Guitar Picks; Less Click?

[musicman1951]

I think the answer is a pick made from better material. If you're on a tight budget Primetones are very good cheaper picks.

[Dru Edwards]

I tested a bunch of pick materials a couple of months ago and I found that the .96 Dunlop Gator Grip picks gave me less click / string scratch than the 1.0 Dunlop Tortex and Nylon, especially on flatpicking. The Dunlop Ultex also gave less string scratch but a brighter tone.

[fartamis]

Originally Posted by JC.

I think it depends on what we mean by “click”. For the click associated with playing single notes, I agree with the statement.

But for the clickety clack associated with strumming, I’d say the opposite holds true. Thicker picks produce more of that noise than thinner picks which tend to flex over the strings, giving that softer, warmer tone.

Very well said, and that's what I hear too. The thicker pick causes more clicking for strumming ... and less clicking for individual notes. But I'd much rather have a little more clicking on the individual notes than having that big, annoying clicking on the strumming. That's why I always stick to the picks between 0.70 and 0.80 I find they are the best balanced to do everything well.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

As a general rule of thumb I would say:

Thicker = less click
More rounded tip = less click
Softer material = less click
Pick grip and strike angle = less click

So a thicker pick (over 1mm) with a more rounded tip in a "softer" material and adjusting your grip and strike angle will give less click. The same pick in one player's hands will sound clicky and in another's not.

Agree with three of the four. My preferred Blue Chip CT-55 picks are thicker and have beveled tips but they are definitely NOT soft! They seem to wear forever. I've been using the same one for nearly a year and it shows no wear. At all.

[gfspencer]

I make my own picks out of water buffalo horn. They don't click.

[Mandobart]

I'm another pick explorer. I've used most every material and brand of pick out there. I've found that tone and noise are a combination of pick material, thickness, shape and edge treatment (plain, beveled, rounded, etc.)

I've decided that for me and the multiple instruments I play and how I play them, the best tone with least undesirable pick noise winner is the Gravity Gold PEEK pick, 1.5 mm thick. A close second are Wegen's, 2.0 mm right hand bevel. I've had 4 Bluechips which have very low pick noise but always give me a muffled, muted tone.

Anything less than 1.0 mm thick gives me a flappity-flap baseball-card-in-bicycle-spokes noise.