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Post by Banadog on Sept 23, 2013 19:27:07 GMT
Does anyone play with and without a plectrum. I've been watching Tommy Emmanuel who uses a plectrum and also a thumbpick when using the plectrum he employs a hybrid picking technique. I was wondering what the pros and cons are to this style of playing. For instance is it possible to play single string runs faster with a plectrum?
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Sept 23, 2013 22:15:56 GMT
For a purely fingerstyle piece I use a thumbpick and three fingernails.
But I do I use a plectrum for hybrid picking esp in song accompaniment - largely because it allows me to go smoothly and easily between delicate fingerpicking (if it's not too complicated) to full on strummage with any style in between within the same song/tune. I can't do this well with a thumbpick - strumming with one has always been difficult for me because I find delicate upstrokes impossible. I also find I can "flatpick" in a much more controlled way with a plectrum than a thumbpick. Maybe some of this might be because I prefer relatively thin flexible plectrums, whereas thumbpicks tend to be thicker and less flexible.
Yes. I have tried the v thin Herco thumbpicks - just about possible for me to strum, though somewhat unsubtley, with these, but then they are far too insubstantial to work as a "proper" thumbpick for me on an acoustic guitar.
Keith
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thniels
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Post by thniels on Sept 24, 2013 7:10:44 GMT
To me plectrum, fingers or nails is mostly a matter of which sound I want for a particular piece of music. The fact that I can play faster with my nails than with a plectrum is less important; if I can't play fast or precisely enough for a particular song, I don't play it :-). It is the texture of the sound that comes first for me.
- Thomas
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Sept 24, 2013 7:33:15 GMT
Hi Thomas - and a warm to the Forum - excellent first post! Feel free to use the "Introductions" section to say hi to all and maybe tell us a little about yourself/your instrument(s)/your music if you like. Hope you'll enjoy it here. Keith
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Post by scripsit on Sept 24, 2013 8:22:15 GMT
I started trying to play acoustic guitar fingerstyle pieces with a plectrum held between thumb and first finger, using the other two longer fingers to do the plucking bit.
This was security blanket stuff after playing solely with a flat pick on electric guitar for many years, all 'strummage' (as Keith would say) and single note lines.
I used the picks I had available, the heaviest gauge brown vomit Fenders.
All of this was modelled on Rory Gallagher's hybrid picking style, most evident on his version of 'Out on the Western Plain', although there are a couple of electric tunes where he worked up intro and bridging riffs with the same technique. There are other players who make this work for them, too, although I don't think I'd even attempt to model myself on any of TE's ways because, frankly, he's a freak.
For me, throwing away the flat pick and using thumb with thumbpick combined with three fingers was an absolute revelation and resulted in the biggest advance in personal technique since I learned how to do barre chords.
So, my advice is to use a plectrum only if you're mostly strumming. The hybrid thing works OK for little fills, but I don't think it's worth practising as your major delivery method.
Kym
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Post by Banadog on Sept 25, 2013 19:13:30 GMT
Thanks for the replies.Sorry I seem to have posted this in the wrong section. The main reason I asked the question is that I've been playing (or trying to play) T.E's version of guitar boogie for a couple of years, and I can't get the speed of the bit after the first solo (when it sounds as if the guitar is unwinding) It's not that the fretting hand isn't quick enough, I just can't get enough speed using thumbpick and fingers. I notice he seems to hold his fingers and plectrum at a funny angle.No matter how often I practise this section I just can't get any quicker. Maybe I should realise my limitations
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Post by Martin on Sept 25, 2013 19:19:05 GMT
I've moved the thread to the 'playing & techniques' section Banadog For me, I only use plectrum for mandolin, but I can see the real benefit in using it 'hybrid' picking style.
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Post by sigmadel on Oct 1, 2013 0:41:42 GMT
Ive tried using thumb and finger picks and just cant get used to them so if im picking i normally use my fingers .I generally find i can pick faster using a plectrum and then leaving me free to go into full on strumming , I also prefer using a very thin pick for the exact reason Keith mentioned so i use .50 or less . Red sharkfins are my fav but id like even thinner if i could get my hands on them easier .
