Using a whammy bar on a guitar

rajesh_rs · Post by **rajesh_rs** » 23 Sep 2009, 00:58

I'm an amateur, beginner guitarist who plays Carnatic ragas and Tamil/Hindi film notes on my guitar without a whammy bar. I use merely slides and taps with a veena-style tuning for Carnatic. I would like to know whether a whammy bar would be a useful addition to my guitar. Any suggestions/answers will be appreciated.

gn.sn42 · Post by **gn.sn42** » 23 Sep 2009, 01:40

I don't think so. Prasanna might be a good source for this kind of information. He has published a DVD on this subject (Ragamorphism), and you may also be able to watch his YouTube videos to see what techniques he uses.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 23 Sep 2009, 05:45

I think precise control for the various gamakas would be quite difficult with the whammy bar. Even bends arent that great (except for some cases) - slides are the best.

Arun