Choke-out is that ‘dying’ of a note. A note that failed to ring out, or one that dies off as you bend is said to have choked.
It can happen on a badly adjusted or setup guitar (or bass) and it can indicate fret problems. For the purpose of this discussion, however, let’s assume that your frets are all nice and level.
Your guitar will generally have it’s bridge saddles set so their height follows a similar radius. This gives you an even and consistent action across the strings.
Strumming, Shredding And Bending: Tensile Testing For Guitar Strings
Unfortunately, though, guitars are far from perfect. The more you bend a string the more the travels ‘around’ this radius, and the more likely it is to hit off a fret further along the board.
Back when Leo began making guitars, there weren’t a lot of shredders looking for two-tone bends. A 7¼” inch radius seemed perfectly reasonable (it’s a comfortable radius to chord on).
When players cottoned on to the fact that they could look impressive by pulling guitar solo faces and bending notes, they began to hassle Fender about choking notes.
String Bending Basics
Gibson, of course, used a 12” radius all along. Well, when they were actually paying attention, the radius probably came out around 12” but that’s a different story.
Now, depending on how big a bend you want, you’re going to have to consider radius. The smaller the radius, the more choke-happy the guitar and the more you’re going to have to compromise to get the bends.
So, you can raise the action by the same amount across all six strings. However, remember that the usual culprits for this bending issue are (in order) the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string.
How To Bend On Guitar From Scratch
What can often be a reasonable route is to raise the first string until you can get the bend you want*. Then graduate the action to the — unaltered — sixth string. This is essentially ‘flattening’ the radius of the saddles/strings slightly. Try it.
*Don’t forget to be realistic about how much of a bend is actually possible. Don’t expect two-tone monsters on a vintage Tele. If you want big bends, higher action is better and a flatter/bigger radius is better. This applies to your Gibsons too — they’re better for bending but you need to be realistic as to what can be achieved.
Let’s consider frets again. If your guitar is due some fretwork, chat with your repairer. It can be possible to do a number of things.
D'addario Ez890 85/15 Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings, Super Light, 09 45 Gauge
During a refret, it may be possible to change the radius of the fingerboard, flattening it to a bigger radius. This may add some cost to the job — especially if it involves refinishing or replacing inlays — but it’s an option if you love your axe and want bigger bends.
A compound radius is one that flattens out as you move up the neck. You might have a 7¼” or a 9½” at the first fret that will moved to a 16” at the last fret. As you get higher up the neck (where most of your bending takes place), the radius becomes more bend-friendly. Again, you'll want to be refretting for this one.
A Dan Erlewine trick is to ‘compound’ just the portion under the first couple of strings. Usually this can be done to the frets alone (without altering the fingerboard). This can be a nice way to get a bit more bendability into a guitar that you don’t want to permanently modify.
Creative Guitar Studio: Reverse String Bending
Choking (on bent and unbent notes) can indicate a problem with neck relief. You might want to give your truss rod a tweak. Straightening your neck can help reduce choking, especially on bending.
As with so many things related to guitar setup and playability, remember to keep the word ‘compromise’ in mind as you consider your route.
If you’d like a little help with setting up your guitar or bass, you might like to check out my Sketchy Setups guides.
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