Reducing guitar pick noise?

[davie]

Hey guys,

 

Just wanted some input, any ideas on how to reduce guitar pick noise when playing rhythm acoustic guitar? Especially while recording acoustic guitar. I've always leaned towards using light/thin picks for strumming, I play well using them but apparently, they aren't the best for recording? They tend to create a lot of click and klack sound. I read somewhere that using heavier picks would help, so I've been trying out some medium picks. Maybe miking distance or multi-band compression might help? Any thoughts or experiences with reducing guitar pick noise?

 

Thanks

[garthman]

I mostly fingerpick so don't have that problem. When I do use a pick - and it's mostly on my 12 string guitar - I use either a Dunlop Big Stubby Nylon 3mm (using the back edge of the pick not the pointy end) or a Wedgie rubber medium hard 3mm pick or, more often than not, just strum with the side of my thumb occasionally bringing my thumbnail into play too.

[DeepEnd]

Try a nylon pick. Dunlop, Herco, etc. They're what I use (primarily Dunlops or DAVA Control Picks on electric) and I like the feel and lack of pick noise. Picks are cheap or I can mail you a couple of Dunlops in various gauges if you send me a PM.

[Mikeo]

I have tried a lot of different picks, and when I use a pick for strumming or on the mandolin, I keep coming back to the celluloid Fender 351's. For the most part I use there mediums and heavy ones.

 

The only thing I never got used to is National finger picks.

 

You might want to change your strumming technique, and the angle with how the pick actually strikes the strings. Easier said then done, when your technique is kind of etched into you brain and style. Some habits are hard to break, believe me I know.

[Grant Harding]

Heavier picks can ruin the jangly acoustic strumming sound and mess with your confidence and the vibe of the song. Maybe hold a bit more of the pick to reduce the pick noise.

 

Experiment with mic placement and EQ first.

[catscurlyear]

if the pick isn`t doing the job right try using your fingers for strumming . i often use my fingers it gives me much more control over the dynamics ,just try it very naturally ,don`t force a certain technique for example some people will very naturally use their thumb for strumming ,i can`t do that at all ,when i use my fingers for strumming it actually looks like i`m holding a pick.

everybody should be able to use their fingers we all mess around with the fingers at times but when it`s time to get down to business we reach for a plectrum ,it`s an habit hard to break, try using the fingers you`ll be amazed .

alternatively there is a guitar pick punch ,you can get from guitar shops or online i suppose ,you can make a plectrum out of any material you can get your hands on and ain`t that fussed . i`ve got one they come in handy at times a friend who i teach brought an empty plastic ice cream carton round and we made about 10 picks out of it ha ha.http://www.pickpunch.com/

[strayGoat]

I very rarely use picks, and when playing rhythm I tend to do what catscurlyear has suggested: I just sort of pinch my thumb and index together as if I'm holding a pick, and strike the strings just barely with either side of my index.

 

BUT if you're used to using thin picks, there is definitely a marked loss of volume and clarity when you switch to the above method. Being largely a rhythm player (I like to sing), I find it impossible to strum quickly with anything heavier than a thin pick. I'm guessing you're probably the same.

 

I think garth/Deep's suggestion to try a pick of different material (nylon or some other soft composition) is a good one. No thin pick is going to be silent, but if you're using something like the standard Fender or Gibson celluloid thin picks, those things are quite loud. I personally don't mind it, but then again I almost never record.

[Idunno]

Thin picks are slappy, clickity-clackity noise makers. I shoot them on sight. Nylon - especially the Delrin stuff - is way too flexible and they bend a lot as they deflect the string. Just as they're springing back to their naturally straight shape they do so at the very instant they contact the next string and slap it just before making firm contact and bending it. This occurs with each succeeding string when strumming and is the very reason I carry at a jam.

 

Thin Pick Physics 101, don't'cha know?

 

Heavier picks, like the meteorite flints Garthman uses, don't give and therefore do not slap the succeeding strings when strumming. They deflect and release, letting each string make all it's own noise without unwanted accompaniment. Choosing the right thickness is a matter of trial and error.

 

I use the blade of a 1mm thick Planet Waves polycarbonate thumb pick for strumming or single string picking. It took some subtle physical changes and profound mental persuading to adapt it for that use but all is well now. I can't use a plectrum, or flat pick, because it becomes a task to develop the additional skill of manipulating yet another tool. The thumb pick is a fixture on my thumb with no chance of dislodging or otherwise messing with my groove like a flat pick does.

