We were excited to welcome Cory Wong—touring guitarist for new wave funk band Vulfpeck—and his solo group to the Reverb studio to record a couple of videos about his sound and techniques. In between jams with the rest of the band, Wong sat down to teach us a bit about his playing style.
In the video above, Wong explains how he nails those quick, syncopated-sounding guitar licks by turning his right hand, essentially, from bone to cartilage. By loosening the muscles in his right hand, letting it shake totally relaxed, and keeping a light touch, he's able to get those really fast and funky chord hits.
In a second video, Wong talks about his love of Stratocasters and explains some of his pedal philosophy. Though most of his tone is a result of his playing technique, he does have a couple of stompbox staples to sharpen and color his tone.
Wong likes to run a compressor, saying that it makes everything sound just a bit more professional. The Wampler Ego and Walrus Audio Deep 6 have both earned spots on his board specifically because of their all-important blend knob. You'll also find a Walrus Audio Mayflower that he loves for its ability to beef up his signal while maintaining note clarity.
Check out the videos for yourself to hear Wong's sharp attack and see Wong's jelly-like hand in action.