Acoustic Guitar Players Help
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Posted on Apr 08, 2003 03:40 am
Jamie Garrett
Contributor Since: Sep 09, 2002
hi, I've been playing guitar for just about seven years now, and I started on an acoustic, and still enjoy taking my acoustic 6 strings with me everywhere I go. I've developed a rather loose strumming technique where I opt for a thin pick and I just barely hold the pick between my thumb and first two fingers, letting it loosly flex and glide across the strings.
here's the problem. It just occured to me that I must have dropped my pick in my soundhole (arrrgghh!!) a hundred times or more since I started playing, and I've never found a way to prevent it from happening or any quick way to get the dang thing out once it has fallen in!
How come I never see this happen on TV or at a concert?? Do they superglue the plectrum to their fingers or are they just that good?
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Apr 08, 2003 03:55 am Hey Jamie, I started on the acoustic also and I cant tell you how many times that has happened to me! I dunno what they do on TV or at a concert, but one thing that has helped me is a change of pick. I found one at MF about a year ago and bought a few dozen. It has something called a "cat tongue grip" (I think!) which is no more than a bunch of little plastic bristles where your fingers meet the pick. Dunno if it'll help you any, but it sure has dramatically decreased the number of times I have to flip my acoustic upside down and do the Acoustic Shake :)
Apr 08, 2003 04:07 am Well, Its a sad day. After posting, I looked for those picks at MF to buy a few dozen more and found that they've been discontinued. Guess its back to the ole' Acoustic Shake!
Apr 08, 2003 04:17 am LOL! the "Acoustic Shake" that's a good one! Now I don't feel so bad.
Try this for some grip: take a razor blade and scrape a bunch of parallel lines diagonally in the top half of the pick, then do the same thing again, only this time make these lines perpendicular to the first. nos the whole top half of one side of the pick will have excellent grip to it. you only hav eto do it to one side, but it shortens the life of the pick. It won;t pop out of your hand as quick, but it break much easier.
I've had the best luck using the Jim Dunlop "Tortex" line of picks. They're real common to find, but the behave differently that any other pick I've used. They seem to be made of a different kind of plastic that slowly wears away instead of binding up and breaking. In fact I don't think I've ever broke one, only worn them down to a round useless edge. Tortex picks come in a colorcoded rainbow with red being the thinnest and purple being the thickest. I almost always use the red ones, 0.5mm, on acoustic or electric, no matter what the string guage, and occasionally bump up to orange for my electric that's strung with 14's.
glynbMember
Since: Dec 16, 2002
Apr 08, 2003 05:35 am I can vouch for the Jim Dunlop nylon picks. They come with a 'rough' grip so its more difficult to drop them. they never break, just fade away (like old rockers ;-)) I've played countless gigs over the years and only remember dropping a pick on a couple of occasions.
Apr 08, 2003 09:38 am well, if you still need to use the "acoustic shake" (good one) try getting the pick to rest right under the middle of the soundhole and then swiftly flip the guitar upside down.. a little variation that really works!
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Apr 08, 2003 09:41 am I've used the Tortex picks for many years now, and I'll probably never use anything else. You're right, they don't wear down as quick as the plastic picks, and they are easier to keep a hold of (although, I've spent my fair share of time holding my guitar upside-down, shaking it around!).
I've tried every thickness, and I"ve settled on the Purple ones (1.14mm I think). I started using the orange ones regularly, then kept getting thicker from there.
If you're still having trouble keeping a grip, they make some stuff called Gorilla Snot that you can glop on your pick and it forms a tacky coating that's easier to keep a hold of.
Oh, and I found my favorite Tortex to use on acoustic guitar is the yellow one with the sharp point. It gives a very bright, loud tone that I love.
Apr 08, 2003 10:55 am I knew a guy why cut out a piece of an old screen door and glued it on the inside of his soundhole. I don't think he ever dropped a pick inside again.
Apr 08, 2003 02:24 pm This is a great topic. I just started playing myself and have had the exact same problem. I don't know what style picks I have are but they have holes drilled in the portion that you hang on to and for some reason I don't drop these so I keep usin' 'em. Go figure.
DanMember
Since: Nov 21, 2002
Apr 08, 2003 03:21 pm Tired of dropping picks? easy solution: Stop using picks!
