The Humble Pick, Oh So Much More

[CD02]

So, I might be the last person here to actually realise that the pick you use makes sooooo much difference to the sound

The story goes like this. Over my journey so far I have used whatever pick I happened to have bought or been given with my only thought being that some were flexible and others really weren’t, and that there was a barely discernible difference in sound, perhaps more clicky sound with the thinner and less with the thicker.

So this relates mostly to strumming and I have been using a Dunlop Standard 0.38 which I am really comfortable and confident strumming with as it’s forgiving if you hit the strings a bit harder than you mean to. I have found it hard to move to the other pick I have that was a Grover Allman Pro Pick 0.46 as it just felt more aggressive for such a smaller size change .

The other picks I had experimented with was an unknown brand given to me when my wife worked at Qantas by KD Langs Crew when she was here touring, she had her face on them, it seemed a nice pick (I still like it generally), the other was given to me by a U2 Tribute Band and seems quite a stiff Nylon pick.

Anyway, (sorry this is turning out to be far longer than I thought), recently during a Club with Richard Coles I made a relevant comment in the chat about being able to strum confidently with my Dunlop 0.38 but struggled to move to a thicker pick with the same confidence. Jed Wardley was also part of the club lesson and we had a side chat about the picks I was using. He had suggested that I trial picks within the same brands, find the ones that feel best and stick with the same brand but in various sizes.

Moving on, I have recently received picks I ordered online, they are as follows:
Jim Dunlop Standard - 0.38, 0.46, 0.6, 0.73, 0.88, 1.0
Dunlop Tortex - 0.5, 0.6, 0.73, 0.88, 1.0, 1.14

So I sat down and played my way through all 12, and was blown away by the different sound The line between a very bright sound and a very soft sound was amazing (to me anyway) with (in general) around the 0.6 mark being where they seem to go from ‘bright’ to ‘soft’ almost muted sound.

I love the feel of the Tortex and hopefully will be able to graduate up to the 0.5 and 0.6 versions of these but have to say that the Dunlop Standard are great too especially the 0.6 that feels just marginally more flexible that the 0.6 Tortex.

Well, that’s it. It was such an eye opening moment that I just had to share. And thanks to Jed for opening my eyes to this.

Finally, I’m interested to hear what sizes all of you are using for your strumming (and picking for those that do)

[roger_holland]

@CD02

I’m interested to hear what sizes all of you are using for your strumming (and picking for those that do)

What picks do you use?

When I started learning guitar I used thin picks as recommended by Justin. Dunlop nylon white .38 & white .46. These thin picks are great when you start out of course as they’re very forgiving. But you quickly realise that their ease of use comes at a price. They sound terrible! You get a flappy, clicky sound from them. As my playing improves I’ve worked up to thicker picks. Dunlop tortex red .50 for quite a long time and now currently tortex orange .60 for ‘strummy’ acoustic songs and tortex y…

Hi Craig,
And under Gordon’s first post there are several links … Maybe this can be of some use to you,
Have fun,
Greetings

[Alexeyd]

I use Wegen picks. 2.5mm for acoustic guitar, 1.5 for electric.
Tried many different ones - always go back to these.

[jkahn]

Definitely worth exploring picks! I did that a while ago, similar process to you.

I’ve settled on usually yellow tortex for electric, and orange or yellow for acoustic. Depending on what I’m playing. Orange gives some nice percussive hits.

[twistor59]

Jim Dunlop “Big Stubby” 3.0mm.

I’ve discovered I like chunky ones!

[AzureJasper]

After trying so many brands, material, and thicknesses over many years I settled on dunlop tortex purples (1.14mm), but recently got some dunlop “the wedge” 1.14mm picks and they’re great too. The dunlops are just the right shape for me and I love the grip of the tortex material.

[HappyCat]

I’ve landed on a wood pick as my favorite thanks to my wife.
She got me some unknown brand last fall.
I had no idea if I’d like them or not.

Wood guitar picks

I don’t think about guitar picks to much. I got one I like and is my go to pick. Don’t know the thickness of it, but it’s pretty thick and solid. I paper punched a hole in it too which I like as the hole seems to help me hold on to it. Fast forward to the other day. Wife got a small box in the mail. That sure ain’t unusual since she often gets boxes in the mail. I pay no attention to them as they ain’t for me. Well, the box she got was something for me. Know idea what made her get me someth…

That was the thread I started about these new wooden picks shortly after I got them from her.

So far I’ve not lost any of the three. 2 are still new. I have one pick out period.

As you can see from the wear on it. I use it often. Interesting I think is that from the wear you can see how I’m hitting the strings with it. The angle.

I love the wooden tone it give when I’m using it either on elec. or acoustic. If ya dig in ya can play pretty darn loud. Easy to back off with it too and strum light.

I just find it a great tool and when I run out of them, I will have to go search where she got them on line somewhere.

If ya’ve not tried a wooden pick, I highly recommend finding some and giving them a try.
I’ve not used any plastic ones since acquiring these.

[RodC]

I like the feel of Tortex.

After some experimenting I’ve settled on the Orange Tortex 0.6mm for acoustic and the Tortex Black Jazz 3XL 1.35mm for electric.

[Helen0609]

I went through the same process in my first year of playing, bought a whole bunch of pick sets.
I settled with the orange Tortex as my main pick on acoustic and the Dunlop Jazz III on electric. Great sound also ( a bit fuller, darker and warmer) from the black Dunlop’s Nylon 1,00 and 0,88.

