• Home
  • Best Guitar Picks
    • Best Wooden Guitar Picks
    • Best Metal Guitar Picks
    • Best Ergonomic Guitar Picks
    • Best Stone Guitar Picks
    • Best Ukulele Picks
    • Best Fingerpicks
  • Pick Reviews
  • Guitar Gear
  • Guitar Lessons
  • The Complete Guide to Guitar Picks
  • Contact

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot

How to Read Guitar Chord Charts and Diagrams

January 27, 2023

All Types of Electric Guitars Explained

January 23, 2023

Dunlop Flow Picks Collection – Full Guitar Picks Review

January 20, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Guitar Pick ReviewsGuitar Pick Reviews
  • Home
  • Best Guitar Picks
    • Best Wooden Guitar Picks
    • Best Metal Guitar Picks
    • Best Ergonomic Guitar Picks
    • Best Stone Guitar Picks
    • Best Ukulele Picks
    • Best Fingerpicks
  • Pick Reviews
  • Guitar Gear
  • Guitar Lessons
  • The Complete Guide to Guitar Picks
  • Contact
Guitar Pick ReviewsGuitar Pick Reviews
Home»Blog»6 Good Reasons to Play With Thick Guitar Picks
Blog

6 Good Reasons to Play With Thick Guitar Picks

Guitar Pick ReviewsBy Guitar Pick ReviewsOctober 19, 2021Updated:October 19, 2021No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Pinterest Email

Thick guitar picks have a lot of advantages over thin ones, but they require some getting used to. The reason for it is that the first guitar picks we played with usually came for free, and had the logo of the store we bought our first guitar from printed on them. This is what created that habit. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there are better options than the floppy piece of plastic we all started playing with. I’d consider a pick “thick” usually above 3-4mm, but it’s really up to you to decide what works for you. Here I listed some reasons and examples for how a thick guitar pick can help you play faster with more dexterity, and for a longer period without hand fatigue.

  • 4mm wooden and titanium, and 10mm acrylic pick bo ohm picks
    4mm wooden and titanium, and 10mm acrylic pick by Ohm Picks
  • 2 Tear shaped 9mm picks by Luka Plectrums
  • A 4.2mm Titanium pick buy Ohm Picks
  • An 8.64mm Iceberg shaped pick by Northern Ghost Plectrums. Apropriately called “Bubblegum”

Table of Contents

  • Reason 1: Thick picks are easier to hold and grip
  • Reason 2: They require less hand movement, resulting in faster playing and more control
  • Reason 3: It requires less energy to pluck each string
  • Reason 4: Thick picks are more durable
  • Reason 5: Less pick noise
  • Reason 6: Higher volume
    • Related posts:

Reason 1: Thick picks are easier to hold and grip

This one is more important than you think. The more energy you put towards holding the pick when playing and making sure it doesn’t move – the less time you’ll be able to play before your palm starts to hurt. This pain is also adding up pretty fast and can cause some serious problems down the road. It creates less tension in the arm, which is always a good thing. Some picks are designed specifically to address this issue and you can find some of them in our best ergonomic picks article

See also  12 Cool Guitar Picks You Need to Check Out

Reason 2: They require less hand movement, resulting in faster playing and more control

You should always make the smallest movements required to produce the sound you want. It goes both for using less pressure on the string with your fingering hand as well as for using less movement to produce a note with your picking hand. The thicker your pick is, the less it needs to move. Simple.

Reason 3: It requires less energy to pluck each string

There are two sides to that one. One of them is fairly simple but focused less on the thickness, and more on the weight that comes with it. Playing with a heavy pick makes the string resistance affect your movement softer. It can be compared to hitting something with a bat compared to a feather, just less violent and more musical…
The second aspect is that thicker picks are less flexible than thin ones, resulting in more efficient energy distribution toward the string. I touch on that point in reason #6 too.

Reason 4: Thick picks are more durable

Other than the fact that the thicker an item is, the more time it will take for it to start wearing down. Thick picks are more likely to be made of materials that are more durable. Some examples of these materials are acrylic, epoxy, glass, stone, or wood.

  • a thick blue and white northernghost plectrum from the side
  • a thick pink and purple northernghost plectrum from the side
  • a thick white, green, and red northernghost plectrum from the side
A trio of Northern Ghost Plectrums showing what they’re made of

Reason 5: Less pick noise

This is a matter of taste. I don’t like the clicky pick noise sound when I play certain things, but really dig it in others. I have some picks I chose specifically for the click they make, but it doesn’t fit everywhere. Having a few thick guitar picks nearby gives you the option to remove the clickiness when you need to.

See also  The Most Beautiful Guitar Picks You Can Buy

Reason 6: Higher volume

As a rule of thumb, the stiffer your pick, the more volume it will be able to generate. It happens because thin picks are easily bent by the strings, resulting in less tension building up. While thick picks bend the strings easily, allowing them to build more tension before they are released and sound is produced.

Special thanks to Northern Ghost Plectrums, Luka Plectrums, and Ohm Picks for allowing me to use their images.


Pick Makers, if you want your picks reviewed, or have anything cool you made and want to share – send me a message, I’d love to hear from you!

Send A Message

Related posts:

12 Cool Guitar Picks You Need to Check Out
The Most Beautiful Guitar Picks You Can Buy
Getting Back To Playing Guitar After A Long Break
Jazz III Alternatives: 11 Great Options You Can Buy Anywhere
thick guitar picks
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Guitar Pick Reviews
  • Website

Related Posts

How to Get the Best Price for a New Guitar

January 15, 2022

The Most Beautiful Guitar Picks You Can Buy

November 21, 2021

Getting Back To Playing Guitar After A Long Break

November 3, 2021

12 Cool Guitar Picks You Need to Check Out

November 1, 2021

Jazz III Alternatives: 11 Great Options You Can Buy Anywhere

October 27, 2021

10 Good Reasons for Using Boutique Guitar Picks

October 14, 2021
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Don't Miss

Basic Guitar Chords for Beginners: Play Your First Songs

December 25, 2022
8.0

Third Stone Guitar Picks (Formerly Saluda Picks) – Full Review

October 1, 2022
8.2

Chicken Picks – Full Review

October 4, 2021

25 Guitar Myths Everyone Believes in, But are Pure Nonsense

September 13, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Reddit
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy
  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
© 2023 Guitarpickreviews.com.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.