You know the now generation is very lucky to have these videos and people like Troy. I took years to learn to control pick depth and motion with no one to teach me. Now one just have to watch it on CZcams
Even cheap guitars are now very playable and sound good on top of that. Instead of crappy midi sound bytes can now replicate amps with plug-ins that are hard to tell apart from real thing. Old dvds/vhs were blurry now you can see everything in 4k.
Very, VERY lucky. Most pre internet people have not developed their playing or it's been extremely slow because information has not been available and/or affordable. Seeing an old dude playing decently or well, one can usually expect that person to have had to put more time into it.
17:25 Teemu's face when he plays something that doesn't sound good. "So this is what it feels like to be mortal.... " Poor guy doesn't know what to do with himself.
I stumbled on this channel a few years ago and to this day I can't understand how it doesn't have millions of subs. This is by far one of the best guitar channels on YT. The in depth breakdown of the picking hand is something no one else is doing and the graphics are always incredible. Keep rocking Troy!
Eu adoro assistir o Troy, mesmo não entendo o que ele fala, fico apenas reduzindo como palhetar corretamente. Até hoje tenho dificuldades na palhetada. Estou com 65 anos e o Troy superou em todos, com detalhes nas câmeras. Fantástico!
It's because even though many people may own a guitar, (acoustic,) polls show that only about 10% of beginners were recorded to actually show interest in guitar, but that number fluctuated during the pandemic. And, that's even with 50% of the population liking hard rock and heavy metal. So, if you're a guitarist - you're one of just a few.
Because no one that's actually a professional musician or renowned or famous for playing the guitar either watched or needed this channel. And what it's trying to sell (note this channel uploads adverts for a paid service not teaching material) really isn't even 1% of guitar playing or musicianship. You can see the blindingly obvious (a) You need the pick not to hit the strings when you don't want it to and (b) you need it to hit the string when you do want it to. Now you've learned everything Troy knows about playing the guitar in two sentences. The rest is fluff and filler. There's no point watching any more. Except to note there's plenty of ways of picking. The real key thing to note today is that the latest guitarist people are getting excited about doesn't even use a pick. So if he can play really well (and he can - significantly better than the vast majority of guitar players) then clearly nothing Troy has ever said matters at all. You don't even need to use a pick to play guitar. The sad thing is how many potential musicians might waste time or money watching this crap - but I'd suggest that most people who are going to become musicians won't fall into the trap (because they'll instinctively see that of all the skills and knowledge they need to acquire this isn't a significant part and certainly not something they would have to spend significant time fussing over at the exclusion of other, far more important, skills. The bottom line is : the vast majority of guitarists learn how to do this while they're busy learning a bunch of more difficult and key skills - skills that Troy doesn't have. Unless you really are only interested in so-called 'shredding' but there aren't millions of people who are.
Because this good man does not understand the art of brevity. People who want to do this want to know how to do it; they do not want a bloody 45 minute dissertation on every detail of his thoughts. He could teach the technique in ten minutes; the rest is up to the diligence of the individual.
Speaking from personal experience, limiting the pick depth only creates bad habits. When you learn to play with this Speed Guide, then you can't play any other guitar anymore. My first electric guitar had an HSS pickup configuration, and my picking hand position was such that when picking, my pick was hovering exactly above the middle pickup. I once adjusted the pickups very close to the strings. After that, everytime I picked, my pick hit the middle pickup, so I didn't have to control the pick depth at all anymore. I noticed that because of this I could play faster and more comfortably, so I continued to play like this for months. However, my wake up call was when I had to play a different guitar without this "speed guide" trick; I could barely pick at all! I had absolutely no control of pick depth anymore, and picking felt VERY awkward, so I basically had to relearn how to pick, and it took a long time. So, my advice to everyone else is to stay away from this Speed Guide, unless you want to ruin your picking technique.
Fun tidbit, you can hear Floyd Rose himself completely RIPPING SHIT UP on the two albums he did with Q5 in the 80’s. Monstrous guitar solos. So glad we got to play a few gigs with them during their brief reunion!
Troy seems to get leaner, younger and better with time and his chops are getting better everyday...keep it up Troy. All thanks to your Carl Miner bundle, I discovered cross picking and am in the process of cleaning my technique...The way camera angles are used and explanatory details are provided, a light bulb (more like a Halogen lamp) lit up in my mind....No words to thank Troy... How I wish he would do the same for left hand...How I fervently wish...🤘🤘🤘
Pick Depth is definitely slowing me down and I've noticed that once I changed from a LP to an Ibanez RG. The depth on the Rg is nothing compared with a LP. But I also have an RGA and the depth, still less than a LP, is deeper than the regular RG. 1.4 cm on the RGA 1cm on the RG. it makes a huge difference, specially for a mediocre guitarrist like me. This video is gold!!
This is the floating pick approach that Matt Smith talks about in his book on "Speed" - the less of the pick is hitting the string the faster you can play. I also heard about it in a seminar on picking years back, It's also a dynamic control approach ( if you want to play louder you increase the plucking depth when hitting a string), It may not apply so much to high gain playing. The stylus picks that came out in the late 80's and early 90's play on this. I believe John Taylor currently uses one.
@Meh...whatever Dave Celentano talks about that, basically breaks it down to a sort of "rule" - ("As far as picks go, The heavier, the faster"). Watching EVH play though, knowing he doesn't use a heavy pick per se, that really isn't true. There's more variables to consider.