[Svoisine]

I use Dunlop nylon .73 or .88 for most playing (electric or acoustic) but I have trouble holding on to them. I try to make my stumming hand loose and relaxed to I can get the sound I want and then the pick ends up moving around between my fingers. I chose the nylon ones because they have texture to them that I can grip but does not seem to be enough. The biggest issue is when my fingers are too dry and I end up getting them wet (only stum hand) to provide some resistance there. Would a better / different pick help hold them more or am I just gripping too lightly?

[DarrellW]

Me too, I liked the 2mm to start with and have moved up to 3mm for lead playing and still on 2 mm for strumming. I found them quite easy to use after having used the tiny Jazz pick for quite a while, they’re nice picks for sure!

[Malz]

The decision to use a pick is always for me dependent on the song being played. Most of the time a pick is not wanted, cannot hold them long enough to be useful, unless of course they stay within my fingers. Some do.
My fingers are trusted over plastic, wood, leather or whatever. Fingerpicking is also my preferred style of playing.
All that said, for some songs, picks are more suitable, and for those it comes down to whatever is at hand, generally a Hergo Flex or Dunlop of whatever colour, and if all else fails, my fingers do the talking, albeit at a reduced volume.

[Jozsef]

I tend to think that the shape of the pick (pointed vs curved) and strumming/picking dynamics have more effect on the actual tone than the thickness of the pick. I usually link thickness with the volume of the sound.

I’m more of a picker than a strummer and I use picks in the 0.60-0.90 range most of the time. If I need a softer tone or want to strum faster I’ll go down to around 0.50. I rarely use picks thicker than 1 mm even though I have quite a few of them.

[CATMAN62]

Picks…
Literally dozens & dozens of picks in my “pick box”… I started playing years ago using only my fingers but decided to go with a pick because of low volume & initially only used Dunlop Big Stubby and Jazz III picks because they provided volume & were easy to hold on to… Since then I’ve branched out, a lot!!!
I have wooden ones in various thicknesses, coconut husk picks which I use when playing South Pacific/Hawaiian tunes (think Tiny Bubbles), felt picks that I use for Nylon string guitars (I know… “Sacrilege” scream the Classical purists!), stainless steel picks (they were a gift & are rarely used - although if I ever get into Metal…) and bunches of novelty picks - I even have some Mickey Mouse face shaped picks which I ALWAYS use when playing Sherman Brothers tunes!!! Vinyl, Tortex, other “plasticky” materials that I don’t have a clue about what they’re made of. Star picks, Clayton picks, Fender picks, Gibson picks, D’Angelico picks (I like these a lot), also picks that I never use… the one handed to me by Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky fame which he signed, the one given to me backstage at a Cheap Trick concert in the '80s by Rick Nielsen (which he claimed John Lennon borrowed for a session they did together - I have my doubts about the veracity of that story) and a personalized 24k gold pick my daughter gave me for Father’s Day a couple of years ago!

My favorite “go to” pick is the Tortex red or orange. Justin got me to try the paper thin Dunlops - so I’ll use them occasionally as well. I’ve tried the Dava “grip” pick recently & though I like how stable it is in the fingers, don’t really care for the sound I get with one.

In regards to Craig’s original point - every material & every thickness change causes a difference in the tone/sound I get from them… so much so that the non-musical members of my family have noticed at times - “Dad, that sounds cool!!! Are you using a different pick than the one you were using earlier?” - so the point is this:
Picks are generally pretty cheap considering that relative cost to the rest of your gear… buy a metric ton of them & play around with them!!!
If nothing else, it give you an excuse to avoid house work!!!
“What’s that dear? Take out the trash & the dogs? Not right now, I’m really deep into this Pick Comparison & don’t want to lose my concentration!”

Tod

[bradley99]

I have a box full of picks that I’ve collected over the years. The orange tortex was my go-to pick for a long time. I’ve alway had problems with holding a pick consistently at the correct angle - seems to move around my fingers as I play. Last year, I stumbled across Star Picks - they are comparable to the tortex but have a 10 point “star” cut out of the center. The star in the center really helps me keep the pick in the right position.

[CATMAN62]

Just found this:

Do Guitar Picks Change Guitar Tone?

Interesting few minutes to spend!

Tod

P.S. If you don’t want to watch the whole video, skip to the last 3 minutes (about 11:50 to the end)
Rock On my Friends!!!

[Malz]

If you really want to dive deep, and I do mean deep. Check out the Troy Grady website. The guy delves deeply into picks like no other I have seen.

[Svoisine]

this was incredibly fun way to waste time

[CATMAN62]

Thanks for the tip, Mal! Troy was new to me & I’ve watched a few of his videos!!! Cool to find new YouTubers to follow!!!

Tod

[tony]

@CD02

Finally, I’m interested to hear what sizes all of you are using for your strumming (and picking for those that do)

Great topic. I started with .68 and .88 picks and they were good for me as a beginner. After a few years a friend suggested going to a 1.5 pick.

With the thinner picks I really struggled to strum quite lightly.

It took a bit of getting used to the 1.5 but it’s now my standard and I can strum quite lightly when I need to. (I’m not an aggressive / hard strummer)

I have heard Justin comment the lighter picks are great for beginner level and that a harder pick is a normal progression.

Yet, I have a friend who’s a superb musician, has been playing for years and he sounds awesome with a .68