"Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

[Stevo]

After reading countless posts about tone, I get a little bit annoyed when that undesired "ice pick" tone is attributed to guitar pickups. In my experience, that unwanted, un-harmonic, edgy tone, is usually due to excessive levels of midrange, hard-clipped distortion, inherent compression, cheap pedals, and other significant factors such as speakers.. A good set of speakers can go a long way... :chairfall :6:

I may have a bias for Duncan pickups but, seriously, I don't think I have ever heard a Duncan pickup that sounded "bad". It's always a matter of personal taste and style.

Before we start bad-mouthing our pickups, maybe we should consider the other factors in the tone chain.. starting with our fingers :laugh2: :13:

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

Yup. Even the brightest tele brigde pickup can be smooth and warm, if you have the right amp\guitar\speakers and eq.

Heck, i've even heard a LP, on the neck pickup setting, sound extremely harsh.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

The Distortion I've felt has alot to do with it.

Listen to someone like Albert Collins; his tone is even called "ice-picky" and has a pronounced mid-range to it. But it's not "bad" or unpleasant to listen to.

 

[SeraphimTN]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

Odd, to me that tone is done by a scooped and massively distorted amp. Down here there is that sad sad habit of scooping the amp instantly. I let a guy borrow my H and K and he hit one chord and turned the mids down. My amp sounds like piss like that, mids doofus, mids!

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

Tone beguns with the fingers...The Albert Collins example is great......I also do agree that everything counts amps, pedals speakers cables ext....And your settings in all of them.

 

[JeffB]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

The Distortion I've felt has alot to do with it.

Listen to someone like Albert Collins; his tone is even called "ice-picky" and has a pronounced mid-range to it. But it's not "bad" or unpleasant to listen to.

He also plays with his fingers and thumb which really softens the high end...


Pickups as well as alot of other things are just as guilty of bad tone (in one's own opinion) as anything...I personally don't give a crap who makes them...DiMarzio has "ice pick" pups, so does Duncan ,and Gibson, and everyone else...yes it's just one part of the tone chain, and can be compounded by other things...especially speakers...a speaker can change a brittle icepicky amp into a much more pleasant beast..or can take a warm smooth amp into a buzzy, sterile, edgy thing......same holds true with pup swaps in guitars.

Thats MO/ME, at least

 

[FretFire]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

Yngwie is the definition of ice pick IMO.

 

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

To me, it seems people increase frequencies, treble in this case, that are already inherent in their equipment, and maybe not having developed good tone tweaking skills, don't listen to these components of gear and undesirable frequncies are increased.

For example, the Duncan Distortion has all the treble you'd need. With all the abilties at your disposal to tweak, you don't have to increase the highs (or to taste, don't even dial in mids at all), maybe only slightly for some sparkle, which by the way, I DO NOT recommend, lol! Otherwise, you will experience 'Icepick City' garaunteed.

 

[myxolidian]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

In that thread, I mentioned I had a Classic Tele Stack and it was icepick city. I had to replace it with a Lil '59. No amount of EQing on my amp took the icepick factor out unless I was willing to play with a muffled sound. It might be good for someone else, since tone is subjective, but it wasn't good for me.

I think the whole "tone in the fingers" is cliche and overused. It's part of the equation but doesn't matter as much as some would believe. Afterall, I sound different on my different guitars. I'm guessing all of you sound different on various guitars too.

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

Cheap ceramic magnet pickups in a jcpenney strat = icepick sound. Any amp, any speakers, there was still this resonant chrwang in the upper mids that even the tone(mud) control couldn't tame.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

What bothers me is that a kid who's been playing 4 months, using a plywood guitar, strung with the original strings, plugging into a Zoom practice amp has the right to go on harmony-central and write a bad review about Duncans, which lowers the rating.

Seymour didn't sit in a hot and cramped work area for decades, learning how to wind pickups for guys like Jeff Beck, just so some little jerk can go on an international forum and say the JB sounds like a bike horn, or the 59 sounds like an icepick, or Antiquities are thin sounding. Anyone who makes a statement like that isn't even at first base yet and has NO right to even offer their newbie opinion.

 

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

^^^
Wow... but, I agree a little bit.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

What bothers me is that a kid who's been playing 4 months, using a plywood guitar, strung with the original strings, plugging into a Zoom practice amp has the right to go on harmony-central and write a bad review about Duncans, which lowers the rating.

Seymour didn't sit in a hot and cramped work area for decades, learning how to wind pickups for guys like Jeff Beck, just so some little jerk can go on an international forum and say the JB sounds like a bike horn, or the 59 sounds like an icepick, or Antiquities are thin sounding. Anyone who makes a statement like that isn't even at first base yet and has NO right to even offer their newbie opinion.

Just as a sidebar, I don't even begin to give credence to a HC review unless the reviewer states how long they're playing and "sounds" like they know wht they're talking about. The internet is great for some things, bad for others but newbies are everywhere whether it be with cars, guitars, quantum physics etc... Uneducated opinions will unfortunately outnumber the educated. At least I admit I'm a dumbass, LOL.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

I'm with Stevo, completely cranked mids or treble can give you that icepick (a little extra mids is a good thing to cut through the mix, crank it too much and you'll hear what we're talking about). Digital fx may sometimes cause the signal to be bright, metallic or sterile. Pickups can definitely do that as well depending on what type of guitar it's matched up with.

 

[Chaos]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

I attribute “ice pick tone” to guitarists who’ve damaged their upper frequency hearing.
They unintentionally punish the rest of us by over-compensating with their treble control.

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

Gibson Dirty Fingers= thin chunch over thin crunch= ice-picks.

 

[Marcel]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

You can add much warmth to a note with your finger and make your playing sound round even through the crappiest setup...
I wish I would be a better player

 

[big_black]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

After reading countless posts about tone, I get a little bit annoyed when that undesired "ice pick" tone is attributed to guitar pickups. In my experience, that unwanted, un-harmonic, edgy tone, is usually due to excessive levels of midrange, hard-clipped distortion, inherent compression, cheap pedals, and other significant factors such as speakers

Strange...when I find a pickup too bright, it's usually when amp is set to clean. An open D chord is usually all I need to tell.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

I find even bright pickups like the EMG 81 can sound perfectly round and smooth depending on whatever amp and settings you're playing through. And I agree that it's stupid to say an icepick tone is caused solely by the pickups.

Mixolydian - I concur that the "tone is in the fingers" thing is overused. Most people say it plays a huge part, but I think it's only minor... your fingers can help you shape a note to be rounder, but that's not the only thing that causes that tone.

 

[Stevo]

Re: "Icepick in the Forehead Tone" - Where does is really come from??

This post was not in reference to any particular (other) post on the Duncan forum - thus the term "countless posts" :13:

Also, I did not imply that all of the tone is in your fingers - thus the term "tone chain" :laugh2: