Query failed: connection to localhost:9312 failed (errno=111, msg=Connection refused). Picks and Plectrums - Acoustics Discussions on The Fretboard
›
UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

Picks and Plectrums

What's Hot
2»

Comments

  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    @bertie ; probably. It's hard to say.

    Ideally, you'd need to try first. Isn't there a store reasonably close so that you can try?

    I'm different. I go for medium and they just seem fine :) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • maltingsaudiomaltingsaudio Frets: 2910
    My plectrum of choice is the pickboy nylon which I have used for the last 25 years for acoustic and the ceramic version for electric. These have become rare in the UK over the years and expensive ( check Amazon prices ) However just ordered another 20 from http://plectrum-online.nl/. Which were £29 delivered with nothing extra to pay when they arrived


    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    maltingsaudio said:
    My plectrum of choice is the pickboy nylon which I have used for the last 25 years for acoustic and the ceramic version for electric. These have become rare in the UK over the years and expensive ( check Amazon prices ) However just ordered another 20 from http://plectrum-online.nl/. Which were £29 delivered with nothing extra to pay when they arrived


    I assume they are very 'grippy?'
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • maltingsaudiomaltingsaudio Frets: 2910
    @guitarjack66  Yes, the thing about them the body is quite stiff but the tip is more flexible
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    Mellish said:
     

    Ideally, you'd need to try first. Isn't there a store reasonably close so that you can try?


    not economically close enough, no  (ie means driving 10 miles and parking fee)
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    edited September 2022
    @bertie ; again, gigging mates are recommending D'Addario National thumbpicks.

    Apparently the range is large - and, if you buy from Strings Direct (01702 540068), you can return for a refund if not suitable. 

    There's also an adjustable thumbpick but it's metal  
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    edited September 2022
    @mellish -  thanks


    Mellish said:

    There's also an adjustable thumbpick but it's mental  
    probably true
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    @bertie ; I learned about the adjustable one from Strings Direct. Give. 'em a bell to learn more :) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    @bertie - also, have a look at the ProPik range.

    Mostly fingerpicks but possibly some thumbpicks in there. They're nicely bevelled and comfortable :) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    Mellish said:
    @bertie - also, have a look at the ProPik range.

    Mostly fingerpicks but possibly some thumbpicks in there. They're nicely bevelled and comfortable :) 
    I have the metal pro-pik with the nylon blade, oddly I found it clearing up some "stuff" in the "study" (spare bedroom !! =) ) and a load of other bits from about 10 years ago !! - it's "ok" but I do need to shape the blade to more of a rounded point. -
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    @bertie - sounds like an Aladdin's Cave mate.

    I'd be tempted up in the loft. There might be a Martin D-45 =) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    Mellish said:
    @bertie - sounds like an Aladdin's Cave mate.

    I'd be tempted up in the loft. There might be a Martin D-45 =) 
    ah did that last year when we had the rooves done  -  found about 20 packs of strings,  some pedals and various leads and bits


    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • PALPAL Frets: 465
    I have them all expensive ones jazz picks, mandolin picks, metal picks then I got some Fender heavy shell picks and haven't
     looked back. The other thing I do is not use the point I use the side of the pick. The Fender picks are not expensive and
     more importantly easy to get !
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    I bought a pack of those rubber grips with medium fender picks in them and those grips are very good as you can interchange picks with them. The problem I have is that like @PAL I prefer to use the rounded edge of the pick and they are no good for that. When I use the standard pick edge that leading edge on upstrokes the pick tends to dig into strings 1 and 2 and it sounds horrible. With the rounded edge I play much smoother upstrokes.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • ICBMICBM Frets: 69426
    I accidentally made a surprising discovery at the last band practice… pick colour matters.

    Really.

    I use 3mm Big Stubby picks for bass - not only genuine Dunlops, I got a bulk pack of cheap ones in various colours - purple, blue, red, green and clear. After a 2-hour practice there’s noticeable wear on the tip, and they wear out completely in about half a dozen. I almost always use a coloured one because they look nice, the clear ones are a bit unloved and until now I hadn’t actually used one - but for some reason I did this time.