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12stringpicker
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Post by 12stringpicker on Oct 1, 2013 8:31:38 GMT
Ive tried using thumb and finger picks and just cant get used to them so if im picking i normally use my fingers .I generally find i can pick faster using a plectrum and then leaving me free to go into full on strumming , I also prefer using a very thin pick for the exact reason Keith mentioned so i use .50 or less . Red sharkfins are my fav but id like even thinner if i could get my hands on them easier . You must be the only player,apart from me,who I've heard uses sharkfin picks,reds,are too thick for me,I've got some really thin greys,and the greens are virtually the same,they seem to be difficult to get hold of,I buy reds and whites,then shave them carefully,using sandpaper-a hassle,I know,but their the only flatpick,that I get on with,I have quite a few spare,I could send you some if you'd like? On the matter of thumpicks/ fingerpicks,I've got dozens of different ones in a box somewhere,bought over the years,and I mean dozens,I've tried,and tried,but cannot get on with them,so it's nurturing my thumb,fore,and middle-fingernails,to a length I can use.
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Oct 1, 2013 8:40:13 GMT
Sounds like, if you ever 'win' the forum Friday Giveaway, you'll not be stuck for a prize, 12stringpicker
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Post by ocarolan on Oct 1, 2013 11:46:32 GMT
When it come to flat picks, hese are my weapons of choice - Occasionally I might use the slightly thicker (0.7 ish?)yellow ones, esp for mandolin tune playing. I like the large size (I often used to drop smaller ones) and the fact that you get three similar playing points for the price of one! Keith
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 11:53:38 GMT
Trying to produce clean, fast lines with a thumbpick is generally a waste of time, as even one made of thin plastic is too inflexible once fixed to the thumb. Thumbpicks also apply too much downward leverage, where an even up-down motion is far better for accomplishing single string work. In the end the curvy beasties have a role producing fat basslines and should be kept to that, unless you develop exceptional technique.* Flatpicks really are the way to go for speed and fluidity. In my experience the "give" in them at the pivot point equates to bounce, making them perfect for those alternating up-down motions and for putting emphasis in the right places. The only thing to remember is not to hang on to your pick for dear life: with practice it's possible to grip it quite lightly without dropping it.
Regarding picks, a heavy gauge job with a rounded tip seems to be the standard weapon of choice for producing the best rhythm tone and flow. Personally, I've used Fender heavies for years, though I'm quite taken with some Planet Waves Jerry Garcia heavies I was given for my birthday.
*There are always exceptions. I managed to trap Doc Watson backstage a few times, and he once showed me how he kicked off his warp speed flatpicked version of Down Yonder without removing his thumbpick. But then he had weird picking technique which employed the movement of his whole forearm, and most probably supernatural powers.
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Oct 1, 2013 12:12:41 GMT
This could get as tetchy as the 'what are the best strings?' threads I'm not usually a plectrum person but, when I am, these Jim Dunlop Max Grip 0.6mm are my pick of choice
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 12:45:37 GMT
This could get as tetchy as the 'what are the best strings?' threads I'm not usually a plectrum person but, when I am, these Jim Dunlop Max Grip 0.6mm are my pick of choice I dunno Leo. Bits of plastic are less contentious than those slack Pootone and dull Bolixir things. Just as a matter of interest, Clarence White experimented with using a thick piece of Perspex to produce that crystalline tone and moonshot pace. When someone asked him why he stopped he said, "Oh, I lost it..."
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Post by sigmadel on Oct 1, 2013 22:01:41 GMT
Ive tried using thumb and finger picks and just cant get used to them so if im picking i normally use my fingers .I generally find i can pick faster using a plectrum and then leaving me free to go into full on strumming , I also prefer using a very thin pick for the exact reason Keith mentioned so i use .50 or less . Red sharkfins are my fav but id like even thinner if i could get my hands on them easier . You must be the only player,apart from me,who I've heard uses sharkfin picks,reds,are too thick for me,I've got some really thin greys,and the greens are virtually the same,they seem to be difficult to get hold of,I buy reds and whites,then shave them carefully,using sandpaper-a hassle,I know,but their the only flatpick,that I get on with,I have quite a few spare,I could send you some if you'd like? On the matter of thumpicks/ fingerpicks,I've got dozens of different ones in a box somewhere,bought over the years,and I mean dozens,I've tried,and tried,but cannot get on with them,so it's nurturing my thumb,fore,and middle-fingernails,to a length I can use. I never even knew that they made thinner than the reds , I used the white ones for years as I liked the tone from the material they're made from then I discovered reds . My local shop gets the red ones but they are getting harder to find . I've tried grey Dunlop's that are an 0.46 and very flexible but they are nylon and I don't like the sound as much . I'll really need to look out for the green shark fins though . Maybe we should start a club :-)
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