Don't Changes Strings - Change Your Pick!

[tj_mangum]

I'm just a few days into a new (to me) guitar. Nice dreadnaught guitar, that I've been looking for. Of course I changed strings first thing and I've been putting it through it's paces. I'm pretty happy with this one.
Yesterday I grabbed one of my mandolin pics, 1.5mm ProPec, and it brought out a new dimension to this instrument!
On guitar I'm pretty well set to mediums ranging from .88 to about 1mm. Stupid me, just like a thin pick gives a distinct sound, so does a heavy one.
Yes, after 50 years of mediocre guitar playing you can still learn something!

[Bear Davis]

Pro plec 1.5's are great picks. They sound awesome on most of my guitars.

[musicman1951]

A different pick can make a fairly large change in tone quality if you're attuned to such things. Not only thickness, which probably makes the biggest difference, but pick material.

I'm pretty sure it's now time for you to purchase $100 worth of picks and get experimenting. Unfortunately, I found the more I paid the better the tone, but Primetone and V-Picks are excellent bargain choices.

[RoyBoy]

That Proplec is about 0.060" which has become my sweet spot on my new D-18. A pick of that weight is likely to sound darker and produce less chk,chk string rhythm noise but will have way more power and volume. Another possibility to consider would be the smooth large triangle Dunlop Primetone in 1.4 or 1.5 (also a great mandolin pick) that doesn't wear out like the Proplec.

In thicker picks, the speed bevel becomes much more critical. Full disclosure: I'm a Blue Chip user.

[Gdjjr]

I've tried to use a pick. I don't like the sound when I'm listening from the top of the guitar. I like to hear others use them though. I've tried inexpensive ones from .40mm up to 1mm- a buddy and I were talking on the phone yesterday discussing me using a pick. He does and I like the way it sounds and the way he uses it.



He bet me a pair of boots I have (I have several nice ones) that within a year I'd be using a pick if I'd just try it and stay with it. It makes whatever I'm playing sound too brash to me listening from the top.

I've recently thought about (just last night matter of fact it kept me awake for a while) about calling Sweetwater to see if I could get get an assortment of thumb picks in varying brand and thickness. I'm of a mind to whittle, sand off/down somehow to make it/them less prominent because of the way I play. I use a lot of upstroke.

Now, I'm seeing here brand! makes a difference good lord!
Can I get some advice to help me achieve a direction.

My you tube videos are in my signature- pointers/advice/critiquing appreciated.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Gdjjr

I've tried to use a pick.....

My you tube videos are in my signature- pointers/advice/critiquing appreciated.

You sort of need to experiment, a lot! And not expect learning to use a pick to be easy, because it isn't. It is as highly skilled and precise as putting spin on a table tennis ball or pitching a golf ball to stop dead on a green 75 yards away.

With a pick you are trying to hit the strings at speed and with incredible accuracy without seeing what you are doing. Very subtle changes in grip and angle of attack make a big difference to tone and whether the pick glides or catches. It's amazing that we can use the darn things at all.

Shape - of the bit that hits the strings is important. The sharper the tip the sharper the tone. Rounded picks strum easier but can have a quieter and darker tone.

Thickness - thicker picks tend to be more mellow, and sometimes a bit more difficult to use. They can strum less loudly than thin picks but may be louder for single note playing.

Materials - There are so many options you really need to experiment!

I have 100s of picks and have some favourites but I'm still searching for the "perfect".

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by tj_mangum

I'm just a few days into a new (to me) guitar. Nice dreadnaught guitar, that I've been looking for. Of course I changed strings first thing and I've been putting it through it's paces. I'm pretty happy with this one.
Yesterday I grabbed one of my mandolin pics, 1.5mm ProPec, and it brought out a new dimension to this instrument!
On guitar I'm pretty well set to mediums ranging from .88 to about 1mm. Stupid me, just like a thin pick gives a distinct sound, so does a heavy one.
Yes, after 50 years of mediocre guitar playing you can still learn something!