Troy: 1. Troy, you should keep the memory regarding the training wheels. I'm not familiar with a "balance bike," but it HAS TO BE better than training wheels! Those things really suck. I remember, same as you, that when I took them off, I could balance and ride. You see, the rider needs to be able to tilt the bike, that's the only way to learn balance! And it usually only takes a few seconds, minutes at most. Most of the "learning" is coordinating our limbs to pedal, steer and lean the bike, all at the same time...while balancing. Those things can happen pretty quickly in the brainstem, maybe quicker if the person (child) gets some experience doing the other things besides balancing. 2. I wish I had access to those fancy camera clamp thingies. They are cool, even if they do get in the way a little. Very helpful as a learning tool. Maybe someday if I ever give lessons, I'll invest in (or build) some. 3. This was a VERY HELPFUL video, on so many levels! It helped me learn what I need to master to perfect several techniques. 4. Nothing better than to hear expert level wailing, harmonizing guitar leads! The rest of the video (the real meat) was SUCH a bonus! Thanks to both of you for your time, your open and frank comments on the techniques, the equipment, the demonstrations... everything! Thank you both, SO MUCH! I really learned a lot, plus I was entertained by the music, the conversation, all of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you, from my heart, sincerely!
Thank you for this video. I am definitely struggling with pick depth consistency and was highly curious about this innovation. I feel like I just finished a physics course or something. You guys are wizards and it's a great time to be a guitar player. Great video, thank you!
Troy you have created something awesome and of incredible value to me .As a left-handed player Who plays like a right-handed player all my life I struggled with limitations of right-hand speed! all my life! If you want to do a study on left hand players playing like right handers and maybe do a video of your method working for ambidextrous playing I would be all in for that. I always used to believe that due to being a left-hander who plays like a right-hander was the main reason for my struggling with maximum speeds both in picking with a pic and in fingerpicking, Simply by watching your series I have watched my right hand become more loose I also do exercises where are use both hands simultaneously doing the same move for months using mirrors and simultaneous in the air moving of both hands , trying to fool my brain into thinking my right hand is my left hand. I have noticed some interesting things where working with a mirror ,similar to what stroke patients do ( DOIGE Neuroplasticity Studies for ex : The brain that changes itself) that if I look from the top down at my hand at either the right or the left hand with a mirror covering one hand _ my brain can be fooled into thinking it’s actually looking at the opposite hand, Something very interesting happened not only when I put a mirror on the left side to make my right think that it’s my left hand , which is my main hand! did the right hand speed up but the opposite also happens that : when I put a mirror where the right hand is so That my brain was thinking the mirror image it was seing of the left-hand moving was actually the right hand- it then slowed my left hand which is fast down! This made me realise that the nerves and muscles are the same exact on both sides of the body and speed limits in both hands are solely due to wiring in the brain which can be rewired using primary training techniques! The brush your teeth test: so while can you brush your teeth easier with your main hand the right hand if you’re a right-hander or the left-hand if you’re a left-hander, brushing your teeth with much more detail and faster and more control with your main hand is what usually people do. Often the differences are extreme. Now with watching your videos and only thinking about for hours a day pathways in my brain have started to Open and I can now see myself moving to what has been an unattainable goal for more than 30 years of playing. through a very good career as an acoustic singer and guitar player songwriter , with a high level of skill of articulation rhythm playing and composition on both instruments but always running into a wall with speed in my right hand, this was always something that blocked me mentally, spiritually and sometimes even made me depressed because I knew that my musical talent was much higher than what my right hand was able to deliver, I pull my hat to you sir for creating such incredible value for free and I will gladly join you in your online courses but as I noted before if you do want to work with a left-hander who plays like a right-hander and see how far we can go which I think would be quite interesting then I am very open to maybe doing a video series of my exploits working with you personally . Most respectful and happy greetings from Europe, Chris Shermer
For anyone looking to try this principle (for cheap), there's a device called the Runbarr that's around $20. It's a piece of plastic you attach to the guitar body and lies about 1/8th inch under the strings. It works in some senses, but does make pickslanting tough.
Man that intro was so good! The part at 0:43 especially is one of the best phrases I've heard in a while! I have to learn that now haha.. Did you write it yourself?
I 'member that. I never could master it, even after a WHOLE two months. That was ....25 years ago? I'm thinking about getting one now (they are still for sale) to see how my pick depth has improved.
@@Take-the-Ticket I would rather have the stylus pick again, as the necessity of altering a guitar to achieve the same ends seems rather redundant. Yes, you can STILL purchase them :)
This thing should be made of a hardened silicone with some adhesive around the perimeter. Thus it could be mounted on any guitar. Of ocurse variant with different pickups, etc.
@@lancethrustworthy I hope So. I want to try one on my ESP. That Floyd Roseneck looks like crap...lol. I think i recall someone saying something like this is already available for bass players...to control finger picking depth.
Those really fat, smooth picks are absolutely excellent at letting you practice smooth, relaxed string changes. The really sharp Tortex picks are great to tidy up any sloppiness left over from the fat smooth pick. Makes a real difference in my practice routine to warm up my wrist with the easy, fat pick and then practice fine details with the sharp pick.
I've been practicing with a rounded triangle pick lately to achieve a similar effect. The shape prevents you from dipping the pick too far under the strings, as long as you pick-slant slightly. I've noticed significant speed gains, even when switching back to a standard Fender-style pick.
I love Les Paul model guitars, I really do, but I got to tell you, that Ibanez is BEAUTIFUL! I fell in love with it, it is pure beauty... and excellent video as always!
