#1
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Pick help - soft sound
Yes.....another pick thread.
As I progress down the road of getting different sounds/tone from my playing, here is another one that has me stumped. I mostly play with a pick when strumming (unless a song has both fingerpicking and strumming...then I use my fingers for both). For some quiet, soft, mellow songs (think "Killing Me Softly"), I want the sound to match the mood of the song. Therefore, I am looking for a pick that will have very little attack sound, and a more muted (like using the side of my thumb) one. I've tried plastic, nylon, carbon, and wood from .40 to 1.15 (well over 30 and counting). None give me that soft tone I am looking for. 1) Am I crazy for trying to match the tone to the tone of a song? 2) If the answer to (1) is no, will I have to spend $50 for one? 3) If the answer to (2) is no, any suggestions? Thanks Vince BTW - I prefer playing with a pick as I have less control with my bare fingers (at least for now)
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Strummin' to a different chord |
#2
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You're gonna need to lighten up how you play too, man.
Try a D'Andrea pro plec. 1.5mm. That and a light touch will get you close. Choke up on that pick and let some skin brush too. Or you could get some felt picks. |
#3
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Quote:
Thanks for the recommendations. I will look them up.
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Strummin' to a different chord |
#4
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Get the thickest pick you can find with a rounded edge. Try a 1.92 Clayton Acetal.
You do not want the $50 pick, as it is designed to do just the opposite of your goal. |
#5
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Quote:
I have recently tried V-Picks and Gravity pics and while i love the feel and tone of them both they both have a bit too much abrasion sound on the wound strings for me. Thanks, Aaron
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Finally put some music up on the web . . . |
#6
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Give the rounded corner a try instead of the point on a few of your picks. The corner of a heavy Tortex is pretty mellow to my ears.
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"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird |
#7
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It sounds like you're in the same boat as a buddy of mine. He likes to use Wedgie Rubber guitar picks to get that softer sound that you describe. He has the whole set of hardnesses and thicknesses and chooses the one the gets the right sound for each song. One down side is that they wear out very quickly and create shavings which fall below the strings. His guitar smells like a pencil eraser after awhile...
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_56zmzfh2bg_b |
#8
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Have you tried a Dava pick yet?
I recently switched, because I have some gout and carpal tunnel. If i don't have a "death grip" on the pick i'll drop it. If it do have a "death grip" my right hand tends to go numb, and I tend to use too much pressure with my left hand when I'm chording notes. The Dava pick I'm using has a delrin point, and is ensconced in rubber. Also, because of the design of the pick if you hold it nearer the point it is stiffer. If you hold it further from the point it becomes "floppier" for strumming. And the rubber coating makes it easy to keep hold of. Compared to some others, they are pretty cheap. a pack of six retails for $7.50.
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A bunch of guitars I really enjoy. A head full of lyrics, A house full of people that “get” me. Alvarez 5013 Alvarez MD70CE Alvarez PD85S Alvarez AJ60SC Alvarez ABT610e Alvarez-Yairi GY1 Takamine P3DC Takamine GJ72CE-12-NAT Godin Multiac Steel. Journey Instruments OF660 Gibson G45 |
#9
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I was just teaching this tonight, its called P-F drilling.
I start a background vamp in 3 chords for a progression. The student has to play softer, using less notes, when I say P!~ (piannisimo- soft) and has to play louder, using more notes, when I say F! (forte', - loud). Then they return to normal regular volume. Practicing solos over a track using this P-F drill will get you coming around in no time. Its NOT the pick at all. Its just technique. In general 1.0 mm or thicker give you more volume and harder attack. Medium picks are 0.6 mm and give you a softer strumming attack. Light gauge picks, now favored by many metal guitarists, are even lighter and brush the string, which is what metal lead players want to do those drum roll lines. But at the end of the day, its technique. Try my drill. |
#10
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I use my fingers for a pick since they're already attached and don't fall off but I saw a fat leather pick at a vendor last month and don't recall who it was. I'm thinking I should just try one. It reminded me of a fat felt pick and I imagine it will fatten up at the edge. Any ideas? Sometimes my nail starts to get a bit short on my index finger and being able to use something else will help. (several hours of ukulele and guitar on multiple days will do that, not make a callous but shorten my strumming nail) Ouch.
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#11
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V picks and gravity are loud, but really clicky. Unusable as far as im concerned. Dunlop jazztones are quiet too. Oh, and the snake oil picks....im sorry, "blue chip" are pretty quiet too. |
#12
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I will have to try the Proplecs and Jazztones. For years I have been using tortex jazz 3 and filing them with bevels myself and they have a great tone and no noise, but i am finding that tortex slips around too much in my hand even with me scuffing the pick up a lot. Aaron
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Finally put some music up on the web . . . |
#13
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I really do not see why such an elaborate discussion of buying new picks abounds in this thread. No pick will give you control of your dynamics. That is in your fingers.
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#14
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True, as I mentioned in my first reply.
But pick material has a tone too. A fender thin will never sound remotely like a thumb, no matter how you play. But a pick around 1-2mm, right material, good technique...just might get you a lot closer. |
#15
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