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Topic: new to PSG how hard do I need to pick |
Jerry Recktenwald
From:
Louisville KY
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Posted 29 Jan 2017 9:18 am |
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| I play guitar and pick hard sometimes and when needed pick soft. but when it comes to the PSG well you have the VP. how can I acquire a proper picking habit? |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 29 Jan 2017 9:29 am
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Welcome, Jerry - you'll get lots of responses from players much more experienced than me, but bear in mind that the volume pedal is misleadingly named - it is really a sustain pedal used to counteract the decay of the strings to give those glorious and apparently endless sounds that attracted you to the instrument, and its starting position will be near closed.
How hard you pick depends on the music, just like on any guitar.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 29 Jan 2017 9:59 am
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Even if you come from Dobro, your hands will take a long time to get good tone. Picking hard is the shortest way to a pure tone; many teachers recommend making practice without an amp a part of your practice routine.
Eventually you'll learn the paradoxical skill of picking softly but firmly; til then use the volume pedal to play quietly.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 29 Jan 2017 1:58 pm
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I pick very firmly. And,,,, never tell a recording studio engineer that the pedal is a volume pedal. Call it an expression pedal! They want to be in control of the volume, and "expression pedal" confuses them and they'll leave you alone!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 30 Jan 2017 2:41 am
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| John Billings wrote: |
| never tell a recording studio engineer that the pedal is a volume pedal |
Good advice, and I speak as an ex-engineer! 
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 30 Jan 2017 3:54 am
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Pick hard, pick soft.... depending on the need. But learn to pick evenly. .. consistently. I wouldn't even use a volume pedal for practise until you master at least four other skills. It just adds to the complexity thus frustration for a beginner.
If after a while you find odd and unusual problems... like the metal finger pick wrap getting caught on strings etc.... wrist strain. .. fatigue. .. then. . The next step is to experiment with different kinds of picks. I ended up with NP2 finger picks and a Propik Thumbpick, longblade version. Other guys land differently because highly depends on your body archetecture and blocking approach. |
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