OK, I gotta ask

Post #246,296 by tuberculosis 2/27/06 5:53:37 PM 8/21/07 5:54:21 AM Reply	OK, I gotta ask what pic's do you like with the heavy strings? I've settled on small (jazz) format purple tortexes because I find they let me stay closer to the strings on leads, less movement, and I tend not to strum too hard because they are wicked stiff and will hang (I compensate by turning the volume up). Key downside, Townshendish windmills are simply unthinkable with such a pic. Given that resistance is proportional to pic stiffness + string gauge, I'm wondering if you're using thin or ultrathin nylon pics? BTW, my primary axe is a 77 Washburn Hawk, slim neck through body design with super jumbo frets, brass nut/bridge with strings thru bridge design. The strings always break on the bridge because of those two quick little 45's. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Edited by tuberculosis Aug. 21, 2007, 05:54:21 AM EDT OK, I gotta ask what pic's do you like with the heavy strings? I've settled on small (jazz) format purple tortexes because I find they let me stay closer to the strings on leads, less movement, and I tend not to strum too hard because they are wicked stiff and will hang (I compensate by turning the volume up). Key downside, Townshendish windmills are simply unthinkable with such a pic. Given that resistance is proportional to pic stiffness + string gauge, I'm wondering if you're using thin or ultrathin nylon pics? BTW, my primary axe is a 77 Washburn Hawk, slim neck through body design with super jumbo frets, brass nut/bridge with strings thru bridge design. The strings always break on the bridge because of those two quick little 45's. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Collapse All History
Post #246,312 by jake123 2/27/06 9:11:17 PM Reply	Ultrathin nylon? Noooooo.... I use the 1.14 mm classic shape tortex picks. And yes, I do windmills with them from time to time, and rely on the strength of my fingers and wrists not to blow the pic out of the hand. Which goes a fair way to explaining why I was blowing the ten:) Actually, the trick is to let the pick float a bit when it goes across the strings when you're doing the windmill. That's not a great description, but the idea is that you let the pick take the appropriate angle when it first hits the strings, without it actually moving so much that it ends up going flying (though I've done that my fair share of times and then some). You also want to choke up a fair bit on the pick when you do that, because There Will Be Slippage when it hits the first string; you just have to make sure that the slippage is small enough that it's still resting between the forefinger and thumb after the slippage is done. Mind you, I've got to admit I don't do as much windmilling as I did when I was a younger man. Heavy picks + heavy strings + pounding the snot out of it = tone heaven. The Ibanez is a neck through body guitar, but the strings don't go through the body. Like yours, the bridge and nut are brass. Seems there was a lot of that going around in the late seventies and early eighties.... Oh, and no, I'm not a metal player; straight up rock, blues, folk, and country. Heh, I used to tour with a country band, playing my strat through my marshall. You just have to set up the amp right and it can be quite acceptable to all but the most trad of country fans... but they tend to spit on anyone not playing a tele anyway. --\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca \n [link\|http://consultron.ca\|http://consultron.ca] [link\|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca\|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] \n Kingston Ontario Canada [link\|news://news.consultron.ca\|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #246,346 by tuberculosis 2/28/06 2:14:00 AM 8/21/07 5:54:59 AM Reply	As far as I can tell as you get older (and better), you tend to shorten the strap, use heavier strings, stiffer pics,and stop running around like an idiot. :-) I've ended up liking my axe fairly high (think jazz dude high almost - so I can get around the neck better) even though I play pop, rock, funk, and blues. (I too have worked country but I did it with a Mesa Boogie MK III Combo and my trusty Washburn - good country brand name). "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Edited by tuberculosis Aug. 21, 2007, 05:54:59 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #246,394 by jake123 2/28/06 2:33:34 PM 2/28/06 2:34:18 PM Reply	Guilty of all but the first I still keep the guitar pretty low, esp. compared to most of my buds (who've mostly moved on to jazz playing). OTOH, when I do performances, I tend to be a wee bit more high energy than they are... Mind you, I've moved into singing a lot more, so most of what I do is cranking out the chords; when I'm lead playing, I don't have to cuddle up to a mic so I can change my posture to suit. My guitar's centre is a couple of inches below my belly button... of course, when I first started at sixteen it was practically down by my knees. Yeah, I forgot; I also get a big charge out of vamping on a good groove, but it's hard to play really good funk while you're singing, so I tend to keep it Very Simple Stoopid. --\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca \n [link\|http://consultron.ca\|http://consultron.ca] [link\|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca\|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] \n Kingston Ontario Canada [link\|news://news.consultron.ca\|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited by jake123 Feb. 28, 2006, 02:34:18 PM EST Expand All History

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