Hey guys, I am a huge john petrucci fan, and I am really interested in working out what his technique is like. (For years now lol)
I saw a new video he made showing his gear come across my facebook, and there was some top down playing videos!! What do you guys think is going on with his technique? This looks like upward pick slanting in my opinion.
I cut all the clips to just the playing for yall. I know some of them aren’t great clips but it is atleast something.
Thanks for posting these! Personal preference I know, but for my preference, he’s got some of the best heavy rock tone there is.
It does look like he’s got wrist extension going on which fits the 902 DBX picking hypothesis
I’m not sure these clips feature fast enough playing to see what JP’s actual fast picking form looks like.
Might be a little controversial / debated… But I think JP’s playing took a turn for the worst sometime in the 2000’s? Coming from a huge fan (first heard him at a G3 show and was hooked), I think he transitioned to more elbow playing and not as accurate. The best playing I think he had looked similar to the video @cmcgee11235 posted. I’d be willing to be proven wrong though!
Relevant video from that era (with decent picking angles):
I also think his tone from that era was my favorite by far:
Few times I ever thought about selling my IIc+, I totally convinced myself otherwise by listening to clips of that era, as well as Metallica lol.
I wouldn’t sell it unless you really don’t want it or need to. Those are collectible.
That’s true, and when it comes to certain things, it’s really hard to beat.
Get a fractal. Petrucci uses fractal too and they have that same amp as one of the models 
@carranoj25 Never went the modeler route, but I did get a preamp pedal that does a lot of good stuff, and I think it’s close enough (for me) to that c+ sound:
I rotate between a couple amps / that pedal / sims in DAWs for stuff, I feel like I’m pretty set most of the time!
Of course! If you ever get some GAS i can highly recommend fractal. Many users get petrucci tone and even petrucci uses it. Youre killin it either way mate!
He does use it for the effects. Not for the amp models.