I've been playing three different picks from the Pro Plec range recently. I've not found the best one for my guitar yet, but the side "wing" of the standard 351 is close.

However, all the Pro-plec picks that I have used seem to spoon in as little as 30 minutes playing time? Has anyone else noticed this?

[Retired1]

I find for single note runs a 1.5 mm pick is excellent and 1.2 for Carter style does it. I now prefer the tone of Celluloid picks with a bit of a sharp bevel.

[Birdbrain]

Picks are the tone controls of an acoustic guitar. I've tried many, and always come back to V-Picks. That just gives you 90+ varieties to chose from, but the Medium Triangle is a find place to start. They really do stick to your fingers!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Birdbrain

Picks are the tone controls of an acoustic guitar. I've tried many, and always come back to V-Picks. That just gives you 90+ varieties to chose from, but the Medium Triangle is a find place to start. They really do stick to your fingers!

I like that analogy. I've never thought of it that way but picks are tone controls. I have various gauges and materials and they do make a difference.

[mr. beaumont]

I've been using Pro Plecs exclusively for about 10 years...never been happier with a pick.

[RoyBoy]

"It makes whatever I'm playing sound too brash to me listening from the top."

Gdjjr: The brashness your hearing is the voice of a thinner pick. FYI, off the top you're missing a lot of the high frequencies. If you think it sounds brash off the top, take the guitar in the bathroom and play in front of the mirror, that's what your playing sounds to someone out front or a mic. The difference is startling. A thicker pick is likely to be more to your liking tonewise.

There have been some good threads on thumbpicks, I can't remember if it was here or on the Mandolin Cafe, but there are good quality thumbpicks out there. It seems common that players adjust the length and/or shape of the plectrum part to suit themselves.

Now, I'm seeing here brand! makes a difference good lord!
Can I get some advice to help me achieve a direction.

My you tube videos are in my signature- pointers/advice/critiquing appreciated.[/QUOTE]

[Silly Moustache]

....... and ..... this is the reason why all of us hve spent years buyig and selling guitars, experimenting with stings , ...... and picks !

1 variable, manageable, 2, 3, 4 - increasngly difficult.

there IS no one answer or all, because we all play differently on different guitars.

For 21 years, I played a Martin D35 with ??? Guild brand strings, and Martin 1 m/m picks.
Befre that it was other guitars and tortoiseshell pick, many of which I still havew.

For the past few years, I've finally settled on 346 large triangles mostly by Bluechip.

TAD50 (1.25 m/m) for medium gauge strings (dreads, etc,) and TAD40 (1 m/m) for light gauge strings) 000 and smaller.

That works for me - YMMV etc.

[Charmed Life Picks]

This may sound like sacrilege coming from me, but after working in the salt mines and making thousands of picks, I see the hierachy as follows. I'm talking talking strictly tone and musicality here, not feel or grip.

1) Strings (brand new)
2) Proper setup of the neck, with all that entails
3) The pick (with material being vastly more important than bevel)

Many disagree. YMMV. Vive la difference.

my three cents,
scott memmer

P.S. Oh, and there no such thing as a "perfect" pick. There is only what works best for you, which may be completely different from the next guy (or girl).

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I've been playing three different picks from the Pro Plec range recently. I've not found the best one for my guitar yet, but the side "wing" of the standard 351 is close.

However, all the Pro-plec picks that I have used seem to spoon in as little as 30 minutes playing time? Has anyone else noticed this?

One of my go-to picks (I'm nutty about picks, often trying more than one before saying "A ha!") is the ProPlec 1.5 large equilateral triangle (346 shape). Darker tone for sure, but in some cases that's exactly what I'm seeking. Yes, all of mine dish. I consider it a feature not a bug, the dish sort of fits my thumb pad and they feel more secure to me. I always play mine logo side up so that I know which way the dish is oriented the moment I pick one up to try.

Larger casein picks I've used seem prone to dishing too, but the ProPlec 1.5 346 shape is in a class by itself there.