BB King picking technique

Dr_Necessiter

I mentioned in another thread that, having bought an Epiphone Lucille for that BB King sound thinking that the varitone thingy would get me close, However, there's clearly more going on there than I appreciated.

My guitar tutor gets closer to that sound (actually has it bang on) on a straight Epi ES335 than I do with the Lucille. The same with Justin Guitar doing "The Thrill is Gone" opening solo. I'm thinking that maybe it's pick angle and hitting the strings harder that gets or contributes to that nasal tone...can anyone shed any light on that please?

theatreanchor

Have you asked your tutor what they’re doing that makes it sound closer to BB? King was a player of great economy and style, employing dynamics and vibrato with aplomb. To get close to his sound is no small feat. 

Dr_Necessiter

Hi TA, thanks for the reply. No, that's for next time. I thought I'd ask on here first to see if I could get some hints and make a bit of progress in the meantime.

theatreanchor

You seen this? https://youtu.be/lUabpcMBtG8

https://youtu.be/agTk4eFo_2Y

EricTheWeary

King used light strings, heavy pick and massive volume. So my theory is it was quite a light attack letting the pick and the amp do the work, more like a rock musician like Brian May than many blues guitarists. We know Brian has a light attack, light strings, heavy pick and you can still hear the edge of the note like you can with BB. And it’s a potentially messy sound; it’s a very lively, almost edge of feedback tone so it’s about damping as much as it is about playing. 

If, like me, you have the habit of hearing the strings when you play (practising unplugged or with a low volume amp) then maybe you need to practice louder! 

Dr_Necessiter

Thanks for the replies guys. Interesting what Tinsley Ellis was saying about the varitone setting and his pick up selection - I've been working on numbers 2&3 on the varitone and the middle pickup position as I'd read that that was how BB King played. That said, my tutor is in the middle position so I think there may be some picking magic going on there.

I'll try a heavier pick too - my strings are fairly light, 10's at the moment but I may drop down to a 9 as I'm finding the tone and a half bends a bit hit and miss. 

Thanks again!

barnstorm

You can get all three volumes of this on DVD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R4bSSP2W0o

Dr_Necessiter

...And the answer was, angling the pick and hitting the strings harder to increase the attack. I also think that I'm off on some of the bends so I'm not bang on the tone or half tone etc so some work to be done there.