Will Tonedexter help to reduce pick click?

[JimAltendahl]

I have a Taylor 914ce with a ES2 pickup system. When I fingerpick the guitar through a PA system, my fingernails create a very pronounced clicking noise. The noise is more pronounced on the G and D strings and sound like a very quick pick scraping noise. I'm wondering if the Tonedexter would help to reduce this fingernail noise.

[Vancebo]

I noticed when the ES2 first came out there were some that had a very pronounced high register. Lots of annoying squeaks to be sure. The ES2 has seemed to go through some changes lately and any recent ES2 doesn’t seem to have this problem. My guess is they secretly fixed a problem that they have not acknowledged. If that seems to be the situation with yours, you may want to call customer service and see if they have a fix for you.

Another fix for you is to reduced the adjust hex screw on the middle transducer. Just try a 1/4 turn at a time and see if that fixes the problem on your G and D strings.

[gfirob]

I play a Martin OM with K&K's through a Tonedexter with metal fingerpicks and a plastic thumb-pick and I have never been aware of any pick noise. A lot of good acoustic guitar sound, though...

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by JimAltendahl

I have a Taylor 914ce with a ES2 pickup system. When I fingerpick the guitar through a PA system, my fingernails create a very pronounced clicking noise. The noise is more pronounced on the G and D strings and sound like a very quick pick scraping noise. I'm wondering if the Tonedexter would help to reduce this fingernail noise.

Dunno about the ToneDexter, but your problem seems to be one of playing technique. Before throwing money at a chunk of electronics which might, or might not, fix the problem, I’d recommend finding a hand-position that doesn’t create that scraping noise, then practice until it feels natural and comfortable. That’s what I did when I noticed the problem - especially when using metal fingerpicks - just a very slight (a few degrees) rotation of my right hand clockwise did it. Getting it to feel natural took an hour or two of playing.

You could buy your SO a couple of nice dinners with the money you save!

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[JimAltendahl]

FWIW: I have spent a fair amount of time trying to identify the root cause of the fingernail clicking. It is definitely the noise of my fingernail sliding ever so slightly across the windings of the string as I pluck. I can hear a little of the same noise when the guitar is unplugged, but the plugged in sound really makes it much more pronounced. I played around with reshaping my nails, polishing my nails, changing the guitar position and changing my hand position. All these changes had some effect, but not enough to reduce the plugged in clicking noise. I finally tried the Tonedexter and it really helped to reduce the fingernail click. There is still some of the clicking sound, but no where near as pronounced as it was.

[lkingston]

Have you tried coated strings? I use the thicker coated Elixer Polywebs because I like the degree to which they minimize fret squeak and extraneous finger noises.

Also, my Schertler AG6/S-mic is a mag/mic style pickup. I dial just a little of the mic in live, and it gives me just a little air and squeak/finger noises.

I also play fingerstyle with no extra growth on my nails. I like the sound this way. Apparently, so do some top fingerstyle players like Tommy Emmanuel and Laurence Juber.

[sublro]

For what it’s worth, I have experienced the same on some ES2 equipped Taylor’s i’ve tried and it's kept me from buying them. It is something that is present with ES2 at least some of the time. The one that I owned briefly had it and adjusting the pickup screws didn’t make it go away and I couldn’t EQ it out totally.

It is not a playing technique issue...

[teletaylor]

I dunno about problems with the ES2, besides not liking the sound.

Shoreline has a demo of the tonedexter for 249. I picked one up a bit ago, and picked up a Slate ML2 for 150 and really enjoy the sound I’m getting from a variety of pickups, from Baggs Element, K&K, and Fishman USTs.

Good luck with it!

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by JimAltendahl

I have a Taylor 914ce with a ES2 pickup system. When I fingerpick the guitar through a PA system, my fingernails create a very pronounced clicking noise. The noise is more pronounced on the G and D strings and sound like a very quick pick scraping noise. I'm wondering if the Tonedexter would help to reduce this fingernail noise.

I'll add my two cents: I've found some Taylors (Martins and other guitar brands) to have what I term "that string-ping/sitar-thing" going on. I attribute it mostly to either the compensated bridge or the nut or a combination of the two. If this annoyance is present, it's always on either the D or G strings and sometimes both. Listen to see if your guitar has this happening as I find it can also exacerbate the scraping sound of a pick or nail across those string(s). The way to lessen or eliminate "string-ping/sitar-thing" is to make sure your nut slots are properly cut and you may have to reshape the top and back of the bridge where the D and G strings go across it and down the back slope. I think it has something to do with the lessened pressure at the front edge of the bridge for these strings because of the bridge's sharper, more forward edge and the more gentle down-slope of the back of the bridge.

Another remedy may be to try another brand of strings whether coated or uncoated.