What kind of Pick is everyone using?

    I roll my own. :D


    I can't for the life of me remember what online service I used to get them printed, but when I order new, I'll use another firm (hopefully... LOL).
    The reason being the picks being quite slippery and also uses their edge definition quite fast.


    Still these 0,96mm acrylics have done their job for some years now, and also people get excited to get one on our show - which is what it's all about, no?
    :D


    Is this thing on?
    --
    Kemper Rack | Behringer FCB 1010
    Check out my band Blodsmak

    Like 1
    Quote from Gary_W

    it's interesting.... the pick I bought and really didn't like was a V Pick so I wrote them off as a manufacturer. Which is bad on my part. A bit like writing off a band because you don't like one song.....
    The one I struggled with was the Diamond. I think I bought it due to reviews and it's like 4mm thick and makes the Kemper sound like a weird plastic piano :). Maybe I could have dialled this out but with the Hercos and the right profile my ears are happy with no tweaking. I think it shows how much difference this subject makes to us and it's pretty much the last thing anyone thinks of when they say they cannot find 'their sound'.


    If, instead of being thought of as an insignificant bit of plastic, some marketing guy described them as 'the interface between your soul and the strings' then us guitarists would be all over it :)

    Always very subjective.... but 4 mm would be MUCH too thick for me.... The V-Pick I like most (until now) is the Tradition Lite 1.5 mm, similar to the one I'm using (Dunlop Delrin 1.5 mm / Dunlop Primetone 1.5 mm), a liitle bit larger, but same shape.


    There are so many different V-Picks-models available, I couldn't use any pick (manufacturer doesn't matter), which is too large, too small, too thick or too thin for me.... ;)

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    first name: Guenter / family name: Haas / www.guenterhaas.de

    I am wondering about so many using such thick pics here. I play .6mm picks since many years now. Manufacturer and model did change but not the thickness. Everytime I tried thicker I couldn't get a good playing or timing.
    So is it a feeling, a level or a music-style thing? Or just what one gets used to?

    Dang, I thought I was happy with Dava, but now i'm going to have to try these, too...!



    Quote from Nightwish2

    I am wondering about so many using such thick pics here. I play .6mm picks since many years now. Manufacturer and model did change but not the thickness. Everytime I tried thicker I couldn't get a good playing or timing.
    So is it a feeling, a level or a music-style thing? Or just what one gets used to?

    I used regular Dunlop .88mm (the dark grey ones) for years and years before going up to 1.0mm (the black ones). Then I got 3 free picks in a Steve Vai limited box set I bought and once I'd tried those, it felt like I had zero control with the Dunlops. I used the Steve Vai Ibanez picks (1.5 mm?) for a few years after that until one hot gig where they kept slipping in my fingers, hence me turning to the Internet and discovering Dava Control, which aside from the non-slip grip have variable flexibility depending on how you hold them. Then it was like having all gauges for any and all occasions :)

    Quote from Nightwish2

    I am wondering about so many using such thick pics here.

    I will tell you my habit.
    For solo I prefer thicker picks. With them I have the feeling to be more precisely
    For struming chords I prefer thinner picks. For me it seems that I do not need so much care to pick all the strings with same force.
    As I mainly play rythm and sometimes solo I make the compromise to play with Dunlop Max-Grip 0.88 ( 1 mm, if I play the Jazz guitar with 0.12 mm strings).


    Anyway its a personal choice.

    Quote from Nightwish2

    I am wondering about so many using such thick pics here. I play .6mm picks since many years now. Manufacturer and model did change but not the thickness. Everytime I tried thicker I couldn't get a good playing or timing.
    So is it a feeling, a level or a music-style thing? Or just what one gets used to?

    I think it's a practice thing more than anything - the ability to use them without problems.


    A thin pick is VERY different than a thick one. The thicker ones, in my view, are less forgiving, and will force you to develop better control. Conversely, you probably can't go from a thick pick to a thin pick without some time for adaptation either.


    For me, I feel like I have a better connection to the strings with a thick pick. There's no "wobble" to speak of, so I know where my pick is in relation to the string at all times. It doesn't bend, so what I put in will always be what I get out. I feel with thinner picks there is less control. I also like the tone better - more solid and "there", and more snappy, less scratchy. That's a subjective thing of course. And it might be that if I were as experienced as you in using thin picks, the differences would be smaller.

