Why does my guitar make a "Twang" sound when I play. How can I get my strumming to sound like the professional

Question

I have been teaching myself over the past 2-3 years. I just hear the professionals play acoustically and I just want my strumming to have the same resonating quality rather than some weird sound that vibrates off it. I am pretty sure that I am holding the chords properly.

Could it be the size of the pick Im using? Im using a 0.45mm. My guitar is a laminated steel string acoustic. I just love just the raw guitar sound of the chords most modern rock bands play when they play their song acoustically.

Any tips for strumming or picks to enhance my guitar playing?
Appreciated!!

Answer 1

Do you string your own guitar? Are they good strings? You might try a heavier pick. ALot of people use thins for accoustic, but I prefer a medium so better sound quality. The actual guitar that you are playing may have something to do with it also. When you strum, do you move you arm from the elbow or just your hand. It should be a fluid motion with the arm. One of my guitars has "a little twang" to it, It has a slight twist in the neck. It's seen better days. I don't play it that often, but still do once in a while for certain songs . Good Luck! Stick with it.

Answer 2

could be that the strings are "fretting out". often times if you are playing a medium or cheaper brand of guitar, the company puts more into the "look" of the intrument than the playability of it to sell more of them. The strings may be hitting the frets prior to ehere they are being fingered. This can be fixed in a few different ways. First, check to see how straight the neck is by looking straight down the neck from where it joins the body. if the strings seem to get too close to the neck closer to the box, then you need to loosen the tension on the neck, be carefull not to do too much at once. a quarter turn loose on the truss rod a day is good till it straightens out. If that isn't it, make sure the nut is filed correctly and the bridge is set right. Take it to a guitar shop and they might be able to help after that. Hope that helps!!!

Answer 3

Not sure what you mean by weird Twang sound. Use a thin pick. Strum smoothly. Hit all the strings in one motion instead of one by one. Don't catch too much of the pick on the strings. Keep practicing.

Answer 4

i havent been playing guitar for long, but you need to press down harder and lower towards the fret to get a sharper sound, instead of the vibrating kinda noise.