After trying different types thru the yrs
fender mediums work best for me
Should I move up to a charmed life pick
Or something like that?
Is it worth it?
Thoughts?
Dave
Pretty often, I play with just my finger. When I do use a pick, it is Cool Picks Cat Tongue Nylon... either 0.73 or 0.53. They have a sandpaper texture where you hold them which makes them easy to hold onto... and they are about as cheap as those Fender Mediums.
Ed
I think picks are like strings, everyone has their own needs. I sat down and tested about thirty different ones a few years back, every material, every thickness, shapes/points and just about as many different picking/strumming styles. What I learned was that an expensive Blue Chip or Red Bear are pretty much a waste of money, there are plenty of inexpensive materials, thicknesses, varieties of shapes/points, textures and whatever else you look for to do the job. I can tell you that what I mainly learned is that material and thickness differences can produce many, many quite different tonal combinations/percussions that are quite discernible to the ear. My suggestion would be to start with your mediums and test them like you would strings (go up and down in thickness and try different materials, even the metal ones), and without spending a ton of money, you should be able figure out which ones feels the best, fit the best and produce the tonal qualities you need. At one point I was keeping 18 different ones handy so I could create different tonal responses from the guitar. Now I only keep about six on my pick holder on my stand. Right now I would have to say my favorite two are an Ultex .60 and a Snark neo-tortoise .64...(but I do keep thicker and thinner ones on hand) It was a very fun and rewarding experiment for me anyway...
Quote from: eded on July 29, 2017, 07:05:13 PM
Pretty often, I play with just my finger. When I do use a pick, it is Cool Picks Cat Tongue Nylon... either 0.73 or 0.53. They have a sandpaper texture where you hold them which makes them easy to hold onto... and they are about as cheap as those Fender Mediums.
Ed
I use those Cat Tongue picks as well. Lately it's been easier for me to find the Dunlops that have a similar sand-paper like feel in a heavier gauge. It's the Max Grip type.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/dunlop-nylon-max-grip-guitar-picks--12-pack
I've been using Tusq .88 or 1. for a few years now.I like hard picks for some unknown reason,use to use Fender or fender style heavies before that.At home I mostly use my finger or my thumb.
I round off all the picks I use to soften or eliminate the "ting".
This is my favourite.
(http://d13z1xw8270sfc.cloudfront.net/origin/29059/634288293991093750montrealcanadiens.jpg)
Oh! I thought you said puck.
I took a Larrivee 1mm pick and put double sided tape on where I hold it. Also tried rough sanding a few.
Holding on to picks has been a problem for me for at least 10 years.
I also use a 1mm Dunlop.
Since most of my guitars are setup low for finger style, I need to use a lighter pick to keep from buzzing and rattling. I'm gonna make a new nut and saddle for the forum III to make it a better strummer.
I have even drilled a triangle of small holes in a pick that is sometimes hard to hold, it works...
Quote from: George on July 31, 2017, 10:06:18 AM
I have even drilled a triangle of small holes in a pick that is sometimes hard to hold, it works...
For a while, I used to use a hole punch, the kind you use to punch holes for a loose leaf notebook. It was easy, and worked.
Ed
Quote from: DaveyO on July 29, 2017, 06:37:10 PM
After trying different types thru the yrs
fender mediums work best for me
Should I move up to a charmed life pick
Or something like that?
Is it worth it?
Thoughts?
Dave
My stepson gave me a Pick Punch, which looks like a stapler and can punch standard size picks from credit cards and such.
This is useful for punching out something like a standard thin or medium pick, but is mostly a novelty item.
I have had it for years.
Mike
Quote from: DaveyO on July 29, 2017, 06:37:10 PM
After trying different types thru the yrs
fender mediums work best for me
Should I move up to a charmed life pick
Or something like that?
Is it worth it?
Thoughts?
Dave
I've also use Fender Mediums for years. I bought a ton of the California Clears about 15 years ago and used them up recently. Bought some new ones and I seem to break them much sooner than the old ones. Not sure if the quality has changed or what. It's one of those things that I've found and I like them. Following this thread to determine if there may be something better out there, but these seem to work well for me.
Nylon, relatively thin works for me. I'm the most used to the Dunlop 0.60 light grey picks. Where I work, Lee Valley Tools, we have a Pick Punch and we recycle used gift cards into guitar picks. I think the cards yield picks about 1 mm thick. Most players find this thickness OK according to our customers.
