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Pick Downstrokes vs. Down/Up---Can You Tell?

Which track was done with all pick downstrokes

  • A

    Votes: 59 18.4%
  • B

    Votes: 207 64.7%
  • Carrots

    Votes: 54 16.9%

  • Total voters
    320
  • Poll closed .
I voted B without scrolling down first. In the middle of track A it seemed to me to have the most prominent up and down. For what it's worth, I don't typically play with a pick (because I suck) and have never heard of this argument.
 
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What I heard is, @JimmyM is going to award a brand new 50th Anniversary SVT to each TB'er who gets it right! :thumbsup:

So keep your shipping address handy! :D
Yeah, and wait on your front porch 24 hours a day once it ships so you don't miss signing for it.

No, I'm not sending anyone an amp, but I will send those who guess wrong a used pick from my collection of other people's used picks I found on stages during soundchecks.
 
People on here, especially those who play rock styles, say that downstrokes with a pick always sound different and more consistent than strict down/up

I will agree that all downstrokes will sound different to up-and-down....... but I will very much disagree that it will sound more consistent particularly on faster runs..... unless you are meaning consistently rushed.

I vote that B is all downstrokes. A sounds more fluid and melodic.
 
Ya I think B is probably the all down strokes as well (listened before reading) but I think I am basing that on your preamble and how I perceive the groove vs. better or vs. right or wrong. I'm not sure up/down matters a whole lot in the big scheme of things on single note lines (unless it drastically changes the groove), and it probably doesn't matter at all if you can attack roughly the same way on upstrokes (similar force, pick angle yada yada). However, as soon as there is more than one note being struck at a time things change due to note order. Like a Ricky 12 vs every other 12 string sounds different due to the drone under vs over. Up and down strokes definitely sound different playing rhythm guitar and some old school guys will call you (well me at least) out on "too many upstrokes" playing rhythm on the 'oldies' especially at faster tempos. So far I have not been called out on upstrokes on bass thankfully lol.

Local legend has it that Ronnie Hawkins would fire guys for upstrokes so I think that gives the local upstroke haters an extra excuse to be emphatic about it.
 
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It’s hard to mimic the tone of an aggressive downstroke striking at 45°. For normal playing it really doesn’t matter up or down. I voted Carrots.

Exercise:
play songs using ONLY up strokes for 15 minutes & notice how your tone changes as fatigue sets in. Learn to make them sound like down strokes and practice to build up your stamina = won’t be able to tell the difference.
 
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I'm 'picking' B :smug:

And the reason why is not just because I think the attack of all the downs is slightly more on point, but A- I feel like I can hear that slightly different angle of the attack with the upward strokes, and B - the top middle example had more of a fluidity to it when switching notes and strings that I find I get more with ups and downs.

When I first 'picked' up a pic, I swore that I would practice my ups as much as my downs until the naysayers couldn't differentiate. It was going great for awhile until a near argument with one set of bandmates insisting it wasn't possible and all downs on certain lines that really needed to drive would make a 'striking' difference, which the following week even spilled over to band#2 where the geetar god felt the same way.

The above, plus all the TBers who said knowing both ways would add another tool to the box... was when I started prax'n my downs only more and somewhat left my ups falling behind.

I feel like that set me back a little bit with keeping them consistent. Like I tried to point out about your middle example... my lines seem to swing a little more using the U&D method.
 
When I first 'picked' up a pic, I swore that I would practice my ups as much as my downs until the naysayers couldn't differentiate. It was going great for awhile until a near argument with one set of bandmates insisting it wasn't possible and all downs on certain lines that really needed to drive would make a 'striking' difference, which the following week even spilled over to band#2 where the geetar god felt the same way.

The above, plus all the TBers who said knowing both ways would add another tool to the box... was when I started prax'n my downs only more and somewhat left my ups falling behind.

I feel like that set me back a little bit with keeping them consistent. Like I tried to point out about your middle example... my lines seem to swing a little more using the U&D method.
It takes more skill to make them sound the same on guitar than it does on bass. Most guitarists fall into the rut of playing all downstrokes towards the body and upstrokes away from the body.

I’ve learned speed picking and sweep picking on guitar. Special technique required, very consistent tone up/down.