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#1
11-03-2019, 11:45 AM
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Advice on using flatpack/plectrum
I have mainly been playing finger-style over the years, but have recently been trying to use a flatpick. I am using extra light strings due to ageing hands, but should I try heavier strings for picking/strumming?
Thank you in anticipation. 
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#2
11-03-2019, 11:50 AM
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In the end, it is your preference. There are no "shoulds" or "can'ts" IMO. I'd try to stick with the strings that I am comfortable with and try different picks. I like .60 - .73. A lot of players prefer much thicker picks.
Just remember you are the person playing your guitar. That's the only thing that counts.
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#3
11-03-2019, 11:51 AM
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Common wisdom usually says light to medium gauge strings for strumming. This will accommodate aggressive strumming. But if your fretting hands need extra lights stay with them to start out. Experimenting with picks will give you big returns. There are different materials like nylon, delrin, Ultex etc and different thicknesses. Picks are cheap so start with maybe .60mm pick then go down and up in thickness from there.
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#4
11-03-2019, 01:48 PM
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I prefer the sound of 11's which some call extra lights. I come from an electric background mainly so extra lights would be 9's in my mind. Use 11's, they strum very well, come over and listen to them. I use mediums for strumming. I found Star picks which dont slip around. I used to use Fender mediums but just too slippery.
When you strum down, the front edge of the pick should contact the strings first and then slide through the other strings. Strumming up, the back edge of the pick contacts first. You can do this by keeping the pick in the same plain or you could say angle as your arm, dont twist the pick to hit the strings perpendicular.
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#5
11-03-2019, 05:32 PM
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Quote:
I can finger pick in my own way but mainly I flatpick ... don't like to be called a strummer. Don't mess around with different strings AND different picks, so stay with the strings you have for now. Becoming used to using a plectrum/pick, can/will take a little adjustment. As far as the picks are concerned, might I suggest that you buy a bunch of Jim Dunlop "tortex" in different thicknesses. I'd also suggest that you look for the large triangles, which are my favourite shapes as they are easier to hold. So rather than buying a zillion different makes, thicknesses, materials and shapes. use a constant material and shape. Then start with the thinnest, and work up in thickness until you find something really uncomfortable then back up a little, but don't dispose of anything ... yet. Once you have found one of these that suit you try the thicker ones again. Why? because with thicker ones, you get more tone, and, with practice, more control. This might help :
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom!
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#6
11-03-2019, 06:26 PM
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I wouldn't change strings. There are no rules about how hard you need to wack the strings with the pick, and no rules about which pick you use.
I'd buy a pile of cheaper picks and try to find which one works for you. Enjoy the journey.
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Keith Martin 000-42 Marquis Taylor Classical Alvarez 12 String Gibson ES345s Fender P-Bass Gibson tenor banjo
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#7
11-03-2019, 10:26 PM
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I think you should try to find a couple picks you like and see where they take you. As said in other threads, "grip" is half the battle so you don't have to use so much hand strength to hold on, creating unneeded tension. Lots of picks are made that help you hold on more easily (i.e. Dunlop Primetone, Cool, Dava). Perhaps you should start out with one type of pick and try it in a few different thicknesses.
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Assuming is not knowing. Knowing is NOT the same as understanding. There is a difference between compassion and wisdom, however compassion cannot supplant wisdom, and wisdom can not occur without understanding. facts don't care about your feelings and FEELINGS ALONE MAKE FOR TERRIBLE, often irreversible DECISIONS 
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#8
11-04-2019, 06:59 AM
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My Taylor 412 came with light gauge and I used them for years before moving to custom lights. Because I play acoustic a lot like electric, lots of bends and full barre chords, I recently changed to extra light gauge 10-46. The tone is the same and easier to play. I like a 1.5mm pick. It is amazing how much a pick and your grip on it will affect sound.
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I don't have a bunch of guitars because they all sound just like me.  1984 Carvin LB-40 bass 1986 Carvin DC-125 two humbucker 1996 Taylor 412 La Patrie Concert 2012 American Standard Telecaster 1981 Carvin DC 100 Harley Benton LP JR DC Bushman Delta Frost & Suzuki harmonicas Artley flute Six-plus decade old vocal apparatus
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#9
11-04-2019, 07:20 AM
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Not sure what thickness pick you're using, but I have always found Fender thins to my liking. Yes, they break more easily than thicker picks but picks are really cheap, especially compared to the cost of guitars and strings. Thin picks are also quieter than thicker picks, but that really isn't problematic for me. I really like the flexibility of thin picks for strumming as they pass over the strings as well as for cross-picking. As for string gauge, I use lights and would recommend the same....
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Fender Robert Cray Stratocaster Martin D18 Ambertone Martin 000-15sm Last edited by RP; 11-04-2019 at 07:43 AM.
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