Cloth covered guitar picks

[TBman]

I'm a flat picker turned finger style player and I'm just wondering, why would you want to do that? Does it give a thicker tone for slower, more melodic runs?

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

I've never tried cloth covering myself.

I tried felt with bass, including nylon string Ashbory style basses. Didn't work for me for that.

Once I reached the point where I could actually hold ON to my flatpicks, I experimented with just about every offbeat pick material I happened across: leather, metal, wood, all kinds of plastic, genuine tortoiseshell, you name it. As an intermediate player I didn’t know what would work for me until I tried it.

I did buy a felt pick for pocket change once, took it home, tried it on a few songs and went: “Blechh!”

I diddled around with it for about a week before consigning it to a basket full of picks I didn’t care for or use much. In the case of the felt pick, I never used it again.

It’s my understanding that some bassplayers like felt picks, and I used to know an autoharp player who got a good sound using them. But they’re definitely not for me.


whm

[spottydog10]

Barry, it's more for strumming especially where the percussive aspect is overwhelming the musical one.

[Monsoon1]

If I remember right it was Scott from Charmed Life picks, who suggested putting a small piece of cloth style surgical tape on the pick. It's cheap, and would hold up fairly well.

[DesertTwang]

Or, you could simply use picks cut from cereal boxes. Start every morning with the energizing brightness of fresh tone. Cardboard is an excellent tone material, especially if quarter-sawn. I highly recommend the early "Tony Rice Krispies" recordings. Amazing attack and articulation.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by spottydog10

Barry, it's more for strumming especially where the percussive aspect is overwhelming the musical one.

Ok thanks.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

Or, you could simply use picks cut from cereal boxes. Start every morning with the energizing brightness of fresh tone. Cardboard is an excellent tone material, especially if quarter-sawn. I highly recommend the early "Tony Rice Krispies" recordings. Amazing attack and articulation.

Oh, man.......

If we were all in the same room together we'd make you buy a round of beer for the rest of us to pay for THAT pun!

I'd like a Spaten Oktoberfest, please.

Then Monsoon wrote:

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

If I remember right it was Scott from Charmed Life picks, who suggested putting a small piece of cloth style surgical tape on the pick. It's cheap, and would hold up fairly well.

That's a great idea, if that's the sound you're going for. In addition to being cheap, it would be fast to execute, taking considerably less time to implement than laboriously cutting out cloth and gluing it to picks.


whm

[sportycliff]

Ripstop nylon?

Very thin
Very durable (parachutes)
Very slippery (it seems)
Very cheap
Many colors

[agfsteve]

When the cloth wears through, wouldn't the adhesive underneath gunk up the strings?

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

I would get cordura nylon - it should outlast velvet by a huge amount. This is a guess as we are all in uncharted waters here.

Waterproof also; an added value!

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by sportycliff

Ripstop nylon?

Very thin
Very durable (parachutes)
Very slippery (it seems)
Very cheap
Many colors

Ripstop for those chainsaw moments when the audience gets rowdy?

[lfoo6952]

I've tried a felt pick before. D'addario makes one for ukulele players. Here's the link:
http://www.accessories.daddario.com/...8-cfe5dc31943e

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Oh, man.......

If we were all in the same room together we'd make you buy a round of beer for the rest of us to pay for THAT pun!

I'd like a Spaten Oktoberfest, please.

Noted. You're welcome.