This one is switching between the DSX and USX versions? Which grip is this, is this what you’re calling trigger or is this what you’re calling extended? And if it’s trigger, does that mean this is the form you find less comfortable?
Yes, the first trem instance is USX, the second is DSX, and the third is doing my best attempt to flip-flop back and forth without stopping the line.
This is trigger, and yes, this is the form that I find uncomfortable (to the point of pain if I push it for too long). Which is odd, because everything else about hand placement and motions are identical as far as I can tell. If I could make this feel good (and able to comfortably track big string skips/rolls like that six-string skipping roll from above) I’d never use anything else!
Lots of people don’t like trigger grip — or perhaps, there is a way to do trigger grip that some people find uncomfortable, so that’s fine. I don’t see why the grip matters if it’s not affecting some other aspect that you identify. Is the earlier trem video above the extended grip? And you’re saying that’s less desirable because you sometimes can’t make the motion work at all?
If extended grip is more comfortable I’d just use that. Can you do synchronized fast lines with that, like simple repeating single string stuff?
Yes and yes. The earlier trem video is actually from experimenting with the middle finger brace, which definitely helps with making a more extended grip comfortable. I do have a very heavy pick attack – I don’t think there’s any “pick flop” in my grip at all, and so while trigger works well for a firmer grip without flop, it’s possible I’m just gripping it too hard.
I think one thing I’ve been neglecting is actually putting any time in on the repeating single-string stuff. I can do it but I don’t often. I’ll try to make sure I do it more.
Lots of ideas for things to play with that aren’t the obvious ones, thank you! I’d already messed around with three-finger grip and heavy supination and the other go-to “experiment with this” things, but I hadn’t thought of putting more time in on single-string licks or trying to use less pressure on the index finger with trigger.
We tell people to experiment when the thing they’re doing isn’t working. But this is working, so I wouldn’t immediately tell you to stop this and do something else.
The next step once you have tremolo speed is to try to get the hands together, so that’s what I’d do next. I still do the hand sync stuff on the fast side because I don’t think you can really know what “synced” feels and sounds like unless it’s moving pretty decently. It’s ok to slow down a little, just not to super low speeds.
As far as different techniques for different kinds of lines, that’s less clear. Above a certain speed everything is a simple joint motion and single escape or trapped motion. And this includes the masters who can alternate pick anything. So on the surface the fact that the arpeggio thing and tremolo thing seem different, maybe we wait and see on that. Maybe they just converge as the speeds get higher.
Good stuff keep us posted.
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Thanks for all your time, I’m really grateful. 
No problem! Of course.
You bet. I actually got the old “Excuse me sir, is that a Defeated Sanity shirt?” today walking down the street 
I got to see them twice in a week this spring. The three best death metal shows I’ve ever seen were those guys.
Actually, the twice-in-a-week story is pretty funny: I saw them in my home town, went to Chicago for a big conference, and at a bar a 60-something guy sits down next to me and we get chatting. Turns out he drove several hours to see them… right around the corner from the convention center. So I went again 
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Never in a million years would I have expected to see Defeated Sanity on here, thanks for reminding me to listen to Chapters of Repugnance all of today
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It’s an incredible album! DS is really the only slam DM band that I can sit down and listen to. They’re so good.
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I think I figured it out! Current hypothesis: the form I had been using didn’t have enough extension baked in to allow for downstrokes to escape consistently, so I was having discomfort when trying to play mixed-escape lines: I either had to use some forearm rotation to escape or make the DSX path very unnatural such that I was doing something like a 901 instead of a 902.
Planting the pisiform bone on the corner of the bridge (right before the low E string breaks) and the thenar eminence on the body of the guitar (using a Hipshot bridge or a floyd) seems to help with this.
My synchronization is still trash, but hopefully I can figure that out soon enough 
Clips to come.
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Sounds a little Oparinesque, no?
Oparin seems to have a lot of forearm involvement going on, and changing my form to this allows me to get pretty solid upstroke and downstroke escapes from the same anchor with what seems to me to be no forearm whatsoever. So I’m not sure! I do suspect, however, that having enough wrist extension is important for more than just keeping the unused fingers out of the way.
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I see. I guess I meant that setup right where the E string meets the saddle. That seems like just the point where he indicates to put that part of the palm.
I should know better by now. Setup !== motion/trajectory
But I do think a lot of this stuff sort of works together and encourages other aspects of our playing. Sort of an organic process.
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A month later and zero progress. Hell, maybe negative progress. Sync is still crap and rolls are forearm-y and inconsistent. I should pick up piano.