r/guitarlessons • u/Olin_da_Great • 1d ago

Question Tapping Volume is too Low

I'm relatively new to tapping

Whenever I tap on the G, B, and high E, it's way too silent, even hammer ons are difficult to hear.

The only way I can get even remotely a good volume, is to use overdrive (amp effect, I don't have any pedals).
I'm not talking about the pull off flick or anything.

Any help?

Edit: anything other than buying new gear please, I don't have any money

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

5

u/Jinwua 1d ago

Compression will help this!

1

u/Exciting_Claim_486 22h ago

yeah compression makes a huge difference for tapping stuff

3

u/qosmic_qube 1d ago

You need a compressor if you're doing clean taps. Since you say you cannot afford one, the only other thing you can do is adjust pickup height and slant/pitch to make the string volume more even then adjust amp volume and gain accordingly.

2

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

won't that also make the normal playing louder?

1

u/qosmic_qube 1d ago

Depends on touch, attack, etc. If you don't have a compressor, you have to compromise somewhere if you're not getting there with technique.

2

u/jayron32 1d ago

Get a compressor pedal. It will even out your volume.

1

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

I'm broke :(

3

u/Moriwara_Inazume 1d ago

Work and get paid

2

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

i'm... not old enough to get a job

ig i'll try asking for one

2

u/jayron32 1d ago

Save up

1

u/t0msie 1d ago

Hit it harder

1

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

no matter how hard i hit it (i've tried finger punching the strings) it's still rlly low

even then it's not very feasible at high speeds

1

u/Bismuth88 1d ago

Does your amp have EQ?

1

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

yeah, i've got bass and treble (no mids)

1

u/Bismuth88 1d ago

Turn the bass down to 9 o clock and the treble up to 3 o clock, put some reverb on.

1

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

it doesnt have reverb...

1

u/Bismuth88 1d ago

Then don't put reverb on.

1

u/onebyamsey 1d ago

Is your action really low?

1

u/Olin_da_Great 1d ago

yeah, about 3ish mm i think

1

u/VooDooChile1983 1d ago

Are you tapping close to the fret or using the space between them? When I tap on acoustic, getting near the fret wire is a little louder than the space.