[Birdbrain]

It's not all about getting a BETTER tone from your guitar, because that's subjective. Various "boo-teek" picks can give you a DIFFERENT tone from your guitar. I've found, through limited research, that a different pick alters the tone as much or more than any string change, while being much quicker and, at the boutiques I favor, less expensive.

Want to brighten & crispen up my sound? I reach for my V-Pick, or my cocoanut shell triangle. Or deaden the strings for a mellower sound. My dunlop Primetone will do that. I have a solid wood pick that, surprisingly, doesn't always make the sound seem woodier, but it's different. Each of my guitars tends to select its own favorite pick, and that's another factor in finding my own sound.

The fellows I jam with pride themselves on buying thin Fender picks by the gross. Humblebragging? They think my $5 picks are overpriced; I suspect the same about their Stratocasters. They find other ways to tailor their own tones, but they're choosing to ignore pick variety. Or maybe a different Strat will hold that magic tone? That's an expensive path, compared to a premium pick.