What Kind of Picker Are You - Economy or Alternate?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MistaGuitah
  • Start date Start date

Economy Picking or Alternate Picking? I

  • Always Been Economy Picker

    Votes: 8 33.3%

  • Always Been Alternate Picker

    Votes: 11 45.8%

  • Went From Alternate to Economy

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Went From Economy to Alternate

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Total voters
    24
M

MistaGuitah

Well-known member
Funny thing is I got a Troy Grady subscription several years ago and it greatly improved my alternate picking, but I eventually evolved into economy picking most of the time. It wasn't to increase speed or anything but because it just seemed more effortless and fluid. I'm wondering how many reasonably proficient alternate pickers on this forum have moved from strict alternate picking to economy picking. I won't get into hybrid picking, sweep picking, or any of that because this is strictly about the core picking technique for crossing strings with alternate picking, acknowledging in advance the obvious detail that economy picking is alternate picked except when crossing strings.
 
I guess players have to learn both? I am still perfecting my economy and alternate picking... but some scales you either change the scale notes position to suit your economy style or adopt alternate picking ?
 
I go with the flow and use whatever feels right in the moment.
 
I'm pretty much a consistent alternate picker. That was the way I learned as a kid and I guess I'm thankful that I stumbled on that by mistake. I started taking lessons from Karl Logan from Manowar and he got me into economy picking but then he got popped for child porn so that put a stop to me taking lessons and I havent really revisited it. I do find myself using it occasionally but more often than not I'm strictly alternate picking.

I have been more preoccupied with pick slanting as of recently (thanks to Troy Grady and Ben Eller) than economy picking. It's weird that something as trivial as picking has soo many variations. Hybrid picking is one technique that I've been too intimidated to learn.
 
I kind of do a bit of both but never learned scales and runs much and actually dabbling more with picking, etc. now than I ever have.

I started playing in 85', right when Metallica were hitting their stride. I cut my teeth on Hetfield riffs and was listening to Anthrax, Megadeth, etc. so I was trying to build downpicking strength and speed back in the day. It's funny you mention the two types though because I remember that little run after the solo in Master of Puppets (and before it goes back into the verse) and I was trying to learn that using economy picking and wondering how he could play that fast. One day I did it the other way and had a "Eureka!!" moment. :)
 
Alternate, except, as you say MG, when crossing strings.
 
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im honestly not even really sure what economy picking is?
 
I use a blend of both. Down picking has its place too, but I most favor economy picking.

Bottom line is that I have played a long time and practice religiously (read practice not noodle) led to be be proficient in whatever is right for whatever lead or riff i play. Whatever I play I feel natural
 
Sloppy.

a sloppy picker is what i am...sadly.

very little time to play, let alone learn and practice a real technique... meh... slop-economy :(
 
I always alternate, even my arpeggios. I've picked up some hybrid picking in the last 15 years (I'm not to the level of the Travis-pickers/bluegrass guys). I tend to be very legato (think Allen Hinds) so I just never picked up the machine gun thing. I always wished I could do those Andy Timmons/Steve Morse runs. Instead I sound like a poor man's Eric Johnson/Holdsworth love child.
 
100% alt picker. I gave economy a chance for about 8 seconds and went back to alt. I'm not exactly Yngwie, but...you know...if it aint broken...
 
I have been mostly a economy, even though I thought that I was alternate picking. I've been watching the Troy G videos and trying to improve. The closest that I can say my own picking style is, is Joe Stump. That video was like watching my self. My old guitar teacher said that I had Vinnie Moore's technique (I wish), in that I picked from the elbow.

In the last six months, I've worked on not planting my pinky, and strictly picking from the wrist. It has helped immensely on the alternate stuff, but I still revert back to elbow on the really fast stuff.
 
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