View Poll Results: Picking with the pointy or rounded end.
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The idea that there are "secrets" and "tricks" (besides practice and study) fuels great swaths of the music eco-system. It's a feature, not a bug.
Originally Posted by princeplanet
Make that shocked! Who'd a thunk? Have we been embarrassed to admit our predilection for the pick's shoulder all this time?
Or do we like to keep it our little secret?
Last edited by citizenk74; 01-12-2021 at 05:12 PM. Reason: Capitalization
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01-12-2021 04:50 PM
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haha, "pick and let pick" indeed (first attributed to BickertRules...) Originally Posted by christianm77
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I meant to put this here instead of the other zombie thread about it...
The pick has a pointy end for a reason - it minimizes the contact line with the string and in doing so allows for the pick to be held a little rotated around its longitudinal axis (typically holding your thumb downward a little). This rotation produces a sound with more depth but it slows one down a little.
I wonder if when using the side edge the longer contact line prevents this rotation... and the result feels faster, because it is without the rotation?
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"Pat Metheny uses a thin pick but just uses the rounded edge of it with a close grip."
You probably all knew that. Charlie Lusso, plant manager for D'Andrea said it here.
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Yeah But that is for different reasons. He's mentioned this in many an interview. The thing is that the store in that little town he grew up in only carried thin picks and nothing else. So Metheny's technique of curling his pick is an attempt to give it a stiffer feel is out of necessity and not something he does cause it the best option. Originally Posted by Litterick
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He has moved on from that small town (which in fact was quite substantial) and now has his choice of the world's plectrums.
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Yes ... But then there is another interview with Metheny where he says that he'd wish he could pick with the freedom of someone like Pat Martino for example instead of his own way of picking, but unfortunately after playing like that for so long, he was stuck with it. Originally Posted by Litterick
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Rounder, mos def !
My stash consists of Dunlop JAZZ II (used them since the mod 80's) , Dunlop FLOW 1.5mm (I round out the tip a little and use a file for a slanted edge) and a custom made celluloid teardrop 1.2 mm .
The Jazz II picks I use only on my electric guitars, the other ones feel + sound great on acoustic, too. Can't make pointy ones work for me,
no pleasing sound/feel either when strumming or playing single notes ... my picks need to be stiff, not thicker than 1.5mm and have a rounded tip.
Tried the VERY rounded Mandolin-types , not working, no attack.
I use the "carpet-trick" too - IIRC I "picked" it up from Jimmy Steward the man himself when he was teaching at the Dick Grove Music Workshop in Studio City, back in the happy, hippie 70's .....
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As for this "carpet trick"? - You mean rubbing celluloid picks on carpet to reshape them, right? I'm surprised that works, I have celluloid picks and I don't think rubbing them on carpet will reshape them... Originally Posted by gitman
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it think it's done to remove the annoying molding ridges that nylon Dunlop jazz picks come with. Originally Posted by princeplanet
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Hmmm, works for me, since way back.... you have to put some pressure on the pick's edge and swipe it across FAST so it builds up some fast heat by the friction. Originally Posted by princeplanet
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In my latest episode of searching for the perfect pick
, since recently getting back to Benson picking, I've started with a fender medium, then to a fender (or Dunlop) heavy, now trying D'Andrea pro Plec (1.5 so extra heavy).
My preferred material is celluloid, I like its sound and feel. I also love the thickness of the pro plec and how it glides between strings because all its sides are beveled and rounded.
But I wish it had just a tad more pointy tip, to get a bit more treble, attack and definition. My hand will adjust with time, but I was wondering if such a pick exists. Normal 351 size, celluloid, 1.5 thickness (or close), bevelled on its sizes (that's what makes the big difference to most other extra heavy picks), but a bit pointy on the tip...?
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IIRC, the player he mentioned was not Pat Martino but Frank Gambale. I was into Gambale for awhile and read everything I could find about his technique and a few articles mentioned the quote from Metheny. Originally Posted by Lobomov
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Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
Then he has mentioned two players .. The one I read was definately Martino
But that only reinforces that his picking technique is not something he himself considers optimal
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Kessel said Charlie use a large triangular pick. Originally Posted by princeplanet
Barney Kessel (Guitar Player Oct '70)
"....Charlie played probably 95% downstrokes, and held a very stiff, big triangular pick very tightly between his thumb and first finger. He rested his 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers on the pick-guard. He anchored them there so tensely that it was like there almost wasn't a break in the joint. He almost never used the 4th finger of his left hand."
