Guitar picks

[Paulnumbfingers]

I was talking with my guitar teacher last night and we came upon the subject of guitar picks. He uses a really fat pick, but is so talented that he can make it sound light and thin if he wants. We then began a long discussion about picks and the old sea turtle picks, for the most part illegal to buy, and so I begin searching this morning for some picks that may replicate the old sea turtle picks. I came upon a couple of picks others had talked about in forums such as Blue chip and red bear. Now the blue chip picks are mighty expensive, $30-40, and so I wanted to see if any of you have used either, your thoughts and any other recommendations,.

[BobF_]

I love pick discussions!

I have several different picks in my collection that get regular use depending on what I'm playing. I also have a large collection that never get used b/c they suck :)

 

My favorite of them all for all-around use are Davas -- http://www.davapick.com/

 

For strummy acoustic playing I really like "Snarling Dogs Brain Picks". The green .53mm.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/snarling-dogs-brain-guitar-picks-and-tin-box

 

Dunlop Gators (.71) and Tortex (.50) both get frequent use as well:

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/gator-grip

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/Tortex-Standard

[kidblast]

For many of us, I would think a players plectrum of choice is about as personal an issue as you can come across. Been a fan of the tear drop shapes picks, medium thickness.

 

I can't really use the standard size picks, just too much "pick" there for me.

 

Fianlly settled with Fenders 347 shape for some years now, (large tear drop) I did use 358 shape for a while, but they are just a bit too small.

 

of course, thank you fender for discontinuing the 347s! thank you!! NOT!..

 

I found another supplier D'Andrea that are great substitutes but I can't find them in bulk. (half or 1 gross.) ARG.. can only get em a dozen at a time.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/dandrea-347-rounded-teardrop-delrex-delrin-guitar-picks-one-dozen/110885000006145?tandt_rdir=1&nN=true

 

But recently I see Dunlop offers them too. and I can get half a gross. the world is good again!

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/tortex-tear-drop

[EuroAussie]

Ive tried one of those two, cant remember which but I just dont like the tone of a thick pick given my style of playing. I find it dulls the tone and I lose a lot of warmth with anything over 1mm. The Gibson medium is all I use these days, love that pick.

[guitarstrummer]

I've tried most of them and have settled on either Gibson mediums or Clayton Ultems (.72).

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/clayton-ultem-standard-guitar-picks

[Buc McMaster]

Oh boy! A pick discussion! A topic near and dear to my.....ummm.....fingers!

 

I use a Red Bear (extra heavy, round tip), a Blue Chip (0.50, round tip) or a real deal tortoise pick that is quite thick, again with a round tip. Pick material definitely makes a tonal difference but in my experience, it's more the profile of the edge in both planes (as in round tip, rounded edge or pointed tip, sharp edge as examples) that makes more of an impact on the sound we hear.

 

If you play with the pointed edge of a typical Fender 351 shaped pick (regardless of material), rotate it in your fingers and play with one of the rounded "back" edges to hear the difference the edge shape can make. Take the same pick and sharpen the pointed tip edge (not the point!) so it has a thin, razor-like edge......again a significant change in tone given the same string attack. Now which you prefer is entirely up to you and your ear and which tone best suits your style of play........completely subjective to the player.

 

Most players start their guitar playing "career" with a relatively thin pick.......thin picks bend to the string and are easily pushed along because of this. Many move gradually to heavier picks as they progress due to the degree of control a stiffer pick affords.....an unbending pick moves through the strings rather than around them and there is no recovery time involved with a pick that does not flex. The player develops a better sense of exactly where the pick is relative to the string and, for many, this equates to better control.

 

It's all subjective and there are no rights nor wrongs in pick choice, only what works for you and your style. Having and using old tortoise shell picks (legally aquired many, many years ago, I will add) I will say there is nothing else that truly replicates their tone nor feel. To my ear the Blue Chip pick is the closest to the mellow snap of the real thing. But, that said, it's still all subjective to the individual ear.

[j45nick]

Listen to Buc. He is probably more tuned in to pick differences than anyone on this forum.

[mountainpicker]

I don't know how long you've been playing or if you think you're going to play for a lot longer but I tried just about everything, in about every thickness for about eight years; Fenders, Gibsons, Wegens, Claytons, Red Bears, Pearse, horn, bone, all kinds of wood, and some other brands some of my playing pals swear by. It was a big decision for me to pop for a Blue Chip and I definitely wouldn't recommend you do it until you know the shape of pick you prefer. But once I got my Blue Chip TAD 40 (with the speed bevel) my pick quest ended...about two years ago, finito! I was playing thicker picks (up to a 5mm Wegen) before the BC but I took someone's advice and opted for a little thinner pick in the BC than I was using up to then and I'm glad I did. The difference to my ear and the feel of the pick, in the hand and on the strings, is like no other. After about three months of playing one I bought another because I was afraid of going without if I lost the one I had. I have noticed one thing though; if you have a really dark sounding guitar and you've gone to the brightest sounding strings you can find and THAT still isn't bright enough, try a 1mm Wegen and see what that does for you.

