Picking the Right Pick

As I’ve mentioned before: every item in your signal path, from your guitar, to your strings, to your pickups, to your amp… All this affects your overall tone. Your pick is part of this equation. Many beginning students ask me what kind of pick they should use when they first start studying guitar. My advice is always the same: buy an assortment and see what feels best for you.

There are three things to consider when choosing the right pick.

Most important is the thickness of the pick; this will affect your tone more than anything else. Next in importance is the material that the pick is made of. Least important is what the pick looks like.

Pick Thickness

The thickness of your pick affects your overall volume, and the sharpness of your attack. A soft pick creates a softer volume, and allows the pick to push through the strings more easily. Soft picks are good for someone like a singer/songwriter who wants to feature their voice more than their guitar. The soft pick will allow easy strumming with a low volume output; note: this applies to acoustic guitars; obviously, you can set your volume anywhere you want with an electric instrument.

The tightness of your grip on the pick also affects your volume: if you squeeze hard you will play with a louder volume than if you hold the pick softly. The softer the pick, the less volume control you will have. Medium picks give you a little more volume control while still being flexible enough to maintain some control over flexing the pick. Heavy and extra-heavy picks basically have no give.

There are endless gradations in pick thickness. Less expensive picks (Fender, Gibson…) usually come in just four gradients: soft, medium, heavy and extra-heavy. Fancier picks (Dunlop, D’Andrea…) come in many sizes, measured in the hundredth of millimeters. This means there are many different pick widths which fall between medium and heavy.

The fanciest picks will have special surfaces to enhance your grip, be made of materials other than plastic (such as metal, stone, etc.), be manufactured with ergonomic twists and angles, have custom tips… The bottom line is this: until you achieve some proficiency on your instrument, you probably won’t be able to tell a whole lot of difference between the myriad pick options.

Pick Material

Thickness aside, most plastic picks basically sound the same; other materials, such as metal or stone will change your instrument’s tone. For now, let’s dwell on plastic picks, since this is what the majority of us are going to use. There are a number of different kinds of plastics used in picks.

The most common material is celluloid, which is soft and flexible. This material feels great, but if you are an aggressive player (you employ chugging metal rhythms, do pick-slides…) these won’t last very long. Delrin can be made to feel similar to celluloid, but is more durable. It can also be made in a flat finish that is extremely tough; Jim Dunlop Tortex picks use this material.  One draw-back that I have noticed with the Tortex picks is that over time they mold to your finger.

Some people might like having their pick curve with their finger; I don’t like it.  The toughest picks I have found (and my personal favorites) are Dunlop Ultex picks. The plastic used in these is extremely tough, allowing more rigidity in a thinner pick, and providing the best resilience to pick abuse that I have found. One drawback of Ultex picks is that they cannot be dyed, so they are only available in a rubber-like bronze color.

Pick Appearance

Which brings us to the final consideration: appearance. Picks are an accessory, and like any accessory they have an effect on our overall appearance. Some people like to have their guitar, strap, pick, outfit… Everything coordinated to look nice. Also, you may want to print your band name on your pick, or your personal slogan. If this is the case, you will need a pick that can be dyed.

As mentioned at the top of this article: go to your music store and see what they have in the way of picks. For five bucks you can get a large assortment of picks and see what fits you best. You can also call the pick companies and ask them for an assortment (tell them you want to order a large number of picks to print, but you’re not sure what type yet). Often, they will send you their entire line of picks for free.

Here is a list of some guitar players, and the picks they are famous for using:

• Stevie Ray Vaughan: Mexican One-Peso coin
• Eddie Van Halen: Fender Medium
• Jerry Garcia: extra-heavy pick
• Gordon Kahan: Jim Dunlop Ultex .73mm

Good luck picking your pick; remember: be picky!

Related Posts:

Your Guitar Rig – The Quest for Perfect Tone

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