Picks

[Black Dog]

Merciful-Evans recently did a pick review of some really nice looking high end picks. That got me thinking.

 

I have been using a standard shape pick forever. I have recently tried several new picks. I started out with some heavier standard picks, up to 3, 5 and even 6mm. I think I like a 2 the best overall.

 

Then I tried a Dunlop flow which is more of jazz style pick. I like them a lot. The standard Flow picks are nice. They have a textured surface for a positive grip. But, I don't really have much trouble with grip. I really like the Petrucci Flow pick. It has a smoother more polished surface and bevel that really is nice. It really does, uh, flow.

 

I was wondering what other styles and shapes people like for an all around pick vs. rhythm or lead?

 

Once I settle on a shape I like then I'll probably try a nicer boutique pick or two.

[pippy]

I started out, as does everyone, by trying all the 'normal' shapes that my local shop carried and felt most comfortable and 'handy' with the small teardrop shaped offerings - either Gibson or Fender - in a heavy gauge.

 

I still have some of this type for a few particular picking styles but - unusually I expect - I don't like a sharply-defined tip as I keep tripping over myself in the picking area so for the last 30 years or so have used small round thin-edged coins. The wider arc of the round shape perfectly suits my right-hand pick-attack technique which is more like 'brushing' - to a harder or softer degree - the surface of the string than it is to plucking it.

 

Brian May, obviously, was the first person I had read about who used Victorian-era coins so I tried one out for myself. I found the sixpence (BM's coin of choice) to be too large but found the thruppence to be perfect for my particular hybrid style. Victorian coinage is preferable as it has a higher silver content to those minted in Edwardian times. The softer compound of the earlier coins allows the edge to become rounded in profile which aids towards picking feel.

 

I've tried out loads of other stuff since and have bought some particularly lovely wooden picks which are absolutely superb for Manouche playing but for the solid-body electrics?

Money still Talks...

 

It's been posted shed-loads of times before but this is the one I've been using for the last 20-odd years;

 

 

Pip.

[jdgm]

Jazz III forever.

 

I like the red ones because you can see it if you drop it.

 

They also do the same shape and size in Ultex (same material as the Flow pick), Tortex and Stubbys (Stubbies?).

 

However you can't do funk rhythm with one, you need something a bit bigger and much thinner IMO.

 

I've tried wood, metal, stone etc and I always come back to Jazz III.

 

I've posted my pick pic before but.......

 

[Black Dog]

Huh. When I started I used a Fender light pick. Heavier didn't feel right back then. But the Fender picks are all pretty light. i don't have any Fender "heavies" right now but I think they're only like .95 or something like that. the mediums are .7'ish. Eventually, I was using Herco .75's.

 

I find a heavier pick (like a 2) with a pointier tip allows me to be much more precise with way less effort. As Merciful -Evans said in his review, and as Pippy said above, changing pick thickness and shape really does alter your picking and strumming technique substantially. And, it will probably take more than a few minutes of playing to adapt (although it is felt instantly), especially if you've been using the same thing for a long time.

[Black Dog]

I started out, as does everyone, by trying all the 'normal' shapes that my local shop carried and felt most comfortable and 'handy' with the small teardrop shaped offerings - either Gibson or Fender - in a heavy gauge.

 

I still have some of this type for a few particular picking styles but - unusually I expect - I don't like a sharply-defined tip as I keep tripping over myself in the picking area so for the last 30 years or so have used small round thin-edged coins. The wider arc of the round shape perfectly suits my right-hand pick-attack technique which is more like 'brushing' - to a harder or softer degree - the surface of the string than it is to plucking it.

 

Brian May, obviously, was the first person I had read about who used Victorian-era coins so I tried one out for myself. I found the sixpence (BM's coin of choice) to be too large but found the thruppence to be perfect for my particular hybrid style. Victorian coinage is preferable as it has a higher silver content to those minted in Edwardian times. The softer compound of the earlier coins allows the edge to become rounded in profile which aids towards picking feel.

