The guitar sound is most affected by the type of guitar, strings, and pick that you use. This article will address how picks impact the sound coming from the strings on the guitar. Finding the right guitar pick may sound simple, but it’s never easy to find the best fit when having so many options.
Table of Contents
What’s a pick?
A pick is a tool that is used you can use to create clearer and sharper sound from your guitar. The majority of your guitar playing will be done with a pick in the hand. Unless you are fingerpicking (which is a good skill to have). Most of the time, the sound produced by a guitar player’s fingers isn’t comparable to the volume that is created by a pick.
Sizes and Shapes
The most commonly used pick is the standard pick, which is in the shape of a classic 351 made by D’Andrea. There are also some extreme guitar pick shapes such as circle picks, diamond picks, or heart-shaped picks.
Some finger picks that go on your finger like a ring, and other ones that go on your thumb are called thumb picks. There are large triangular guitar picks that some current band artists use (i.e. Carlos Santana). On the other hand, there are tiny picks that are similar to mandolin picks.
Guitar Pick Gauges
The thickness of your guitar pick has an impact on the amount of volume that you can generate. It also affects the amount of control and picking noise you’ll have. The thicker your guitar pick is, the greater the volume and easier it is to control. Thinner picks do not sometimes carry the weight it takes to get the strings to really vibrate. The truth is, once again, it depends on your preference. The lighter pick is easier to maneuver but harder to control, making them a good fit for strumming.
Plastic, Nylon, Metal, or Hundreds of Other Materials
Most nylon or plastic guitar picks are brittle and cause a clicking sound off of the strings when played. Finger picks and thumb picks are usually made out of metal which helps the picks not break and metal picks send out a very precise and bright tone. Other guitar pick materials, include Woods, Metals, Acrylic, Resin and Epoxy, Carbon Fiber, different types of Stones, Leather, Bones and Horns, and more. If you want to learn more about some unique materials and makers (plectiers), This is the best place to do so.
How to Choose a Guitar Pick
When you try to choose a pick, you need to first determine the type of sound you want to have and to match it with the type of player you are.
If you mostly rely on strumming, you want to first look into picks thinner than 1mm, such as Tortex, Delrin500, D’Addario Duralin or DuraGrip, NyFlex, or Celluloid.
If you are more of a riff or lead player, you will want to look into thicker and pointier picks. These include Jazz III, Rock III, Ernie Ball Prodigy, Black Ice, or similar designs. Most high-end boutique picks will fit this style, too.
If you experience hand fatigue, try a thick or ergonomic pick. These can radically help ease the stress on the picking hand,
At the end of the day, it’s all about experimentation. Comfort is just as important as the sound
Finishing Thoughts
When you are looking to play more like a certain guitar artist then copy what type of guitar or amp they use and then try to figure out what pick they are using. Sometimes you might even be surprised by learning that they use objects such as pennies, schillings, or pesos.
Try out as many different picks as you can, until you find the right guitar pick. When you like the sound and the feeling you get, then go with it.
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This is great, thanks for writing this down.
Who knew a guitar pick have so much importence?