    Thanks very much for your fast and informative feedback.


    Yeah the good old dunlops, didn't we all use them at some point? But I never got to like them for just what you said Sambrox, they slip and they bend an stay like that. From then I too used to use thicker ones, I think around .8 mm. I still carry one around in my wallet (among others).
    That was when I started playing heavy stuff and I thought heavy playing would need a thick pick, even made one out of polished sheet metal. But with time I got to even thinner ones. I still feel that control over powercords works very well with 'em at least for me.
    When I played the bass a few years, there I used really thick ones, mostly wooden but some acrylic too. But that wasn't about chords. And there comes in what Sharry says about the solo picking. I assume that if I'd do that more I'd probably would get to use thicker ones. I looked at the Dava control a few times but never really got to buy one. perhaps I should give them a try?
    So Michael_dk I never thought to be experienced but looking back on 21 years of playing these strings I think I am no newcomer anymore :) But for I am not either a shredder nor a good soloist I wouldn't be good at string control from your point of view I guess. But now I feel to have reached a point were I need to think about focusing on such things for I cannot get any further from here. So thinking about taking (pro-) lessons to see what I can add.

    Quote from Nightwish2

    Thanks very much for your fast and informative feedback.


    Yeah the good old dunlops, didn't we all use them at some point? But I never got to like them for just what you said Sambrox, they slip and they bend an stay like that. From then I too used to use thicker ones, I think around .8 mm. I still carry one around in my wallet (among others).
    That was when I started playing heavy stuff and I thought heavy playing would need a thick pick, even made one out of polished sheet metal. But with time I got to even thinner ones. I still feel that control over powercords works very well with 'em at least for me.
    When I played the bass a few years, there I used really thick ones, mostly wooden but some acrylic too. But that wasn't about chords. And there comes in what Sharry says about the solo picking. I assume that if I'd do that more I'd probably would get to use thicker ones. I looked at the Dava control a few times but never really got to buy one. perhaps I should give them a try?
    So Michael_dk I never thought to be experienced but looking back on 21 years of playing these strings I think I am no newcomer anymore :) But for I am not either a shredder nor a good soloist I wouldn't be good at string control from your point of view I guess. But now I feel to have reached a point were I need to think about focusing on such things for I cannot get any further from here. So thinking about taking (pro-) lessons to see what I can add.

    One thing I forgot to mention was that I originally went with the Dunlop USA Standard picks because my local guitar store sold out of my favourites and I couldn't find another supplier anywhere. It has to be said that availability of one's favourite picks should also be very high on one's list of priorities, which is why I went with the most common picks I could find, even if I hated them for a pretty long time.


    As for moving forward and taking things up a level, I've found youtube to be a great starting point. In my life as a guitarist, I've always been more of a legato player and leaned on that style very heavily when it came to playing complicated or fast phrases. To the point where I completely neglected my picking. I decided to do something about it though, as I'd always wanted to be able to pick fast; it always sounds faster to me than legato, when done cleanly (I'm looking at you, Vernon Reid :P ). In that respect, I found the series "Cracking the Code" by Troy Grady very insightful. Alternate picking was always a conundrum for me before watching those vids. What completely changed it all for me though was discovering economy picking. That in combination with Troy Grady's pick slanting when playing even numbers of notes on a string have really moved things up a level for me, picking-wise. Take a look on youtube - you'll be surprised at how quickly you can evolve if you dedicate at least 15 minutes a day to practicing those techniques, though start out S L O W L Y!

