Congratulations! Those are really nice.
I, too, have the 000-15sm. Amazing sounding guitar that sounds better and better every time I pick it up. It’s the perfect size for me.
SeafoamJones
joined 2 years ago
I went on a long and expensive pick quest a number of years ago and have tried just about every type of pick I could get my hands on. Different materials, different thicknesses, different shapes, etc. I learned a lot and these days I’ve settled on 3 or 4 picks that I use depending on the guitar that I’m using or the style of music I’m playing.
With that said, I’ve been playing 1.20mm Pick Boy Home Plate picks mainly. Herco Holy Grail and Dunlop Heavy Gels are my 2nd choices. I also like the Dunlop Flows. I have a few different versions ranging in thicknesses and materials from Tortex to Primetone. I’ve been experimenting with some thumb picks as of late, too.
EDITED: Forgot to include Dunlop Flow picks
I have played with my picking hand fingers more flared out like an “ok” sign and tend to anchor my pinky finger against the body at all times. I’m not opposed to maintaining an anchored pinky for certain techniques, but curling my fingers more like a fist instead of an “ok” sign is helping control unwanted string noise. It also is changing (for the better) how I attack the strings with a more controlled angle.
I also pinched the pick (for lack of a better description) between my index finger’s tip and my thumb. My index finger was more straight than curled. Now I’m trying to hold the pick with the pick against my index finger’s first knuckle (after the finger nail) and the side of the finger while curled vs the pinching method.
I hope that makes sense.
Working on my picking hand. I've always felt my picking hand was pretty accurate, but I know I have some bad habits that should be addressed. I started to become more focused on how I hold a pick, the type of pick I use, and adjusting things to improve my attack, technique, and overall accuracy.
In some ways, it's a little like starting over after 30+ years of playing. I can't play every riff, solo, or full song as well as I do when I fall back on "bad habits", but I know the persistence will pay off. The YouTuber and pro-musician, Bernth, was a bit of an inspiration for me to assess my picking hand technique and start the process of improvement.
No, you won’t regret it unless you sell pedals that are niche or hard to come by again. Definitely keep your fuzzes.
Helix has a ton of great FX and the quality of most are nearly indiscernible form their pedal counterparts. The fuzz in all modelers isn’t quite right in my experience. I’ve got an HX Stomp (had the older Fractal floor unit before that) and I have kept my favorite pedals and a couple of niche or rare-ish pedals not in the Helix library. I’ve sold off the majority of my pedals.
After 6-7 years into my modeling journey (had a Fractal AX8 before the Helix), I am now into a less is more mindset. I still prefer a real amp with as few pedals as possible. I own amps that don’t need additional drives, EQs, or boosts. They either have a great built-in attenuator or a usable sweep in the master volume for bedroom use. 99% of the time I’m going guitar->amp these days. For that reason, I’ve only fired up the Stomp for updates. I don’t want to fiddle with things. I just want to play.