3 picks for E9, 4 picks for C6

[Bill McCloskey]

I have recently started using 3 picks for E9th and 4 picks for C6. 3 picks for E9th because the ring finger is great for blocking and 4 note chord voicings aren't really needed, and speed picking can be done with just the thumb and middle finger.

But with C6, you don't want those 4 note voicings, you don't need to block in the same way as E9th, and it gives you many more options.

I wonder if others have found the same thing. I don't remember different number picks for different necks being discussed before.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I've never given it much thought. It probably would depend on your technique and blocking on both necks? I play U-12 and working both tunings constantly. So, I couldn't be switching out picks in the middle of a song. BE blocked single note runs with his ring finger on both necks along with some palm blocking. If I recall correctly, Tommy White played with 4 picks when he was in his teens and soon went with 3 picks. He would have some theory behind it.

[Ian Rae]

I use 4 picks on the uni, partly for 4-note chords, partly to reach strings 1&2 more easily in some situations.
I already used 4 on the D10 before I swapped

[Dale Rottacker]

I could never wrap my mind around 4 picks, let alone getting good functionality out of picking with the ring finger. Perhaps I should've tried harder than I did. As for 4 note chords on E9th, I play them with 3 picks all day long. I find them very natural, and if you want to play more C6th type things on E9th, I think its almost required being able to do that. 4 note chords found on strings 9865, or 10,976, or 8765 line up very well with just 3 picks with the first two strings in any of those groupings raked with the thumb. As for C6th, in much the same way as E9th there are very useful 4 notes chords all over the place.

[Joe A. Roberts]

I agree with Ian about reaching strings 1 and 2. I think an application like that is less obvious but perhaps more important for my playing that the 4 note chord capability.
You can hit one of the outer strings and still have three fingers primed and ready to go in the same place. It also gives another finger for patterns and rolls.
Just having another finger available to hit a string if the other fingers get tied up in some awkward pattern comes in handy as well.

I never tried utilizing the free ring finger to block with 3 picks on but I can imagine that can be useful if you can get that technique down and clean.
(I haven't really analyzed it too closely but with four picks I find I mostly have to rely on pick blocking for single note stuff.)
The biggest thing I miss with 4 picks is the loss of easy harmonics with the ring finger, trying to hit those suckers with the pinky knuckle requires way more focus

Then there's that old picture of Tom Morrell sitting at a pedal steel (not the Bigsby) wearing FIVE

[Slim Heilpern]

It does seem to be a bigger issue for U12 players (such as me) since some really cool chord voicings can require it. I started playing steel about nine years ago on a D12 and knowing that some of my favorite players were using 4 picks, that's how I started. It's taken a while to deal with the various blocking and harmonic techniques, and I've ended up using palm and pick blocking depending on the situation (I really like the sound of palm blocking for single note runs) and when necessary, I keep my left hand middle finger extended past the end of the bar to mute high strings when needed (I think this is where not having a pick on the ring finger would make this unnecessary). There are always tradeoffs!

[Christopher Woitach]

I can’t imagine playing with only 3 picks, partially because I started with 4 and Maurice Anderson strongly encouraged me to continue that way. I can see some good reasons for 3, especially with Emmons style blocking, which is obviously very effective.

Many, if not most, of the chords I play require 4 non adjacent strings, so for those I think the only way to play them with 3 picks would be to use your ring finger without a pick, which would sound different, especially if that note was a strong melody note. I’m 100% sure some do it and make it work, I can’t somehow.

The other thing, with single notes, is on my Bb6 12 string there’s two strings between string 4 (D, E on C6) and string 1 (C, D on most C6), and reaching it is much easier for me with my ring finger. Again, I’m 100% sure many have no trouble with this, but I do.

It never ceases to amaze me how many ways people play this instrument, and find success with vastly different approaches. Boggles the mind.

[Ian Rae]

Dale is correct in identifying the ring finger as potentially weak, but I have an advantage from also playing clarinet and trumpet, so mine is equally trained.
When I started playing C6 I was too impatient to get stuck into 4-note harmonies to learn the 3-pick approach, so I went for the instant solution.
I often use grips like 8543 where thumb-raking wouldn't help anyway...

[Dave Grafe]

I keep thumb-and-three for both necks, can't give up my V>I on strings 4, 6, 8 & 10.