Anybody else hitting the top?

BluesBop Harry

Hi everybody! I been studying GP for over a month now and I think I´ve got most of the basics down, however i´m having problems with the pick hitting the top while picking on the first string :oops: . Has this ever happened to any of you? judging from the looks of some player´s finish on the top I´d say yes but...
Anyway does anybody have any advice for me on this issue?
Thank you in advance for any help.
-Harry

dennis

well sometimes it could be angle of yuor right hand, it need not be too wide of an angle....

nonetheless that problem generally occurs to the really hard hitters in this style, this one gypsy who shall remain nameless has a 2 inch hole on his guitar because of that.... so maybe you're going at it a bit too hard? who knows without seeing you play, it's hard to tell...

one last thing, the motion of the right hand is not linear (ie diagonal) , it should actually be circular, therefore if you exaggerate the right hand wrist motion you'll notice that it's a scooping motion therefore after hitting the e string, the pick should be more or less moving away from the body (if u exaggerate it)

djangology

also, some guitars, like my Dell Arte Hommage and my Shelley Park have a bit more clearance, like between 2-8 more millimeters...

BluesBop Harry

Thank you very much! Soon I´ll post a video so it´ll be clearer.
I appreciate your help a lot.
-Harry

Josh Hegg

Harry,

I too have this problem at times with hitting the top. Also I tend to drag my hingers over the top in the same spot. After playing hard for a year on my most recent guitar I have a dull, dented area. I don't really care however. I like my guitars to look used because I use them. If I wanted my guitars to look new forever that would be easy... I would just leave them in their cases all the time and never play them. Play with your heart. If that means playing hard and making marks on your guitar them that's what will happen. Just play. That guitar is "you" and every mark you put on it playing says something about how you play. All can be repaired if need be in the future.

My 2¢
Cheers,
Josh

BluesBop Harry

Thank you Josh, I also like to play my guitars and i´m not that worried about the aesthetics, I think nicks and dents give and old guitar personality and show that it was used for what it was meant to (Look at Stevie Ray Vaughan´s "Number one"!), my problem was that the pick hitting the top made a loud "clack!" that got in the way of the music.
I play with all my heart too, and if in the future I get so carried away that I make a dent on my guitar with the pick, well then so be it, at least it would have been for a good cause. I´m training not to hit the top though!
Good luck!
-Harry