Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
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threechordcharlie
Guest
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
copper
copper
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
Dunlop 2mm Stubbies
Dunlop 2mm Stubbies
Yngwiestein
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
+1 for thick picks but picks don't have much effect on tone as u think.
+1 for thick picks but picks don't have much effect on tone as u think.
MikeS
Bengalsologist
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
For a warm tone try felt. It's as warm as you'll get without using your fingers. It does take a bit of getting used to (the material that is) and it does make a mess after a while, but if it delivers the warmth you are looking for then I guess it's worth it.
For a warm tone try felt. It's as warm as you'll get without using your fingers. It does take a bit of getting used to (the material that is) and it does make a mess after a while, but if it delivers the warmth you are looking for then I guess it's worth it.
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
Are you kidding? They have a HUGE effect on tone. Even more than any pickup.
Are you kidding? They have a HUGE effect on tone. Even more than any pickup.
JB_From_Hell
Jomo's Nimions
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
Agreed. You can more or less "fix" a pickup with eq and whatnot, but the pick sounds exactly like it's constructed.
Agreed. You can more or less "fix" a pickup with eq and whatnot, but the pick sounds exactly like it's constructed.
gilles27
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
wooden picks sound great to me. i like a really dark warm sound and i play almost exclusively dugain ebony picks. i've tried mother of pearl, zinc, brass, jasper, ply, rosewood, horn, nickel, coconut shell and copper and found that wood is the way to go for warm sounds. pearl was really good for definition when playing fast stuff. i've heard ivory (mammoth or tusq) is good for fast stuff too.
wooden picks sound great to me. i like a really dark warm sound and i play almost exclusively dugain ebony picks. i've tried mother of pearl, zinc, brass, jasper, ply, rosewood, horn, nickel, coconut shell and copper and found that wood is the way to go for warm sounds. pearl was really good for definition when playing fast stuff. i've heard ivory (mammoth or tusq) is good for fast stuff too.
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
But you can change the pick, which is a lot easier than changing pu's. No soldering skills needed, just an opposable thumb.
But you can change the pick, which is a lot easier than changing pu's. No soldering skills needed, just an opposable thumb.
FBloke
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
Gilles, how quickly do you find the ebony Dugain's wear down to the point where they're unplayable?
Gilles, how quickly do you find the ebony Dugain's wear down to the point where they're unplayable?
JB_From_Hell
Jomo's Nimions
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
Egg-zachary. One of the first articles I ever read in a guitar magazine was John Christ (Danzig's guitarist) talking about sitting down with about 30 different picks and noting the differences in each. I tried it, figured out he was right, and therefore have had that attitude since almost day 1.
Also as a result, to this day, I can't go into a music store without buying at least 5-6 picks, knowing that I'll never use the majority of them more than a few times.
Egg-zachary. One of the first articles I ever read in a guitar magazine was John Christ (Danzig's guitarist) talking about sitting down with about 30 different picks and noting the differences in each. I tried it, figured out he was right, and therefore have had that attitude since almost day 1.
Also as a result, to this day, I can't go into a music store without buying at least 5-6 picks, knowing that I'll never use the majority of them more than a few times.
Lazarus1140
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
I like to soften the attack a bit by using one of the rounded corners intead of the pointed one on any pick!
I like to soften the attack a bit by using one of the rounded corners intead of the pointed one on any pick!
J Moose
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
WHAT?!?!?
Pics have a DRAMATIC impact on tone!
They're essentially 25 cent equalizers... especially with acoustic instruments!
My favorite picks for feel and tone are the dunlop tortex... the blue 1.0 is my main squeeze... also use the green & purple at times... The tone is rounder then a regular old fedner or gibson heavy. Those are a little crisper, more smack.
I also slice through the strings... pick at a slight downward angle which changes the tone. Using the side of the pick is another tone... I do that sometimes. That's rounder as well... also great for pinch harmonics 'cause 'ya can get a little of that thumb meat in the mix.
