Shawn Lane Tone

[includao]

What you guys think about Shawn Lane's tone?

I'm have been experimenting with the way he changes the angle of the pick.

Shawn's thumb position meant that the pick was flat against the pad of his index finger. Not on the side like the standard position or Yngwie. With the Yngwie method, a downstroke has the neck side of the pick hitting the string first. So to get the slicing effect, using Shawn's particular method you angle the pick up or using the Yngwie/stardard style angle the pick down.

Example (it's not my picture) (in this case showing a extreme angle):

The result is a smoother attack.

The advantages of tilting the pick upwards instead of downwards? To me it would seem that the angle of the pick in relation to the strings is more radical this way, which means that there's less resistance from crossing the string while picking. This could very well lead to greater speed and more fluid string crossing (smoothness). Also since the pick "slices through" the string instead of flicking it, the picking will most likely sound more legato than it does when picked normally as the string isn't moved so much by the pick.

Then again I can think of one major downside to this mode of picking too, or at least one aspect you'll have work it out and compesate for some how. For one, because the picking sounds more legato this way accenting notes or playing really staccatto will require a slight change in angle and the force.

 

[distressed_romeo]

Yeah, I've analysed this before. My own default picking style is what you termed the 'Yngwie' approach, although I also use the Steve Morse method, where the pick is at the same angle as Shawn's technique, only held with two fingers (greater projection and string crossing ability at the expense of less speed, and making sweeping virtually impossible). I've found it's perfectly possible to get the 'legato picking' effect you describe using the Yngwie method, with a little experimentation.

Tuck Andress wrote a really detailed article on this. It's a fascinating read.

http://www.tuckandpatti.com/pick-finger_tech.html

 

[includao]

Yeah, I've analysed this before. My own default picking style is what you termed the 'Yngwie' approach, although I also use the Steve Morse method, where the pick is at the same angle as Shawn's technique, only held with two fingers (greater projection and string crossing ability at the expense of less speed, and making sweeping virtually impossible). I've found it's perfectly possible to get the 'legato picking' effect you describe using the Yngwie method, with a little experimentation.

Tuck Andress wrote a really detailed article on this. It's a fascinating read.

http://www.tuckandpatti.com/pick-finger_tech.html

That article from Tuck is amazing!
Shawn Lane's picking is a George Benson picking style approach. (its like Benson, but with the floating hand)

They are all based primarily on the oscillatory movement of the wrist.

But what you guys think about Shawn Lane's tone?

 

[distressed_romeo]

His tone was fucking great. The thing I liked most was that you couldn't really hear the technique in all his licks; by that I mean it didn't sound like picking bit, followed by legato bit, followed by hybrid picking bit. It was all one beautiful, fluid approach.

Only issue with the Tuck article is that it doesn't really deal with the issue of muting when you're playing with a distorted sound...it's all based on playing with a clean jazzy tone. Other than that, it's probably the best analysis I've ever seen on the subject.

 

[Durero]

That's a fantastic article DR! Thanks for posting that. Definitely food for thought.

 

[distressed_romeo]

No problems!

Has anyone else noticed that Chris Amott (ex-Arch Enemy) held his pick in the same way as Shawn Lane?

 

[includao]

No problems!

Has anyone else noticed that Chris Amott (ex-Arch Enemy) held his pick in the same way as Shawn Lane?

Wow, never. Going to check it.

 

[distressed_romeo]

^You can see it pretty clearly in the video for 'The Immortal'. Actually, he's another guy whose picking sounded much smoother and cleaner than is normal. For comparison's sake, compare his solo in that tune to Michael's, as Michael holds his pick in a more normal way, and so his picking runs have more 'grind'...

 

[distressed_romeo]

^You can see it pretty clearly in the video for 'The Immortal'. Actually, he's another guy whose picking sounded much smoother and cleaner than is normal. For comparison's sake, compare his solo in that tune to Michael's, as Michael holds his pick in a more normal way, and so his picking runs have more 'grind'...

 

[distressed_romeo]

^You can see it pretty clearly in the video for 'The Immortal'. Actually, he's another guy whose picking sounded much smoother and cleaner than is normal. For comparison's sake, compare his solo in that tune to Michael's, as Michael holds his pick in a more normal way, and so his picking runs have more 'grind'...

 

[Pauly]

Woah that was in depth, and also triple post ftw! ^

 

[DDDorian]

I have an old Guitar Player lesson in which Shawn talks about "one-note-per-string shredding". He mentions that he doesn't particularly like sweeping as the technique brings undue attention to itself and then goes through an example or two of how he might play sweep patterns without sweeping, using hybrid picking or subtle muting.

(for the record, I really don't like his tone at all, at least not on any of the recorded stuff I've heard)

 

[includao]

I have an old Guitar Player lesson in which Shawn talks about "one-note-per-string shredding". He mentions that he doesn't particularly like sweeping as the technique brings undue attention to itself and then goes through an example or two of how he might play sweep patterns without sweeping, using hybrid picking or subtle muting.

(for the record, I really don't like his tone at all, at least not on any of the recorded stuff I've heard)

undue attention? tension? i dont get it.

are you going to transcribe what exactly he teachs/says like you have done before with others articles and lessons? Like in the DDDorian's Guitar Lesson/Column DDDirectory?

 

[Durero]

(for the record, I really don't like his tone at all, at least not on any of the recorded stuff I've heard)

I'm not crazy about his tone on his solo album 'Powers of Ten', but I really like his tone on 'Temporal Analogues of Paradise'. I love pretty much everything I've heard of him playing with Jonas Hellborg(<- is that a metal name or what?)

 

[Pauly]

undue attention? tension? i dont get it.

What he means is that the actual 'sound' of a sweep itself is very identifiable, to the point where he feels it detracts from the music because you listen and go 'sweep picking!' rather than paying attention to the actual notes. Or something like that.

 

[distressed_romeo]

Here's an example of the kind of lick DDDorian is talking about...

Incidentally, the ascending version of this arpeggio sounds pretty cool if you substitute the pluck from the middle finger with an upstroke of the pick, Al DiMeola style...

 

[kmanick]

Vinnie Moore does a lot of that as well, "sequencing" I believe is the term, makes playing arps much more "musical", he's got some great exercises
that focus on this technique on his first instructional video.

 

[distressed_romeo]

Greg Howe and Michael Romeo do too, although they tend to tap rather than pick patterns like that.

 

[includao]

Thanks for the file example DD! You are one of the coolest guys from sevenstring.org

 

[right_to_rage]

I decided to bring this back from the dead because obviously Shawn had a phenomenal picking technique.

My thumb bends backwards like his, and I've been picking in a similar way to him for like 5 years. The only difference is that I don't hold the pick with the pad of i, and the tip of p, but rather the pads of both i and p. Weird.

Also, can anyone give insight into Lane's right hand muting techniques? It kind of looks like he uses his palm and sometimes the front thumb flesh of his hand. Did he use any anchoring?