Apr 08, 2003 03:36 pm I find that a little super glue works nicely. Plus, then you're never without a pick! ;)
Actually, I used to be famous for dropping my pick into my acoustic. A combination of things seems to have cured me of this (for the most part).
Firstly, most of it is really a matter of picking technique. Obviously, you generally don't want to be gripping the thing like your life depends on it, but you do have to keep a grip on it. This is just something that comes with time I think. In the mean time and in addition to that, I have a couple of things that I do.
One is about choice of picks. I think this has already been pretty well covered in this thread already. I personally like fender mediums. But I always buy the "satin" finish ones. The perfectly smooth ones just get too slick for my liking.
The other thing I do is keep my fingers a little moist. When your skin gets dried out, it becomes very easy for a pick to slide in your fingers. You don't want them wet, but just not dry either. It sounds a little dumb, but it really does make a difference.
If that doesn't work, you could always try the super glue!
Apr 08, 2003 04:41 pm I was playin my friends acoustic and i noticed the strings are much farther apart than electric. Just thought i would share this.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Apr 08, 2003 09:27 pm OK you guys, I like the stop using picks thing, as I frequantly dont use one. But for those of you who do, and drop them or they tend to slide a bit with the loose grip. I found this stuff when I was drumming, its called Gorrilla Snot, I am not kidding. It is this ugly green looking stuff, but it really works. It will still let you manuver the pick between your fingers, but it will not drop right out of your fingers unanounced.
As far as favorite picks that seem to hang on to you. I like the Jim Dunlops also. But I have learned to use his Jazz picks for almost everything I would use a pick for. And that includes places you might use a lighter pick. Using them made me play much light on the strings. And for those of us who use lighter strings, it really adds some life to them.
Apr 08, 2003 10:15 pm I rarely use a pick anymore, but sometimes you have to have one to get the sound you want from an acoustic. Since my favorite picks are no longer available at MF, Ill have to try that Gorilla Snot. Will it affect my strings badly if I switch from a pick with Gorilla Snot on it to fingerstyle? Id hate to ruin perfectly good sets of strings if I dont have to.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Apr 09, 2003 12:14 am I have never noticed any residue from the stuff. I only use just a small dab, and for me it works great as I hold my pick almost pointing backwards out from my thumb and index finger, and just a bit back from the finger tips. So I rarely ever get any on the tips of my fingers.
Apr 09, 2003 05:08 pm thanks for the tips everyone. i especially like nooneshero's tip about the screen in the soundhole. now that you mention it, i swear i've seen a guitar like that before. i have a cheap classical guitar that i might try that with.
MatMusic EnthusiastMember
Since: Jan 24, 2003
Apr 09, 2003 09:54 pm I primarily fingerpick but I like using a pick from time to time. One thing I didn't really see in this disscussion is pick holding techniques. I seldom drop my pick and I don't think I'm better at holding it than anyone else but I think there's ways of holding it that may be better.
Quote:
I just barely hold the pick between my thumb and first two fingers
Maybe you can try this instead:
Make a fist (loose). Then leave your hand closed (in fist position) and adjust your thumb so the tip of it just barely goes beyond the middle joint of your first finger. Then slide the pick in the middle of your thumb and finger near the top joint of your finger with the 'pointier' part of the pick facing away from that joint. You might have to shift it around a little to get comfy and get used to it.
Try that and let me know how it works for you.
The pick size matters a lot too. For electric, the strings are softer so you generally want a softer pick (46mm) if you're primarilly strumming. For acoustc I found that something around 60-70mm works best.
As for pick preference, the Dunlops do the job but I am happier with a nice Taylor pick. For some reason I feel like they play better and it sounds better.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Apr 09, 2003 10:22 pm While we're on the subject of picks...is it just me, or do picks have a bizarre tendancy to bounce just out of sight when dropped on carpet? I swear that I can accidentally drop a pick from 6" from the floor in the bedroom and find the darned thing in the kitchen 6 weeks later. :-D
Apr 09, 2003 10:54 pm LOL! it's true! I swear if the military really wanted to develop new camoflage, they could cover their tanks and body armor in bright colored guitar picks. the enemy would never see them coming!
Apr 10, 2003 01:25 am Lol......How True! I need to wallpaper my room with picks so's I always have one. (I wonder how good that would be for room tuning????)
