What Picking Setup to use for Downpicking?

Playing Technique
#1

Never been great at downpicking, thinking it’s time to change that!

Anyone have any recommendations on picking setups?

I can do wrist USX, wrist DSX, wrist DBX and wrist/forearm USX but none of them naturally crossover into high speed downpicking. I know most downpicking uses a type of DSX motion but my normal posture I use for DSX doesn’t seem to translate, I’m thinking I’ll need to switch to something with more of a pinky heel anchor but I haven’t worked anything out yet so I’m a bit at a loss, any help is greatly appreciated! :slight_smile:

#2

I think the palm muting that usually goes hand in hand with downpicking will dictate a DWPS. Pretty sure that was what I did even though I never thought about slant back then. I was decent at it back in the day. I could play Master of Puppets at tempo without too much fatigue so I guess I was doing something right lol

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#3

Always been a goal of mine! Never made it passed the verse at full speed!

#4

Where did you get that from (honest question, not to sound aggressive)? My gut reaction is that that’s very wrong; most insane downpickers I’ve seen tend to supinate a noticeable amount, and are USX wrist.

#5

Down picking isn’t really either USX or DSX, it is more of a super flat loop. Still, I think it is closer to DSX if nothing else because at the end of the strum the pick is moving away from the body.

I think the posture of downpicking sort of encourages alternate picked stuff to be in a USX conducive setup. Supinated, DWPS etc. Intuitive players tend to just figure out efficient strategies. I could totally see someone just figuring out USX alternate picking simply because their hands are already in place where it could work, then from there the joint/muscle combo does what it needs.

I actually don’t know of great examples of people who do the down picking who are also alternate pickers for their lead stuff where we’d know they prefer USX vs DSX…Hetfield was the only one I ever got into and his leads are sort of slow and melodic. I’m sure there plenty examples though, I am not really into the heavy stuff anymore since I am old lol!

Can you give examples? You can definitely be supinated and DSX. Nuno is.

#6

That’s true, maybe I’m conflating supination and USX. I’ll have to look at some players I dig.

Looking at my own magnet footage, It looks like I’m making circles (pick into the body for downstroke, but pull up after the hit). Maybe that’s technically DSX?

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#7

Yeah I think that’s what I was getting at. Maybe technically just because on the “down” stroke the pick begins moving away from the body, that appears to be DSX. Troy’s whole USX/DSX concept is based around the idea of the pick moving in a mostly straight line though so all downstrokes isbsort of out scope of the discussion. Probably technically even pure USX / DSX have a slight arc since the range of motion of our pick strokes is always tiny, relative to the full range of motion available to whatever our mechanic is.

#8

I think you’re right, it’s not either, because it is never trapped. I think in a technical sense one might say that it is double-escaped, as it goes from free to free, and then skips a stroke? :thinking:

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#9

Troy mentions it in the new wrist motion update and I think this is the point he was getting at. I think that most great downpickers are supinated but the pick tends to come away from the body more like DSX than bury into the strings like USX :slight_smile:

#10

If you want precise technical down picking - it’s best to use DSX with the reverse kickback pick position - gives a sweet scuff that has much more continuity than a chug. see the “Starting with Speed” fine, but what if…? post about it. Very non-intuitive way to hold the pick - but sounds really great on a lot of stuff (rock/metal/thrash).

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#11

I assume that is because the pick needs to circle back very quickly.
I don’t think it’s helpful to think of escapes for this. Arm position and grip might be more helpful and as mentioned before, supinated setups seem to be common for downpicking.
I’m actually trying to think of someone who does it differently and I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head :thinking:

#12

I would totally agree, trying to reconcile downpicking with escapes seems hard, I think like @joebegly mentioned, the path of the pick is not linear, or close to it.

Ah, I haven’t seen that, or have access to it.

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