Speed picks - colours explained?

[dweezil]

Hi,

I've been trialling a Fred Kelly speed pick. It's white and large so presuming its a large heavy.

I also seem to have a blue one and a cream colour one that seem to be the same size but perhaps lighter.

I've taken a look at the Fred Kelly site and they don't seem to do a cream coloured one. And the blue one seems to be left handed but mine isn't.

Now confused.

What I would like is to try a light, medium and heavy in the large size but not too sure what colours they come in?

[dweezil]

Plus some I have have a longer bit on the top, i.e. the bit that goes round your thumb whilst others are clipped.

Argh.

[sevenpalms]

Mine are yellow....feels good plus they go with my shoes

[Chrom]

I just recently purchased one of each of his speed and slick picks (normal thumb size). Luckily I did because the slick picks have their size marked while the speed do not but they use the same color scheme so here you go:

White - Heavy
Yellow - Light
Orange - Medium

I also have his bumble bee picks but they are marked and all the same color.

Shane

[aw meyer]

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/n...ge--PK24LG.htm

[Blueser100]

I have the white heavy ones. I love them. The little nib end provided an excellent tone and string grip for precise licking.

[mercy]

I fingerpick and like the standard size orange (medium). The white is a duller sound that bluesers might prefer and the yellow is just to light, thin sounding.
I think they are the best picks around for a bright American Fingerstyle sound.
If you blues the slick pick might be better sound wise and more traditional. I dont like those big heavey old style fingerpicks that are thumpy, uncomfortable but pretty. All the other picks are just variations on a theme. Just trying to help.

[news_watch]

I cut the white ones down to leave about an 1/8 inch off the side of my thumb. Works great.

[Bill R]

I use Fred Kelly speed picks for finger style also. I like the rich clear tone I get with the white (heavy gauge) picks. The yellow (light gauge) are better for fast strumming (for me anyway), but produce a brighter less clear tone. I don't care for it as much. The orange (medium gauge) are closer to the white in tone than to the yellow - at least to my ears.

Bill

[dgimcmillan]

I ended up ordering a bag -22 picks?- of this one. It took a while to get used to it, but now I wear one whenever I'm playing with other people.

I like it for almost every picking pattern, but find it a little difficult doing an up-strumming approach.

[mercy]

To up pick hold the pick with the fingers like you would with a flat pick. Cutting the pick extension dulls the sound and is unnecessary after you get used to the standard length. Course if you like a duller sound, some do, then cut it shorter. This takes off the hard surface produced in the mfg.

[dweezil]

Originally Posted by mercy

Cutting the pick extension dulls the sound and is unnecessary after you get used to the standard length. Course if you like a duller sound, some do, then cut it shorter. This takes off the hard surface produced in the mfg.

Interesting. I've always just chopped them down.

Do you have this on authority from Fred Kelly? I'd be very keen to find out if there is a difference in material at the end.

[dweezil]

Originally Posted by mercy

Cutting the pick extension dulls the sound and is unnecessary after you get used to the standard length. Course if you like a duller sound, some do, then cut it shorter. This takes off the hard surface produced in the mfg.

Asked Fred Kelly about cutting them down. They replied...

"The shaft's are the same material and they just get thicker as the gauge get heavier".

You may well get a duller sound I don't know but if you do perhaps its simply cos the shaft is shorter if you cut it down and the length affects the tone. Who knows?

Anyhow I had been trying cut down large white (hard) ones but the large orange (medium) ones feel / sound / operate best for me, uncut.

[mercy]

Yes, I hadnt thought of it but maybe its because the shaft is shorter. In filing the material after cutting the shaft and one of the bands shorter the material seems fibrous and mushy compared to the material on the surface. Whatever the end result is the same. Therefore I like orange uncut.