Supposedly, Kessel later gave a different estimate for the percentage of Charlie's downstrokes: 70%. Either way, he picked, like Frank Vignola does and says, "mostly down."
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Agreed. Originally Posted by Lobomov
Then he has mentioned two players .. The one I read was definately Martino
But that only reinforces that his picking technique is not something he himself considers optimal
If you take to something young and develop it to a high degree on your own, you bring your idiosyncrasies with you. (We see the same thing in some baseball pitchers and hitters---odd arm motions, unorthodox swings---that work for them but would not be a good recommendation for most young players.)
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You might take a look at the Blue Chip large Jazz, which can be ordered with a bevel I believe. It might be slightly shorter than the 351though. Originally Posted by Alter
In my latest episode of searching for the perfect pick , since recently getting back to Benson picking, I've started with a fender medium, then to a fender (or Dunlop) heavy, now trying D'Andrea pro Plec (1.5 so extra heavy).
My preferred material is celluloid, I like its sound and feel. I also love the thickness of the pro plec and how it glides between strings because all its sides are beveled and rounded.
But I wish it had just a tad more pointy tip, to get a bit more treble, attack and definition. My hand will adjust with time, but I was wondering if such a pick exists. Normal 351 size, celluloid, 1.5 thickness (or close), bevelled on its sizes (that's what makes the big difference to most other extra heavy picks), but a bit pointy on the tip...?
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You just reminded my that I have one of those Blue Chip Jazz picks. I am going to find it and see if its "slipperiness," combined with using the shoulder, will give me an even greater breakthrough. There seems to be enough of a "shoulder" on it to work with. Originally Posted by bluejaybill
Thanks!
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I didn't know how common it was to turn the pick sideways. Cool. I also like the angle that the string slides off the pick.
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One thing I've noticed with the Golden Gate pick
is that I can get the same angle both ways. That is, when I'm using it in more of a Benson grip (banana thumb) and when I'm using a more conventional one.
Now I'm using it to play my new bass too.
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I finally found this pick. It has added yet another advantage! The pick is slippery anyway, and using the side has me at maximum speed and efficiency. My only gripe is that the BC JAZZ 100 might be too thick (I think its around 2.00mm). I ordered the BC Jazz 50, which is around 1.00 mm (the Dunlop Jazz that I use is 1.38mm according to my research). The BC Jazz 60 is 1.50 mm or so. I figured that the BC Jazz 50 is the closest that I will get to my Dunlop. Originally Posted by AlsoRan
You just reminded my that I have one of those Blue Chip Jazz picks. I am going to find it and see if its "slipperiness," combined with using the shoulder, will give me an even greater breakthrough. There seems to be enough of a "shoulder" on it to work with.
Thanks!
It was 35.00 freakin' bucks, but I think I am losing my mind with this quest for picking paradise, and I ordered it. I cannot express the joy that I am experiencing with this "techinical boost" that using the side of the pick has given me.
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Actually for me when I play if for awhile it seems to get unslippery. If that's a word! Originally Posted by AlsoRan
I use a 35 for thinner strings, but 40 is my main jazz pick (1 mm). I have a 50 as well that I mostly use with acoustic guitar.
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Am I the only one here who has a pile of picks of various sizes and brands, none of which cost more than two dollars?
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Probably- but are you sure you didn't splurge on audiophile guitar cables? Originally Posted by Litterick
I admit, I thought it was crazy to spend $35 for pick, but I was an instant convert. I would probably feel different if I was losing them on gigs right now! Mostly using them jamming at home these days.
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Yep, I read an interview of Pat in "Guitar Player Magazine" in 1979 (shortly after I started playing guitar), where he mentioned picking with the rounded corner of the pick (the interview also had a photo showing Pat picking with the round corner of the pick). My uncle (Guitar Generation #2 in the family), also mentioned that he picked with the round corner of the pick. Both pieces of information, prompted me to try picking with the rounded corner of the pick. As a result, I've been picking with the rounded corner of the pick for over 40 years. It sounds a little punchier to me, and I think I have better control - especially when I double pick. Originally Posted by Litterick
My Pick of Choice
Last edited by EllenGtrGrl; 05-01-2021 at 09:51 PM.
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