Acoustic Gear and Tone

For this tutorial I'll be using my Martin-style VKV steel-string acoustic, and I'll be getting the sound you hear in the video from a combination of the overhead mic that I'm also talking through and the built-in pickup system in my guitar.

The most important thing right now is that you have the right kind of pick. If your pick is super thin you'll get a lot of “attack” and little of the actual meat of the note. If it's too thick you'll get a lot of volume and meat, but the attack can tend to sound brittle and unpleasant. I find a medium pick to be ideal to work for both strumming and single notes.