Picks for Lead/Rhythm Tones

[Jeebo]

Before I forget to ask, am I the only one here who hits part of his index finger on the low strings when doing heavy downstrokes? Originally it was annoying and tore all hell out of my fingernail but now I've found a little more chunk when I do it right, and the lows seem a little more consistent and there's never any of that 'plucky' sound that I notice in some players when they're not fully together (Steve Howe of Yes probably has that sound most consistently, sounding halfway between a guitar and a chicken having its intestines pulled out from behind and on key) and that drives me completely nuts. The only mention I've seen of this was in a GW column with the ever-popular Shadows Fall, and their old digital-distortion-through-Mode-Four tone was pretty icky so I didn't pay attention to what they had to say about anything tone-related.

Jeff

Nah, I never do that and it seems quite unnatural as it sounds like you'd really have to choke far up on the pick, but to each his own. Kinda sounds like an alternate way of dampening/muting the strings or it could be used as a different approach towards pinch harmonics

 

[JBroll]

I don't have to - Jazz III picks are pretty little so I have the pick choked where I'd need it for solos and faster picking, and when I need chugs I just dig a little deeper in and rather than having more pick I end up hitting the finger on downstrokes. I've tried working pinch harmonics out with my index finger on upstrokes but haven't gotten too far with it yet, will post when I've figured it out a little better.

Jeff

 

[guitarguru777]

I beat the shit out of my strings with the .88 green Tortex picks and ive NEVER bent one. Its a really heavy pick by most standards.

As far as the THIN picks go and why they have a better attack "as in brightness not tightness" its the thinner plastic. it ticks as it comes off the string resulting in more of a "pluck" ala chicken picking then with heavier picks that just rub against the string till it frees itself of the friction.

I was a huge petruucci head for years and used the jazzIII for a while. It was just not my thing, It sounded dull in comparison to the tortex. i get a really defined pick attack when i play with the tortex.

As for steves playing vs jeffs its got very little to do with the pick. Its more so the technique. Jeff is a picker no way around it. Steve is more fluid and legato, less robotic if you will. and again for the record i like steve's playing more than jeffs. Its more losse and reckless like metal should be

DaFuknGuru

 

[ginamarina]

As for steves playing vs jeffs its got very little to do with the pick. Its more so the technique. Jeff is a picker no way around it.
DaFuknGuru

Does this somehow make Steve a "grinner"???

 

[ginamarina]

....digging out pick box....

When E is here he uses those tiny Jazz II Dunlop picks. And one of my Loomis pointy picks that he has nearly worn the name off of.... I believe he uses the Jazz 2's exclusively to record. I use whatever is nearby - of course I used to think I could could convert my little acoustic to a violin using an old windshield wiper when I was a kid......

I keep my Steve pick protected because he was too stingy to give me more than one I have 3 Jeff pointy picks left that are new... except the one I use to pick stuff out of my teeth now and then

g

 

[messiah of metal]

Before I forget to ask, am I the only one here who hits part of his index finger on the low strings when doing heavy downstrokes? Originally it was annoying and tore all hell out of my fingernail but now I've found a little more chunk when I do it right, and the lows seem a little more consistent and there's never any of that 'plucky' sound that I notice in some players when they're not fully together (Steve Howe of Yes probably has that sound most consistently, sounding halfway between a guitar and a chicken having its intestines pulled out from behind and on key) and that drives me completely nuts. The only mention I've seen of this was in a GW column with the ever-popular Shadows Fall, and their old digital-distortion-through-Mode-Four tone was pretty icky so I didn't pay attention to what they had to say about anything tone-related.

Jeff

I been doing it for years the nail used to get a bit funky but now it's bevelled and toughened up. I used to be worried about it but read in an interview (around the black album) the same thing happens to Mr Hetfield so if it's good enough for him. I 'feel' I get more grind and chunk then if I dont clip the strings.

 

[JBroll]

I beat the shit out of my strings with the .88 green Tortex picks and ive NEVER bent one. Its a really heavy pick by most standards.

If I can bend it to the curvature of my nails between two fingers and my thumb, I don't consider it heavy. That's just me, though. I get too much flex and the really round tips drive me nuts - one thing I can't live without on those Jazz IIIs is the sharp tip, I'm so used to picking with one that if I try to play with a 'normal' pick the way I do with a Jazz III the angle of the pick (which for Jazz IIIs impacts dynamics greatly) just makes more and more squeak and scratch and it sounds like junk. Any way around the pick noise, or did you just live with it when you switched from Jazz IIIs?

As far as the THIN picks go and why they have a better attack "as in brightness not tightness" its the thinner plastic. it ticks as it comes off the string resulting in more of a "pluck" ala chicken picking then with heavier picks that just rub against the string till it frees itself of the friction.

Okay, I see what you're saying now. I hate 'pluck' though, I just whack the hell out of it and get 'thunk'.

As for steves playing vs jeffs its got very little to do with the pick. Its more so the technique. Jeff is a picker no way around it. Steve is more fluid and legato, less robotic if you will. and again for the record i like steve's playing more than jeffs. Its more losse and reckless like metal should be

I just notice that a lot of people talk about the lead tone and I believe that you said that they kept the highs 'crisp', and I personally play more in the full-automatic alternate-pick-the-fuck-out-of-everything vein, so I'm just trying to figure out what works with what and how Steve makes his stuff work. I find that sharp tips on any thing give more 'snap' and the kind of attack and brightness I need (or at least ame used too), and looking at the gear of some other guys who I end up listening to a lot, Loomis has incredible picking technique and tone and uses sharper picks, and as for Jazz III users John Petrucci is fucking god as far as picking (and in my opinion, lead tone) and Alexi Laiho's tone has a very clean pick attack (at least on the records). That's pretty much why I'm sticking with Jazz IIIs until I'm a little more used to 'normal' picks again and can make a more fair judgement.


I did try recording some stuff with Jazz IIIs in one channel and Tortex 1.14s in the other, and I'm going nuts keeping myself from pulling out the file and sharpening the bloody roundness to hell so it hits the way I want it to. Any advantages to a round tip that I'm not aware of, or do they drive everyone else nuts too?

Jeff