Do you use a pick when recording acoustic strumming

mcmac74

Active member
Odd question I know....I stopped using a pick years ago as a lot of the songs i write are a mix of picking / strumming and I find it much easier not using a a pick. However, I've just started recording songs again and noticed that acoustic backing tracks are lacking the clarity i used to achieve when strumming with a pick.... So I'm now trying to get used to strumming with a pick again...feels very alien! ...what's most peoples preference with recording?

Mark
 
It’s the only way I can play, so yes.

Keep a selection of picks of various thicknesses and materials because that will make a big difference.
 
For strumming, I prefer to use a pick. I do some finger picking, however, the first finger on my right hand has a flat spot on the tip from an accident many years ago. That makes a "scraping" sound on certain strings that annoys me. I hear it on recordings and cringe with each note.

GTO is correct. Moving the mic around will change the sound a LOT.
 
Mic position also has a lot of effect on how articulated the sound is.

Oh of course...I'm not substituting proper mic placement for a pick, just an observation that the sound is that much brighter...particularly I've found with a .38mm nylon pick...my last recordings were a long time ago and I'm just trying to relearn everything I forgot ?
 
I haven't used a pick for 30 years. My first finger nail has become quite hard over the years and I use this for guitar and my bass. It has produced a flat right down the nail, but never been a problem. The nail's so tough now I cannot bit through it and need to use wire cutters to trim it. This is odd, because how does a nail know it's going too be strummed with? You'd think it would emerge soft, then toughen perhaps, but mine comes out tough - other fingers are perfectly normal!!
 
Unless you need the soft sound of finger style.. I like to use a pick. But the pick makes a big difference in sound. Thin can can slappy, some will tend to scrape more depending on what they are made of. Trick it to not hear the pick. I use a 1mm dunlop stubby and it works great for both types of guitars. Tortex works good too if you don't "slice" at the strings. If you do they wear really fast.
 
Mark Knopfler said in a video I just watched "the pick is the greatest guitar amplifier of all". Meaning, pick technique can be quite varied and put to use--I second the opinion that different thicknesses can help narrow down a color.
 
I usually use a pick when I'm recording on acoustic. Sometimes I'll do a fill on another track without a pick......it all depends on the song of course. I like the Dunlop nylon picks mostly. They're more quiet than most picks. I got used to them when I found myself breaking too many Fender and Gibson picks. As a rule I like thin / light picks.......and that's how I was always breaking them.

As an aside......my real problem with recording on acoustic is my finger tips on my pick hand. I don't pick or strum with a closed hand. My fingers are open and make too much noise much of the time. I have to force myself to play closed hand........and it doesn't feel natural for me.

Mick
 
I usually record 2 tracks (pickup and mic'd) with and without a pick so I have 4 tracks to muck around with.
Yeah, I do similar....my mic recording time is limited so I do as many varients as possible first off.
I usually use a pick when I'm recording on acoustic. Sometimes I'll do a fill on another track without a pick......it all depends on the song of course. I like the Dunlop nylon picks mostly. They're more quiet than most picks. I got used to them when I found myself breaking too many Fender and Gibson picks. As a rule I like thin / light picks.......and that's how I was always breaking them.

As an aside......my real problem with recording on acoustic is my finger tips on my pick hand. I don't pick or strum with a closed hand. My fingers are open and make too much noise much of the time. I have to force myself to play closed hand........and it doesn't feel natural for me.

Mick

I also strum with an open hand...I've noticed more noise on recordings with a recent guitar purchase which has a very natural finish with no varnish...using a pick at the moment feels very unnatural!
 
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I've always used a pick - Fender thin, or whatever thin was available. Can't finger pick and strumming barehanded isn't loud enough on acoustic. For recording, I have to switch to medium or hard because, with thins, my straight up and down strums produce a slapping noise, similar to playing cards on bicycle spokes. Then I also have an arced strum which eliminates the slapping but introduces a very noticeable scraping sound - worse than slapping, IMO... sounds like a TARDIS. That's all strumming over the sound hole.

On electric guitar, I always use thins.

For bass, I use thins or the first two fingers of my picking hand.
 
naw, neva.

i never use picks for both electric and acoustic guitars. (i only use a pick for bass sometimes, if i want that high-mid sound.

using a pick for guitars limits alot of your tone control; tone is all in your fingers.
 
using a pick for guitars limits a lot of your tone control; tone is all in your fingers.
I don't agree with that, I think that's too absolute. Now, there is definitely good scope for tone in the fingers, maybe even most of the time for some. But there's also interesting tone in picks, coins, multi-folded paper, foil etc. As is always the case, it depends on the sound one wants for that particular song.
 
Tone is not in the fingers, it's in how you use them to control the kind of attack, in all its variables. You can do that with or without a pick. Can you get some sounds with fingers that you can't get with a pick? Maybe, but the converse is just as true. Lots of success stories out there with both proponents, as well as hybrid styles, whether with a flat pick or thumbpick + fingers. Different strokes (literally) and all that.

Heavier picks, especially with beveled edges, can reduce pick noise. (Dunlop Primetone are the most affordable option for that if you go looking - I like them.)

And as mentioned, mic placement in recording is important to reduce technical noises, even with the best technique. If you put the microphone where it's mostly aimed at your right hand, you'll get more pick noise. If you aim it at your left hand, more finger and string noise. (Lefties playing lefty, please switch hands in the previous sentence - no disrespect/bias intended :).)
 
what are you going to do if you want a softer tone during the song, switch picks?

when i'm talking about "fingers", i'm also including NAILS, which are the same thing as picks. who the hell seriously plays with coins?

i don't get these guys that have learned guitar only by playing with picks and can't play shit (they can't pick) with their fingers.

also, try practicing 10 years of picking with only your fingers/nails, you'll realise how much picking with a pick is wayyyy easier.
 
Some rookie named Brian May uses a 6 pence coin. I hear he's a real up 'n comer!

I can't use my nails. They're too soft, which causes them to crack and gouge. Gets painful, and is useless for guitar picking. Its either the finger's pads or a pick for me. Electrics are almost always a pick.
 
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