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Favorite "pick scratch" songs?


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I love the sound of a good pick scratch on an overdriven electric guitar, and as such shall endeavor to compile the definitive top 10 "pick scratch" moments - all I have so far is three, however:

 

1. Boston - "Don't Look Back," location approx 3:16

2. Queen - "We Will Rock You," 1:54

3. Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train," :20

 

Please help! What other good pick scratch songs are out there?

 

Thank you guitar people!!!

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Well, anything Van Halen touched 1978-1984 had PLENTY of cool pick slides.

 

Second would be Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck, oh yeah you said it. Boston.

 

I LOVE pick slides. They are a great dynamic and percussive effect. I am more referring to the pick slide, and the left hand slide down completion.

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there's a "deconstructivist rock" band called U.S. Maple that were to hard rock, metal and boogie what Goddard's films are to regular filmmaking. They have the hallmarks and clichés of arena rock, they just don't do them all at the same time or in the way they're supposed to be done. If you hear them and they infuriate you, they've accomplished their mission. They did a lot of pick scrapes... the pick scrape would become a solo, unaccompanied by the rest of the band.

 

Anyway, since Alternative rock times the Pixies/Nirvana/Radiohead palm-muted "ju-junk" has replaced/become the new pick scrape/slide.

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there's a "deconstructivist rock" band called U.S. Maple that were to hard rock, metal and boogie what Goddard's films are to regular filmmaking. They have the hallmarks and clichés of arena rock, they just don't do them all at the same time or in the way they're supposed to be done. If you hear them and they infuriate you, they've accomplished their mission. They did a lot of pick scrapes... the pick scrape would become a solo, unaccompanied by the rest of the band.

 

That sounds like a great Spinal Tap routine. I mean, I'm hoping they're intending to be hilarious, right?

 

Anyway, since Alternative rock times the Pixies/Nirvana/Radiohead palm-muted "ju-junk" has replaced/become the new pick scrape/slide.

 

True. There's never any shortage of cliches.

 

Scott Fraser

Scott Fraser
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U.S. Maple were hoping to be hilarious and anything else... I saw them live in a pretty big place opening a show for Pavement. We were howling with laughter and applauding and cheering, some were seriously and intently watching them like it was über-important, some were booing and screaming "you suck" or "what the f--- is this s---?" They seemed just as happy/antagonized by any of the responses.
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Wow, you guys are spot-on! And I never heard of US Maple before - they sound hilarious. Keep 'em coming. I forgot about Dyna Moe Humm AND ZZ Top (which song(s)?).

 

You also might like some of the pick scrapes from The Queers (who had a bit of coverage in GP and Rolling Stone in recent years), especially the epic "See you later Fu**face").

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Joe Satriani is taking it from here....Very cool pick slide sounds on the Chickenfoot record.

 

I'm sorry, but IMHO, the Chickenfoot recording was the most familiar sounding but forgettable CD I've heard in years. Dozens of riffs that ALMOST sounded like....(Insert your favorite rock guitar song here).

Lots of great guitar, totally forgettable songs.

 

On the other hand, Gibbons, Young and VanHalen are all great pick scratchers.

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Joe Satriani is taking it from here....Very cool pick slide sounds on the Chickenfoot record.

 

I'm sorry, but IMHO, the Chickenfoot recording was the most familiar sounding but forgettable CD I've heard in years. Dozens of riffs that ALMOST sounded like....(Insert your favorite rock guitar song here).

Lots of great guitar, totally forgettable songs.

 

On the other hand, Gibbons, Young and VanHalen are all great pick scratchers.

 

FWIW... I think familiar sounding was one of the things they were after... forgetable, maybe not what they were after. Regardless I liked the fact that Hagar and Anthony teamed up with Satch and Chad Smith to make a post-"Van Haggar" album... Its kind of appropriate that Sammy teams up with Satriani after his VH departure... much in the way that DLR did w/ Vai.

 

Here a few amusing videos...

 

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

"Spend all day doing nothing

But we sure do it well" - Huck Johns from 'Oh Yeah'

Click to Listen to Oh yeah

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SRV "Couldn't Stand the Weather." His muted pick scratches right before the solo set the first note up to nail you right between the eyes. My absolute favorite SRV solo.

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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Yeah-YUH! Great pick scratched on Gypsy Eyes and Dogs pt2; I wasn't even familiar with those songs before. Check out the scratch at 2:25 from Pete:

 

 

There's a song somewhere that has a really cool stuttering pick scratch that goes along with the beat, but I can't think of it right now...kinda sounds like "Carwash" by Rose Royce, but that's not it....

 

Incidentally, I seem to recall that both Brian May and Billy Gibbons play at times with coins instead of picks (a peso in Billy's case, not sure about Brian but I think it may be a sixpence), but that may have something to do with their big scrape sounds. I'm actually thinking about switching to a more rigid pick for this very reason - normally I use a Jim Dunlop nylon .88 mm but it sounds kind of weak when I scrape. I've tried using a dime to play before but I break a lot of strings like that.

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Pete Townshend disembowels his guitar with the pick at the end of "Love, Reign O'er Me", and it gives me such a chill I can hardly stand it. Other good 'uns: Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter's solo on Steely Dan's "Change of the Guard"; Jeff Beck plays the MELODY of 'Freeway Jam' by scraping his pick ("Jeff Beck With the Jan Hammer Group - Live).
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Pete Townshend disembowels his guitar with the pick at the end of "Love, Reign O'er Me", and it gives me such a chill I can hardly stand it. Other good 'uns: Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter's solo on Steely Dan's "Change of the Guard"; Jeff Beck plays the MELODY of 'Freeway Jam' by scraping his pick ("Jeff Beck With the Jan Hammer Group - Live).
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