I still have both of my Blue Chips and I don't differentiate which one comes out of the pick pouch when I go to play and the edges of both of them look like the day I bought them. You just have to stay sober enough when you're playing with others, if you loan it to someone, or they will walk with your expensive little jewel!

[Mojorule]

On taxi duty in my home town today, I found the best temporary parking spot was next to our big guitar shop. Quelle coincidence! But despite my brilliant parking tactic, there was only time to note that the selection of Gibson acoustics had grown in the last couple of months, and then to peruse the picks. I like 346s and want something other than celluloid, since my old Gibson heavy is too clicky on acoustic. But in 346 form they only had Fender celluloid picks. Everything else was standard shape and size or tiny jazz-sized. No Timbertones (I quite fancy trying a buffalo horn pick from their collection), no Claytons (I wanted an Ultem tripick, and a NuTone which seems only to be available in standard shape, but is supposed to do what Red Bears/Blue Chips do for a lot less money). All of the above advertised as doing something akin to tortoiseshell. No Alaska fingerpicks either. So I bought a standard size/shape Dunlop Ultex because it's the nearest thing to the Clayton Ultem. 1.14 mm. I'll let you know how what it's like.

[j45nick]

On taxi duty in my home town today, I found the best temporary parking spot was next to our big guitar shop. Quelle coincidence! But despite my brilliant parking tactic, there was only time to note that the selection of Gibson acoustics had grown in the last couple of months, and then to peruse the picks. I like 346s and want something other than celluloid, since my old Gibson heavy is too clicky on acoustic. But in 346 form they only had Fender celluloid picks. Everything else was standard shape and size or tiny jazz-sized. No Timbertones (I quite fancy trying a buffalo horn pick from their collection), no Claytons (I wanted an Ultem tripick, and a NuTone which seems only to be available in standard shape, but is supposed to do what Red Bears/Blue Chips do for a lot less money). All of the above advertised as doing something akin to tortoiseshell. No Alaska fingerpicks either. So I bought a standard size/shape Dunlop Ultex because it's the nearest thing to the Clayton Ultem. 1.14 mm. I'll let you know how what it's like.

 

 

As a cheap substitute for Red Bear or Blue Chip, Dunlop Tortex (.88-1.14 mm) aren't bad for very little money. Certainly not the same, but better than the average "clicky" plastic pick, IMHO.

[Stubee]

I started with plain old Fender standard Mediums back about 1970 but switched to Fender Jazz Heavy picks & played those for years. Switched back to a standard size I think in the mid-80s when I played electric guitar & played endless brands (Med-Heavy) until this past winter. The standard size started feeling 'sloppy' in my old hands so I switched to Dunlop Jazz III picks & like 'em for everything. They are 'stiff'.

 

I've never tried the premium picks like Blue Chip, not sure why.

 

I do think that pick style, material, thickness & esoecially your attack are far bigger components of guitar tone than many other things I see bantered about on the Internet.

[j45nick]

I do think that pick style, material, thickness & esoecially your attack are far bigger components of guitar tone than many other things I see bantered about on the Internet.

 

Yep.

[Buc McMaster]

.....the edges of both of them look like the day I bought them.

 

Indeed. Both the Blue Chip and the Red Bear picks seem to be immune to wear.......you'll lose it before it shows any sign of being used. As I understand them, the Red Bear is made of some formula of animal protein, while the Blue Chip is a proprietary synthetic material. Neither of mine show any wear at all. And I agree with Nick that among the other choices, the Dunlop Tortex is the best approximation of tortoise tone. In the "how-it-feels-on-the-strings" arena, real tortoise stands alone, but they do wear very quickly with use. Mine don't get the play time they once did for this fact.....they are not easily replaced.

[jedzep]

The nice peeps at Red Bear stopped talking to me when I repeatedly begged them to create a thinner, say .75 thick pick. They said it would be too brittle, so now I sand, shape, and polish 'em to my liking. I haven't gotten one quite down to that thickness yet, but they sound better to me thinned down and beveled, especially on the L00. It amazes me that there is so much difference in the tone when used on the Martin, which becomes quieter, even duller, and seems to need just a little flex in the pick to get the same result.

[BobF_]

I do think that pick style, material, thickness & esoecially your attack are far bigger components of guitar tone than many other things I see bantered about on the Internet.

 

Good point, but IME the lighter the touch, the less of an effect the pick itself has. For medium to heavy handedness, they do make a significant difference.

 

I tend to have a lighter and lighter touch as time marches relentlessly forward ...

[GT Hurley]

I use Red Bear picks. I have a Dunlop Tortex "just in case" I loose my Red Bear. However I just ordered two more Red Bears to make sure I have backups. Paranoid maybe. But I sure don't want to play with anything else.

[Tarrr]

Diff strokes for diff gits, worth every penny many times over....Blue Chip TD35, 40, 45, 50. Which thickness is the tone control knob of an acoustic.