[Grant Harding]

Thin picks sound WAY better than thick ones on a nylon string in my experience. Night and day.

 

For jangly strumming on a steel string nothing else is better. The pick noise is part of the sound.

[onelife]

I would suggest experimenting with mic placement.

 

I was recording a guitarist and singer one evening and had some mics out ready to go when they came in. The guitarist, who had lots of recording experience, setup the condenser mic and pointed it at the top of his guitar behind the bridge rather than near the sound hole.

 

I asked him about it and we decided to try it that way then listen back to a test recording. It sounded great and we ended up doing the entire session that way.

 

 

 

 

[kwakatak]

Picks are often overlooked when it comes to tone. It sounds to me like you're using cheaper plastic picks. Deepend is on to something:

 

Try a nylon pick. Dunlop' date=' Herco, etc. They're what I use (primarily Dunlops or DAVA Control Picks on electric) and I like the feel and lack of pick noise. Picks are cheap or I can mail you a couple of Dunlops in various gauges if you send me a PM.[/quote']

 

+1

 

I like the grey/black Jim Dunlop picks (with the raised texture for better grip) as well. The thicker the pick, the better the volume you'll get but the softer the material the less abrupt the sound of the "attack." I like the medium-dark gray .88mm thick but the 1mm black picks are pretty good for when you really want to dig in.

[garthman]

Really?!?!

 

I think thin picks on nylon strings sound total crap.

[Grant Harding]

Well there you go. They sound more like fingernails to me. My guitar must be weird.

[catscurlyear]

: I just sort of pinch my thumb and index together as if I'm holding a pick' date=' and strike the strings just barely with either side of my index..[/quote']

if you see clips of Elvis playing he does the same .

 

[Voltan]

Hey guys,

 

Just wanted some input, any ideas on how to reduce guitar pick noise when playing rhythm acoustic guitar? Especially while recording acoustic guitar. I've always leaned towards using light/thin picks for strumming, I play well using them but apparently, they aren't the best for recording? They tend to create a lot of click and klack sound. I read somewhere that using heavier picks would help, so I've been trying out some medium picks. Maybe miking distance or multi-band compression might help? Any thoughts or experiences with reducing guitar pick noise?

 

Thanks

 

​stop using picks?... fingers and nails work great for me... ymmv

[catscurlyear]

the executioner from the "game of thrones"aka the"immortal" Wilko Johnson never used a guitar pick ,all you need is a volume control . dig Lee`s not so white suit

[video=youtube;GzF0AETdRF8]

[Grant Harding]

Asks for advice on a technique. Gets told the technique is the wrong one. hehe

[Grant Harding]

If your signal has compression on it I'd turn it off or reduce the amount and the pick should sound less present.

[catscurlyear]

Asks for advice on a technique. Gets told the technique is the wrong one. hehe

ha ha ,but it does fully eliminate pick noise .it`s not as if the pick is super glued to anybody`s fingers ,it`s very easy to put it down and try it out and then report back yeh or neh ,but from experience i can tell you that not using a pick elimates pick noise .....don`t know why!

 

[Grant Harding]

Yeah - I'm about 50/50 pick vs just fingers, plus I use the 3 that aren't holding the pick when I'm using it. They each have huge advantages in their own way.

 

It completely depends on the music.

[onelife]

Buddy Holly used to mic his strat (the guitar) to enhance the sound of the pick.

 

I once recorded an acoustic guitar part by micing a strat and it actually worked in the mix.

 

 

 

[DeepEnd]

Buddy Holly used to mic his strat (the guitar) to enhance the sound of the pick.

 

I one recorded an acoustic guitar part by mixing a strat and it actually worked in the mix.

You're in good company. I heard once that a closely miked electric guitar was used on Paul Simon's recording of "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard." It could be true.

[Grant Harding]

Hard to imagine Long Train Running without the percussive pick sound.

[onelife]

I'm glad you understood my post in spite of the auto-spell correct (which I since re-corrected)

[catscurlyear]

Buddy Holly used to mic his strat (the guitar) to enhance the sound of the pick.

 

I once recorded an acoustic guitar part by micing a strat and it actually worked in the mix.

 

 

that`s interesting .

 

you can hear this effect all the time on you tube when guys are demo-ing guitar parts you can hear the amp distorting away at an 1/8 th of a watt and you can also unintentionally hear acoustically the pick noise on the strings clacking around the small room, i find it a bit annoying .it`s a bit like someone talking to you while their false teeth are rattling around in their head