This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Guitar Picks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
15/05/2007
Guitar picks, as it is likely everyone knows, are used to pluck guitar strings to improve sound, and reduce injury on fingers. However, there are many types of guitar picks to choose from- from materials, to shapes, and as well as sizes and colors. Some guitar picks are even used for special purposes, such as a double-sided pick for “double plucking.”
Guitar picks are commonly made out of plastic, but also may incorporate nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, stone, metals, and even gemstone guitar picks to the composition. Each of the materials has a separate sound or grip from the other. For instance, metal has a very unique sound when plucked against a guitar string- but offers little grip. Tortoiseshell is one of the best for gripping, although an international ban led to the creation of Tortex picks. Choosing the right material is a matter of trying them all out, and deciding on which sound and grip works for you playing style- whether it be metal, bues, or jazz. If all else fails, weird guitar picks aren’t unheard of- from bone, to an Allen wrench- just about anything can become a good plectrum!
Figure 1 - Traditional picks, a thumb pick, and a triangle pick example
The thickness of a guitar pick is very important. For instance, a thicker pick will give more control in tone, while a thinner pick will give more of a random and uncontrollable sound. Hard rock or metal players usually prefer thin picks, but more hardcore heavy music will require thicker picks to control thick gauged strigs. Thinner picks give less power, and have less durability- especially with complex techniques such as tremolo picking.
There are a few shapes and sizes to picks, as well. A shark’s fin pick will allow the use of pick scraping to be much easier. A sharp edged pick will give an edgier sound to one’s playing style. The equilateral pick is perfect for beginners- as it has no special qualities to master, and each corner can be used to play the guitar with. Some picks even wrap around an entire finger- such as the thumb pick that is available.
D’Andrea picks were the first to actually offer things such as custom imprinting, and developed many of the shapes and materials of picks that are still in use today. D’Andrea picks are still available today, since 1922. From the customization D’Andrea picks started, other companies have followed suit. Today, there are hundreds of styles, shapes, colors, and sizes of picks. In fact, picks made of precious gems are available toda. Of course, these picks don’t flex or bend- but they offer a unique sound and are very durable.
Guitar picks are plentiful, and usually only cost a few dollars for a dozen of them. Some of the most mainstream picks are offered by Fender, and some less mainstream picks such as the Joe Satriani line of picks are available- although they cost more money. Choosing the guitar pick is the first step in mastering the guitar, and the next step would be to master picking techniques. It should be noted that if a more extravagant pick is desired, such as the gemstone picks, that you should make sure you don’t lose them- consider it a piece of good advice, picks are usually lost before they are broken.
One Response to “Guitar Picks”
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May 29th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I agree that choice of picks is up to the guitarist and every guitarist has his own favorite style of pick. Even though heavy guitar picks have better control for some things, thin guitar picks are better for some things. You usually get a more soothing strum out of a thin pick. I personally shoot for the middle ground and use medium fender picks.
The Digital Guitar