String / Pick Noise

Spalo

Has anyone got any advice on how to avoid excessive string / pick noise when using a Wegen, or similar, pick?

Thanks,

SP

chip3174

If you can pick the string using a very direct motion you can avoid some string noise. Although it is nearly impossible to eliminate it totally. Keep in mind that a little bit of the pick noise is a part of the charm of acoustic jazz manouche...also remember too that whatever pick noise you are hearing as a player is going to be much less as heard by your audience.

All the great gypsy players have pick noise, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Chip

badjazz

my solution was to stop using those clunky picks. I went back to the cheap ones.

mmaslan

If you angle your pick around 45 degrees as recommended in Gypsy Picking it will ride through the strings more quietly, though there will still be some noise. And if you play loudly, it will drown out much the remaining pick noise.

You can hear Django's pick quite often in the pre-Stimer recordings. Apparently tortoise is noisy too. It's not a major worry. Softer picks are quieter, but they also produce less volume.

robertsaunders

I like the pick noise of a thick Wegen, the attack...just my personal taste. It doesn't bother me because of the high volume of a gypsy guitar (and of course electric), but also to me it has a bite, a crunch that adds to the drama.

MichaelHorowitz

chip3174 wrote:

If you can pick the string using a very direct motion you can avoid some string noise. Although it is nearly impossible to eliminate it totally. Keep in mind that a little bit of the pick noise is a part of the charm of acoustic jazz manouche...also remember too that whatever pick noise you are hearing as a player is going to be much less as heard by your audience.

All the great gypsy players have pick noise, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Chip

This is true.....pick noise is part of the trad. sound.

nutloaf

I had exactly the same problem, I think the post was entitled clonking noise. I have eradicated the problem by trying different positions for the plectrum. I started holding the plectrum more towards the tip of my index finger but this made it worse. now I have found the perfect spot which is, (for me anyway) the first knuckle joint of the thumb against the first knuckle joint on my index finger. Still holding the plectrum as in the book, but a little more of my thumb overhanging the plectrum. There is still a bit of plectrum noise but is complementary to the sound but it doesnt sound like a bass drum anymore.Also I think you will get a little more plectrum noise from gypsy picking as your hitting the string with more power and accuracy rather than just skimming the string with the contempory way of holding the plectrum,with the tips of the thumb and finger, rather than the side of finger and base of thumb which is a thousand times better.

Spalo

Thanks for those tips - I think some minor adjustments to the angle of the pick are needed here.

Also a good point from chip3174: as the player you're always going to be closer to the sound than anyone listening - your experience will be more intimate and detailed.

All the best to you all.

SP