I've known the existence of the Code series but never gave too much attention on it. I've noticed I've been a downward slanter whole my life and that's why I never could play strats due to the volume pot location. I think I'm on my way reworking my whole picking technique from holding the pick, slanting both ways and focusing on pick depth to mention a few. I've always liked playing loud with an effort but it comes at the cost of efficiency, stamina and speed. It's amazing Troy how deep you've investigated this topic, identifying all the different motions which in different combinations likely affect why players have their own sound, comfort licks and style in general.
Hey Troy, Paid member here. I would like to see a more in-depth video on how players determined their pick depth and the size pick they use. Maybe it’s on the site and just haven’t found it. Thanks
We haven't really addressed this but the short answer is it's just the feel of the pick on the string. I've noticed that often if I hit a tremolo a little bit too loud or soft on the first pickstroke, by the second or third pickstroke it's perfect. So I think it's really just tactile adjustment based on what feels and sounds smooth to you. If you're asking, what physically do you do to create this, that's a good question and I suspect it's different based on the picking motion you use. But we'd have to look at it.
Your research, organization, creativity and delivery to help us all get better and gain understanding is far beyond any teaching method available. For that we all thank you. More impressive is that you have actually used these techniques to play great music with melody and feeling. Most people simply shred and can’t actually make music. Great job. You are the man!
so i just came here from one russian guitarist who recomended you in one of his videos. jeez that is the best guitar content about guitar technique. also i recomend this russian guy who is "planeta metala", really cool technichal guitarist
Thanks to the neck mounted camera I can finally see how people pick. One thing that immediately jumps out at me is the pick itself. Mine is rather round and blunt - I have to 'go deep' to play a note whereas most fast pickers featured on this channel use hard and pointy picks and are barely touching the strings... At least by the looks of it. I have to try one.
This is first and so far only time I have somebody (Teemu) to have guitar that can have this low strings I quess the fretboard is lower than normal too, but also that using the body to keeping the pick against it when normally you flaot the pick in the air.
'50's Les Pauls (and reissues) have higher pickup surrounds and typically the strings hit the bridge pickup or surround when depressed at highest fret which unknowingly creates the same picking technique (issue) as this. Its how some Les Paul players actually set their bridge pickup height back in the day (not the best thing for sustain, lol)
That is amazing picking. One can do the same as this product, just pick over the the fretboard at the end of the neck with a guitar that has low action.
A guitar ramp is a good idea. I have used a bass ramp on a strat before. This video inspired me to make one out of a 1/4 inch piece of plexiglass using a radius sanding block. It worked great! Take like 10 minutes to make.
Troy, it's funny you posted this, just the other day I put a palm tree pop socket between the pickups on my guitar and noticed that having the space filled in by a flat surface would probably help people with their picking (my biggest problem though growing up had always been picking and hitting air since my technique uses just the very tip of the pick) but it's so crazy how guitar brains think alike sometimes.
Thinking FR should create an insert "block" to go under the strings, between the pickups that would be able to modify ANY guitar to do this as well. It would be adjustable as well.
That Red guitar! ? Its a beauty! And troy, i need to say that i watched 'cracking the code' the 3rd time nie and its fk great! I' m on it for a year now and improved my picking Hand so much like i never thought i, d be capable of. Your work is just awsome, no words. Big thx from Berlin!
So just extend the fretboard to the bridge? Probably just for solid body electrics. On an acoustic guitar it would be tapping sounds on the body. Unless it had a rubber surface.
What I did was just lower the middle pickup ! So now postition 3 is very quiet but 2,4 and 5 are beautiful:) Yngwie and Richie Blackmore also dropped the middle pickup because it got on the way!
Ha, thanks guys. Yes it's a piece of soundtrack we wrote years ago. The power chord after the intro melody is there because we needed a sound effect for an animation ( czcams.com/video/pCB_xHEN5VI/video.html ). I'm so used to hearing it that we just kept it for this longer version. Teemu wrote the B section in about two seconds flat, and there's a cool rhythm part he came up with that each trade off. You can't really hear it here in the name of making the leads more audible but it's great.
I have got two guitars. The first Ibanez saves the pick with her board and the second Epiphone where the strings are very high over the deep board were initially hard to play but now I use both of the techniques. As said, you can learn it with gypsy jazz aproach
Will be interesting if in a few years and these have caught on to new players who learned to play on the Speed God. How well they would adapt to a "regular" guitar. I bet they'll be digging so deep it'd be like dragging a boat anchor. I love these videos from Troy!!
Isn't it going to get scratched all to hell where the pick is constantly hitting the wood? You would think that would be a perfect place for a pick guard.
Most picks are not hard enough to scratch the almost glass-hard surface of a glossy finished guitar. Most scratches are not due to the pick, but due to either dust or fingernails.
Not sure why but I have never held my pick "correctly" always gripped it from the side which automatically limits my depth. After fifty plus years playing don"t think I'll change now. Great video though!
Here's an idea: Attach to the middle pickup a metal piece wide enough to cover the whole picking area. This way you'll be able to control depth and see which suits you best.
Actually the real problem which this eliminates is getting hung up on the PICK UP Yngwie uses a double Stack SINGLE COIL to avoid the pick up , Dimebag insisted on using a High pick up bezel to keep from wacking into the pick up and damaging it so i think this is a good invention . If you play metal you've got to have that pick up up high . if you don't think that matters you don't play METAL \m/\m/
Beside the techniques, I personally attached a wood block to raise the surface on my Bass guitar. For the 'pick depth' Remember anyone can achieve the same thing as Floyd rose guitar, by putting additional pickguard material or supplementary woodpiece on the body.
One thing I think a lot of people don't notice or maybe was just me for a long time was the sort of choking up on the pick so there isn't a lot of pick exposed. I notice the more that is done the less depth I seem to use or something. I will have to look at the escape motions more for sure.
