beaubrummels
Well-known member
I use pre-1952 U.K. sixpences on my Brian May guitar. Took getting used to. Lighter grip and oblique angle across the strings was key.
The Pick Thread
- Thread starter Inflames626
- Start date
I use pre-1952 U.K. sixpences on my Brian May guitar. Took getting used to. Lighter grip and oblique angle across the strings was key.
Inflames626
New member
A big reason I choose metal on wound strings is I dig those pew pew pick slides panned hard left and right and layered over each other for a laser gun effect. Too much Slayer influence.
Inflames626
New member
Thanks for the recommendation, especially from a cynic.
2 mm seems super thick. Not sure I'd dig a jazz size either. But maybe going thicker might be worth a try.
You can get them in a shape like the giant triangles that you mentioned in your OP: https://www.ernieball.com/guitar-accessories/guitar-picks/prodigy-picks#P09338
I just happen to have been a long-time Jazz III user before I made the switch about four or five years ago. I used to switch pick models seemingly every week; ever since finding the Prodigy, I haven't wanted to try anything else. They're *perfect*, and everyone I know who has tried them has also fallen in love. A bit expensive, but worth it.
I just happen to have been a long-time Jazz III user before I made the switch about four or five years ago. I used to switch pick models seemingly every week; ever since finding the Prodigy, I haven't wanted to try anything else. They're *perfect*, and everyone I know who has tried them has also fallen in love. A bit expensive, but worth it.
Inflames626
New member
I didn't know EB made picks. Many thanks. I usually lose picks before wearing them out.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
For me, personally, picks are kinda like strings. The thinner, the better-sounding. But the more unplayable for aggressive playing, so I find a happy medium for myself.
JME.
JME.
80's_Thrash_Metal
Slightly_Glazed_Believer
I bounce back and forth between these.
.88s for bright or std tuned.
Jazz 3 carbon for everything drop tuned.
.88s for bright or std tuned.
Jazz 3 carbon for everything drop tuned.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I honestly don't know what I do wrong that for me, the hardest-wearing Jazz III's last the least, the and the Nylons, which are supposedly the softest, last the most.
For me, the Eric Johson Jazz III's just keep going and going and going. Sadly, they're not my favorite tone-wise, and I'm not really in love with using sig gear from artists I don't really like (other than maybe Les Paul, LOL). But it's mostly that they don't sound like I like them to.
For me, the Eric Johson Jazz III's just keep going and going and going. Sadly, they're not my favorite tone-wise, and I'm not really in love with using sig gear from artists I don't really like (other than maybe Les Paul, LOL). But it's mostly that they don't sound like I like them to.
Inflames626
New member
It's hard to figure out where the fingers should be as a fulcrum. Noticed based on the grip texture how much more tip there is on the .88 than the Jazz.
A lot of people will say less tip = more control but if there is no flex and give I feel like I have less control. A small thick pick to me feels about as graceful as playing with a nickel. I'm still looking for the paintbrush analogy but with tone like a nickel.
Holding further back I feel gives me more control because it feels more brushlike, but that's kind of illogical since the more tip you leave exposed the more resistance there is against the string.
I feel there's also a sweet spot for grip pressure, but you usually only find it after warming up tremolo picking. Going in cold I'm usually playing too tightly and trying to make each attack as perfectly clear as possible even at high speeds. It takes a lot more force per stroke.
Delay and volume help a lot I'm sure, as through a loud amp just touching the string with the pick is going to make a sound, whereas playing unplugged is going to force you to be a lot cleaner in some ways because you can hear every imperfection. On the other hand, playing through a loud amp forces you to mute surrounding strings and correct for unnecessary noise.
A lot of people will say less tip = more control but if there is no flex and give I feel like I have less control. A small thick pick to me feels about as graceful as playing with a nickel. I'm still looking for the paintbrush analogy but with tone like a nickel.
Holding further back I feel gives me more control because it feels more brushlike, but that's kind of illogical since the more tip you leave exposed the more resistance there is against the string.
I feel there's also a sweet spot for grip pressure, but you usually only find it after warming up tremolo picking. Going in cold I'm usually playing too tightly and trying to make each attack as perfectly clear as possible even at high speeds. It takes a lot more force per stroke.
Delay and volume help a lot I'm sure, as through a loud amp just touching the string with the pick is going to make a sound, whereas playing unplugged is going to force you to be a lot cleaner in some ways because you can hear every imperfection. On the other hand, playing through a loud amp forces you to mute surrounding strings and correct for unnecessary noise.
Leon Of Late
New member
I just bought some of these new Fender Offset Picks with the thumb indent on the back. Thought they were worth a shot. Otherwise I use Gibson Heavy picks for electric and some Taylor varieties wit my Acoustic.
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zz0.9ydidd22qxdzz zz0.5e84215yfsxzzLeon Of Late
New member
Inflames626
New member
Edit: holding further back seems to give the pick room to flex and bend under the string, allowing it to pass through. Holding it at the tip seems unyielding and seems to increase string on pick resistance.
I think it's also fair to say that those of us who do a lot of tremolo picking are facing a different set of compromises than people who use it rarely or never. I actually really like playing with thicker and/or pointier picks for everything else I do, but if I can't use something accurately for trem picking there's no point in using it at all. No matter how many times I try to adapt to something different for weeks or months, whenever I go back to the orange Tortex standard, it falls into place more easily. When I'm recording I can grab a thicker pick if a particular riff calls for it, but live/rehearsal it's all orange all the time.
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
The pick doesn't need to flex at all. Hold it at the tip and then angle the pick. You never want to be picking flat to the string. By changing the amount of angle you change the ease that the pick slides over the string. Then you get perfect control without slop.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
For me, pick choice is more about tone than playability.
To an extent, I mean. I gotta be able to play the damn thing too, LOL.
That being said, I know I can force myself to adapt. I don't like fat necks, for example, but I know I can learn to get around them. I'd rather not relearn picking like I had to when I switched to Jazz III's, though, LOL.
I use Dunlop Sharp 1.5mm. They don't have any flex.
The size down, the Sharp 1.3mm(?) doesn't have any flex either, but it has a sharper/thinner picked sound, so I stick with the 1.5mm.
Go any lower than that, and they play differently.
I cant use picks with a rounded side anymore because it really limits the angle that your pick crosses the string. If you are not roughly perpendicular to the string, round side picks will "slide" over the string and have a weak attack and just not feel precise.
Because the way my wrist rotates to cover all the strings, the crossing angle of the higher strings is less than the crossing angle of the low strings. The sharp handles it all.
Inflames626
New member
I'm definitely not a wrist picker past a certain speed. The reason is when I start fatiguing it is in the upper forearm going toward the outer elbow. That said, I don't pick super hard with a lot of wasted motion either. I just pick very hard for the small amount of motion I do to get a clean sound. I get behind the beat or I lock up when pushed past my limits. I hope to get to where I can play at a medium fast tempo for as long as I want, and at top end for short bursts. Unfortunately the forearm burning sets in pretty quick depending upon bpm.
Actually you will get a better sound if you pick with the pick flat on the string. The sound is more solid. But most players I suspect that are trying to develop some speed do hold the pick at somewhat of an angle to the string.
