Members Canadian Jeff Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 His strings lay on the frets. Mega ultra low action. I wish I had a tech that could set up my guitars with that kind of action. The guy is a monster though. Get some tools and start out with a crapcaster. It doesn't take too many mess-ups until you can setup a guitar with retarded-low action. The real problem is learning to play with really low action since you can't be heavy-handed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members omni Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Get some tools and start out with a crapcaster. It doesn't take too many mess-ups until you can setup a guitar with retarded-low action. The real problem is learning to play with really low action since you can't be heavy-handed. I can do setups pretty well but I can't stand any buzzing period. So I can never get it "that" low. Also as you stated the heavy hand pretty much kills it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IbanezJon Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 The thing I hate about mega low action is bending and bend vibrato. Seems hard to get a grip of the string at times.. or mute the strings above the note with your fingertip when the strings are so close to the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Canadian Jeff Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 I just raised the action back up on the guitar I'm playing right now. It was sitting around .8mm on the high E and like, 1.1ish or something on the other side and I just couldn't take it. It's just not fun to play as sedately as you have to when the strings are that low. Plus, I could never get pinch harmonics out of the low E and it made me sad. It's kinda screwed up though. I stopped today and really looked at how I was playing, and there's still a noticeable gap between my finger and the strings when I'm, say, moving through a scale. I know having the action too high will make the guitar fatiguing to play, but I thought it was interesting that I still had room to go up before I'd start "tripping" on the strings, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 I personally like thin picks, i use .50mm myself, because i pick very heavily at times. I choke way the hell up on them when i play lead though. As for durability i use Tortex even though i really like the way the Fender thin tortoishell looking ones sound and feel because i shatter the Fenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted November 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 I just raised the action back up on the guitar I'm playing right now. It was sitting around .8mm on the high E and like, 1.1ish or something on the other side and I just couldn't take it. It's just not fun to play as sedately as you have to when the strings are that low. Plus, I could never get pinch harmonics out of the low E and it made me sad.It's kinda screwed up though. I stopped today and really looked at how I was playing, and there's still a noticeable gap between my finger and the strings when I'm, say, moving through a scale. I know having the action too high will make the guitar fatiguing to play, but I thought it was interesting that I still had room to go up before I'd start "tripping" on the strings, so to speak. It's amazing how Paul Gilbert just pulls off pinch harmonics so effortlessly with such a low action. Dude is cray cray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Canadian Jeff Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 It's amazing how Paul Gilbert just pulls off pinch harmonics so effortlessly with such a low action. Dude is cray cray. I seriously doubt he's even human. It's like in Men in Black. He's just some alien, living on Earth, getting by... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted November 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 It would explain how he has index fingers for pinkies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Canadian Jeff Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 iknowrite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Quit the bellyaching and just use the plectra the founders of the USA used with their electric guitars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted November 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Hmmm I guess that would make... (sunglasses) ...some cents. YEAHHHHHHH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members omni Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Problem with using a quarter is I would be busting up strings so fast and I am not rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members craigny Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 I dont think anyone can argue the prowess of Signor Pablo Gilberto...his pick attack and the subqusent sound it makes (which i happen to like) is purpousley done by Paul, like stated here in this thread...there are vids of him explaining the sound and the different pick angles he uses to achieve it. However i wouldnt dismiss the pick he uses because of the attack he has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members straycat113 Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Paul Gilbert is one of the best guitarist on the planet as well as being the best teacher I have seen of any famous guitarist. But I know exactly what Jeff is trying to say and I don't see the reason for anyone to get their panties in a bunch lol. I have heard with him at full throttle when he does his solo spot and is running 3 note per string scales at 200 BPM. Hey it is a sound he likes as he could alter it at anytime as I doubt there is not many things the guy cant do with a guitar.Also as a person he seems as cool and humble a guy you would meet and if I could take lessons from any great player of my choice it would definitely be Gilbert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thecornman Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 There is no such thing as a beginner pick just like there is no such thing as a beginner string gauge! Many