Does your finger rub on the strings the whole time, i.e. serving as the guide? Because if not, then my guess is that that small pick exposure isn't really the depth gauge, and instead that you've learned by feel how much bend your finger and wrist joints need to keep the pick at the depth you want. If the rubbing is contant, then maybe the grip is your guide. But to me that approach gets in the way of arpeggio picking and shuts off strings when I don't want them shut off.
@@troygrady hmm that's a good question. I don't think my finger rubs the strings the whole time. Maybe having little pick exposed caused me to change the depth like you said via feel. It does seem like there is a little arching back or up I guess of my wrist if I want more attack. It is kinda hard to tell honestly.
Maybe I'm missing something here , but in order to play fast you want to develop a picking grip that has the least amount of tip showing as possible. Regardless of uwps, dwps or any other letters you wanna chuck in the mix. Less pick showing means no chance of the pick being too deep. I'm pretty sure you don't need a device to help. Just hold the pick near the tip.
Love your videos so much, they have helped me become a much better player over the years. There's a player I think you should check out. He doesn't have a huge amount of clout at the moment cause he's just a session guy really, but you should totally look into getting Kevin Heiderich into the studio at some point. I met him at Euroblast last year and he's one of the most impressive metal rhythm players I've ever heard. He can downpick 16ths at 140bpm and his strict back and forth string crossing which I've heard him do at 140-160 bpm is some of the tightest I've ever heard. I've talked to him a few times recently about technique and he's got some really interesting insights of his own about how he does what he does. He's got a few videos on his channel of him just playing through Necrophagist songs at 125% speed. Ridiculous.
Thanks Troy for the huge lesson (that uses gear review as a foil!!?), as well as the timeline for the video's topics! Sooo many hair flips; you should probably add the hair flips to the timeline :) This is a great descriptive and visual summary of a bunch of the classic Cracking the Code movements.
OK this is top shelf quality content! Awesome playing to both u guys! I've been playing a while... its cool to see how I could change a few techniques to better optimize my playing. Awesome some stuff!!! I'm watching this video more then once that's for sure!
Floyd Rose? What happened to Kahler? Steinberger? I gave up on Floyd Rose and decked my tremolo. I could not tune the guitar correctly, nor intonate it. I also do not know how to properly use locking tuners. Some of the older Fender style Kluson tuners work fine for me. I know you men are on the cutting edge of technology and are great in your skill. I wish I had it, but it is not to be without proper instruction. More power to you. Your tone is wonderful, your melody is pleasant. Best wishes.
If people just thought about it... you gotta practice picking the string with as little motion as possible if you wanna achieve that, can use the string either side as a barrier to guide you when you first start. Having that brick in the way would just be annoying and restricting.
You know the now generation is very lucky to have these videos and people like Troy. I took years to learn to control pick depth and motion with no one to teach me. Now one just have to watch it on CZcams
Watch, AND PRACTICE!
Also you can support him on his website! His lessons are just mind blowing!
Even cheap guitars are now very playable and sound good on top of that. Instead of crappy midi sound bytes can now replicate amps with plug-ins that are hard to tell apart from real thing. Old dvds/vhs were blurry now you can see everything in 4k.
Very, VERY lucky.
Most pre internet people have not developed their playing or it's been extremely slow because information has not been available and/or affordable.
Seeing an old dude playing decently or well, one can usually expect that person to have had to put more time into it.
I've learn most in the years Troy entered CZcams than the past 30 years.
the opening part they played reminded me of everything I love about jason and marty in cacaphony
We're not worthy! But "reminded", sure. :)
YES !
That's EXACTLY what I thought when I first heard it!
17:25 Teemu's face when he plays something that doesn't sound good. "So this is what it feels like to be mortal.... " Poor guy doesn't know what to do with himself.
Yup, I make that face a lot!
He look so pissed after that 😂
Troy dedicated his life to shred.
I remember seeing this jock's videos from pre 2010.
What a hero.
My first thought upon hearing about this speed guide was, "What does Troy Grady have to say about this?" Man, this guy is too good to us.
Correction, "is too GOD to us"
I consider myself as having near mastery of Alternate Picking, it's my top skill. But when I watch these videos I always learn something new.
I’m floored you got to jam with temu. He’s one of my all time favorite players from the modern era.
Troy has a PhD in picking mechanics
I stumbled on this channel a few years ago and to this day I can't understand how it doesn't have millions of subs. This is by far one of the best guitar channels on YT. The in depth breakdown of the picking hand is something no one else is doing and the graphics are always incredible. Keep rocking Troy!
People want flash and easy ways to do things
Eu adoro assistir o Troy, mesmo não entendo o que ele fala, fico apenas reduzindo como palhetar corretamente. Até hoje tenho dificuldades na palhetada. Estou com 65 anos e o Troy superou em todos, com detalhes nas câmeras. Fantástico!
It's because even though many people may own a guitar, (acoustic,) polls show that only about 10% of beginners were recorded to actually show interest in guitar, but that number fluctuated during the pandemic. And, that's even with 50% of the population liking hard rock and heavy metal. So, if you're a guitarist - you're one of just a few.