 

I've tried out loads of other stuff since and have bought some particularly lovely wooden picks which are absolutely superb for Manouche playing but for the solid-body electrics?

Money still Talks...

 

It's been posted shed-loads of times before but this is the one I've been using for the last 20-odd years;

 

 

Pip.

 

So then I'll guess and say that you tend to play with a heavier hand and the softer edges of the coin tends to lighten that a bit? Or, you tend to play a less hard style of music?

 

 

 

[jdgm]

So then I'll guess and say that you tend to play with a heavier hand and the softer edges of the coin tends to lighten that a bit? Or, you tend to play a less hard style of music?

 

I believe he's a very well rounded player :lol: :lol:

[Black Dog]

I believe he's a very well rounded player :lol: :lol:

 

Nice!

 

But, If that's true then my pointy picks mean that I'm a sharp player, which is not accurate. Although, I think they have made me sharp-er than before.

 

 

 

[Rabs]

:D

 

[pippy]

So then I'll guess and say that you tend to play with a heavier hand and the softer edges of the coin tends to lighten that a bit? Or, you tend to play a less hard style of music?...

I tend to play with a very light hand - but digging-in with a solid pick means there's plenty of 'Meat' available when it's required. With such an unyielding pick it means right-hand 'touch' is everything.

The roundness of the edge is important because with a right-angled edge - such as is found on most coins - things tend to be either 'On' or 'Off'. With the softer edge profile pick-attack means notes can be 'faded in' to any degree desired.

 

Pip.

[Black Dog]

:D

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p84RxNcl2l4

 

He should just use this:

 

[Black Dog]

I tend to play with a very light hand - but digging-in with a solid pick means there's plenty of 'Meat' available when it's required. With such an unyielding pick it means right-hand 'touch' is everything.

The roundness of the edge is important because with a right-angled edge - such as is found on most coins - things tend to be either 'On' or 'Off'. With the softer edge profile pick-attack means notes can be 'faded in' to any degree desired.

 

Pip.

 

I'll have to try it soon

 

 

 

[darling67]

I've used Medium picks for my entire life.... use Heavy picks when I play bass. But a while ago, an acquaintance got me into using Heavy picks for guitar… and I never looked back!

 

As for "shape"... I am happy with the standard-shaped pick. They feel right, and I see no need to fix what ain't broken.

[Rabs]

He should just use this:

 

That would certainly ROCK :P

[Black Dog]

That would certainly ROCK :P

 

Nice!

 

 

 

[Versatile]

Gibson large triangular heavy works for me

 

And the cheap Stagg equivalent

 

Thalia make some really nice wooden picks....1.4mm.....and exceedingly good capo's to boot....

 

For ukulele and banjo though

 

Felt and leather is the way to go.....:blink:

 

V

 

[american cheez]

i used to use the regulation fender and dunlop picks most folks do. i kept seeing everyone rave about the jazz 3s, so i bought a pack to try out. i figured, to be fair, i would use the pick for an entire practice session (about 3 hours) before i made a decision about what i thought. now i can't use the others, because they feel like i'm holding a dinner plate. now if i'm playing with my buddies and doing mostly rythym duty, i use the dava picks for their grippyness. but if i'm playing solos, fills, etc, i use the jazz picks. don't try them if you don't want to switch

[zigzag]

When I first found the Jazz III pick, I thought I'd stop there. Since then, I have found variations that I really like, and the one I choose to use is the one that produces the sound I want. I really like the V-picks. The pick in the center is one my wife made for me. She is a jewelry maker, and this is made from silver clay. I really like it, but it produces a very bright sound, and you can hear the pick making contact with the strings if you get too aggressive.