pro's out there prove this everyday. This kind of bull{censored} is just something the I know everything people on the internet came up with to make themselves somehow feel superior. What works for some does not work for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SlickBack Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 One thing I always notice in Youtube videos is, when there is a person talking the camera mic picks up the rather unpleasant sound of the electric guitar's acoustic sound just underneath the sound of the amp. This usually ads some scratchiness to the audio that I hate. In Paul's case it exaggerates his pick attack, which is why it sounds different than his recorded sound. That said, after 30 years of playing, and experimenting with every type of pick I could get my hands on I too prefer the thinner picks now. It started with me trying to get the "celloey" sound at first. For my own comfort I started to flatten out the pick more to try and get a Steve Morse twang. Works for me, but I really have to choke up on the pick and be economical with the hand movements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Wow. That guy does alright with a beginner pick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members virtuzoso Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 His pick attack sounds like that because he picks perpendicular to the string and not parallel like most people probably do. He's even mentioned it alot that he does it on purpose to get that softer "swish swish" sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Arr0wHead Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 "beginner pick". lol. When I was starting out, the picks most guitarists prefer now were called "bassist picks". Eddie, Paul, in fact most of the 80's shredder types, used thin picks and an incredibly light touch. Yes, it was helpful with the low action, but more importantly that light touch gave them the ability to play more cleanly on their incredibly overdriven and hot rodded amps. I actually switch between the Jazz III type picks and Dunlop nylon .46's. Basically everything Jeff has said thus far is bullcrap. Paul's pick attack will sound like Paul's pick attack with any pick he uses. The thinner picks actually make it less pronounced. Just look at his older videos - he's using a thicker pick there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Originally Posted by thecornman There is no such thing as a beginner pick just like there is no such thing as a beginner string gauge! Many pro's out there prove this everyday. This kind of bullshit is just something the I know everything people on the internet came up with to make themselves somehow feel superior. What works for some does not work for others. yeah pros tend to use the opposite of what the internet recomends. light strings, skinny necks, solid state amps, light picks, pickups raised really high, heavy Fenders, Norlin Gibsons, JJ tubes, low action, 7.25" radius, medium frets, boss pedals, cheap cables, the list is endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mygal Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Does he still use the orange tortex pick? I know he has a signature pick that looks more like a sharper jazz III or a shorter ultex sharp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drivelikejoewho Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 When i was a beginner i used to always but those 1.0 - 2.0mm Dunlop Tortoise picks. I still have a bunch of them that I never use. I don't know how I ever played with them and I wouldn't be surprised if those held me back a little from improving from playing anything but cowboy chords and power chords when I was younger. I was really pounding the hell out of those strings with them too! I now use 0.60-0.80mm picks for the most part and I think I'm partial to ones smack in the middle at 0.70mm. I think my touch on my right hand has improved consirably and my left hand is starting to follow. Less is more I'm finding. I've also taken my string gauge down from 10-52's to 10-46's. Although, now that my hand strength is improving I'm thinking of going up again.I proudly use beginner picks, strings and guitars. In fact, I endorse them as a 20 year beginner. I have little to be chauvinistic about in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 ^^^ I've downgraded my pick size, too. Started with 2.0 and now use primarily 1.0. To me anything lighter feels uncomfortable. As for Paul Gilbert, he can use whatever the {censored} size he wants. He's an incredible guitarist and seems like a good dude for sharing information to all us regular folks via way of youtube instead of hoarding it to himself. He sounds great anytime I've heard him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members straycat113 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 After re-reading this thread "What the {censored} are beginner picks and strings"? A lighter gauge pick is mainly used for rhythm guitar especially on an acoustic and there are many players who use 8 gauge strings- Brian May,Billy Gibbons, Yngwie, Page and many more.Whatever works for someone and makes playing the most comfortable is correct no matter if you are playing 1 year or 40, I am sure most know that when it comes to guitars there is no right or wrong anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Originally Posted by straycat113 After re-reading this thread "What the fuck are beginner picks and strings"? A lighter gauge pick is mainly used for rhythm guitar especially on an acoustic and there are many players who use 8 gauge strings- Brian May,Billy Gibbons, Yngwie, Page and many more.Whatever works for someone and makes playing the most comfortable is correct no matter if you are playing 1 year or 40, I am sure most know that when it comes to guitars there is no right or wrong anything. Tony Iommi also uses very light gauge strings and he has always sounded huge. Like you said, there is no right or wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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