so I doubt your average audience member would. 

It’s a classic, I could whistle it if I could whistle:). 

Evo

I’ve done that solo for what must be an average of about once a week for the last 5 or 6 years. Done it on everything from a signature EVH, to a pink paisley tele (i’m actually even playing it in my picture...)

In my experience, it does get noted when you do it well. Will the average audience mind if you improv it? Probably not. Will they notice if you nail it? More often than not, yes.

So to answer about the trem bar stuff, when I was doing it on a tele (and a Les Paul for a while) the opening bend I did just by bending 2-4 on the G. The only other trem bits are “bar dips” which I substituted slides for and just slid into the target notes instead of dipping them with the bar.

Couple of other little tips,

1) EVH doesn’t use a floating trem (it’s dive only). So that’s worth keeping in mind if you’re shopping. 

2) Listen for Guitar two in the second half of the verse. A much missed and good riff to throw in (especially in a 2 guitar lineup)

3) Remember for the verse and chorus it’s Steve Lukather and not EVH. Dial back the gain a bit and add a slight chorus for that LA session vibe.


Happy tapping dude!

stratman3142

p90fool said:

Is anyone going to mind? I've been a guitar nerd for 40 years and I like Michael Jackson, but honestly can't remember the Beat It solo, so I doubt your average audience member would. 

 Well you say that but I remember the scary first time I played it live (admittedly using a whammy bar)

 I'm standing behind the brass section so I think I'm fine hidden away. When the time arrives, the band leader introduces me and announces "now the Beat Solo". The brass section part and all turn round to watch. And some guy (I assume a guitar nerd), runs up to the front of the stage, folds his arms and stares at me. I think it went OK but that moment turned into a bit of a blur.

p90fool

stratman3142 said:

p90fool said:

Is anyone going to mind? I've been a guitar nerd for 40 years and I like Michael Jackson, but honestly can't remember the Beat It solo, so I doubt your average audience member would. 

 Well you say that but I remember the scary first time I played it live (admittedly using a whammy bar)

 I'm standing behind the brass section so I think I'm fine hidden away. When the time arrives, the band leader introduces me and announces "now the Beat Solo". The brass section part and all turn round to watch. And some guy (I assume a guitar nerd), runs up to the front of the stage, folds his arms and stares at me. I think it went OK but that moment turned into a bit of a blur.

Haha, that's one of the many reasons I refuse to learn solos note-for-note, with the exception of very short ones which are obviously a tune. 

Playing loud rock guitar expressively is one of the most fun things in the world, playing a recital in front of nerds one of the least. 

Evo

If you choose not to play a solo note for note, that’s a ok if you ask me. I’ve seen some real musical magic happen when that goes down.

But there’s a big difference between choosing to do your own thing, and having to do your own thing. 

ICBM

p90fool said:

stratman3142 said:

When the time arrives, the band leader introduces me and announces "now the Beat Solo". The brass section part and all turn round to watch. And some guy (I assume a guitar nerd), runs up to the front of the stage, folds his arms and stares at me.

Haha, that's one of the many reasons I refuse to learn solos note-for-note, with the exception of very short ones which are obviously a tune. 

Playing loud rock guitar expressively is one of the most fun things in the world, playing a recital in front of nerds one of the least. 

I'd have been very inclined to play something totally different just to piss him off. Maybe something like Mirror In The Bathroom by the Beat .