How Much Difference Does a Pick Make?

[lunchbox]

I've tried many, many pick styles, companies and gauges. My playing style is part strumming and part picking. No matter what I've tried, I always go back to Dunlop Nylon .88. It's the best pick I've ever used. Just the right amount of stiffness and flex.

And I've never paid more than about $.50 for one.

The thought of paying $50 for a pick would never even cross my mind.

 

[Dilemma]

I've been playing with the Dunlop Jazz III lately. It's very small and has a pointy tip. I can't say I'm hearing any tone differences, but it's tightened up my right hand technique which was the intent.

 

[MooCheng]

Interesting post, there seems to be so many choices these days,
as a finger picker I've never given it much thought apart from hearing the odd rhythm an thinking he would sound better holding a heavier pick. Hate that damn clicky sound

 

[Left Paw]

Interesting also that most posters note their personal preference along with an explanation of why they like that particular pick. I find that some of their positives are actually negatives for me. Picks from metal - whether a coin like BFG or a pick cut from a piece of cymbal as has been marketed from time to time - give an audible (to me) 'click' that annoys me so I don't use them. I think this is one of those time truly, that YMMV.

 

[QReuCk]

What I find interesting is everybody complaining about clickyness whatever they use. To me clickyness is defined by a 0.5 nylon. Can't get clickyer than that. Then there is that anoying ringing overtone metal picks produce. And. That cardboard sound of the stubbies (I'm used to it and can find my way around it, so it doesn't bother me as stubbies are widely available and the exact comfort and precision I like).
Then there are the claytons. I would describe them as stubbies with less cardboard. Def my favourite out of the not too expensive ones. Then there are the bones and the horns. Wonderfull picks on all account if you like precision with smouthness. Only problem is at that price (5 to 10 bucks each), and after loosing 2 of them, if I ever buy some more, they are not leaving my home.

 

[Jagdude]

Don't know about the material, but the thickness definitely makes the difference.
I can't hear the difference between a 0.50 pick and 0.60 pick. But difference between a 0.50 and 2.0 is noticeable.

 

[EDS1275]

Tried many but always return to dunlop delrin, tortex or gator 1.5 - 2mm. Ultex 1.14 is as stiff as 1.5's. Got some dunlop nylons 1.5 but even those flex, so not so good. They all sound different as do pointy vs rounded picks

Just getting into using thumb and finger picks. Jim Kelly's picks really help me there otherwise its always been a pita when I tried to do it

 

[Marshall & Moonshine]

i couldn't even tell you what kind of picks i'm using right now. i think they're orange....

 

[Classicplayer]

For many years I relied on Fender medium Jazz picks for electric and Fender medium (traditional size) for acoustic playing. For the past few years when learning the intricies of Rock and using higher gain amps, I found that those little Jazz picks do not work so well, especially on rhythm playing. For me any celluloid full sized pick (i.e. Fender mediums) in the .80 mm category works well for me.

I came upon Stagg brand .81 variety and I like the sound they produce.....no clickiness; only letting the "string sound" make it through to the amp's speaker(s). Only one store in my area carries them and not every vendor online has them in stock.

I've tried the nylon and Tortex types in different gauges, but to me, they impart their own qualities to the sound and I keep coming back to the medium celluloid type.

Classicplayer

 

[entresz]

I use Wegen Fatones.
They're 5mm thick and cost $15USD each.

The difference in sound is huge compared to what I was using previously (Dunlop Jazz III).... on acoustic guitars there is so much more volume and the tone is fuller.

On an electric the tone difference is less pronounced, but the pick glides over the strings making playing fast passages easier. The only negative is that for using the bridge pickup, the 5mm pick can make a bit of noise when it hits the strings. For those situations I carry two picks. I play jazz most of the time, so the bridge pickup doesn't get used a whole lot anyway.

 

[EDS1275]

^^^^ I bought some Dunlop iirc 'knockoffs' of those picks. I'm afraid to use them exclusively as it might mess up muscle memory for my picking standard because they are perhaps too abnormally thick.

I think the big reason why you can fly with those really thick picks is that if you use alternate picking, the distance having to travel between strings when inside picking is minimal.... which is one reason I don't get along with the small jazz picks.... large distance to travel in comparison

 

[KP11520]

I am a huge fan of Dava Picks.

Dava Guitar Picks - Grip Tips

I especially like the "Gel" jazz size for electric and the "Grip Tips" for Acoustic.

I also recently tried the Dava Control Gels for Acoustic and like them as well.

The Gels aren't noisy and yet quite fast, enough for soloing most anything and enough give for nice strumming.

I've been looking for picks that don't slip for years since surgery left me with nerve damage to my hands. Especially, my right. Picks would slip out and I'd only know when it was too late.

These helped me the best so far!