The Awesome NOFX trick that changed punk rock guitar for me!

[@SugarpillProd]

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[@bobellison4868]

thin pick is definitely one of the most important things thats overlooked. also seperation of church and skate is one of the best punk rock songs of all time

[@SugarpillProd]

100%. It's an awesome song too. Love the build up to the main riff!

[@gai73]

What thickness and type is the pick? Please

[@adamdev9391]

@@gai73 Mike uses a 0.6 nylon

[@D1rectedBy]

I use a 2.00 and it’s fine 🤷🏻‍♂️ I don’t like thin pick !!

[@Thirteen31Music]

Hefe’s telle actually has EMGs in it. He said in an interview they’ve been in there since just after he joined. Not sure if they’re active or not but they give him more gain than a standard T pickup would but still have that stringy sound that articulates the riffs more than a humbucker. That said Iv seen him say in interviews that he uses custom les paul in the studio. Personally love a P90 it gives you the best of both worlds. Mix it with a humbucker and your laughin

[@SugarpillProd]

I think they use a Jazzmaster in the studio, at least from what Mike says in a video where he talks a bit about their gear, and why "Les Pauls aren't good for Punk".

[@0o0oo0o]

Interesting bit about the EMGs, and the Jazzmaster in the studio. I returned a Gibson DC Junior because of the P90s, and swapped out Phat Cats from my Gibson SG special, because I just couldn't get the sound I wanted. I've now owned a classic player Jazzmaster for a couple months, which I'm told has hand wound p90s and it has almost become my favorite guitar, and blends pretty well with my other guitarist's SG Standard for some melodic hardcore.

[@steven.youngson]

Nice. I have been a .6 tortex pick player for the majority of my days. Used to go thinner but they break more often and don't have nearly the same oompf/attack I'm looking for. Last band I was in it was a Danelectro I played and the slap plus the lower gain really gave me the sound I was after 👍 Great tips as always

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks man! Yeah if you're playing live, I don't think it would matter much, I'd just stick to what's most comfortable to use. I've always loved the sound of thinner picks on bass and acoustic instruments specifically. They always give you a nice percussive sound that gets lost with the thicker ones.

[@rome8180]

@@SugarpillProd plus, when you're playing live if it's easy to get way too aggressive and end up breaking multiple picks. When you're in the studio, it's easy to be more restrained.

[@madstrummer]

Mixing gets so much easier when you record less distorted guitars! Thats a GREAT trick

[@SugarpillProd]

100%. I wish more guitarists would realist this 😂

[@nothingtoseehere177]

I actually record the dry signal from the guitar before it hits the amp so I can tone chase after I already recorded the perfect bar

[@SugarpillProd]

@@nothingtoseehere177 It's a good habit to get in to 👍

[@rome8180]

I've heard Fat Mike talk about several of these things. There's a video on Premier Guitar called "NOFX's Fat Mike on Why Les Pauls and Marshalls Suck for Punk Rock." He talks about Eric Melvin using a Jazzmaster, which has single coil pickups. And in a video called "Fat Mike Plays His Favorite Bass Riffs" he talks about playing bass with an ultra thin pick and a light touch. I think he does it for speed, but I do it for the sound. I use a .60 nylon Dunlop pick. I like the textured grip, and it has a cool, scrape-y sound.

[@lipittysplit8722]

Present picking attack is a phrase I don’t read enough when people explain mixing.

[@SugarpillProd]

It's definitely something that isn't talked about enough. Super helpful once you know how to deal with it, and when best to accentuate it in a mix!

[@guitarcoversNOFX]

A thin guitar pick is the only thing I agree here. As far as I know they record and play with humbuckers pickups (don't listen to fat mike, he's not recording guitars). Hefe uses EMGs and Melvin Humbucker in the bridge and a P90 in the neck. The secret is in the Crunch channel of those mesa boogies and a less distorted sound, way less distorted than most people think. Those amps compress more than others amps, achieving that punchy and clear tone.

[@SugarpillProd]

I'm not sure about the earlier records, but definitely the newer stuff - say Self-Entitled and above - sounds like the Jazzmaster to me, so I would be inclined to believe Mike. Also studio is very different, just because members have designated roles within the band, that doesn't necessarily mean they follow that in the studio too. Same goes for live gear vs studio. A lot of it tends to be very different.

[@guitarcoversNOFX]

@@SugarpillProd Yes, studio and live gear are not the same. I just stick to Hefe saying they use Les Pauls in the studio. A Jazzmaster in the studio, of course that's plausible too. But when trying to play that stuff at home with a mesa Mark boogie amp, humbuckers are closest to the sound than switching to single coils, I could be wrong but to my ears that's how it is, and a lot has to do with the kind of amp too.

[@ewitsroach]

How do i learn to downpick? I kinda need some help here. I wanna move onto learning some punk stuff but the only issue is i can’t play as fast and when i try my forearm locks up and gets sore, i’m not sure what i’m doin wrong.

[@SugarpillProd]

A lot of the older bands would wear their straps really low, which actually makes it somewhat easier to play, when everything is downpicked. Outside of that, I'd try to practice to a metronome, and gradually build your speed up that way. Hope that helps!

[@WeWynne]

Interesting. I use Dunlop 88mm is that thin? I hate super thicks but the ultra thins are also gross.