Because no one that's actually a professional musician or renowned or famous for playing the guitar either watched or needed this channel. And what it's trying to sell (note this channel uploads adverts for a paid service not teaching material) really isn't even 1% of guitar playing or musicianship. You can see the blindingly obvious (a) You need the pick not to hit the strings when you don't want it to and (b) you need it to hit the string when you do want it to. Now you've learned everything Troy knows about playing the guitar in two sentences. The rest is fluff and filler. There's no point watching any more. Except to note there's plenty of ways of picking. The real key thing to note today is that the latest guitarist people are getting excited about doesn't even use a pick. So if he can play really well (and he can - significantly better than the vast majority of guitar players) then clearly nothing Troy has ever said matters at all. You don't even need to use a pick to play guitar. The sad thing is how many potential musicians might waste time or money watching this crap - but I'd suggest that most people who are going to become musicians won't fall into the trap (because they'll instinctively see that of all the skills and knowledge they need to acquire this isn't a significant part and certainly not something they would have to spend significant time fussing over at the exclusion of other, far more important, skills. The bottom line is : the vast majority of guitarists learn how to do this while they're busy learning a bunch of more difficult and key skills - skills that Troy doesn't have. Unless you really are only interested in so-called 'shredding' but there aren't millions of people who are.
Because this good man does not understand the art of brevity. People who want to do this want to know how to do it; they do not want a bloody 45 minute dissertation on every detail of his thoughts. He could teach the technique in ten minutes; the rest is up to the diligence of the individual.
Speaking from personal experience, limiting the pick depth only creates bad habits. When you learn to play with this Speed Guide, then you can't play any other guitar anymore. My first electric guitar had an HSS pickup configuration, and my picking hand position was such that when picking, my pick was hovering exactly above the middle pickup. I once adjusted the pickups very close to the strings. After that, everytime I picked, my pick hit the middle pickup, so I didn't have to control the pick depth at all anymore. I noticed that because of this I could play faster and more comfortably, so I continued to play like this for months. However, my wake up call was when I had to play a different guitar without this "speed guide" trick; I could barely pick at all! I had absolutely no control of pick depth anymore, and picking felt VERY awkward, so I basically had to relearn how to pick, and it took a long time. So, my advice to everyone else is to stay away from this Speed Guide, unless you want to ruin your picking technique.
Fun tidbit, you can hear Floyd Rose himself completely RIPPING SHIT UP on the two albums he did with Q5 in the 80’s. Monstrous guitar solos. So glad we got to play a few gigs with them during their brief reunion!
When and where did you play with Q5?
I see Teemu, I click LIKE.
The Jim Dunlop Jazz III it's perfect to control your attack. It's the best pick I've ever played and that's thanks to you!
I've been using jazz III picks until I needed to play good strumming on acoustic. It just didn't sound and fell right.
Troy seems to get leaner, younger and better with time and his chops are getting better everyday...keep it up Troy.
All thanks to your Carl Miner bundle, I discovered cross picking and am in the process of cleaning my technique...The way camera angles are used and explanatory details are provided, a light bulb (more like a Halogen lamp) lit up in my mind....No words to thank Troy...
How I wish he would do the same for left hand...How I fervently wish...🤘🤘🤘
Carl is awesome. I love his playing.
Pick Depth is definitely slowing me down and I've noticed that once I changed from a LP to an Ibanez RG. The depth on the Rg is nothing compared with a LP. But I also have an RGA and the depth, still less than a LP, is deeper than the regular RG. 1.4 cm on the RGA 1cm on the RG. it makes a huge difference, specially for a mediocre guitarrist like me. This video is gold!!
This is the floating pick approach that Matt Smith talks about in his book on "Speed" - the less of the pick is hitting the string the faster you can play. I also heard about it in a seminar on picking years back, It's also a dynamic control approach ( if you want to play louder you increase the plucking depth when hitting a string), It may not apply so much to high gain playing. The stylus picks that came out in the late 80's and early 90's play on this. I believe John Taylor currently uses one.
@Meh...whatever Dave Celentano talks about that, basically breaks it down to a sort of "rule" - ("As far as picks go, The heavier, the faster"). Watching EVH play though, knowing he doesn't use a heavy pick per se, that really isn't true. There's more variables to consider.
Troy is back! And thank you Teemu for reminding me of what I cannot do!
Can't get enough of Dragon Army, amazing piece.
You're the man for uploading this! Great to see you guys collaborating as well. Really doing great things for the guitar community, Troy!
Troy:
1. Troy, you should keep the memory regarding the training wheels. I'm not familiar with a "balance bike," but it HAS TO BE better than training wheels! Those things really suck. I remember, same as you, that when I took them off, I could balance and ride.
You see, the rider needs to be able to tilt the bike, that's the only way to learn balance! And it usually only takes a few seconds, minutes at most.
Most of the "learning" is coordinating our limbs to pedal, steer and lean the bike, all at the same time...while balancing. Those things can happen pretty quickly in the brainstem, maybe quicker if the person (child) gets some experience doing the other things besides balancing.
2. I wish I had access to those fancy camera clamp thingies. They are cool, even if they do get in the way a little. Very helpful as a learning tool. Maybe someday if I ever give lessons, I'll invest in (or build) some.
3. This was a VERY HELPFUL video, on so many levels!
It helped me learn what I need to master to perfect several techniques.
4. Nothing better than to hear expert level wailing, harmonizing guitar leads!
The rest of the video (the real meat) was SUCH a bonus!
Thanks to both of you for your time, your open and frank comments on the techniques, the equipment, the demonstrations... everything!
Thank you both, SO MUCH! I really learned a lot, plus I was entertained by the music, the conversation, all of it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, from my heart, sincerely!
This is one of the most awsome video on youtube, thanks Troy, you are a gift for all of us guitarist 👊
Thank you for this video. I am definitely struggling with pick depth consistency and was highly curious about this innovation. I feel like I just finished a physics course or something. You guys are wizards and it's a great time to be a guitar player. Great video, thank you!