    It went through a whole practice with no visible wear on it. It appears that the clear plastic is harder than the coloured - amazingly, if you tap them on a hard surface you can hear a difference, the clear one makes a higher pitch. I’m not sure if it affects the sound that comes out of the amp - bear in mind it’s bass ;) - but I wouldn’t be surprised on a guitar.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • robertyroberty Frets: 10231
    I thought I'd give some other picks a go. It's good to check every now and then. The Gator Grip 1.14 felt good to play at home so I took one to rehearsal. I lasted about 2 minutes and went back to my 1mm D'addario tortex. I'm never changing again
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    edited November 2022
    Brought this back out to mention a possible solution for @bertie.

    When Roger McGuinn was in The Byrds he couldn't keep switching from plectrum to thumb/fingerpick cos the schedule was too tight.

    So what he did was learn to do both with the same equipment: plectrum as normal and then, where the fingerpicks would otherwise go, he shifts it over one, so they go on middle and ring.

     
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    @Mellish ;

    do you mean hold pleccy as normal and use ring and middle for "finger picking"  -  hybrid stylee ?  

    or hold the pick between ring & middle finger ?
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    edited November 2022
    Plectrum between thumb and pointer, pick on middle and ring

    In other words, you got it first time :) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    edited November 2022
    ah so just normal  "hybrid"  but with fingerpicks on, rather than just nails ?  

    its pretty much how I play when I do use a pleccy for leccy     but I dont think I could do proper "rag" type stuff like that TBH
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    Oh it isn't easy, feels like your hand is more closed.

    Or check out the thumb and picks @Gandalph is offering in Classifieds (Acoustics "Various thumb and fingerpicks") :) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    Mellish said:
     

    Or check out the thumb and picks @Gandalph is offering in Classifieds (Acoustics "Various thumb and fingerpicks") :) 
    ta -   Ive pretty much got all those metal ones, somewhere  - tried em, didnt get on.  and I dont like those bumble bee hybrid thingys

    Ive found a couple of coloured EBs lying around Ive shaped and "heat fitted"    -  that should keep me going for a while.   

    I keep meaning try some different materials,   but life gets in the way  =)
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    Should be OK for now then mate.

    I'm off to walk the dangerous beast. He's a Yorke but in his head... =) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • GandalphGandalph Frets: 1513
    bertie said:
    Mellish said:
     

    Or check out the thumb and picks @Gandalph is offering in Classifieds (Acoustics "Various thumb and fingerpicks") :) 
    ta -   Ive pretty much got all those metal ones, somewhere  - tried em, didnt get on.  and I dont like those bumble bee hybrid thingys

    Ive found a couple of coloured EBs lying around Ive shaped and "heat fitted"    -  that should keep me going for a while.   

    I keep meaning try some different materials,   but life gets in the way  =)
    Quick update here....apart from trying almost everything out there going with finger picks I think the biggest personal victory I've had is transitioning form 3 to 2 fingers. Bloody frustrating trying to retrain my fingers but finally feel like the hours have paid off. 

    I can't  speak for all styles of play but it works for blues and ragtime and that scratchy sound I always heard with metal picks has finally gone.

    I've wanted to master metal picks for a long time and I think I'm finally there with the Dunlop brass one's. The National brass picks are pretty good too. 
    For some reason I've found brass sounds nicer than nickel and they are a lot easier on the fingers imo.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    edited November 2022
    Gandalph said:
      I think the biggest personal victory I've had is transitioning form 3 to 2 fingers.
    Im pretty relaxed in my picking style (sloppy ?  )   and go from 2 to 3 to 2 or even 1 sometimes (and that can be any combination of index/middle/ring) without really thinking about it................. a benefit (if it can be called that) is it kind of changes the dynamic of a choon,  sometimes for the good..........sometimes just "different"  
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • GandalphGandalph Frets: 1513
    @bertie, if only I was as dexterous! Haha 

    I have found having picks on 2 fingers rather than 3 has helped eradicate that 3rd finger from the equation though. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    Gandalph said:
    @bertie, if only I was as dexterous! Haha 

    I have found having picks on 2 fingers rather than 3 has helped eradicate that 3rd finger from the equation though. 
    Sounds a good idea this as it would eliminate some of the confusion from the picking. Fewer options equal less confusion. This is the problem with buying guitars in general!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom · Share on Twitter
Sign In or Register to comment.