I’m trying to re-learn pinch harmonics and have been watching a lot of videos on the topic, but there’s something I don’t quite get that no one seems to address. When I do pinch harmonics, I can hit the right spot on the guitar, but it just sounds like a harmonic—without that high-pitched squeal. It has the harmonic tone, but when I see others do it, they get a much more pronounced, squealy sound. Is there something I might be doing wrong that’s preventing this? I’ve got my gain cranked up, I’m using a 7-string guitar with two humbuckers in the middle position, tuned to drop C, and both my guitar’s volume and tone knobs are maxed out for as much treble as possible. Any advice would be appreciated!
I typically use a DS1 with the distortion cranked all the way up, and the pinch harmonics come out almost effortlessly loud and squealy.
Add a bend to the note. Pinch harmonics respond really well to string bends, which helps create that squeal.
Also, make sure to polish your frets! Having smooth, shiny frets can really make the harmonics pop off the neck.
Your pinch harmonics will be much more responsive if you use the bridge pickup instead of the middle one.
You might also want to experiment with different picking locations on the string. There are various sweet spots where pinch harmonics will produce different sounds. While the exact spot can vary depending on the scale length, picking near the top of the bridge pickup generally gives a nice squeal.
Why you using the middle selection? Also, give it a bit of vibrato.
Not many videos I found discussed pickup selection, but one suggested using the middle pickup, so I started trying that.