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Posts: 15
Location: Denmark | Has anyone some good advice regarding picks, different shapes, types etc?? I have used the Dunlop JazzIII for some time. I was told that John Mclaughlin used the same. It feels very small. I think I will try the Fender standard 351, same as Al di Meola uses!
best regards
Christian |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | There is no right or wrong on picks. Buy a few different types and give them a try. I've read where some big players prefer a very hard pick, some very thin. Personally, I'm middle of the road, using Fender medium, in their standard size. Cheap, reliable, and easy to replace when lost. |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | fender extra heavy I used the heavy until they came out with the extra and never looked back
I remember a guy in college that would superglue 2 heavy picks together to get one he liked. but then he would buy brand new strats and route them for 3 dimarzio superdistortion humbuckers so what the hell do I know I only sell gear for a living |
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Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Looks like am headed in the opposite direction on this one. I use very thin picks. I find thin picks kinda snap the strings to give them a bright tone. I find that heavy picks dull my tone. I think I have always used thin picks because I play with a light touch. You just have to experiment until you find something you are comfortable with.....Paul Hebert |
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Posts: 939
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Personal preference is definately what drives most pick choices, and what is needed for a particular song/sound.
I use thin picks most of the time, I do a lot of strumming. I'm not sure of the brand, but they have textured grip where you hold them - keeps the pick from slipping around in my fingers. Seems like when I try medium to heavy picks the pick wants to "bounce" off the strings and I'm afraid I'll break even more strings (allthough I seem to have finally achieved the right string manufacturer, gauge, and guitar combination where I haven't broken a string in awhile!!!)
But, I have started using a more medium gauge on songs that I actually give a go at playing a lead part (currently two songs in my band's repertoire).
I also do some fingerpicking, and just use my fingers for that. :)
Due to band members deciding they had to move to different states :rolleyes: I have started playing bass guitar on some songs and use a heavy pick (I can hear all the bass players gasping as I don't use just my fingers, just haven't got the feel for that!)
Pick it! |
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Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | Pick? What's a pick? j/k, I rarely use a pick, but when I do, I use a light one. I tend to feel light picks are brighter, quicker, and less clumsey than thick ones. Gee, I wish I were a thin pick!
Norse(fingernails worn to the nub)man1 |
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Posts: 38
Location: Denver, Colorado | I use thin picks (usually Fender) I think a thin pick makes my Ovations "sing"! Of course they do break more often! |
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Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Where do all my picks and socks go? That is the question....Paul Hebert |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | I very rarely use a pick, but when I do it's the most rigid I can find, not necessarily the thickest, but the stiffest. Genuine tortoiseshell picks fit that bill, sound the best to me & last the longest, but I'm dowm to my last couple & they're illegal now. As a close second I like Dunlop 2mm Tortex. If you can learn to play lightly with a heavy pick you can increase dynamic range considerably. The downside with thin picks is that the strings move the pick, rather than the pick moving the strings, so dynamic range is limited as result. |
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Posts: 2178
Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | I use only thins (usually Fender 351) when I use a pick. For my style (and depending on the song) when I use a pick I usually put a slight "bend" or downward "curve" at the top where it helps me to hold it better, I also pick upward with my middle finger!(Glen Campbell style)
Heavy or thick picks seen to "drag" on the strings and limit my speed!
Like Paul H. & Dan the thins make the strings ring alittle brighter.
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Whatever your choice just keep-a-pickin'
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Mike :cool: |
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Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | - Paul T.
If you like tortoiseshell, you might like Clayton ULTEM picks. |
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Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | For acoustic playing, which is all I've ever done in a band, I use Dunlop 1mm's that have the stiffness and the prominent logo keeps them from slipping around. I tried a stone pick on my mandolin and it works as it has absolutely no pick flex and all attack is transferred to the strings but I've played the Dunlops so long that it's what I'm comfortable with and loud enough is loud enough. On electric, a Dunlop 0.5mm works fine, has the same feel but helps my tendency to over play and not let the electronics do the work, fortunately I only play electric for my own pleasure, so a little experimentation is allowed.
