#1
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I Hold My Pick Weird, But I'm Not Alone!
I have unconsciously developed a weird habit of holding my Dunlop USA Nylon pick so that the "pointy" end points to my wrist, and the rounded, textured upper-left corner of the pick strikes the strings. No matter how often I start out in the traditional orientation, within seconds, I'll rotate the pick to this position.
So Imagine my surprise when I was shopping for picks and I found one that not only mentions this, but seems to encourage it -- the German-made Herdim nylon pick, used by U2's Dave Evans, AKA "The Edge": "Made in Germany since 1960, the Herdim Standard Nylon guitar pick has a raised dimple pattern for a sure grip. To sound like the Edge of U2, turn the Herdim pick upside down and play the strings with the wide end of the pick, letting the dimples contact the strings." I'm not a big U2 fan, but it was nice to see that I'm not the only player who does this with his pick. Do any of you hold your pick like the Edge and I do? |
#2
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It's not that unusual. I do sometimes depending on the tone I want.
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#3
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Absolutely. Lots of tone subtleties available beyond the straight up and down strum with the pointy end. Especially with beveled picks and an attack that rotates the wrist and pick angle relative to the strings.
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#4
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I use the "wrong end" for Freddie Green/woodchoppin' rhythm. Seems like you hear more "chords" and less "notes" that way. But I do it with picks that are the same all over, not ones that have grippy, textury stuff on them.
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#5
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This is one of the reasons I use Clayton Acetyl large triangle picks - no matter how they rotate in my fingers all 3 corners are identical. Works great for me.
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Justin ________________ Gibson J-15 Alvarez MD60BG Yamaha LL16RD Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Player Stratocaster |
#6
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Yep, that's how I hold my pick. SRV did the same. That's who I got it from.
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#7
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I definitely use all three corners of the standard shape pick, sometimes shifting from the point to one of the rounded corners in the middle of a song, then shifting back to the point. You can get a lot of different sounds that way.
As a general rule I use the point for rhythm parts and a rounded corner for melody lines, but it just depends on the musical needs of the moment. On mandolin I use a corner for probably 95% of my playing (it’s less clacky on mandolin than using the point,) but on standard guitar and mountain dulcimer I use the point some 85% of the time. On baritone guitar it’s about 50% point, 50% corner. Whatever it takes.... Wade Hampton Miller |
#8
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What if I told you.....
they make picks with all three points the same? they also make picks where each point is intentionally different, and you're supposed to use the different points as you wish? |
#9
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A chap I know holds his pick between his thumb and two middle fingers; probably the most awkward and least instinctive thing I could imagine. He says he was never shown any other way.
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Faith Mars FRMG Faith Neptune FKN Epiphone Masterbilt Texan |
#10
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Red Bear actually makes a great triangular pick with one pointy corner, one slightly rounded corner, and one VERY rounded corner, all of them equally playable given the shape of the pick. I tend to use the slightly rounded corner for most stuff, but if I have a capo on above the second fret or so and I'm strumming, I'll often go to the more rounded corner as it gets rid of some of the tinniness you get when you capo up the neck. Sometimes just going with a thinner pick has the same effect. I don't really prefer the triangular shape as much as the teardrop, but I love the versatility of that pick.
unnamed by Ray, on Flickr -Ray |
#11
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I switched to a Fender rounded triangular pick because I found I was using the rounded end of the type of pick you're talking about.
__________________
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. —John Lennon |
#12
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Always have played with the rounded edge of a Fender 351.
Bought a Blue Chip TPR40 which gives you that same profile on 3 corners, like mentioned above. |
#13
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I also mostly use a rounded end of the pick, as well as angling the pick sideways so that I am striking the string edge on. I find myself rotating the pick as needed to get exactly the tone I wish.
I discovered this during my first decade as a player, when I was playing mostly electric. I found I could get as many tonal changes by changing pick grip and angle as I could by changing pickup combinations. Then when I moved to acoustic, I had a technique that worked great without pickup electronics.
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-Gordon 1978 Larrivee L-26 cutaway 1988 Larrivee L-28 cutaway 2006 Larrivee L03-R 2009 Larrivee LV03-R 2016 Irvin SJ cutaway 2020 Irvin SJ cutaway (build thread) K+K, Dazzo, Schatten/ToneDexter Notable Journey website Facebook page Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. - Leonardo Da Vinci |
#14
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Pat Metheny has played that way for years, with the rounded end of a regular pick.
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#15
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i have dunlop ultex trianagular and i filled down one corner to round shape.
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Tomas Furch Blue OM CM |