 

[Kaiser Bill]

I've been punching out my own picks for about 8 years now. Old credit cards, driver's license, gas and gift cards... they all make great picks for the "medium" thick pick player. There may be a few thousandths of an inch difference, but c'mon... at the price of picks today?? I find it doesn't really make any difference. Like many of you, I use a "heavy" for bass playing. I also use a heavy thumb pick for PSG and medium finger picks. Again its all personal taste. I used heavy picks for a few years for guitar, but went back to mediums. I haven't used a thin in over 50 years. Funny thing is, I probably have several hundred picks that I've found on stage that players have dropped and never bothered to pick up. Quite an assortment of brands, shapes, thicknesses and sizes. I like the Dorito sized ones...LOL

[Black Dog]

I tend to play with a very light hand - but digging-in with a solid pick means there's plenty of 'Meat' available when it's required. With such an unyielding pick it means right-hand 'touch' is everything.

The roundness of the edge is important because with a right-angled edge - such as is found on most coins - things tend to be either 'On' or 'Off'. With the softer edge profile pick-attack means notes can be 'faded in' to any degree desired.

 

Pip.

 

Hi Pip. I re-read your post and you were clear about your picking and strumming style. Sorry, I read through it in a hurry and that didn't sink in.

 

I did try some US coins yesterday just to see what it felt like. Obviously vastly different than a traditional pick of any kind. Probably not for me right now though.

 

 

 

[Black Dog]

i used to use the regulation fender and dunlop picks most folks do. i kept seeing everyone rave about the jazz 3s, so i bought a pack to try out. i figured, to be fair, i would use the pick for an entire practice session (about 3 hours) before i made a decision about what i thought. now i can't use the others, because they feel like i'm holding a dinner plate. now if i'm playing with my buddies and doing mostly rythym duty, i use the dava picks for their grippyness. but if i'm playing solos, fills, etc, i use the jazz picks. don't try them if you don't want to switch

 

 

When I first found the Jazz III pick, I thought I'd stop there. Since then, I have found variations that I really like, and the one I choose to use is the one that produces the sound I want. I really like the V-picks. The pick in the center is one my wife made for me. She is a jewelry maker, and this is made from silver clay. I really like it, but it produces a very bright sound, and you can hear the pick making contact with the strings if you get too aggressive.

 

 

The Dunlop Flow that I'm using right now is basically the same shape as the Jazz III. I'm liking that a lot right now. The pointier tip and thicker thickness seems to allow me to get a good bite at the string without having to dig as deep and I get less unwanted contact with other strings. much faster and smoother for alternate picking.

[Notes_Norton]

Since guitar is my 7th instrument, I'm not as experienced as many others on this forum, so my choice is simple.

 

I prefer white because I play on a lot of dark stages, and if I drop the pick, it's easier to find. I've tried a few different materials and strengths, and this is what I like best.

 

 

Notes

[Rabs]

Like a lot of us I generally use mediumish picks... But im not really fussy, I have all sorts of sizes and thicknesses.... I don't really like them too hard though even though I have been bought some nice picks I don't use them...

 

Like this I got as a gift from my sister.. Pure silver

 

And another I got from my brother in law one year which again is cool but too thick for me.. Mother of pearl

 

I also have several tins of these cool Hendrix picks which are medium

[rct]

 

rct

[Retired]

For decades, I used thins only and then thought about experimenting. I have a guitar pick punch also and tried the credit card pick which works but didn't care for the slippery feel and dropped them. Bought a lot of different styles and put them in a case and numbered them. I have 0.30 - 0.65 thins, .70mm-.73 mediums. 0.73-0.88's and 0.88-1.0 heavy's Then I bought some off of StoneWorks Picks. Interesting the tone they put out but way too thick for me. The 2 I love best is the Dunlop 1.0 mm ga due to the circle in the middle I can hold on to and the Dunlop Max Grip 1.0 for electric. I still prefer the Fender thins or the D'Addario .70 mm mediums for my Acoustics.

[Black Dog]

 

rct

 

If you haven't watched "Jean Claude Van Johnson", you should. It's hilarious.