    I have tried many picks thru years of playing (and parentheses in which I played nothing or very little) and am practically a pick collector. Some mentioned in this thread I have not tried; for instance, the Chickens and the Hell Guitars Blacks. But sure many others I have tried: Fender, Gibson, Dunlop, Herco, Pickboy, Dugain, V Picks, Wegen, Dava, Red Bear, you name it. Different materials (metal, wood and stone included), different sizes and of various shapes and a wide range of thickness. I think a pick alters your picking technique for better or worse. Sure, string spacing, action, neck radius and scale, string gauge... all these seem more important since they affect the fretting hand a lot and even the picking hand (spacing, gauge, bridge radius). But a pick is what hits or touches, slides thru or unfortunately "grabs" the strings, so different thickness, materials and shape will be crucial. I have tried Dava picks and the idea is very interesting: solo picking requires a stiffer pick whereas strumming sounds mellower with a more flexible pick. The problem is I never got used to holding the Davas I tried. Perhaps the smaller Davas, the sort of Jazz III style ones which are less flexible, may be a good option for me. I'll try them some day. I have tried very thick "shaped" picks like the Wegens and Dugains. Here there is a problem if you are a lefty: ordering the lefty version is a must. Many years ago I was given a righthanded Dugain and the bevel and shape made my wrist get used to an awkward slanting position. Now my hand goes into that position now and then unconsciously. So always get the right bevel and shape. Flatter and thinner picks are much less problematic, and you can sand them if you need a bevel. Thin picks (less than 1mm) need no bevel obviously, but they give you less control when picking, both as far as speed and dynamics. I have tried the V Diamond pick and did not like it: too large and thick, and the sound too plasticky. But it is true some picks require you to adapt your playing style, and it may be worth it in the long run. Should we go back and relearn? Probably trying some thing slightly stiffer or larger/smaller or more/less pointed or thicker/thinner is the way to go. At least less dramatic. I can't imagine myself going back to picks thinner than than 1.2 or thicker than 2.5 mm, but it is always worth giving them a try, at least for a few days. I use mainly Red Bear 1.5 aprox. Classic II picks and the Dunlop Petrucci Jazz III pick, which is 1.5 mm and a tad larger than the older red Eric Johnson type, which I did use for a while but found too small. This Petrucci pick is great. The Ultex 2mm Jazz III is also good, but it does have a peculiar sound and I don't like it with cleanish sounds. I don't know whether what I've said may be useful to anybody or not, and perhaps I'm repeating things other players have mentioned. By the way, it's good all you guys have given your opinion and share your knowhow. Thanks a lot.

    Never too old for rock'n'roll

    I think the definition of "thick" is very subjective. Some are using very thin pics (like 0.6 mm) and some really thick ones (4 mm). For me it's hard to imagine to get a good clean sound with a very thin pick, and also I couldn't play fast runs very precisely with a thin pick. I'm using thinner picks than 1.14 mm just for strumming on acoustic guitars.


    Generally I'm feeling comfortable around 1.3 to 1.5 mm, but other guitar-players may have other playing techniques and other strings, too (I'm using 010 and 011 on electric guitars).

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    first name: Guenter / family name: Haas / www.guenterhaas.de

    Quote from Nightwish2

    So Michael_dk I never thought to be experienced but looking back on 21 years of playing these strings I think I am no newcomer anymore But for I am not either a shredder nor a good soloist I wouldn't be good at string control from your point of view I guess. But now I feel to have reached a point were I need to think about focusing on such things for I cannot get any further from here. So thinking about taking (pro-) lessons to see what I can add.

    Now hold on! :) I didn't mean to say that you don't have good control :) If thin picks work for you tone-, playing- and feel-wise, then there is no reason to change that. You might want to try practicing with thicker picks to see if that's something you want to work with (gain a different perspective), but as I said - if thin picks really work for you there's no reason to change it.

    OMG what a thread. I could not immagine there would be much to say about picks. I've always considered them as give-aways from the music shop. I play the green kemper picks, I think they are 0.88mm tortex.


    funny I'll give some a try next time I'll order from thomann but I'm definitely not putting 6.8€ on a single pick (price for V-picks)

    Quote from pamplemousse

    OMG what a thread. I could not immagine there would be much to say about picks. I've always considered them as give-aways from the music shop. I play the green kemper picks, I think they are 0.88mm tortex.


    funny I'll give some a try next time I'll order from thomann but I'm definitely not putting 6.8€ on a single pick (price for V-picks)

    Just get some of varying thicknesses thickness, size, materials and pointyness - definitely a worthwhile investment! :)

    Quote from pamplemousse

    OMG what a thread. I could not immagine there would be much to say about picks. I've always considered them as give-aways from the music shop. I play the green kemper picks, I think they are 0.88mm tortex.


    funny I'll give some a try next time I'll order from thomann but I'm definitely not putting 6.8€ on a single pick (price for V-picks)

    Red Bear-picks start at 27 $ for a single one..... of course you don't have to spend a lot of money for a good pick, f.e. the Dunlop Delrin + Primtetone picks 1.5 mm are very good, too. For me it's worth to spend 6 $ for an excellent pic.

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    first name: Guenter / family name: Haas / www.guenterhaas.de

    Edited once, last by guenterhaas ().