Blog Archives
Justin Johnson Signature Thumb Picks – NOW AVAILABLE!

The Justin Johnson Signature thumb pick is based around a specially designed flat pick, so you can fully employ all of the techniques associated with flat picking, and use your pre-existing musical memory relating to flat picking methods. This pick is attached to a specially designed adjustable strap, that securely and comfortably holds the flat pick against your finger, so you can ALSO use the full range of thumb-picking and fingerpicking techniques while the pick is held securely to your thumb.
This velcro strap is easy to adjust, so that you can set the pick to naturally align with your most comfortable playing position. Most other thumb picks can’t be aligned to YOUR position, so you have to alter your technique and muscle memory to work with the pick. The Justin Johnson Signature Thumb Pick makes learning to use a thumb pick very easy, natural, and intuitive.
The Justin Johnson Signature Thumb Picks come in two thickness gauges:
HEAVY GAUGE (1.0mm): The Thick Gauge picks are more rigid, and are designed to perform better with acoustic guitars and guitars with heavier gauge string sets.
MEDIUM GAUGE (0.80mm): The Medium Gauge picks are designed to have a subtle “give” when plucked. This makes them better when used with electric guitars, guitars set up with lighter gauge strings, or if you do a lot of strumming.
The Justin Johnson Signature Thumb Pick is engineered to offer you the best qualities of both a traditional thumb pick and a traditional flat pick, so you can take full advantage of each picking style, while seamlessly and effortlessly blending between them.
Each package of Justin Johnson Signature Thumb Picks comes with (2) pre-assembled thumb pick sets (2 picks and 2 adjustable straps).
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AT THE
JUSTIN JOHNSON OFFICIAL STORE
Dialing in Blues Fingerpicking Guitar Tone
I love a screaming guitar solo as much as anyone, but some of my favorite music to listen to is that greasy, slow, electric fingerpicking blues guitar. Lightning Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, and R.L. Burnside are some of my favorites in that style.
I’ve gotten several requests to cover the song “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” by Skip James. It’s a perfect slow blues song to perform as a solo 6-string arrangement, since it has such a killer vocal melody and baseline.
For this recording, I chose to pick on my vintage Harmony Monterey guitar. It’s got a clean and punchy acoustic tone, which I mic’ed with a WA-47 Tube mic from Warm Audio. I also plugged the guitar into a Fender Princeton Blackface (re-issue) with the vibrato intensity cranked to 11. The old Hershey bar pickup in the Harmony is in neck position, which also contributes to the warm, full-bodied electric tone. Watch the video above, for the complete details on the gear and settings I used.
If you want to check out more of my rig-rundowns, and get a behind-the-scenes look into my recordings and videos, Subscribe to my new channel “Live form the Guitar Loft” HERE. If you have song requests or gear questions, let me know in the comments there. That channel is devoted to answering questions and requests.
Make sure you click the “FOLLOW” button to the right of this, to get more of my articles. …and of course, check out my music, downloads, lessons, and signature guitars at www.JustinJohnsonStore.com
Keep Rockin’,
Justin Johnson
Fingerpicking Tips To Save Years of Guitar Practice
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the techniques I used to help develop my fingerpicking style over the years. When I was just starting to learn guitar, and through each stage of development, I would often hit walls and feel like my progress was dragging along too slowly. Each time I progressed past one of those frustrating plateaus, it was because I learned a new technique that helped guide me in the right direction. In the following video lesson, I will share some of those plateau-busting techniques that allowed me to develop quicker and more freely.
As you work through the exercises in this video lesson, don’t forget that practice is key. You will only be able to easily master these techniques through repetition. Also, make sure you follow the tips on anchoring and hand position, as they will save you hours of frustration once you incorporate them into your playing style.
Keep Pickin’!
Justin Johnson
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