Picking a new Pick

[RizinRico]

Does anyone have any feelings regarding how the size, shape, thickness, material (bone, plastic, metal etc) of your pick effects the tone, loudness etc of your guitar?

[EvilTwin]

Originally posted by RizinRico Does anyone have any feelings regarding how the size, shape, thickness, material (bone, plastic, metal etc) of your pick effects the tone, loudness etc of your guitar?

 

 

Size and shape are mainly a preference for feel, IMO, but I do hear a slight difference between using a regular old "rounded triangle" pick and a "tear-drop" shaped jazz pick (which I think has some more highs because its stouter). I tried to like "jazz picks," but can't get used to them both feel-wise and tone-wise. Some people swear by 'em, though. Just like Carlos Santana swears by huge triangle picks.

 

With thickness...I think it's a question of balance. Too thin, and I think you hear more of the actual strum across the strings than the notes being sounded. Plus I break thin ones like there's no tomorrow. Too thick, though, and then you hear a more pronounced than usual "clickity" sound. I prefer a simple 1.0 mm pick. Plenty loud, doesn't break, not as much "pick dancing on string" sound as when you go higher.

 

I prefer Tortex for material. Plastic picks glide right over the strings and can give a brighter tone, while the Tortex give you some friction, and sound warmer to my ears.

 

All IMO, though.

 

I say just go to a guitar store and buy a bunch of different ones.

 

And then experiment with your fingers, too. I spend my time playing acoustic split pretty evenly between using flatpick and comping fingerstyle, 50/50.

[cabrasguitar]

To be honest I use jazz IIIs. The only reason being i use them for my electric and they seem to be the only ones lying around. I do like them although I sometimes think I should probably swithch to someting else for my acoustic.

[theGOOCH]

I use Fender Mediums. Why do I use them? 'cause I always have and now I'm sure I'd like them best since I'm so used to them.

I might like something that didn't try to slip out of my fingers so much, but I've tried Dunlop textured ones and they didn't make much difference.

[babablowfish]

I am currently enamored of the wedgie .50mm. It has a textured indentation for your thumb and is much easier to hang onto than others I have tried. Since I only strum I can't speak to how these would work for picking, but they are great for strumming. You can strum hard, easy, fast, slow and it sounds great. I know a lot of folks don't like these thinner picks but I find that the thicker guages are harder to hang onto and harder to strum evenly with. But hey, thats just me.

[Michael Martin]

Originally posted by babablowfish Since I only strum I can't speak to how these would work for picking, but they are great for strumming. You can strum hard, easy, fast, slow and it sounds great. I know a lot of folks don't like these thinner picks but I find that the thicker guages are harder to hang onto and harder to strum evenly with. But hey, thats just me.

 

 

This sounds like me--although I do a bit of note-picking within songs along with my strumming, so I have gone up a bit in thickness from the days when I used anything as thin as an 0.5. The issue for me has always been the damn thing sliding out of position, whatever its thickness--so shiny picks don't work. I have a very light grip.

 

My current fave pick is one with a "cat's tongue" pattern on the gripping area. I forget the brand--it's not on the pick, allthough there is a little crescent-shaped logo if that tells you anything. I alternate between the red ones (.73) and the black ones, which are a bit thicker. For me, the .73s are best for pure strumming, and the blacks are better if I have any note-picking to do.

 

I have no success at all strumming with anything thicker than the black ones, which I know are less than 1.0mm.

 

UPDATE: the black ones are .88...

[STEELSTRINGS]

I like Dunlop Tortex and Ultex picks about 1.0mm in thickness. I prefer a heavier pick because it brings out tone more easily.

[SpaceCowboy409]

A couple years ago, just out of curiousity, I bought a ton of different picks to see if I'd like any better than the Fender mediums I'd used forever.

I found out that the picks I liked the best weren't plastic or Nylon, although of all the plastic picks I tried I liked the Fender Mediums best.

But my very favorite pick, for acoustic - by far - turned out to be a Tortis medium B shape. They're $20. but don't seem to wear at all - I've been playing with the same one for 2+ years, and I'm damn careful not to loose it.

They're made from some kind of lab-grown "animal protein" and are supposed to be very similar to real tortoise shell, which is what picks used to be made of back before plastics.

I now know why guitarists like Tony Rice and Peter Rowen treasure their vintage tortoise shell picks.

Another nice non-plastic pick, I found was the John Pearse Buffalo Horn - $6-7. and darker sounding than the Tortis - this is the one I use to mellow out my Strat.

