TECHNIQUE FOCUS

nailing the Hank vibrato

Although Hank is schooled in the ways of classic guitar vibrato, most of his famous vibrato comes from a subtle waggle of the whammy bar. It’s important to note that it should be of the floating variety to ensure the arm can move up and down (either side of the fretted note) to give a smoother sound. It very much depends on the gauge of strings and the tension springs as to how subtle you need to be, but if you do find the movement a little too extreme, try your vibrato action lower down the body of the whammy bar. It’s also a common misconception that Hank only adds the vibrato at the end of phrases, but if you listen carefully there are subtle vibrato lines all over the place to varying degrees.