I’m just getting back into playing the past couple months after having not played for many years. I have a Strat that I’m playing through a Line 6 Spider amp (I can’t ditch this amp soon enough). But the problem I’m having is I noticed the sound of my pick attack and I now can’t unhear it. And it just seems excessively loud to me. I lowered my pickups. I lowered my my mids, and I’ve tightened up my technique up as much as I think is humanly possible for me, and it might have provided a 10 percent improvement thereabouts, but it’s just driving me crazy, I’m beginning to think my pickups are just too hot or something. I don’t know. What do you guys think?
Welcome to the forum!
FYI I deleted the link to the mp3 file as it did not seem to be working. Can you just re-upload it by dragging the file directly into the text editor? When things work correctly the preview on the right should show a little audio player like so:
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What sort of pick are you using? Different pick shapes and material can have a big affect on the pick attack.
Changing the amount of edge picking you’re using may also change the pick attack, but if you’re happy with you’re technique as it is you may not want to change it much, although its probably worth experimenting with 
Finally, if you have access to some kind of EQ pedal, you could try cutting some of the frequencies around 4KHz, as I have heard that excessive amounts of those frequencies can have quite a big affect to the sound of the pick attack. Or just experiment with boosting or cutting other frequencies
FWIW, to my ears, your tone sounds quite good!
I hope this is helpful in some way
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I agree. Sounds like just the right amount of pick chirp for this kind of playing. It’s not distracting to me at all.
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Same here. Sounds good to me! Some of the notes on the 5th string lose their definition. That’s the only “criticism” I can offer, and truly even that sounds kinda cool. I know 100% clean is the goal but sometimes more “human” stuff like that adds something nice to the music.
@GeneralTHC BTW welcome to the forum from me too I guess at the end of the day if it bothers you, trying any of @User-001’s tips may help you get a different sound. Picks with a softer material are going to have a less harsh tone and less likely to “chirp”.
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Two things!
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sounds good to me
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it sound like you recorded the “room sound”, which includes the amp, the acoustic sound of your strings, and the reflections, reverb etc. from your environment
This kind of sound is very different from the sound a microphone would capture when placed right next to the amp cabinet — which is how they’d record you in a studio. In other words, you can’t compare this to the guitar tones you hear in professional records (including the tone of the pick attack).
Do you have an audio interface that allows you to record a direct input on the computer (DI)? If so, you can post the DI here and I or someone else from the forum can reamp it to check how the pick attack would sound like in a more “studio” situation.
PS: these references might also help in a general sense:
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Oh, thanks for the compliment!
I’ve actually been on a bit of pick kick this last month and have settled on these little white–I figure they’ll be easier to find when I drop them–Tortex Jazz3s. I really like them. I did alter my technique to use almost no edge at all. It was even worse before I changed that. And I started sorta bridging my pick hand a little higher in the air for a cleaner motion and attack angle.
I will definitely try out experimenting with the frequencies. At that moment though I’m kinda stuck with this Line 6 Spider 3 which is pretty limited. But I think I’m going to either be buying a Katana or a Spark as soon as I can get up the nerve to order one having never had the chance to play through either. My little local music store out here doesn’t have either one of them. But I guess either one would have to be better than what I got.
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If I remember right, the white Tortex picks are 1.5mm, and those in particular chirp like a MOTHER for me. I’d suggest trying something thinner.
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Yeah, it’s a little sloppy there. Or I may have over muted. Or probably both. I’m trying to play Yngwie licks but not use his picking system, but instead pick every note, which is kinda tricky with harmonic minor-- four notes on some strings, three notes on others, changing strings on upstrokes and downstrokes, which is precisely what Yngwie’s system was invented to avoid. But I’m committed to learning to do it this way, string changes be damned.
Also, listening to that audio it has become apparent to me that I’m not playing it through. I’m slowing down at the end. Kinda like a person does to stop running. Gotta break that habit.
These are 1mm. I tried the little red Jazz3s too, but I still got just as loud of a sound, but the tone of it’s a little different. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ And I just couldn’t hang onto the nylon.
I’m dealing with something similar myself. Used a Tortex Jazz III until I read the thread on here and picked up a bag of Prodigy picks and a bag of JPIIIs. The Prodigy was very chirpy but it was easier to pick from the start. A few days later, the JP’s showed up and they were just as easy to pick with, but better grip and not as chirpy. I A/B/C with them quite a bit depending on the line I’m working on and gauge those same 3 factors.
What I’ve noticed with the JP’s (which is my go to) is that the more comfortable I am with a line, the less chirp I get. Since I’m working on the Desert Rose solo, I’m noticing the differences in the lick at 2:00, which I have up to speed and the one at 2:13, which I don’t. I think it’s something instinctual in that I adjust… something… on the fly to compensate for the difficulty. It was thinking it might be the edge but I’m leaning more towards the pick touching the string right before the actual attack. It’s a pretty fast line and since I don’t have the 2nd one up to speed, there’s more time for it to happen.
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Thanks.
Yes I did. I have Audicity installed on a Linux system I’m running and I just recorded through the built in mic on my laptop.
Not yet, but I plan on getting a new amp pretty soon that will provide that capability. But I can guarantee ya that loud pick attack sound is definitely coming through the amp. I would think miking the amp and/or recording direct would make it even more pronounced. In fact, I can’t see how I could ever doing any recording with this problem. I suspect I might have to replace these pickups in the end. But I will try another amp and some frequency hacking first.
Are you talking about the John Petrucci Jazz3’s that Dunlop makes? If so, can you tell me how the size compares to the standard red Jazz3s? I heard they’re bigger, but by how much? Last month I ordered some Jazz3 XL’s thinking they would be a little bit bigger than a regular Jazz3, but they were basically the same size as a standard Tortex.
They’re the same size as a “standard” pick aside from when it sharpens up towards the tip. It’s been a decade since I had a “standard” but I’m pretty sure that’s the case lol
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