LQGuitarist
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2006
- Messages
- 17
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Just thought I would mention what most of you already know. If you use a flat pick and have your Bluesbird set up correctly, the type of pick you use can make a big difference on the sound you are looking to achieve.
I just replaced the tubes on my Finder 94 Blues Deluxe with matched power tube (the SED Winged "C" 6L6GC's) and while it probably did not matter on a fixed Bias fender amp, I spent a bit more to match the 12AX7 Preamp tubes. Furthermore if you order from a place like the Tube Store they will match your tubes to your amp and make a recommendation for the type of sound and music you play. In my case, I wanted some clean distortion and added sustain so I ordered the power tubes to "clip" early (early breakup is another way to describe forcing distortion in the tubes at lower volume).
I also finger pick and play with a very heavy thumb pick. I was hitting the strings pretty hard with the thumb pick as I was trading riffs between finger style and flat picking. Normally I use about a medium Dunlop pick (yellow I think) because they don't slip from my fingers easily).
I started comparing sounds and doing some minor adjusments on my poles after the set-up where I started with a matched pole height to the neck radius and then started to raise and lower he poles slightly to bring up the highs and midrange.
I found that if I used the heavy pick on the 40W tweed amp at lower volume either with the neck pickup or increased bass on the bridge pickup (for a Bluesy / Jazz sound) I was getting a real nice clean distortion and sustain I was seeking. However, when I went back to the Dunlop medium pick, I lost that snap in the string. To compare, I guess you might say that the tone was more like BB King's ES355 tone and Clapton's Les Paul tone - warmer than a maple neck Strat, but better balance and warmth plus longer sustain as in the Les Pauls.
Now I'm seeking to make the change to a heavy stiff pick to match my thumb pick for that color I"ve been seeking.
We read about pickups, setup, woods and necks but rarely do we pay attention to something as simple as picks. While I like the flexibility of the medium picks, I found that to achieve the tone and color I sought, I need to move to a heavy pick.
One more comment, if you want to keep the tone consistent while finger playing, keep your nails short and lead off the string with the fleshy part of the tip of your finger, but hit it hard enough to snap the string. Also for both finbers and flatpick - play around toward the neck and start moving back to the bridge regardless of the pickup combination (I generally stick with the neck pickup and only use the combo or bridge pickup when I need strong highs or am using a distortion box. When finger picking, I avoid the bridge pickup entirely.
Your attack is a very important part of finding your style and we tend to lose site of that as we strive for a good instrument. From what I've heard, a good guitarist can make a cheap import (setup right) play just as nice as a hand made custom shop job.
Hope this helps some of you who are starting out or seeking your own sound to experiment more with picks - the cheapest accessory you can own.
I just replaced the tubes on my Finder 94 Blues Deluxe with matched power tube (the SED Winged "C" 6L6GC's) and while it probably did not matter on a fixed Bias fender amp, I spent a bit more to match the 12AX7 Preamp tubes. Furthermore if you order from a place like the Tube Store they will match your tubes to your amp and make a recommendation for the type of sound and music you play. In my case, I wanted some clean distortion and added sustain so I ordered the power tubes to "clip" early (early breakup is another way to describe forcing distortion in the tubes at lower volume).
I also finger pick and play with a very heavy thumb pick. I was hitting the strings pretty hard with the thumb pick as I was trading riffs between finger style and flat picking. Normally I use about a medium Dunlop pick (yellow I think) because they don't slip from my fingers easily).
I started comparing sounds and doing some minor adjusments on my poles after the set-up where I started with a matched pole height to the neck radius and then started to raise and lower he poles slightly to bring up the highs and midrange.
I found that if I used the heavy pick on the 40W tweed amp at lower volume either with the neck pickup or increased bass on the bridge pickup (for a Bluesy / Jazz sound) I was getting a real nice clean distortion and sustain I was seeking. However, when I went back to the Dunlop medium pick, I lost that snap in the string. To compare, I guess you might say that the tone was more like BB King's ES355 tone and Clapton's Les Paul tone - warmer than a maple neck Strat, but better balance and warmth plus longer sustain as in the Les Pauls.
Now I'm seeking to make the change to a heavy stiff pick to match my thumb pick for that color I"ve been seeking.
We read about pickups, setup, woods and necks but rarely do we pay attention to something as simple as picks. While I like the flexibility of the medium picks, I found that to achieve the tone and color I sought, I need to move to a heavy pick.
One more comment, if you want to keep the tone consistent while finger playing, keep your nails short and lead off the string with the fleshy part of the tip of your finger, but hit it hard enough to snap the string. Also for both finbers and flatpick - play around toward the neck and start moving back to the bridge regardless of the pickup combination (I generally stick with the neck pickup and only use the combo or bridge pickup when I need strong highs or am using a distortion box. When finger picking, I avoid the bridge pickup entirely.
Your attack is a very important part of finding your style and we tend to lose site of that as we strive for a good instrument. From what I've heard, a good guitarist can make a cheap import (setup right) play just as nice as a hand made custom shop job.
Hope this helps some of you who are starting out or seeking your own sound to experiment more with picks - the cheapest accessory you can own.