I've moved to using mostly mediums (like the old white Larrivee picks) or Jim Dunlop "M" medium tortoise ones for electric, but I like something a little thicker on acoustic - but I want something that sounds crisp on the bass strings and yet isn't "plinky" or twangy on the trebles. I've found a couple that work very well for this from Pickboy - the Meta Carbonate 1.00mm (https://www.amazon.com/Pickboy-Carbonate-assorted-colors-1-00mm/dp/B004UIDOU6/ref=sr_1_24?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1501770894&sr=1-24&keywords=pickboy+guitar+picks) and the Pos - a - grip 120 (https://www.amazon.com/Pickboy-Grip-Black-Cellulose-1-20mm/dp/B003VTEO4A/ref=sr_1_38?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1501770765&sr=1-38&keywords=pickboy+guitar+picks).
I also like the old, thicker Larrivee pics for acoustic. The new heavy Larrivee tortoise picks work well, but those old ones (like the ones I got with my RS-4 and RS-2) just have a snap to them that's great.
I don't so much wear out picks as I lose them... so I really keep an eye on the few old Larrivee picks I still have! :winkin:
I used to prefer Fender mediums or whatever reasonable equivalent was available. But over the past couple of years, ive grown out of picks and am playing exclusively fingerstyle, even when strumming hard. For electric and mando stuff I still use buffalo horn picks.
Although almost all my playing now is fingerstyle with a thump pick and acrylic gel nails, once, a long long time ago, a friend gave me a real turtle shell flat pick and it was incredible. I had that pick for about 10 years and used it almost exclusively. And then I lost it. I cried. I am definitely not a fan of using any material from an endangered species but have often wanted to find a flat pic that would at least come close to real turtle shell. I recently read the following article that has set me on a new search. http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/turtle-shell-vs-faux-turtle-shell-picks/12700
Dave
Quote from: ducktrapper on July 30, 2017, 11:18:07 AM
This is my favourite.
(http://d13z1xw8270sfc.cloudfront.net/origin/29059/634288293991093750montrealcanadiens.jpg)
Oh! I thought you said puck.
What the PucK?
Oh! The Puck stops here!
I recently bought 5 water buffalo horn pics, from China.
their pretty cool, sort of like tortoise shell.
Quote from: webberink on August 06, 2017, 05:03:01 PM
Although almost all my playing now is fingerstyle with a thump pick and acrylic gel nails, once, a long long time ago, a friend gave me a real turtle shell flat pick and it was incredible. I had that pick for about 10 years and used it almost exclusively. And then I lost it. I cried. I am definitely not a fan of using any material from an endangered species but have often wanted to find a flat pic that would at least come close to real turtle shell. I recently read the following article that has set me on a new search. http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/turtle-shell-vs-faux-turtle-shell-picks/12700
Dave
Thanks for the link to this article Dave. I just ordered a couple of the Wegen Bluegrass picks to try... My never ending search for the perfect pick, pickup and strings continues on...
I just received a couple of John Pearse Fast Turtle picks from Strings and Beyond. So far I am impressed.
Dave
Tried Gravity Picks, V-Picks, Planet Waves...but really am most happy with Fender medium.
Jim Dunlop nylon in .65mm to .75mm thicknesses.
I play with my nails (OK, they're not really mine; they're acrylic) almost exclusively for the past several years but when I reach for a pick I always prefer Claytons.
But a Fender MED is a very good second choice.
I never cared for any of the gimmicky ones like metal or stone or ground-down quarters.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DvVsk8SAR1w/UOqHdbn90mI/AAAAAAAAAec/a_S-GXJKOB0/s1600/Clayton+Acetal+Standard+Guitar+Picks.jpg)
I've been using Dunlop 72 or 73mm picks for as long as I can remember, and I always use the round edge to pick with.
Quote from: Barefoot Rob on July 29, 2017, 10:00:47 PM
I've been using Tusq .88 or 1. for a few years now.I like hard picks for some unknown reason,use to use Fender or fender style heavies before that.At home I mostly use my finger or my thumb.
Ditto here except almost always 1.0. They have pretty good grip albeit smooth and last longer too. Harder picks have better tone and if you play lead a thin pick skips over notes too easy. I mean too each their own but for me. I'm getting close to 50/50 between using a pick at all or using bare fingers.
Quote from: DaveyO on July 29, 2017, 06:37:10 PM
After trying different types thru the yrs
fender mediums work best for me
Should I move up to a charmed life pick
Or something like that?
Is it worth it?
Thoughts?
Dave
I use bumblebee thumb picks which function is a pick or a thumb pick so you can use your fingers as needed. They are truly amazing, you can adjust the depth of the pick, or the angle of the attack, and they come in light, medium and hard. I usually use the medium, unless I'm just strumming and then I use the light. I'm a lead guitar player and it allows me to go back and forth between lead and rhythm very easily, you should check them out.