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I can't choose a pick to play


belongedtoaiR

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Hi all. I'm playing electric for about 1 year. But I still can't find my favorite pick yet. I've almost all kind of Dunlop ones (tortex,ultex,gator,jazz,stubby).

Each one has it's own pros and cons, and I can't choose one to be my daily pick.

 

I know it's a silly thread and question but do you guys have any advises?

 

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The first pick I used regularly was Pickboy Jazz I think they are called; the little pink or white ones. After many changes I now use Clayton Acetal for the clear but soft attack. They're also drop resistant. Something about the Acetal polymer.

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Nothing wrong with switching picks.

 

 

^^^ This

 

 

While I do have favorites for particular things (red Tortex for acoustic strumming, blue for bass, yellow for general guitar duties), I think having a variety of different picks on hand is generally a good thing. Using different picks is one of the easiest ways to get different sounds.

 

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like anything else, it really is a matter of personal taste, and technical development. I started out with thin picks, now I use tortex 1.14...but I have used medium picks, bone picks, stone picks, coins, steel thumbpicks [rough on the strings, though]...much like string preferences, and action...you really have to find what works for you.

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When in doubt go for good grip. Like Dunlop USA Nylon

Those are what I use, Dunlop gray .60mm for acoustic. I need a heavier pick for electric and Dava Control Picks work well for me there. Really, though, picks are (relatively) cheap. I bought a bunch of different ones from a local music store and tried them all until I found something that worked well. I can't speak for anyone else but if you send me a PM with your address I'll send you a couple of the Dunlop nylon ones.

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like anything else' date=' it really is a matter of personal taste, and technical development. I started out with thin picks, now I use tortex 1.14...but I have used medium picks, bone picks, stone picks, coins, steel thumbpicks [rough on the strings, though']...much like string preferences, and action...you really have to find what works for you.

 

 

Same thing for me. I was a standard "medium" (mostly tortex) but gradually went up to a 1.14 when I realized the flexibility in thinner ones really slows my already slow picking down even more.

 

I tried a bit stiffer than that but didn't like it. The 1.14 still has a little bit of "give" to it for the nice strumming but is firm enough not to slow you down doing faster alternate picking stuff.

 

But yeah...it's obviously a totally personal thing with no right or wrong choice.

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i used to play the light grey soft dunlops years ago and they always would end up bent out of shape but i would get used to this ,so by the time they were total worn out they were bent to eck with the radius of a ping pong ball , thinking back i don`t know how i managed ,anyway i got fed up of this so i decided to get thicker ones so they wouldn`t bend, so at the mo i use dunlop .96mm ,i also like using the blunt back end of the pick where there is less resistance and i like to ruff the back edge up with a few string scrapes to get a scratchy kinda sound for rock stuff, so the moral to this tale is you will probs start out light then get heavier and scratchier as the majority of us do in life anyway.

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i use only the dunlop tortex green ones .88 mm for more than ten years now, i'm happy with them and didn't feel the need to try something else.

thicker picks for me are too hard on the strings, thinner will not do it for me on electric

 

i have one thin (.33mm or so) pick lying around when i feel the need for strumming with a picks on an accoustic, but it does not get much use, i usually strum with the full hand

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My fave is the Snarling Dogs Brain Guitar Picks

 

Z

 

 

http://www.music123.com/guitar-picks...ks-and-tin-box

 

I buy the 1.14mm size, which is the thickest they sell, but really, it's not that thick of a pick and still has a good amount of flex to it, but thick enough to maintain good control.

 

But the feature I like the most is the grippy texture at the top of the pick.

41LtHBUf9cL._SY355_.jpg

 

It really helps me keep control of the pick, but I also find these picks to be more durable and they don't warp directionally as readily as celluloid picks. In other words, most flat picks will eventually bow out from your thumb side, making them a more unidirectional plectrum with time. These guys stay flat longer with a slow rate of wear.

 

[video=youtube;_XHdUddRsDU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XHdUddRsDU

 

 

The only other picks that I have a particular hard-on for is the Dunlop Little Stubbies. I have different sizes, but they are all pretty thick, and I find the thicker ones facilitate my attempts at faster tremolo picking. Think Dick Dales's Misirlou.

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.88 green Tortex, or medium Pick boy toxins. Can't go wrong with green Tortex though.

 

I normally say it's personal preference, but over the years, doing the band thing, I've seen TOO many players trying Way too light/heavy based on some gimmicky training video, and then they struggle

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i used to play the light grey soft dunlops years ago and they always would end up bent out of shape but i would get used to this ' date='so by the time they were total worn out they were bent to eck with the radius of a ping pong ball . . .[/quote']

Wow. I've been using light gray Dunlop nylon picks singe the 70's and I've never seen anything like that. Not saying it can't happen but it hasn't happened for me. Trying to think of what could permanently bend a pick. Do you have a particularly heavy attack?

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I've been playing off and on since 1972 and I've tried a lot of picks. Currently, my favorite pick is the Dunlop Stiffo Jazz III XLs. I used to like V-Picks a lot and the Dunlop Big Stubby, but I found that using acrylic picks or the V-Picks material created a lot of excessive noise when I played my hollowbody.

 

The Dunlop Jazz III XLs have the pointy tip that I like for tremolo picking, and the right size for a good grip, but they don't have the noisiness that acrylic picks have.

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Get some of those variety packs, like Dunlop and D'Addario make. However if you have more than one guitar and one amp I can bet you will probably use more than one pick. How many picks could a picker pick if a picker couldn't pick his pick?

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Try a bunch of different ones. I settled on a medium pick for most acoustic playing, and a more stiff pick for electric. Current favorite is the Star pick with a hollow space in the center for better grip. As you get better, you'll find that you will gravitate to something.

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. . . I settled on a medium pick for most acoustic playing' date=' and a more stiff pick for electric. Current favorite is the Star pick with a hollow space in the center for better grip. As you get better, you'll find that you will gravitate to something.[/quote']

I also use a heavier pick for electric. I've tried the star pick and they're not bad. Definitely worth a try. And yeah, I think we all gravitate toward something over time.

 

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