I’m yet to try some Monty’s but always hear good things about them.
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I like lollar in theory but sonically I prefer most fralins. it’s literally just a preference though, I’m not claiming they’re superior.
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I have a feeling I’m the same but only had one set of fralin before. I’ve just ended up with a couple of guitars with Lollars and stuck with them.
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if my guitar could fit a p90 without damaging my ego and or investment in it I would have a fralin hum cancelling alnico in the neck, I don’t know if you’ve seen this demo by mike hermans but this pickup combo with the hum cancelling alnico neck and steel pole bridge hurts my feelings even a little more than most of his confidence destroying demos.
there’s a humbucker sized version I’ve thought about getting for my project guitar, and when I talked to them about it I guess these share the same guts as their alnico jazzmaster pickups as well. but you can’t beat the look of a p90! not by a longshot.
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They look amazing. I’m not sure my diy chops are anywhere near that level. Though I am tempted to do a build on something simple.
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Yes thx!
If it interests you at all, i say go for it. I will happily help you via pm or email whateva. But the number one easy solution for guaranteed success is joining tdpri telecaster forum and start a build thread in the diy amps section. The people there will help you every step of the way. You can also build in a 10% power switch to have a built in attenuator amongst other easy mods that interest you.
Edit: learning how to solder properly is the number one most important skill. Other than that, its an advanced lego build.
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Most of the time I strum with a loosely closed fist.
Isaiah Sharkey strums with his fingers more open, but it works for him too. He’s a much better player than me to say the least.
I have no plans to switch to Sharkey’s strumming approach though, because there are other skilled players like Al Di Meola who strum great with a (presumably) relaxed closed fist too
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I use my Boss Waza tube amp expander attenuator a lot with my Bogner Uberschall 150 watt mega amp. It lets me play with max tube goodness at normal volume and has a decent effects and EQ on it. I need to get another one for my Mezzabarba MZero amp as that can get loud fast once past volume setting 2 on the master volume. Looking at getting the Universal Audio Ox for next attenuator. Even living in large house that lets me crank amps, my eardrums do not want to shatter to get tube saturation and best distortion.
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Found these great for recording, but not the best for attenuation tbh. I’ve ended up with an Iron Man 2 mini at the moment. Far better attenuation to my ear. The OX is always attenuating, even on the lowest setting.
Word is there’s a new UA coming but I think it’s a smaller and simpler version of the OX. Might be worth holding out for bit until it’s reviled.
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I switch around a lot depending on what I’m doing. I mostly tuck them in for fast trem picking as there are multiple benefits to doing so and if you’re playing single note lines (or double stops) it’s easy enough to mute unplayed strings with the fretting hand. The exception there is when palm muting, for whatever reason I always do that open handed.
I also play without a pick quite a bit in which case it’s kind of a claw posture or less curled if tapping.
I have a whole other set of hand postures for bass but that’s another subject.
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This is how I play mostly. Dropped using pics twenty years ago when the twins were born out of safety. Never truly got back into them.
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I can wait since I am on no gear challenge this year. I play my Bogner Uberschall amp the most as it has this liquid metal quality that is super amazing for downtuned 7 string progressive metal styles like Dream Theater.
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you can get different sounds and feels by holding the pick in positions it was not intended to be held. strumming or plocking with the blunt side or the 3/4 turn of the blunt side is a completely different experience.
Also, there are people like the edge (u2) who’s entire sound is dependent on the type of pick and how they use it, he uses picks that have some ribbing on them for grip and he uses it to get that chime-like tone of his when it abrades the strings as he strikes them - I can’t imagine how quickly he goes through a pack of strings doing this though.
If I want to strum fast, like pinball wizard fast, I hold a pick pretty loose but not to the point of dropping it. If I want an articulated definition between the voicing of each string when you are strumming rhythmically, but separation of notes is still important, I might hold it a bit tighter. I have terrible form though, traditionally speaking, so I use both hands to get one effect and it changes a lot depending on what it feels like when I’m trying to get a sound. Usually I’m trying to recreate a sound and how I handle the task of doing so will change or adapt to the sound, I guess I’m not so unique in my style to adapt the sound to my own.
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Your tone makes me want to smash my guitar. Well done.
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I too switch things up. For most of my guitar playing life I’ve held a pick between the tip of the index finger and thumb, with the other fingers not tucked. It works for some things but I realized many years later that it was holding me back for other things.
When I started taking some funk guitar lessons, I realized that I couldn’t really get the fast loose strum with the level of attack I wanted unless I switched my guitar pick to between the side of my index finger and thumb with the other fingers tucked. This made it much easier to move from my wrist and sort of torque the pic for accents. I also strike the strings at a bit of an angle when using this technique. It’s nearly impossible for me to do this holding my pick the way I first learned.
I’ve since seen a few YouTube videos where people have discussed the same thing, so I’m not alone it seems, but I also have seen videos talking about how pro players are all over the map about how they hold their picks, so there’s not really one right way (which was good to learn).
The first way I learned is still more natural to me, so I have to actually make a conscious effort to employ the other method when I want to use it. I wish I had realized the importance of holding the pick when I first started out. The dangers of being mostly self-taught.
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Man, this is me to a T. I could have written this post!!
I’m also trying to get better at doing the finger tuck. You really are able to get a different percussive strike that way.
It’s been really hard to break my old habits though.
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I mentioned the MS-20 as a guitar processor before. I swear I did not know Analog Music Company was working on this pedal, which combines MS-20 design filter with Moog thingies.
Rob is actually running violin, not guitar through it, but I’m sure you can imagine what guitar might sound like with it.
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Essentially the same story here. I only learned a new pick holding technique when my previous instinctual one was holding me back. The control gained over the attack of the strings is like belt drive vs direct linkage plus it’s another big gain in economy of motion which is always good.
It’s definitely awkward at first. It’s so strange to me how slightly altering something postural is often more challenging than learning a completely new technique. Plenty of exceptions of course but it’s been a theme for me.
@Kegeratorz I went a few years mostly just playing classical guitar and the right hand stuff really stuck with me. I find it translates well to electric guitar. Plus I started as a bassist so playing without a pick always felt natural. I don’t recall, do you play more electric or acoustic?
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Acoustic but only because it’s an easier setup. I also find it fun with electric too. Probably because I’m so used to it.
Also an ex/now current bass player. No pick there as well.
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here is the cup of soup we discussed.
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