Picks

Jfingers · June 2022

Who here plays with a pick?

I hadn't played with one for donkeys years until I found one in a jar with lots of other stuff.

It was a Jim Dunlop point six mm, grey. I used to use them a lot.

I found it immediately changed my style (I mainly play on an acoustic these days)

Much more strumming and a lot less thumb...

Sorry if it's not off topic enough.

Brio · June 2022

Me. 80% of the time.

Sassafras · June 2022

I usually fingerpick but when I want to thrash the strings I'll use a Dunlop Stubby.

Nitefly · June 2022

For electric guitar, I use Dunlop Tortex yellow (0.73 mm).

For acoustic, it depends what I'm playing - same pick for strumming.

bertie · June 2022

Jfingers said:

Who here plays with a pick?
I hadn't played with one for donkeys years until I found one in a jar with lots of other stuff.

It was a Jim Dunlop point six mm, grey. I used to use them a lot.
I found it immediately changed my style (I mainly play on an acoustic these days)

Much more strumming and a lot less thumb...

Sorry if it's not off topic enough.

dont worry, hopefully it will soon pass

Lestratcaster · June 2022

I mostly if not all the time play with a pick, very rarely do I do fingerstyle or play with my fingers. I use the tortex 0.73mm for acoustic and the 0.88mm for electrics.

PolarityMan · June 2022

Black fangs mofos

HAL9000 · June 2022

I never play with a pick. I find I’ve got more control using my fingers.

Barney · June 2022

I play with pick and fingers ....or just pick depending on what sound I want

Roland · June 2022

For years I played with just fingers. Still do when the music merits it, but most of the the songs I’m playing at the moment need a pick.

Kilgore · June 2022

Fingers only. There's something about the tactile sensation of your fingers on the strings. Apart from which, I'm just rubbish with a pick.

guitarjack66 · June 2022

Picks mostly. I still like to practice using my fingers too.

Mellish · June 2022

I always use a pick and my guitar is electro-acoustic.

It's a Dunlop Tortex red pick. Not that thick...point 50mm?

Open_G · June 2022

For live stuff, I'll tend to just be chord bashing, and bits of lead, so will use a pick.

At home, almost always fingers, for picking, lead, chordbashing et al.

PAL · July 2022

What ever the song needs.

Tannin · July 2022

I never, ever learned to get a good consistent tone with a pick, and my timing was questionable. No-one ever taught me how to hold one and by the time I learned the proper way to do it it was way too late to change. So I sucked. The only instrument I was really any good at was bass, and I played bass with my fingers.

Sometimes I'd try to learn to play guitar with my fingers, but my nails are naturally weak and it always ended up in blood and mess. Back to picks.

Then I went to a nail salon and asked for an artificial nail, started playing with one finger and thumb (same way I used to play bass). I got lots better. I graduated to two fingers and thumb, tried all four, and have settled down to using three fingers (nail and/or flesh, mix and match) and thumb (just a pick-shaped callous on the side of it).

I keep picks around for visitors to use. Every three or four months I try playing with one, throw it down in disgust and go back to bare fingers after a couple of minutes.

I'm not going back.

guitarjack66 · July 2022

I liked the look of those Dunlop jazz picks,both red and green,but when I bought them I found them to be too small. I prefer playing using the rounded side of the pick so would like to find a larger teardrop style pick plus I'd like a larger pick,in diameter not thickness,as I enjoy playing with more of the pick sticking out of my fingers than is considered 'orthodox.' I'm still trying to find more of a 'perfect' choice than the many I have already tried.

flying_pie · July 2022

guitarjack66 said:

I liked the look of those Dunlop jazz picks,both red and green,but when I bought them I found them to be too small. I prefer playing using the rounded side of the pick so would like to find a larger teardrop style pick plus I'd like a larger pick,in diameter not thickness,as I enjoy playing with more of the pick sticking out of my fingers than is considered 'orthodox.' I'm still trying to find more of a 'perfect' choice than the many I have already tried.

Dunlop also make a Tortex TIII pick that is the same size as a regular Dunlop but with the Jazz teardrop pointed tip. I love them and use them 99% off the time for my playing

guitarjack66 · July 2022

flying_pie said:

guitarjack66 said:

I liked the look of those Dunlop jazz picks,both red and green,but when I bought them I found them to be too small. I prefer playing using the rounded side of the pick so would like to find a larger teardrop style pick plus I'd like a larger pick,in diameter not thickness,as I enjoy playing with more of the pick sticking out of my fingers than is considered 'orthodox.' I'm still trying to find more of a 'perfect' choice than the many I have already tried.

Dunlop also make a Tortex TIII pick that is the same size as a regular Dunlop but with the Jazz teardrop pointed tip. I love them and use them 99% off the time for my playing

Thanks. Will have a look at them.

BillDL · July 2022

I've had about half a dozen IronGear 1mm Delrin picks lying around from having bought IronGear pickups from Axetec over the last few years. I knew immediately that they were far too thick and inflexible for my liking so I've never used them. I tend to use pearloid picks in 0.7 and 0.9mm and I like the slight flex even on the 0.9mm ones. About half an hour ago through sheer coincidence I looked at the IronGear one on my desk and decided to sand it down into a gradual and even taper from about 1/4 of the way down to the tip that is now about 0.4mm. It gives a very slight flex, but only on the last 1/4 of the pick at the tip, while still having a stiff, reasonably thick, and satin feel up at the wide end to grip on. I really like this feel and I'm going to do the same for the other thick Delrin ones I have lying around while I look around to see if I can buy picks like this.

mgaw · July 2022

Blue chip picks for me. Tried most of the others and for tone and speed I haven’t found better ime

Greatape · July 2022

Pick, hybrid, fingers, thumb, whatever is appropriate.

Pickwise, I like Clayton Flex or Fender heavy. The trick, I find, is to mess up the tip so it grabs the string more. Gives a different sound.

roberty · July 2022

Not as dextrous with my fingers as I'd like. I prefer hybrid to finger style. I pick most of the time with a bit of hybrid thrown in as and when

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