Troy you have created something awesome and of incredible value to me .As a left-handed player Who plays like a right-handed player all my life I struggled with limitations of right-hand speed! all my life! If you want to do a study on left hand players playing like right handers and maybe do a video of your method working for ambidextrous playing I would be all in for that. I always used to believe that due to being a left-hander who plays like a right-hander was the main reason for my struggling with maximum speeds both in picking with a pic and in fingerpicking, Simply by watching your series I have watched my right hand become more loose I also do exercises where are use both hands simultaneously doing the same move for months using mirrors and simultaneous in the air moving of both hands , trying to fool my brain into thinking my right hand is my left hand.
I have noticed some interesting things where working with a mirror ,similar to what stroke patients do ( DOIGE Neuroplasticity Studies for ex : The brain that changes itself) that if I look from the top down at my hand at either the right or the left hand with a mirror covering one hand _ my brain can be fooled into thinking it’s actually looking at the opposite hand, Something very interesting happened not only when I put a mirror on the left side to make my right think that it’s my left hand , which is my main hand! did the right hand speed up but the opposite also happens that : when I put a mirror where the right hand is so
That my brain was thinking the mirror image it was seing of the left-hand moving was actually the right hand- it then slowed my left hand which is fast down! This made me realise that the nerves and muscles are the same exact on both sides of the body and speed limits in both hands are solely due to wiring in the brain which can be rewired using primary training techniques! The brush your teeth test: so while can you brush your teeth easier with your main hand the right hand if you’re a right-hander or the left-hand if you’re a left-hander, brushing your teeth with much more detail and faster and more control with your main hand is what usually people do. Often the differences are extreme.
Now with watching your videos and only thinking about for hours a day pathways in my brain have started to Open and I can now see myself moving to what has been an unattainable goal for more than 30 years of playing. through a very good career as an acoustic singer and guitar player songwriter , with a high level of skill of articulation rhythm playing and composition on both instruments but always running into a wall with speed in my right hand, this was always something that blocked me mentally, spiritually and sometimes even made me depressed because I knew that my musical talent was much higher than what my right hand was able to deliver,
I pull my hat to you sir for creating such incredible value for free and I will gladly join you in your online courses but as I noted before if you do want to work with a left-hander who plays like a right-hander and see how far we can go which I think would be quite interesting then I am very open to maybe doing a video series of my exploits working with you personally . Most respectful and happy greetings from Europe, Chris Shermer
God Teemu is such a monster, one of my favorite guitarist for sure!
He gives lessons, totally recommend them
Gary Willis has had his Ibanez like this(somewhat), for years, just for finger style bass.
Thanks again, Troy!. This videos are super awesome and useful. Also thank you for bringing the truly amazing Teemu!
Always a pleasure to have Teemu in town.
Amazing Teemu and Troy. Love to see you two playing. Yeahhh🤘🤘🤘🤘
teemu is like if swissgarr swigalf and nathan explosion had a baby. and it came out BRUTALLLL
For anyone looking to try this principle (for cheap), there's a device called the Runbarr that's around $20. It's a piece of plastic you attach to the guitar body and lies about 1/8th inch under the strings. It works in some senses, but does make pickslanting tough.
Haha, I just made a comment about seeing Johny Hiland using one on his Music Man.
Man that intro was so good! The part at 0:43 especially is one of the best phrases I've heard in a while! I have to learn that now haha.. Did you write it yourself?
Stylus pick - remember that? Same principle - both coming at the same problem from different directions. Very neat either way :)
I 'member that. I never could master it, even after a WHOLE two months. That was ....25 years ago? I'm thinking about getting one now (they are still for sale) to see how my pick depth has improved.
@@Take-the-Ticket I would rather have the stylus pick again, as the necessity of altering a guitar to achieve the same ends seems rather redundant. Yes, you can STILL purchase them :)
This thing should be made of a hardened silicone with some adhesive around the perimeter. Thus it could be mounted on any guitar. Of ocurse variant with different pickups, etc.
"could", Now watch several companies come with exactly that.
@@PaulPaid 'THIS THING'. Yeah, that makes it real clear.
@@lancethrustworthy I hope So. I want to try one on my ESP. That Floyd Roseneck looks like crap...lol. I think i recall someone saying something like this is already available for bass players...to control finger picking depth.
That intro song is one the best songs I’ve ever heard! Incredible playing, my mind is blown.
The intro song is freakn beautiful
Those really fat, smooth picks are absolutely excellent at letting you practice smooth, relaxed string changes. The really sharp Tortex picks are great to tidy up any sloppiness left over from the fat smooth pick. Makes a real difference in my practice routine to warm up my wrist with the easy, fat pick and then practice fine details with the sharp pick.
I've been practicing with a rounded triangle pick lately to achieve a similar effect. The shape prevents you from dipping the pick too far under the strings, as long as you pick-slant slightly. I've noticed significant speed gains, even when switching back to a standard Fender-style pick.
Cracking the code is one of the best programs.
Mr. Troy Grady you are legendary at what you do.
Teemu is a kick ass guitar player
Thank you for taking the time to present these tutorials on picking...very much appreciated.
I love Les Paul model guitars, I really do, but I got to tell you, that Ibanez is BEAUTIFUL! I fell in love with it, it is pure beauty... and excellent video as always!
I've known the existence of the Code series but never gave too much attention on it. I've noticed I've been a downward slanter whole my life and that's why I never could play strats due to the volume pot location. I think I'm on my way reworking my whole picking technique from holding the pick, slanting both ways and focusing on pick depth to mention a few. I've always liked playing loud with an effort but it comes at the cost of efficiency, stamina and speed. It's amazing Troy how deep you've investigated this topic, identifying all the different motions which in different combinations likely affect why players have their own sound, comfort licks and style in general.
