Perceiving Pick Noise: Can You Hear The Chirp? 16 picks compared!

[Chord_The_Seeker]

I use Gravity picks and pick at a fairly steep angle. It can result in so much chirp that I feel like a Disney princess with birds flying around my head while I play.

[FloridaManMatty]

I actually like chirp in fast runs. It’s part of why I like Paul Gilbert’s older stuff so much. The pick attack was brutal.

[BeerBulldog]

Like I needed one more thing to obsess about. Damn it.

[breadfan]

I got into a disagreement with a friend from high school cuz I could hear the pick noise in AC/DC’s Thunderstruck and he, going from the video, thought it was all hammer-ons and pull-offs. I don’t care about the video, you can hear the pick noise!

[gigatesla]

The chirp has been the bane of my existence for over two years. I have to choose between a comfortable pick angle and no chirp.

[costascostas]

... I can hear it *everywhere* now... you ruined my music listening experience. And improved my guitar playing. So it's ok.

[roccocroce]

Gojira actually uses chirping in their playing as an accent. Its awesome lol. Check out flying Wales towards the end

[coolmacatrain]

1:25 that's quite a revelation after 30+ years of playing. I have of course noticed this phenomenon before, but I've never really "listened" to it.
Quite amazing the things you've discovered Troy... thanks again for your wonderful teaching and ability.

[jdrudeify]

This is like the time I had the Fed EX logo arrow pointed out to me.

[sirsyko]

Yeah, I've heard it. Yeah, it's annoying. Worse -- now I'll never be able to unhear this. I'm betting I'll hear this everywhere now that you pointed it out.

Finally a video that goes in depth on an issue that I've had for years! This chirp sound has been bothering me for years. I've tried changing my picking technique so that the pick is flat against the string and it seemed to help, but I would still get a chirp on higher strings with faster alternate picking riffs. I finally gave up on trying to get rid of it since I assumed it was probably caused by my guitar tone, pickups, and bad picking technique. This video definitely gave me some more ideas to try and picks to test out. I really appreciate this video, you don't know how happy this made me. Hopefully I can finally take a huge step towards achieving the guitar sound I want.

[jazroc]

I'm sure its been mentioned, but the amount of chirp is also directly related to how hard you squeeze the pick. ..probably due how the energy is distributed.

[LivioLamoneamusic]

So, when Allan Holdsworth did his research (his goal was to make picked and unpicked note to sound the same) and finally chose the 1mm Dunlop to reduce the chirp and attack was, of course right and accurate.
He was such a fine genius, it will take decades for the world to appreciate his genius and the depth of his discoveries and research: he did the same deep research about guitars, amps, effects, signal chain, recording equipment, recording technique and every other aspect of making music.
Time will tell.

[Priyadarshan_Nag]

15:19 That melodic run ending in an open chord sounds so amazing!
Great video again Troy. Keep rocking brother 👍🏻

[rubendez]

An experienced players knows and uses all those small "noises" to make diferent sounds for expresion and dynamics. Its about "knowing" your sounds, and how to produce them when you want them. Thanks for this vid, a lotta players dont even hear/ recognize notes, much less such delicate influences, music is about waking your ears up and thinking faster than u play.

[davidyellowstar]

Deeply impressive research and explanations, way to go, never seen anyone come near this kind of helpfulness on the subject, thank you!

[jackhargreaves]

The chirp appeared in my acoustic playing a couple of weeks ago (but not my electric). It has gotten worse despite my changing strings, picks etc. I am so happy I found your video. I had the pick rotated too much and was catching the edge. Thank you.

[loulasher]

So, we've not all been individually crazy hearing this stuff and then choosing our picks which noise was more pleasing in what ever we were playing at the time. We're collectively crazy. Good to know.

[theotherside]

Thanks! After getting a epiphone hummingbird IBG, I was playing the other day and kept hearing a chirp and thought it was one of my smoke detectors or wireless doorbell, no amp. I thought i was losing my mind. I recorded a little on my phone and put headphones on for playback and there that chirp was! I dont remember which pick i was using. I normally use a dunlop .73 nylon or dunlop medium gel pick. Ive been playing over 40 years and just heard pick noises. After your demo, I have regained my sanity! Thanks soooo much!

[SharpEdgeStandardOfficial]

For anything I want BRIGHT, like acoustic or EVH style riffage I use Dunlop Ultex 1.0mm picks and when I play in my heavy metal band I switch to Dunlop Tortex 1.0mm and Troy just explained this PERFECTLY! I myself didn't even know why. Thanks for this Troy!