There's also few pickup boxes with all sorts of picks kicking around... name a size & shape... you'll find at least two! I've got some metal & graphite picks but I don't think I have any wooden ones...
WHAT?!?!?
Pics have a DRAMATIC impact on tone!
They're essentially 25 cent equalizers... especially with acoustic instruments!
My favorite picks for feel and tone are the dunlop tortex... the blue 1.0 is my main squeeze... also use the green & purple at times... The tone is rounder then a regular old fedner or gibson heavy. Those are a little crisper, more smack.
I also slice through the strings... pick at a slight downward angle which changes the tone. Using the side of the pick is another tone... I do that sometimes. That's rounder as well... also great for pinch harmonics 'cause 'ya can get a little of that thumb meat in the mix.
There's also few pickup boxes with all sorts of picks kicking around... name a size & shape... you'll find at least two! I've got some metal & graphite picks but I don't think I have any wooden ones...
gilles27
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
FBloke, i play with coins and stuff too so 'unplayable' occurs slightly later for me than it might for others. I get a new one every 3 months or so. they are expensive so i make do until it starts to effect my accuracy. They do wear a bit faster than 1mm plastic ones i used before. probs about the same 'lifespan' as those old sand - texture steve vai ibanez ones
FBloke, i play with coins and stuff too so 'unplayable' occurs slightly later for me than it might for others. I get a new one every 3 months or so. they are expensive so i make do until it starts to effect my accuracy. They do wear a bit faster than 1mm plastic ones i used before. probs about the same 'lifespan' as those old sand - texture steve vai ibanez ones
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Boogie Bill
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
I find the Dunlop Ultex to be very warm sounding, compared to the Dunlop 1.14 Gators that I normally use.
Bill
I find the Dunlop Ultex to be very warm sounding, compared to the Dunlop 1.14 Gators that I normally use.
Bill
Yngwiestein
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
I should have elaborated a little. I'm not suggesting that litterally different "types" of picks sound the same. Obviously a wooden or metal pick is going to sound different than a delrin. I don't know what kind of picking style you have but I try to keep mine consistent.
Holding the pick close to the tip produces a much more consistent sound no matter the pick gauge. More tip exposed has a more dramatic effect on sound.
I'll bet that I can hold 3 different picks with the same grip and same picking dynamics and you would not be able to tell the difference in a clear recording.
I should have elaborated a little. I'm not suggesting that litterally different "types" of picks sound the same. Obviously a wooden or metal pick is going to sound different than a delrin. I don't know what kind of picking style you have but I try to keep mine consistent.
Holding the pick close to the tip produces a much more consistent sound no matter the pick gauge. More tip exposed has a more dramatic effect on sound.
I'll bet that I can hold 3 different picks with the same grip and same picking dynamics and you would not be able to tell the difference in a clear recording.
gnoj_LL
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
that's an interesting article. do know by any chance if this was posted somewhere in the internet?
anyway i have to agree with Zhangliqun
link: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dunlop-475R-Big-Stubby-Picks?sku=110096
i won't say it makes the tone wamer per se, instead i feel like it reduces the high frequencies thus making the tone seem warmer. it can replicate a thumb picking effect. but it takes a lil bit of adjustment though since the pick is significantly fat
that's an interesting article. do know by any chance if this was posted somewhere in the internet?
anyway i have to agree with Zhangliqun
link: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dunlop-475R-Big-Stubby-Picks?sku=110096
i won't say it makes the tone wamer per se, instead i feel like it reduces the high frequencies thus making the tone seem warmer. it can replicate a thumb picking effect. but it takes a lil bit of adjustment though since the pick is significantly fat
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Yngwiestein
New member
Re: Picks for a warm tone - your tips please
John Christ is an average player so I don't put a lot of faith in his theories :22:
John Christ is an average player so I don't put a lot of faith in his theories :22:
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