Pick attack

The character of the moment a pick meets a string, heard as a click, a scrape or a soft swell depending on how it is played.

Pick attack is often the difference between two players using identical gear, because it carries the transient that defines the start of every note. A hard, angled stroke gives a bright percussive click; a stroke that brushes the string with the side of the pick or with less pressure gives a rounder, darker entry. Attack also changes with pick thickness and material, and engineers chasing a recorded tone spend more time on this than on any pedal.

Example: Two guitarists on the same amp sound different because one digs in aggressively and the other brushes the strings lightly.

Pick attack

See also