Guitar technique is athletics of the hands. And in sports medicine we know that whatever causes you to train at higher speeds makes you faster. The fact is, these truisms impact guitar performance.
There are two broad philosophies of use. Both tell you how the RunBarr works:
Balance Mode
In this mode you generally adjust the RunBarr fairly close to the underside of the strings, with your pick touching the “floor” the RunBarr creates for you. Whether you are performing an upstroke or downstroke, the pick will ride up and over the string, striking that string consistently every time, no matter what your level of proficiency is. You will feel a uniform, repeatable string resistance as you pick.
We have discovered that for some players, RunBarrs eliminate the need to rest your palm against the bridge or strings to gain picking stability. Instead, stability is generated at the point of attack itself. This gives you that “freehand” feel only it’s stabilized. So touching your pick on the RunBarr allows you to really rip it at high speeds. This mode of use has also been called the “Shooting fish in a barrel” mode, a reference to the feeling that you “can’t miss”. Well, basically, you can’t.
Reference Depth Controller Mode
Using the RunBarr as a reference depth controller you can quickly hone a craft that can take years to develop, namely picking at a reasonable, consistent depth. While it is true, sometimes you want to “dig in” for emphasis on certain passages in single note soloing, by and large you want to be able to control when that happens. (it’s easy, just move off the RunBarr and dig in). The key to using the RunBarr in this mode is to set the RunBarr’s “floor” and practice a picking motion that avoids touching the RunBarr with your pick. This will help you channel your picking attack into a planar motion across the strings rather than wasting motion between, above, and below the strings.
You may move on-and-off the RunBarr surface as you practice, to allow your new skills to transfer to playing conditions without the RunBarr.