But some of the most common materials are: Celluloid When most people think of a guitar pick, this is what they picture. Acetal Your Stringjoy , Tortex Standard, and Delrin picks are made out of this highly durable plastic.
Ultem Picks made of this, like the Dunlop Ultex picks, are super stiff no matter the thickness and they produce a bright tone. Acrylic These have been around since the 80s and are tough, light, and can be molded to almost any thickness. Guitar Pick Thickness The thickness of your pick will play the biggest part in how bright or how warm your guitar sounds.
Thin Your thin guitar picks are usually going to range anywhere from. Medium Medium Picks are going to range in thickness from. Heavy Picks that are. Guitar Pick Shape Shape also plays an important part when finding the perfect guitar pick for you. Tri-Tip Picks These tend to be a favorite among acoustic and bass players due to their easy-to-grip size and the blunter tip providing a warmer sound.
Jumbo Jazz Picks These are the hybrid between the jazz and the classic picks. Guitar Pick Textures It really comes down to your personal preference when using a textured guitar pick. Our Best-Selling Strings. Other Posts you may like. An Express History of Expression Pedals. Back to blog. Killer Tone Tips, Delivered. Sign up to get tone advice, playing inspiration, early access to new products and more.
Share this post with your friends. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on linkedin. Share on reddit. Share on email. Thanks, Brian. Hey Brian! Do you carry dulcimer strings? Also what picks do you recommend? It has a powdery feel that gives you grip in your fingers as well as friction against the strings. Delrin picks usually come in solid colors and the Tortex line has a color code based on pick thickness which is really handy. Different companies make picks out of different materials such as Agate, Jade, and Jasper.
Check out stoneworkspicks. As you might expect, stone guitar picks are incredibly stiff and that stiffness has a big impact on tone and playability. The thickness of a pick makes a massive difference in playability and tone.
Even a tiny change in thickness can produce noticeable changes in tone and playability. The thicker the pick, the stiffer it becomes. While thick nylon picks will still be quite flexible, thick Delrin picks will have almost no flex at all.
Thin Picks — picks with a thickness of less than around 0. Thin picks are incredibly flexible especially nylon picks and produce a much lighter tone with less bass or midrange.
The way the pick flaps against the strings plays a big part in the mellow tone. Many acoustic guitarists use nylon picks for strumming while using thicker picks for solo acoustic parts.
Medium Picks — picks with a thickness between 0. Picks in this range start to become stiffer and the extra stiffness changes the way the pick attacks the strings. You get more bass and midrange tone and notes have more volume.
Medium picks are often preferred by rhythm guitarists as the stiffer pick makes it easier to accurately play riffs and rhythm parts. Thick Picks — are picks with a thickness over 0. Thick picks are incredibly stiff which adds a lot to bass and midrange tones.
Thick picks are often used by guitarists in heavy or aggressive music styles. The stiff pick gives you a solid attack on the strings and that comes across in your tone. Many lead guitarists who play fast alternate picking use thick picks such as the Dunlop Jazz III a thickness of 1. Check out this Jazz III variety pack here. These picks are color-coded based on thickness. This gives you an easy way to compare different thicknesses while keeping the material the same.
Grab a Tortex variety pack here or simply buy one or two of each thickness. The reason I recommend buying a Tortex pack is that the shape and material remain the same across the different pick thicknesses. This lets you only compare thickness without bringing other factors into the mix. Once you decide what type of thickness you prefer, you can look at how different pick shapes or materials feel at the thickness you prefer.
The shape of your guitar pick plays a big part in your comfort when playing. Pick shape is a very personal thing and guitarists tend to stick to a certain shape. If you have never experimented with different pick shapes before, you need to.
You will hate most of the pick shapes you try, but you might find one shape that blows your mind and completely changes the way you play. Each type of shape suits a different type of guitarist. Take a look at the below picks and think about what style of playing each one suits:. Bigger picks are often preferred by guitarists who play with a looser feel.
The large picks are easier to hold on to and strum chords without worrying about accuracy or pick dexterity. Smaller picks feel like they give you more precision over your picking. This is the part that makes contact with the strings, so its shape matters. Generally speaking, rounder tips produce a softer attack and give you less dexterity in your playing. They suit guitarists who play looser styles of music and work really well when strumming.
The big and round shape of the above pick would be great for an acoustic guitarist wanting to strum chords while singing. Sharper tips produce a stronger attack and give you more accuracy and dexterity in your playing.
Guitarists playing fast alternate picking or complicated solos often prefer a sharper point. The sharp point gives him plenty of dexterity for his fast alternating picking, string skipping, and arpeggios. The thickness of guitar picks are generally measured in millimeters mm and normally range from 0. However, some guitar picks can measure up to 3. Heavier guitar picks offer more control, but using one requires a bit more skill than lighter guitar picks which are often used by beginners.
In general, thin guitar picks are good for rhythm guitar but not great for lead guitar. A thick guitar pick is good for certain types of rhythm guitar and is great for lead guitar. Thin guitar picks allow a guitar player to strum hard without breaking the strings or playing too loud.
They also bend easily and are designed to strum chords, making them the preferred pick for playing an acoustic guitar or for a rhythm guitarist. Thick guitar picks give a guitarist more picking control, which makes them more suitable for single note or lead playing. With specific guitar techniques such as sweep picking, alternate picking, circular picking and economy picking, the heavier pick has the advantage of being more stable and less interrupted by the strings touching the pick which allows for better speed and fluidity.
Of course the kind of music you want to play is also a factor. If you like a heavy sound you should use a heavier pick. Heavy metal and death metal guitarists usually use heavy guitar picks of 1. These types of guitar picks are good for digging into heavy gauge strings in low tuning. Jazz guitar players who prefer a warm round tone prefer heavy guitar picks as well.
Generally jazz guitarists use thicker guitar picks which are also smaller in size; they generally prefer these as it allows their picking hand to feel as close to the strings as possible.
Thinner guitar picks tend to rip and tear more often, and wear out faster. On the other hand they glide over the strings and cause a very smooth strumming sound making them more suitable for folk, country rhythm guitar and singer-songwriter styles of music. Most rock, country and blues guitar players go for the standard-sized pick, which is large enough to grip solidly, avoid accidental finger contact with the strings and can be turned or palmed easily to grind the strings or to allow a quick switch to finger-picking.
Some country players also prefer to use a thumb pick and use the hybrid picking technique with both pick and fingers. In summary, unless you play finger-style exclusively, the guitar pick you choose will have a great effect on your playing.
The thickness of the pick affects the sound of your playing, so you should think about the sound you want and simply do what all guitarists have done which is to try out many different guitar picks until you find one you like best. Daniel Coffeng is an honors graduate from the Guitar Institute of Technology and is a Los Angeles, CA based performing guitarist, freelance studio musician and music educator specializing in modern contemporary guitar.
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