I donât use the Tortex ones with the âpowderyâ coating, so I am not sure this answers OP question, but aside from that I really donât change picks at all. I have a number of different varieties for playing with the sound but most of them donât wear out or if they do it very slow. I have a bunch of old Fender celluloid ones that wear down, but I as long as there is something to hold on to, I keep it going. I mostly use dunlop nylon of different thicknesses and they just do wear out. I even have a handful of red Guitar Center picks (the ones they leave around the store), I am not trying to steal them but over the years I end up putting one in my pocket and left. I did return bunch once and just scattered them around the store, but mostly they just stay in my pick repository.
TBH, whereas I read a lot about losing picks, I donât tend to have that problem either. I guess my special gift is in Not Loosing guitar picks, but I really would give that up and toss a bunch of picks for a little more natural musical ability⌠If anyone wants to trade âgiftsâ.
Iâm bad.
I donât change picks at all.
Worse yet, I play with a wooden pick and it for sure wears over time. There is no point on the one Iâm using right now. I think I need to change it soon and do have a couple of replacements. Like 2 replacements.
I am pretty good at not loosing my pick. It resides on one of my amps and is itâs proper place to be, short of using it. Or on my desk, and thatâs where I loose it mostly from. My wood pick falls on my wood floor. Then itâs at the very least camouflaged by my floor keeping it hidden from me till I look real close. So far Iâve been able to find it. To include sucking it up with the vacuum. I heard it get sucked up and retrieved it. Itâd been lost for days that time. But I got it backâŚ
Iâve never even thought about replacing picks, if thatâs what OP meant. Iâve got 5 or 6 go-to picks and a bunch of others in case I feel like experimenting. I can see a bit of wear on some of them but nothing serious enough to hinder playing.
I use Fender nylon .73. Theyâre cheap, in bags of ten. When the point has become noticeably worn, I toss it and get a new one. It takes a few years to go through a bag.
Mine too. I prefer to leave 'em in there though⌠probably have about 15 in my favorite acoustic now. I like the âpercussiveâ element they lend to my playing, especially when Iâm really strumming vigorously!!! That way I donât have to bother my wife to come in & play the shaker along with me⌠I already have it COVERED!!!
Just kidding, I very rarely drop a pick, whether itâs a âgrippyâ style or a smoother âTortexâ style.
In answer to the OPâs question, I rarely replace picks⌠I like pointy shaped ones & they take a long, long time to wear down to where theyâre not really usable. So, not a very big deal here.
I have several on the go at any time. Theyâre distributed throughout the house, from me trying to find new places to play where the kids canât find me.
I have never retired a pick but a few of mine are very worn. The harder plastic feeling pick wear down quicker. I play a load of punk, with fast hard strumming and I find the worn picks are better for it as the point doesnât catch the strings to much, but the opposite is true for plucking solos etc.
I cant talk to when to replace it, Iâd say the answer is most likely when its no longer workable for you. People use fingers to play so anything between worn down to the finger tip and brand new is useable.
My first picks were the orange Tortex and I wore the first one right down till I could barely use it. After than I couldnât seem to keep new ones from rotating in my fingers, so I got a bunch of max grip ones, and theyâre scattered all over the tabletop next to my guitars. I just grab one at random and play. Technically, I could be replacing one with a different one every day.
Rebecca @LunaRocket
Like you I ditched the Tortex picks as they kept moving around and use Dunlop max grip. I have three on the go at any one time and rotate them every day, when I remember. When did I last change them, more than six months ago and less than twelve. I did think the other day that the embossed grip might be getting smoother, but perhaps not.
Must get into a routine of changing them when I change strings, they are after all not the most expense accessory for the guitar. ÂŁ6 for a pack of 12 from Amazon.
Michael
