How Does One Eliminate Ice-picking?

[Malchik]

tone pots, use 'em.

Never!

 

[sonar]

I'll guess the guitar and amp are not a good match.

Custom's tend to be bright guitars. My guess is the amp, if tuned to Eddie's ears, is also a really bright amp.

Eddie has always trended toward punishingly bright setups, even with the old Marshall. YouTube some of the 1984 tour... talk about ice pick!

 

[grayd8]

Amp: 50-watt EVH 5150 III combo (Treble - 2 o'clock; Mids - 12 o'clock; Bass - 2 o'clock; Presence 1 o'clock; Gain - 3 o'clock-ish)

I would say try turning the treble down a bit, maybe the mids too. I run my DSL 40c at trebble 2, mids 4, bass 1; but it's a pretty small room 11x12.

I generally start out with my volume at 9, tone at 5. Play black dog and dial the treble on the amp back until it sounds good with no harshness on the g string notes. Then play the whole lotta solo and dial it back even further if needed. For bass and mids I play the life in the fast lane intro, until it sounds right.

 

[jestremera]

Tone pots, use 'em.

I'm with the X...Tone controls..0-10

Never!

It's what I've been doing but I'm losing a ton of highs

 

[Robo]

Sometimes it's not even the guitar or the amp!

No 1 in this case would be to change room. Are you in a small space now? Does the problem still exist if you move your amp to a much larger room? Or vice versa. Concete walls or tiled walls and floors can have this effect on the sound too.
At least rule this out before you start modding and bying stuff.

 

[roeg]

Could be a tube thing going on in the EVH?...Does it do it in another amp? tap each preamp tube gently with a pencil to check for microphonics while plugged in.just to rule out.

 

[purpledc]

I'm not sure if this is what you are talking about but with really high gain amps any guitar I have with a TOM bridge has really shrill harmonic overtones that are caused by the strings ringing out behind the nut and behind the bridge. My EVH 5150-3 was the most sensitive to this issue. I put foam between my tailpiece and bridge and a bit under the strings behind the nut. Live it looks like crap but tightens your sound considerably.

 

[LeftyF2003]

Chris B and Lefty-

Can you guys elaborate on any mic'ing troubles this may or may not cause?
One of the commenters on the video said this:
"Beam Blockers really do help with the dispersion. But there's a down side too. If you need to close-mic the speaker (for live sound reinforcement or whatever), the mic hears a horrible sound when a Beam Blocker is in front of the speaker. It doesn't matter if you aim the mic around the side of the Beam Blocker either. It just doesn't ever sound good to that close mic. Of course, it's not a problem if you have a way to send your signal through a direct injection (Palmer PDI or equivalent). But something to consider."

I mic this amp all the time for live gigs. I use a floor stand with an SM-57 and I set the mic to the side of the cone (edge of the beam blocker). If anything it sounds better than it did before - warmer with better range.

 

[endial]

I mic this amp all the time for live gigs. I use a floor stand with an SM-57 and I set the mic to the side of the cone (edge of the beam blocker). If anything it sounds better than it did before - warmer with better range.

Thank you.

 

[rjshare]

I'm not sure if this is what you are talking about but with really high gain amps any guitar I have with a TOM bridge has really shrill harmonic overtones that are caused by the strings ringing out behind the nut and behind the bridge. My EVH 5150-3 was the most sensitive to this issue. I put foam between my tailpiece and bridge and a bit under the strings behind the nut. Live it looks like crap but tightens your sound considerably.

get a hair elastic bobble - looks marginally less crap!

 

[Pushead]

No offense taken. I'm not able to record at this time. I've been playing over 30 years. My amp is new. I hold my pick at about a 30-degree angle to the strings with a downward/upward slant depending on the direction I'm going (ascending/descending). Red Bear puts a pretty good bevel on the edge of their picks so that there's more surface hitting the string than you would normally see when holding the pick the way I do. As stated, I've never had this happen to this degree.

If you're using the red channel on the EVH, you may be able to dial the gain back a bit. I have the 100 watt version, and I find a pretty sensitive connection between the gain and the presence controls.

 

[jestremera]

If you're using the red channel on the EVH, you may be able to dial the gain back a bit. I have the 100 watt version, and I find a pretty sensitive connection between the gain and the presence controls.

Thank you. I've been trying a few things and it seems to have gotten better. I might pick up an EQ pedal to help dial it out a bit more

 

[bum]

Whenever I pick an individual note, I get a shrill ice-pick sound. It's very high-pitched. Is there anything I can do to completely eliminate this via EQ? It's not something I've ever had to deal with on this level.

My setup for better perspective:

Guitar: 2016 Gibson Les Paul Custom w/Dirty Fingers in the bridge
Amp: 50-watt EVH 5150 III combo (Treble - 2 o'clock; Mids - 12 o'clock; Bass - 2 o'clock; Presence 1 o'clock; Gain - 3 o'clock-ish)
Pedal(s): Ibanez Tube Screamer
Strings: Ernie Ball Regular Slinky (.010)
Picks: Red Bear Guthrie Govan or Big Jazzer (Extra Heavy - 2.0mm)


Thanks in advance

What you've accidentally done here is create the absolute perfect rig for people who want to do pinch harmonics all day with their foot on the monitor with huge hair.

Like, I couldn't come up with a better rig for for it if I spent a while looking at various amp, pickups and pedals.

It's amazing!

 

[kiko]

Never heard of this. Try going down a pick gauge (thinner pick), you are probably just getting weird harmonics due to the way you attack the string. Notch or two less on the volume, just a smidge will also help.

 

[kmasters68]

Um, bad preamp tube in the amp? That will give a shrill non musical ring sometimes.

 

[sonar]

Tone pots, use 'em.

Eddie would rip them out of his guitars.

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Dirty Fingers are high-output ceramic pickups.

..that'd probably be where I look first.

(ime ceramic pups are known for shrillness/ice-picking)

Good luck.

 

[PAPADON]

 

[SWeAT hOg]

Dirty Fingers are high-output ceramic pickups.

..that'd probably be where I look first.

(ime ceramic pups are known for shrillness/ice-picking)

Good luck.

Yup.

 

[korus]

Is your action rather low and your picking a bit aggresive? In this scenario strings are hitting the frets closest to fret they ate fretted, underneath them while vibrating. This kills/dampens sustain and thins out the the tone as some high harmonics get too strong. This happens with every gauge.

Try raising action just a tiny bit 1/4 to 1/2 turn of thumb wheels and lighten picking jist a little. Or just raise wheels a bit more but keep hitting strings as hard as usual. It will make the overall tone deeper with longer sustain. And high harmonics tamed.