Take your "PICK"

The choice of the right guitar pick can enhance the quality of your tone and improve articulation and clarity in chords, solos, riffs and single note melodies. Many students make their choice of picks on which ever is the most easy and convenient to use: which usually is a thin pick. A thin pick is generally the worst for tone reproduction, dynamics, and musicality. My advice for my students is to move to thicker pick as soon as possible to help grow their tone alongside their technique.

A good example from a different discipline is that of the microwave oven. I know of no chef who would use a microwave oven to cook fine food because the end result would be culinarily unsatisfying and universally frowned upon by his peers. A chef could use a microwave for certain uncritical and minor cooking events but would ultimately keep his or her's keen eye on the making of quality food using instruments that enhance flavour as opposed to 'zapping' the soul out of the food.

Now, the general modern household on the other hand uses the microwave oven for quick and convenient heating and cooking of "food" and "food-like" substances but... it's usually means convenience over quality and a quick fix as opposed to a satisfying event. Let's exit that mind-space for the sake of our guitar playing as an art as well as the longevity of our pursuit of beauty and goodness in music.

Back to guitar picks...

So, if we hear (and we can) that tone, clarity, and dynamics are all better when we change from a thin pick to a medium or heavy pick, we should plan to inch towards that goal in even the early stages of our guitar playing. By doing this we will soon realize that it's all about developing the touch within our hands and fingers that will help add that professional tone we are missing.

So, if we wouldn't hit a real nail with a toy hammer then we
shouldn't hit a real string with a toy (thin) pick.

Keep your tone the best it can be with a 'medium' to 'heavy'

pick and enjoy the pure gourmet tone.

'AMP' or 'NO-AMP'?

A Big Rig: Nice if you have roadies

Small Rig: Can work in most situations

The move towards smaller guitar rigs has gained much momentum in the last few years. I personally use a small pedalboard and an amp simulator for my main guitar rig; so everything I need for a gig fits in my hard-shell guitar case or at most a guitar gig bag and a small duffle bag. I have in the past spent most of my life as a guitarist carrying around amp-heads, racks, pedalboards, guitars and cabinets, but I now welcome the change that my wallet, my back, and my ears thank me for. My change to a less expensive, smaller, and less ear-splitting rig that has worked extremely well in every situation from studio to stage.

I will breakdown the metamorphosis of my change to a small rig. In my time in the studios, touring, and jamming at home I have done many A/B comparisons (sometimes out of necessity) with different guitar rig combinations and I've often experienced very little loss of quality by using amp simulators either in software, rack or stomp box form. I have also taken tips from other players I have met along the way that get big tone out of small rigs.

The results:

LIVE: With the added baggage costs, and wear and tear on amps when I fly I usually just bring my guitar, a Line6 Pod and some assorted pedals. The promoter of the concert will usually rent and supply an amp for me which can be anything from a nice surprise to a nightmare. The results with the amp simulator have been consistency of tone, a nice low stage volume,  and added sound control for the front of house engineer. Sometimes I end up using the rented amp for a personal monitor but my main tone will be generated by pedals and the Line 6 pod.

STUDIO: The studio is very different from the live or touring situation because I do most of my work at home, where I don't necessarily have to lug around the gear. I can set things up and keep it ready to go at a flick of a couple of switches. In my studio I generally use the small rig out of the economic realities of a shrinking music business and a trend towards smaller lower budget productions. The session scene for the majority of players right now does not support having the big and crazy rigs of the past and small rigs are being used more effectively these days as a viable option to keep quality high on a budget.

The Verdict:

In my experience, portable rigs can replace big rigs in most studio or live situations. The quality is definitely comparable and is closing the gap quickly. For the added benefits to your budget, saving your hearing, and being easier to carry around I would recommend trying a small amp modeller or preamp with some assorted pedals in every situation from jamming at home to playing concerts.