Bailey |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | It's interesting reading the last couple of posts about what type of picks and what people do, to hang onto their picks.
When I practice, it seems that I have my picks (Fender medium) move around a lot in my hand. But when I'm playing in front of people, I never give it a second thought and it never moves around. When I think about it, I always think it should be the opposite.
By the way, IMHO, Paul T is right. Learn to use a stiffer pick and your options of what you can do on a guitar increase dramatically. |
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November 2002
Posts: 8
Location: Houston, Tx | I've always liked a thin pick for a crisp, clear sound. A while back, I ask a person on ebay who was selling ivory picks if they could make a thin ivory pick that had some flex to it. They emailed back that "ivory doesn't flex". I thought if it is thin enough, it should flex, so I got some old ivory and I started making picks for myself, then my son, then my sons friends, then started selling them on ebay. Voila....a business. I've sold a hundred or so ivory picks and bridge pins made from old ivory and have had great responses as to the difference and improved tone of their guitars and mandolins. My picks are thin and they do wear down over time, but the sound is worth it.
texjude99 |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Careful, the legality of trading in ivory products is tricky, unless they are specifically fossil ivory or from a non-protected species such as Walrus. I beleive ivory products are banned on ebay under their wildlife & endangered species policies. I was bidding on some tortiseshell picks a while ago & the auction was pulled by ebay, even though the listing stated that the picks were vintage stock, produced long before the Hawksbill Turtle was an endangered species. |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I am doing my part by eating as much snapper soup as possible |
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February 2003
Posts: 2178
Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | Speaking of picks....I just received my "FREE" Adamas Graphite 2mm pick from BCastle!! - THANKS Barry!! That's one BIG OLE THICK SLAB O' GRAPHITE!!!!!
No one really uses one of these string busters do they?? I'll just put it up with my other Ovation collectibles!!!!
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THANKS again Barry :)
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Mike :cool: |
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Posts: 8
Location: Houston, Tx | You're right. It is illegal to buy imported ivory, but it is legal to buy ivory in the states that was here prior to the 1989 ban and there is quite a bit of it here. I buy from 2 reputable dealers, Boone's Trading Compamy and Whather Museum, ( I think I misspelled that), and I had to prove that to ebay. Ebay accepts sells from these 2 dealers and sells of all vintage ivory. I also use touga nuts which is called the vegetable ivory. These nuts make great picks. |
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January 2003
Posts: 63
Location: Virginia | This is something I have not tried, but would like to know if you have heard of it. Wash a potato in dilute sulfuric acid until the surface is clean. Then boil the same potato in the same dilute sulfuric acid until it becomes dense and solid. Wash thoroughly in tepid water followed by cold water until all traces of acid are gone. When dry, this is supposed to be imitation ivory, which can be carved and colored with dye. I would be interested in hearing about the results if you try it.
bd |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Ditto, Barry;
I received the Adamas graphite pick in the mail yesterday. THANKS!!! |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | bdbdbuck
I spent 25 years working in chemical labs in various high tech industries, and I would not reccommend what you are suggesting unless you want to be maimed and blind. Picks of all kinds are cheap, the pickin' that matters comes from the picker, not the pick.
Bailey |
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January 2003
Posts: 63
Location: Virginia | Yeah, notice I said I hadn't tried it......
bd |
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March 2003
Posts: 63
Location: Dallas, GA, USA | Cliff and TRBoy...
You're welcome, and no, I don't use these stringbusters either, at least not very often. It seems to me that if you pick a single string, they are soft sounding, with almost no "attack". But if you strum, it sounds like playing with a beer can. Maybe I just haven't learned the technique. I play with thin picks. I just bought those Adamas picks because they were neat to have. Now I want that desk from the "Mega Bowl" post... :D |
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Pick advice!!!