00:19Hi, I'm Charlie Griffiths with Guitar World and I'm here to talk about picks and how we can use
00:26them to create greater tonal flexibility on the guitar. Now your tone starts with the pick, that's
00:33the first point of contact you have with the note you're playing. Your choice of pick, the shape,
00:40the thickness, the material is quite an important factor when considering the tone you want to make.
00:47So let's look at a few options. So different thicknesses and different materials and different
00:52shapes of pick will give you different tones. If we start with this regular shaped,
00:58Tortex material, 0.88mm, it sounds like this.
01:07And the same type of pick with a sharp tip.
01:19And a thicker version, this is a 1.5mm.
01:30In a different material, this is a 1mm nylon.
01:44And this is a Hetfield White Fang, which is 1.14 and has a kind of chalky material.
01:58Or if you're Brian May, you would use a sixpence.
02:07And this is a 2mm nylon.
02:08For the first example, let's experiment with holding the pick at different angles
02:13to create different tones. I'm going to start with the pick quite flat against the string,
02:18and then I'm going to angle it to about 45 degrees. Here's how that sounds.
02:44This is a 1.5mm.
02:45Here's how it looks.
02:45This is a 2.5mm.
02:47This is a 3.5mm.
02:47Here's how it looks.
02:55Here's how that looks.
03:44For example two, let's practice controlling the velocity at which we're picking the string.
03:50So for this one, some of the notes are going to be played with heavy loud pickstrokes
03:55and some are going to be played with softer quiet pickstrokes.
03:59It sounds like this.
04:39For the third example, we're going to vary where along the string we're picking.
04:45So nearer the neck is going to give us a slightly warmer tone.
04:50The further back nearer the bridge is going to be a brighter tone.
04:54The further back nearer the bridge is going to be played with heavy loud pickstrokes.
05:39For the next example, I'm going to switch to neck pickup.
05:43And we're going to create a thick flutey clarinet type tone by picking exactly 12 frets above
05:52what we're fretting.
05:53So if I'm going to play the 7th fret, I'm going to pick directly over the 19th fret.
06:00And if I'm playing the 9th fret, I'm going to pick directly over the 21st fret.
06:06And if I'm playing the 9th fret, I'm going to play the 9th fret.
06:58For example 5, I'm going back to the bridge pickup for a more trebly attack.
07:03And here I'm going to use palm muting, using the side of my palm here against the strings
07:11for the bridge to deaden the notes.
07:14And also, I'm going to use some pinched harmonics.
07:19And for that, that's a case of hitting the string with the pick and using the side of the thumb
07:26to make contact with the string as you pick it to create the harmonic.
07:32And it sounds like this.
08:27And for the final example, let's combine some of those techniques.
08:31together like this.
08:33ruk falar.
09:00Let's go.
09:02Let's go.
09:03Let's look.
09:03Oh, my God.
10:00Oh, my God.
10:03Oh, my God.
10:33Oh, my God.
10:34Oh, my God.
11:04Thanks.
Comments