| Author |
Topic: British "bare thumb & finger" players......... |
Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
|
Posted 22 Dec 2012 12:41 pm |
|
I was just on YouTube watching a couple of videos by Jeff Beck and was and still am totally amazed at what he gets out of a guitar with no picks. It must be something in the water over in the UK as Jeff along with Mark Knopfler and the Forum's own Roger Rettig are all great finger stylists and each with their own unique sound. I've loved Mark's playing since "Sultans of Swing" first came out some years back and he continues to play so d@mn good. Roger Rettig was in Virginia doing an "Always Patsy Cline" show a couple of years back and came over to the house for lunch and tried out a couple of my six stringers and I'll have to say, ol' Roger ain't no slouch himself. I've tried the bare finger thing at gigs from time to time and I can't seem to "click" with it as well as I'd like. I watched the tribute to Les Paul video that Jeff did and that was also without a pick, now that's impossible! There's fabulous tone to be had by this approach and I think I'm just gonna have to leave my picks at home all the time so I won't have a choice and keep on pluggin' along at it. Are there any other finger pickers on this Forum besides Roger?........JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
|
|
 |
Jon Sawyer
From:
Richmond, California
|
|
|
|
Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
|
Posted 26 Dec 2012 5:54 pm
|
|
Hey Jon, I think Derek is mainly a slide player and that's fairly common for them. Warren Haynes plays slide without picks as did Duane Allman but uses a pick for regular playing. Leroy Parnell was another slide player that went the pickless route. I was mostly commenting on players that played "bare" for their regular six string work (not including slide)....JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
|
|
|
David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 4:57 am
|
|
I'm convinced some people have different thumb angles. When Jeff Beck has his palm flat against the strings either on the bridge or ahead or behind it, his thumb can still dip in and hit the downstrokes with some force. My thumb won't do it... I do know that he may not need much force, his default amp setting is "10" on volume and "10" on treble, and he controls everything from his guitar. Have you ever seen him play an acoustic? 
Mark Knopfler used to use a volume pedal a lot, though he's gotten away from it - I hear some degree of compression in most of his later stuff, though whether it's just the amp or something added, who knows. |
|
|
|
Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 1:17 pm
|
|
| Quote: |
| Have you ever seen him play an acoustic? |
About Jeff Beck.
BTW he played at least one song, and that is "Greensleeves" from Truth.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
|
|
|
Laurence Pangaro
From:
Brooklyn, NY
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 1:24 pm
|
|
Beck also plays acoustic (just off the top of my head) on "Sweet, Sweet Surrender" (Beck, Bogert, & Appice) and "Love is Green" (Wired).
LP |
|
|
|
David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 5:11 pm
|
|
| 1972 was 40 years ago. He stopped using a pick in the late 70's. I was just watching some Knopfler footage, and he's definitely got his hand raised way up off the guitar, and braced there with his ring and little fingers. So his muting is "finger blocking" and left hand - Beck has his palm flat, in fact he often uses it to press the floating whammy - while playing with his thumb. The whammy is raised up to float really high, maybe angled 20 degrees or so above the guitar face, but it's still an impressive feat, as he's using his little finger on the volume and tone knobs at the same time - whammy, pluck and swell, simultaneously. |
|
|
|
CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
|
Posted 29 Dec 2012 8:00 am
|
|
El Becko is pretty much the only real guitar hero we got left
Like good wine he got better w: the years
the control he has on that guitbox & the notes are truly remarkable
he has some great tunes & ideas
all w: the hands - no picks - & even a bit of slide
Tokyo Full Concert (1999) 1'30"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4emJASIuYA&feature=related
Live at Ronnie Scott's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIwSt2R54Xs
Last edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 31 Dec 2012 7:31 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 29 Dec 2012 10:40 am
|
|
I'm British and I rarely play with picks.
I guess I fit the definition, though most British steel players do use picks. |
|
|
|
Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
|
Posted 31 Dec 2012 6:38 am
|
|
Hey Alan, what got you into playing without picks? Did you start with them or always play "bare"?...
Also Roger R.... if you see this can you tell us about yourself and how you came about your technique?........JH in Va
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
|
|
|
Mark Carlisle
From:
Springville CA
|
Posted 31 Dec 2012 9:17 am
|
|
As much as I appreciate Beck and Knopfler, I'd rather play like this Brit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USgds2Ruc8U
Martin Taylor just says it all with his hands, a archtop and no Marshall Stacks or mega gizmos. So much taste. Of course Beck does have Tal on bass.. |
|
|
|
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 31 Dec 2012 10:39 am
|
|
| Jerry Hayes wrote: |
| Hey Alan, what got you into playing without picks? ... |
I used to use picks on guitar, banjo and dobro when I was playing with folk groups in England, but after I moved to California in 1980 I didn't know anyone and found myself playing more and more on my own. I guess I just got lazy. Nowadays, if I use picks I find difficulty in being fluent in the various picking styles, and, having big fingers, the picks are painful. Also, I play a lot of other instruments, such as the lute, harp and nylon-strung guitar, which are always played with bare fingers. I even keep a classical guitar with a nut riser and the tuners reversed, which I play with a tone bar. |
|
|
|
