How To Incorporate Volume Swells Into Solos With Joe Bonamassa

Guitar World

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.

Transcript

00:00What's up ladies and gentlemen, Joe Bonamassa here for Guitar World magazine. Today we're

00:13going to talk about volume swells. Now I would like to explain this using the front pickup,

00:19but I will demonstrate what happens when a guitar sits around for too long. So we're

00:25going to talk about volume swells. And I'm going to use the only pickup that's working

00:30in a right now. And I use these a lot. I really like them. I think they're very emotive. I

00:37learned from, to me, the best was Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, and even Walter Trout was really

00:46stellar at it. And a lot of people have done a Jeff Beck and, you know, there's a bunch of

00:50people. But when you bring the dynamics down in a band, so if you're playing in C minor,

00:57you'll always get the crowd going if you play something like this.

01:04And that's what you're playing in a band who plays with you. So you can play in a band that

01:09works in two sets. So if you're playing in C minor, you'll always have a concentration

01:11with us. And you can play! And I'm not going to play it. And I would like to play it.

01:13And you know that I usually have one of the first to play a song that you want to play.

01:16So I can play it on a band. And you know that I've played with this band and I can play it.

01:22So I guess I like it's like sitting in the band. And this is the band that I could play.

01:27And I can play it. I know that I'm being a band. So I'm getting ready to play on and be a band.

01:29I'm getting ready for that play ball in the back. I'm getting ready to play.

01:31So what you can do, and the technique is, is every time you use your thumb, and every

01:42time you pick down, it's a counteraction.

01:46So your little finger is linked to the volume control.

01:50So down, down, up.

01:52So you see my thumb, down, up, down, up.

01:55You know?

01:56And you just find the sweet spot on every guitar is different.

01:59You find the sweet spot, so.

02:15And you just kind of practice until you find this, you know, this place where you can either

02:20do single or no.

02:34And just watch the fans come up to you and say, hey, you know that part that sounds like

02:37a cello?

02:38I really like that.

02:39That was my favorite part of the night.

02:40You're like, but I play other stuff too.

02:43But that's my volume technique.

02:46And a little pro tip on the setup, it's nice to have a delay.

02:51Nice to have a reverb on it.

02:52I know this is dry, I'm pretty honest.

02:55But if you put a little effect on it, and you can really get some cool sounds with the

03:04volume control and these kind of volume sweeps.

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