Hey Troy, Paid member here. I would like to see a more in-depth video on how players determined their pick depth and the size pick they use. Maybe it’s on the site and just haven’t found it. Thanks
We haven't really addressed this but the short answer is it's just the feel of the pick on the string. I've noticed that often if I hit a tremolo a little bit too loud or soft on the first pickstroke, by the second or third pickstroke it's perfect. So I think it's really just tactile adjustment based on what feels and sounds smooth to you. If you're asking, what physically do you do to create this, that's a good question and I suspect it's different based on the picking motion you use. But we'd have to look at it.
Your research, organization, creativity and delivery to help us all get better and gain understanding is far beyond any teaching method available. For that we all thank you. More impressive is that you have actually used these techniques to play great music with melody and feeling. Most people simply shred and can’t actually make music. Great job. You are the man!
Thanks for tuning in!
This reminds me of the "RunBarr" (Easy Roll Guitar Methods) on Johny Hiland's Music Man Silhouette.
Watch Troy Grady screw up a guitar virtuoso by trying to change his picking style. Lol
way to troll Teemu with a simple exercise, even at trolling Troy is so smart : P
I am just kiddin of course
Troy rules. He's the PhD in picking tecniques in the modern world. Period. 🙏🏻.
1:16
That's some guitarist asmr right there .......MMMMMM TASTY
so i just came here from one russian guitarist who recomended you in one of his videos. jeez that is the best guitar content about guitar technique. also i recomend this russian guy who is "planeta metala", really cool technichal guitarist
Lol, I just removed the middle PU because I constantly picked it. I now realize I played an invention.
Killer intro tune.
Thanks to the neck mounted camera I can finally see how people pick. One thing that immediately jumps out at me is the pick itself. Mine is rather round and blunt - I have to 'go deep' to play a note whereas most fast pickers featured on this channel use hard and pointy picks and are barely touching the strings... At least by the looks of it. I have to try one.
Intro song is killer. Performance fantastic, arrangement is so well constructed. love the dual magnet views
This is first and so far only time I have somebody (Teemu) to have guitar that can have this low strings I quess the fretboard is lower than normal too, but also that using the body to keeping the pick against it when normally you flaot the pick in the air.
It's amazing how many technics he figures out is necessary for more depth just by trying the guide... nice review!
I see Teemu, I screamu
Nice memu
Agreemu
Haha! 🤣
'50's Les Pauls (and reissues) have higher pickup surrounds and typically the strings hit the bridge pickup or surround when depressed at highest fret which unknowingly creates the same picking technique (issue) as this.
Its how some Les Paul players actually set their bridge pickup height back in the day (not the best thing for sustain, lol)
That is amazing picking. One can do the same as this product, just pick over the the fretboard at the end of the neck with a guitar that has low action.
A guitar ramp is a good idea. I have used a bass ramp on a strat before. This video inspired me to make one out of a 1/4 inch piece of plexiglass using a radius sanding block. It worked great! Take like 10 minutes to make.
Troy, it's funny you posted this, just the other day I put a palm tree pop socket between the pickups on my guitar and noticed that having the space filled in by a flat surface would probably help people with their picking (my biggest problem though growing up had always been picking and hitting air since my technique uses just the very tip of the pick) but it's so crazy how guitar brains think alike sometimes.
Thinking FR should create an insert "block" to go under the strings, between the pickups that would be able to modify ANY guitar to do this as well. It would be adjustable as well.
That Red guitar! ? Its a beauty!
And troy, i need to say that i watched 'cracking the code' the 3rd time nie and its fk great! I' m on it for a year now and improved my picking Hand so much like i never thought i, d be capable of. Your work is just awsome, no words. Big thx from Berlin!
Floyd rose, one of the most important for me, I don't want any guitar that doesn't have a Floyd trem.....the guitar looks amazing
Most guitars have these speed guides build in. You can ALMOST get the exact phenomenon by going up to pick around the fretboard :)
So just extend the fretboard to the bridge?
Probably just for solid body electrics. On an acoustic guitar it would be tapping sounds on the body. Unless it had a rubber surface.
Troy is a guitar prophet! And wow, Teemu’s 2wayPS is so good
Didn’t even know I was needing a Floyd Rose specific video for my speed helped so much
I don't need this thing, but thanks for the video. It "raised awareness" about my picking depth, something I definitely need to work on.
I... see what you did there!
I'd wish to try it. Such a simple idea to make people realise that they might have a technique problem. Very cool!
Troy is such a nerd. I love it hahaha
What I did was just lower the middle pickup ! So now postition 3 is very quiet but 2,4 and 5 are beautiful:) Yngwie and Richie Blackmore also dropped the middle pickup because it got on the way!
Forget the guide. That intro song is... absolutely stunning!!!!
Any idea who made it? It's all around the Cracking The Code series, but can't figure out if someone else made it or if he came up with it.
Ha, thanks guys. Yes it's a piece of soundtrack we wrote years ago. The power chord after the intro melody is there because we needed a sound effect for an animation ( czcams.com/video/pCB_xHEN5VI/video.html ). I'm so used to hearing it that we just kept it for this longer version. Teemu wrote the B section in about two seconds flat, and there's a cool rhythm part he came up with that each trade off. You can't really hear it here in the name of making the leads more audible but it's great.
Troy Grady You’re welcome Troy. Thank you for always putting out amazing content.