[@SugarpillProd]

Medium thin I'd say. Just go with whatever is more comfortable to play with - though I would say there's subtle tonal differences between each type.

[@vidicsferenc182]

I always thought he uses single coil sized humbuckers mainly emg. But i could be wrong.

[@jgmopar]

90% of the time I used Single coils for pun k rock in the 80's

[@gronkmane]

I bought a 24 pack of mikes custom jim dunlops \m/

[@aninjatuna8576]

1:06 what does level mean? :)

[@SugarpillProd]

The input level you set when recording.

[@jimjamespaultyrone]

What song was that after ‘amp’? I’ve not listened to much of them. But that but sounded stooopid familiar. :46 in.

[@SugarpillProd]

It's the song I wrote for my "How To Write Skate Punk In 1 Minute" video. The only NOFX songs used in this video are the ones I annotated on screen 👍

[@Miguemardel]

Temazo!!!!!

[@AmberMyers-ek2bp]

Hefe doesn’t use the Tele on albums. There is a gear vid on KZbin where he explains his recording setup. Pretty sure it was a les Paul through a Marshall. Which definitely sounds strange.

[@SugarpillProd]

I think Mike said it's a Jazzmaster - at least that's what he shows in the "why Les Pauls suck" video, so I'm guessing it probably isn't a Les Paul either, haha.

[@AmberMyers-ek2bp]

@@SugarpillProd yeh I’ve seen that video also. I’ll find the one with hefe.

[@AmberMyers-ek2bp]

The video title is “El Hefe - Aaron Abyeta - Nofx guitar interview” or something like that. Uberproaudio is tha channel. Watch from 4:18.

[@Yohahn]

It also helps if you are El Hefe.. 😎

[@SugarpillProd]

True 😂

[@xyverneas7967]

What is the song used an example for the pick starting at roughly 1:09 until 1:17 ?

[@SugarpillProd]

It's the song I made for my new-ish "How to write Skate Punk" video kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYC5YXxopbhskLc

[@xyverneas7967]

@@SugarpillProd I like it a lot ! I don't know skate punk or NOFX more specifically well so I thought it could be a song of their's

[@SugarpillProd]

@@xyverneas7967 Ah I see. The only songs I used by NOFX in this video are the ones I annotated on screen, everything else is just things I've made or made for this specific video 👍

[@tuesday0846]

some of the insane palm muting stuff they do is impossible with a thick pick. good catch

[@SugarpillProd]

It can definitely make things easier with a thin pick sometimes 🤘

[@grasspatchkid6751]

See that's so weird I find it much easier with a thick pick, I use jazz 3s

[@hazer75]

​@@grasspatchkid6751agree. I've always used 1mm and can do it easy.

[@Ottophil]

I can play slayer with a 1.5mm not sure why thats impossible

[@untightde]

First thing that comes to my mind: Use a Telecaster with P90s.

[@SugarpillProd]

P90s are a great in-between! Though I prefer singles personally.

[@mattiabassriffs]

A decent punk band should be: Rhythm guitar humbuckers, first guitar single coils. And the thin pick if magic

[@SugarpillProd]

Haha I don't think there should really be set rules, just depends on the sound you're going for. They're not bad choices though!

[@Haunter_Vlogs]

It all sounds the same to me 😂😂

[@SugarpillProd]

Try listening on some decent headphones, it's a lot more noticeable then. It can be one of those things you've gotta tune your ear to though.

[@novlangst3767]

Sounds like french band Trust

[@SugarpillProd]

Can't say I've heard of them before. Any song you'd recommend?

[@novlangst3767]

@@SugarpillProd antisocial english version traduced by singer of Sham 69, an english punk band

[@SugarpillProd]

@@novlangst3767 Ah nice. Yeah I'm pretty familiar with Sham 69, haven't heard of Trust before though.

[@novlangst3767]

@@SugarpillProd The singer of Trust is well known in France in cinema and for his political position

[@kantina4765]

The humbuckers sounded much better

[@SugarpillProd]

Hot take 🔥

[@HiImSeanIPlayBass]

Metal picks. Enough said. You want every attack to sound as hard and crisp as possible? Metal pick. Want articulations to be clearer? Metal pick. I use .08 aluminum picks on my punk bass tracks and they fucking kill.

[@SugarpillProd]

Can't say I've ever used metal picks before. I'd imagine they don't give much when you pick though? At least in a similar way to how the thicker Dunlop picks feel?

[@HiImSeanIPlayBass]

@@SugarpillProd mine actually do have some give to them. They’re thin enough, but they also force you into being really deliberate with what you’re doing, so it sounds kind of distinctive. I really like it.

[@bigj5401]

NOFX did not age well and does not hold up very well in todays pink scene. Criminally overrated imo

[@SugarpillProd]

Didn't know they were involved with pink honestly😂

[@TheJoyrunners]

Wrong!

[@SpongeBath_ShitPants]

NOFX had their 15 minutes of fame in the 1990s and early 2000s and did release a few iconic albums in that era. Fat Mike's issues with alcohol and pills gradually wore the band down though. They could have done so much more if Mike got sober like Smelly did.

[@SpeeedWeeenie]

Criminally overrated? Find another punk rock band that is melodic and gifted as NOFX. I would love to hear your opinion on your favorite bands.