Guitar Plectrums...

[zsalvini]

i started this thread to see what plectrums are best for what type of playing. I like playing fast runs and I find that a really thin plectrum helps but then i see all the "fast guitar players" all use plectrums which are very pointy. Why is this? I find it harder using these plectrums :S

Also, when recording i know guitarists use different plectrums for different things. i.e. when playing power chords they will use thicker plectrums and when playing chords they will use perhaps a different type to get a different sound.

so basically what im asking is a list of plectrums and what diffent effects do they give off

thanks!

[Jarick]

Just take $10 to a guitar store and get one of each of a bunch of different types. Great way to change tone. Material can make it thicker or brighter sounding, same with thickness. The little Jazz picks are great for single note runs too. I need to stop by the store and get one of those dimpled picks for U2 stuff.

[bluesnapper]

I think I can play a little bit faster using a thinner plectrum, but it ends up sounding a bit sloppy - you have much less control than with a non-flexible pick - the thin ones kind of flop around over the strings.

 

Jimmy Page used thin picks - there was a thread a couple of months ago about his 'sloppy' playing. Didn't stop him from achieving all levels of awesome though

[Meowy]

recently I have been using V-Picks between .80mm and 2.75mm.

 

The pointier ones are more articulate

The rounded ones are warmer and thicker

 

With these picks (especially the rounded 2.75mm) I can play much faster than with my usual Tortex

 

The thinnest .80mm is very bright and clear on my acoustic

[Philfixit]

I'd been using the .73mm Dunlop nylon picks forever and finally concluded that they were too light. Trying some various picks, I like the .80mm Clayton acetal and the Dunlop Ultex in .73mm. Really like the feel of the Dunlop Gator Grip but the .71 is too thin and the .96 a bit heavy. A .85 or so would fit me well.

I had a Min'd pick back in the Seventies, made of polished agate. It was pretty, heavy as hell, expensive and did nothing for my playing. Al DiMeola endorsed them but I doubt that he ever used them much.

Picks are kind of a personal thing. It has to feel good and not hamper you or your sound in any way.

[Poltergeist]

black Dunlop 1.14's.

[FoonkySteve]

I like a medium just now. But i feel like i can get used to anything after playing with it over a short period of time. I takes small adjustments to your right-hand technique, which i find kinda fun.

[garthman]

3mm Nylon Big Stubby with the pointy tip filed down to a more rounded one. Like this:

 

 

Or is you can't be bothered filing the tip, you might try a Dunlop Primetone Roundtip - alas they cost 5 times a much as the Stubby and are made from polycarbonate which is harder than nylon so the tone is not as smooth.

 

[notjonahbutnoah]

My best pick advice is that if you do pickscrapes, use Tortex. Every other pick I've tried gets chewed up beyond recognition after a few good scrapes.

 

I don't like how all the fancy pick brands don't take this into consideration. Why buy one when you could get 12 to 72 other, better, more durable picks for the same money?

[bluesnapper]

 

My best pick advice is that if you do pickscrapes, use Tortex. Every other pick I've tried gets chewed up beyond recognition after a few good scrapes. I don't like how all the fancy pick brands don't take this into consideration. Why buy one when you could get 12 to 72 other, better, more durable picks for the same money?

 

 

I wear out a new Tortex pick per gig/rehearsal - not pickscraping, just hard playing with heavy strings.

 

If I use softer picks they wear out even more quickly. Tortex plectrums are what I've settled on and they hold up better than most.

[Firebrand]

For acoustic I use Dunlop Nylon. For electric I switched from Tortex to Ultex about 5 years ago. Though occasionally I use jazz sized Dava pics. I have an assortment collected from the last 23 years and am going to put one of each in a display case in the not-so-distant future.

[humbuckerstrat]

Pointier picks help me to pick faster, and I can tremolo pick better with a pointy pick. I've been using these lately, I love the material v-picks are made out of, they fly off of the string.

 

 

[danswon]

judging by RR in your avatar, i'd say you want a fairly robust pick for chunky articulate picking. For this i absolutely love Dunlop's Ultex and Tortex 1mm picks. if you're doing fast runs i'm surprised you prefer a thinner pick, i think most people would find the opposite to be true

 

if i'm just doing strumming, or more punky rhythm stuff i often use a dunlop 1mm nylon (the black ones)

 

picks are quite cheap so just buy a load of different ones and play your own songs with them (or your favourite songs) and see what's best for you

[Hubert Stumblin]

Dunlop Tortex 1.14.

[ToneChase]

Whatever I have at the time, I'm not really "picky" heh. Lately I've been liking these:

[faberbz]

Cool "Coolcell" in 1.0

 

a celluloid pick with a rubberized grip.

 

I never thought I'd spend more than 25

[Meowy]

 

Cool "Coolcell" in 1.0   a celluloid pick with a rubberized grip.   I never thought I'd spend more than 25

[Elias Graves]

I try em all but keep coming back to the Jazz III. It does everything well, lasts forever and doesn't get in the way.

 

EG

[SpaceProg]

Here lately, I've just been using the regular Fender or Dunlop thin picks. I also tend towards thin pics normally, but I do have some thicker Dunlop Stubbies and a Dava Control I use now and then.

I had a greater variety, but they faded away over time. I need to go pick shopping again soon.

 

When I strum or pick with a really thick pic, they seem to feel like they're 'catching' on the strings and slowing me down. It could just be psychological about the slowdown, but the tone you get is indeed different, which is why I still have a few thickies.

[mrperson]

I love experimenting with picks, I used the blue tortex ones for awhile when I first started playing but for the past 4 or so years I just keep returning to red Jazz III's. I've tried all sorts, the ultex jazz III, the jazztone 205 - which sounded great but wore down far to quickly. I'm going to try out the small pointed V-pick and ordered one earlier when I was buying strings as I thought it was an intriguing idea. Who knows that may become my new favourite, if it sounds like the stubby but is grippy I'll be a happy bunny.

[faberbz]

 

V-picks are $4 and if you don't lose them, money well spent

 

 

Money very well spent. I got over my cheap-pick fixation a while ago. V-Picks are pretty cool--I've tried them.

 

Celluloid picks really do it for me, though, and I feel like I found the Holy Grail with these "Coolcell" picks from Cool.

[mnhhngbfs]

i like picks as long as they're not "medium" or lighter. yay picks

[Brocken Jr.]

I've never been able to tolerate non-nylon picks for long. I think it's because, when I went in to get my very first picks, I only requested "black" because I didn't know what I was doing at all.

 

So the guy gave me a bag of Dunlop Nylon 1mm, and I learned with those. Since then I've settled on Dunlop Max-Grip Nylon .88mm, because my playing style's changed and I do a lot more strumming and a lot less picking.

[nighthawk15]

Just go to a store and buy a {censored} load of different ones to try. Picks are pretty personal. For what its worth, I find the most versatile picks I've ever used to be Dunlop .88 tortex. Your mileage may vary.

[robbdeman]

so yeah...I had to look up what a plectrum was:facepalm:

That said, Right now I have been using a nylon D'Andrea - Brain .73 (I work for bestbuy so I get a killer discount on the 72 packs) I Love the fact it is textured and I tend to not lose it as much as 99% of the other picks I use, I had a few medium fender and dunlops (and a few GC picks I uhm "aquired" ) and I always end up struming or picking them right out of my hand.