Cheers 🇨🇦
Amazing & very expressive playing guys
What a wonderful creation Dragon Army 🔥
I have got two guitars. The first Ibanez saves the pick with her board and the second Epiphone where the strings are very high over the deep board were initially hard to play but now I use both of the techniques. As said, you can learn it with gypsy jazz aproach
Yes finally you speak on picking depth.
@@interestingthings8598 Proove me. This was the first i heard him speak about it.
The opening song sounded like something out of Dynasty Warriors
fucking hilarious, you're right
Johnny Hiland showed off something like this in his Rig Rundown also.
Yep! The "RunBarr." That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this guitar in a NAMM video the other day.
That ramp would drive me nuts!! Each to his own, no hate ;-)
Will be interesting if in a few years and these have caught on to new players who learned to play on the Speed God. How well they would adapt to a "regular" guitar. I bet they'll be digging so deep it'd be like dragging a boat anchor. I love these videos from Troy!!
What a beautiful way to start a video. Thanks! This SHREDSS!!
Thanks man!
Isn't it going to get scratched all to hell where the pick is constantly hitting the wood? You would think that would be a perfect place for a pick guard.
Who cares, that thing is mostly a practice guitar. I wouldn't take it on stage.
Yes, but so what? Guitars are meant to be played.
Most picks are not hard enough to scratch the almost glass-hard surface of a glossy finished guitar. Most scratches are not due to the pick, but due to either dust or fingernails.
Troy changed the way i pick🤘 I'm sure I'm not the only one
Not sure why but I have never held my pick "correctly" always gripped it from the side which automatically limits my depth. After fifty plus years playing don"t think I'll change now. Great video though!
Here's an idea:
Attach to the middle pickup a metal piece wide enough to cover the whole picking area. This way you'll be able to control depth and see which suits you best.
Came for the speed guide, coming back for the intro song.
This should’ve been a seminar @ NAMM!
Actually the real problem which this eliminates is getting hung up on the PICK UP
Yngwie uses a double Stack SINGLE COIL to avoid the pick up , Dimebag insisted on using a High pick up bezel to keep from wacking into the pick up and damaging it
so i think this is a good invention .
If you play metal you've got to have that pick up up high .
if you don't think that matters you don't play METAL \m/\m/
Troy mate your playing is just awsome.
Thanks Troy Grady for such info.
Great interview, Troy and teemu, can you talk about hands and fingers tension someday? Thanks a lot
Beside the techniques, I personally attached a wood block to raise the surface on my Bass guitar. For the 'pick depth'
Remember anyone can achieve the same thing as Floyd rose guitar, by putting additional pickguard material or supplementary woodpiece on the body.
One thing I think a lot of people don't notice or maybe was just me for a long time was the sort of choking up on the pick so there isn't a lot of pick exposed. I notice the more that is done the less depth I seem to use or something. I will have to look at the escape motions more for sure.
Does your finger rub on the strings the whole time, i.e. serving as the guide? Because if not, then my guess is that that small pick exposure isn't really the depth gauge, and instead that you've learned by feel how much bend your finger and wrist joints need to keep the pick at the depth you want. If the rubbing is contant, then maybe the grip is your guide. But to me that approach gets in the way of arpeggio picking and shuts off strings when I don't want them shut off.
@@troygrady hmm that's a good question. I don't think my finger rubs the strings the whole time. Maybe having little pick exposed caused me to change the depth like you said via feel. It does seem like there is a little arching back or up I guess of my wrist if I want more attack. It is kinda hard to tell honestly.
Maybe I'm missing something here , but in order to play fast you want to develop a picking grip that has the least amount of tip showing as possible. Regardless of uwps, dwps or any other letters you wanna chuck in the mix. Less pick showing means no chance of the pick being too deep. I'm pretty sure you don't need a device to help. Just hold the pick near the tip.
Love your videos so much, they have helped me become a much better player over the years.
There's a player I think you should check out. He doesn't have a huge amount of clout at the moment cause he's just a session guy really, but you should totally look into getting Kevin Heiderich into the studio at some point. I met him at Euroblast last year and he's one of the most impressive metal rhythm players I've ever heard. He can downpick 16ths at 140bpm and his strict back and forth string crossing which I've heard him do at 140-160 bpm is some of the tightest I've ever heard. I've talked to him a few times recently about technique and he's got some really interesting insights of his own about how he does what he does. He's got a few videos on his channel of him just playing through Necrophagist songs at 125% speed. Ridiculous.
Thanks Troy for the huge lesson (that uses gear review as a foil!!?), as well as the timeline for the video's topics!
Sooo many hair flips; you should probably add the hair flips to the timeline :)
This is a great descriptive and visual summary of a bunch of the classic Cracking the Code movements.
The Speed Guide seems to be made for Economy Picking.
OK this is top shelf quality content! Awesome playing to both u guys! I've been playing a while... its cool to see how I could change a few techniques to better optimize my playing. Awesome some stuff!!! I'm watching this video more then once that's for sure!
Floyd Rose? What happened to Kahler? Steinberger? I gave up on Floyd Rose and decked my tremolo. I could not tune the guitar correctly, nor intonate it. I also do not know how to properly use locking tuners. Some of the older Fender style Kluson tuners work fine for me. I know you men are on the cutting edge of technology and are great in your skill. I wish I had it, but it is not to be without proper instruction. More power to you. Your tone is wonderful, your melody is pleasant. Best wishes.
The opening tune was outstanding.
Thanks man!
I didn't even watch more than two minutes, you get my like for amazing music :O
Yes. This is the video I needed.
I love you
If people just thought about it... you gotta practice picking the string with as little motion as possible if you wanna achieve that, can use the string either side as a barrier to guide you when you first start. Having that brick in the way would just be annoying and restricting.