The Magnet Is Back!
Pick technique is one of the most important aspects of guitar playing. With great picking hand motion, your playing can be transformed from mediocre to great after understanding what you’re doing right and wrong. Troy Grady from Cracking the Code has been studying the picking mechanics of the greats for years.
After I signed up for Cracking the Code, my understanding of things like pickslanting, and the physics behind how my right hand works has made a significant change in how easy it is to play fast and accurately. I’ve loved watching clips of everyone from Marty Friedman to Mika Tyyska, Eric Johnson, Andy Wood and more.
A great tool that Troy uses to capture the picking styles of these players in slow motion is this clamp called The Magnet. While not employing any actual magnets, the magnet-looking device clamps on to your guitar neck, and uses your phone to capture your picking in all its slow motion glory. This gives you an amazing way of understanding what you have to work on with your picking style.
I’ll never forget wanting to get this device for myself, and being really bummed out in late 2014 when it wasn’t able to cross the finish line on Kickstarter. But now, years later, the Magnet is back on Kickstarter! The great news is that it has 25 days left at the time of this writing, and is more than halfway through their goal of $65,000.
The great thing about the magnet is that other than the unit itself, all it requires is the phone (you most likely) already own. It works with most 6 and 7 string guitars, and it gives you a great view of your pick hand.
Check out more information on the project below, and back it if you want to get an up close look at your picking technique! Also, check out an example of the Magnet in action with some killer playing from Molly Tuttle.