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Westvon - Posted - 02/03/2007: 01:33:19
Anyone ever have this problem? I don't know what it is, but I've suddenly noticed it doesn't really occur in my playing anymore, yet I'm not sure what I did to stop it. I once heard from Bill Keith that Bela Fleck said he "willed" it away in his playing.
David Russell
http://www.hotbanjolicks.com
http://www.myspace.com/westvon
biznork - Posted - 02/03/2007: 02:56:52
Bacon grease cured it for me.
Carey
Wayne G. - Posted - 02/03/2007: 04:17:13
Bacon grease is interresting. But how do you keep the dogs away from your banjo?
Wayne
Thor - Posted - 02/03/2007: 04:44:54
quote:
Originally posted by Westvon
...I once heard from Bill Keith that Bela Fleck said he "willed" it away in his playing.
It must've been after Béla recorded his Deviation album...
Listen to "Reverie", for example. Plenty of squeaking... but it doesn't detract from the tune one bit. 
Kevin and his banjo - Posted - 02/03/2007: 07:54:11
I am a beginner so I got no idea why it happens. But, like you, I also wish I could get it to quit. Sounds terrible to me...
Kevin
1four5 - Posted - 02/03/2007: 10:28:59
Play a lot
Just like David, I'm not really sure where it went? It was real bad when I first put on the picks...but when I jammed with my friends, the squeekysquawky-ticka-ticka-thumb-a-thump-chink-a-chank all got drowned out buy all the music...so I never really payed much attention to it. I'll be darned if one night months later, I was practicing alone...and it dawned on me that it was all pretty much gone. Just lotsa playing I guess!
Dean
eastkypicker - Posted - 02/03/2007: 10:47:15
I worried about the "squeak" my thumbpick made and now suddenly, it is gone. Don't really know why....just glad it's gone 'cause it drove me crazy !
MJ
CurtissWhite - Posted - 02/04/2007: 14:55:27
I read that Earl Scruggs puts earwax on the tips of his fretting fingers. The thumbpick...you just "broke it in".. wore down the sharp edge of the pick.
Earl's the man!!!
Danielg - Posted - 02/05/2007: 03:01:03
I have a Molybdenum Disulfide kit for moly-ing bullets. This stuff makes teflon look sticky. I'll have to see what I can do with the picks.
I've already blued one set, why not?
Hmmmmm
DanH
AD3AD3AD3 - Posted - 02/05/2007: 08:46:57
Maybe the pick noise is why we find it better to play bluegrass in a BAND configuration to drown out the extra sounds. If the "squeak" you mention is string noise, I suspect it's simply a stringed-instrument thing and we all have to live with it to varying degree - hear it in guitars all the time.
Ad3
eastkypicker - Posted - 02/05/2007: 13:11:53
I don't think we are referring to string noise like on a guitar where you can hear finger/string noise when sliding or going from chord to chord. This is more of a thumb pick scraping the strings sound...
MJ
revdmike - Posted - 02/05/2007: 13:35:44
If it's of any interest, I got a bit annoyed recently with the thumb pick squeak I was getting, so I changed from a Dunlop to a Propik and it went away. I think the noise really has a lot to do with the angle at which the pick strikes the string. This can be modified by changing picks, changing the angle at which the banjo is held, or careful attention to right hand shape and position. The change of picks in my case changed the angle a bit. At least that's what I think for what it's worth.
Mike J
Deering Calico
Windsor Zither Banjo
Unbranded Made in Japan
JAzbo - Posted - 02/05/2007: 13:39:34
For thumb pick scraping noise, rub the picking surface of the thumb pick on the side of your nose. The skin oil can work wonders to alleviate this noise.
JAzbo
PickinNGrinin - Posted - 02/05/2007: 15:51:04
I think one day it just dosent happen anymore. It could be that eventually you just wear down to strings down or the pick itself. Or it could be that you just play at a certain angle.
Pickin N Grinin With Christ,
Trey Reed