[RizinRico]

Thanks for all the suggestions on picks. I guess I will have to invest a little money and experiment with a few different materials and shapes.
I have put in an ebay bid on a couple of broussard picks, one ebony and one bone (cow) and I am looking at tortis and ivory as well. I replaced the saddle with ivory and it made a very good guitar much better. so i am curious what an ivory pick might sound like.
more to follow...

[DonK]

I've experimented with hundreds of different picks over the years. For me, thicker picks work best. Currently I'm using Fred Kelly Baby Fat picks. These are about the size of a Dunlop Jazz III, but thicker - about 2.0mm compared to 1.3mm for the Jazz III. They come in Lexan (the stuff used to make Dunlop Stubby's) and Delrin: I alternate between the two.

[mmb]

Originally posted by theGOOCH I use Fender Mediums. Why do I use them? 'cause I always have and now I'm sure I'd like them best since I'm so used to them. I might like something that didn't try to slip out of my fingers so much, but I've tried Dunlop textured ones and they didn't make much difference.

 

I use Fender mediums also, celuloid, and was having trouble with them slipping.

 

I use a Xacto knife and cross hatch score the logo portion of the pick. It roughs it up enough that I've not had any trouble at all with the pick moving while playing. Scoring lasts about 8 hours of playing or so and then needs to be redone.

[min7b5]

My 1.5mm tri cornered real tortoise shell pick. A prized possession... nothing else comes close.]

[catdaddy]

Originally posted by Eric Martin But my very favorite pick, for acoustic - by far - turned out to be a Tortis medium B shape ...

Same here except I prefer light to medium but I have one of each.
Great picks!!

[RizinRico]

hey min7b5 that pick looks very nice. congrats on scoring such a rare item. I just tried dunlop celluloid heavy and i like it over the mediums and lights I have been using. is there a legal source for turtle shell picks like there is for ivory nuts and saddles?

[min7b5]

Originally posted by RizinRico hey min7b5 that pick looks very nice. congrats on scoring such a rare item. I just tried dunlop celluloid heavy and i like it over the mediums and lights I have been using. is there a legal source for turtle shell picks like there is for ivory nuts and saddles?

 

 

I have someone that makes them for me. I

[allthumz]

Originally posted by Michael Martin UPDATE: the black ones are .88...

Snarling Dog Brain Pick I think. They do stay in place.

- Robert

[DonK]

Originally posted by min7b5 I have someone that makes them for me. I

[DonK]

Originally posted by allthumz Snarling Dog Brain Pick I think. They do stay in place. - Robert

Tru dat. They work so well that I gave up on them, 'cuz I couldn't get them to move at all. The slippery pick problem is one I've struggled with for years, and I thought Brain Picks were the solution. The only thing stickier is Gorilla Snot.

[min7b5]

Originally posted by DonK Not that it matters to me, but all trade in hawksbill tortoiseshell was outlawed by the CITES treaty and has also been outlawed since 1970 under the U.S Endangered Species Act. Interestingly, even traffic in existing hawksbill items is illega....

 

 

I wasn

[guit30]

Fender Mediums
Jim

[RizinRico]

wow talk about learning more than you really wanted to know! it is strange that already long dead T shell is illegal when ivory is not. i guess the elephant lobby isnt in with the in crowd. my ivory saddle blank came with some serious documentation. now i cant take the gtr with me on my world tour (joke). really it is against the law for me to take my axe out of the USA. i didnt know that until i got the doc on the ivory blank.
I did find a guy on Ebay who sells legal turtle (not tortise) shell picks (so he says) at about $25 a pick with ship.
there were a few remarks about man made tortis that sound interesting also at about $25 a pop. well the search goes on...

[RizinRico]

well i just purchased and ebony and a cow bone pick on ebay. so i will be doing a freeman keller on them as soon as i get them. i hope you dont mind if i use wine instead of beer to help me get into the scientific spirit. ebay has just found a lot of ivory - pre ban and mammoth as well as tortis (man made) so i may try those also. my guess is after spending my money drinking my wine and doing my analysis. dunlop or fender mediums may still by my pick of choice. can you get GAS for picks?

[ESL94]

Hey Don,

Where could I find some of these picks?

[Hudman]

Anything between .70 mm and 1.00 mm.

I'm not picky.

[Scodiddly]

Way back when I was first really learning guitar (ie getting decent tone) I found that heavier picks gave a better bottom end, so I started getting heavier and heavier picks. So my acoustic pick is a Dunlop Delrin, 2.0 mm thickness. Nice tone. I've been using Dunlop Big Stubby in 3.0 mm (!) on electric for a lot time, but it's a bit too clicky on the acoustic strings.

Dunlop recently came out with a nylon version of the Big Stubby, which is made of Lexan. The nylon is a bit quieter (less clicky) than the Lexan, but it's still not quite as good a sound as the Delrin.