When it comes to playing guitar, there are many choices to be made. One of the most overlooked, yet critical, choices are what type of guitar pic to use. Following is a listing of types, thicknesses, and materials as well as playing styles that we hope help you choose the right guitar pic.
Most guitar pics today are basically a triangular shape made from some sort of plastic. There are several kinds of plastics used including:
o Celluloid which is still used somewhat today and is highly flammable in nature. This is a good material to use if you are a jazz or blues player looking for a "vintage" tone.
o Nylon that is as flexible as it is popular. Nylon ends to wear rather quickly, become brittle and break. Mainly, pics that are very thin are made of nylon and are used in playing very fast runs.
o Tortex or Delrex, which are simply trade names for materials manufactured by DuPont that are derivatives of Delrin. Similar to nylon but has a matte finish that is easy to grip, making them very popular. Dunlop uses the Tortex and D'Andrea uses the Delrex.
o Acetal is a group of plastics that are divided into two sub-groups; copolymers that are used by Clayton and homopolymers which are a derivative of DuPont's Delrin division. The homopolymers are just a bit stiffer than their copolymer cousins.
o Ultem is a technologically advanced plastic that is the stiffest of all plastics used in guitar pics. Steve Clayton is credited with this one. Ultem picks are very popular with mandolin players.
o Lexan is a rigid, almost glass-like material. Very hard and not flexible by nature, this is used mainly for extra thick pics. Ultem wears out relatively quickly and is prone to breakage under even normal use.
Then there are the metal pics like those used by Brian May of Queen fame (resembles a sixpence coin) or Billy Gibbon of ZZ Top, who uses a Mexican peso by choice. Many players will use metal pics to elicit a brighter tone. They do wear heavily on the strings and can damage the guitar's finish under strumming conditions.
Of course, there are exotic materials as well, such as Agate (stone), Lignum vitae (a hardwood) and New Tortis (artificial tortoise shell). All of these are believed to generate an "organic" tone since they are all naturally occurring except for the last one.
All guitar pics range in thickness from about.38mm (ultra thin) all the way up to 1.5mm (extra heavy). Thinner pics are used widely used in many hard rock genres. The thinner the pic, the more voracious the attack sounds, yet some say that a thicker pick does create a brighter, fuller tone. Additionally, when playing with heavy distortion or extreme high gain amplification, thinner pics will produce a deeper growling sound that is almost uncontrollable.
On the contrary, jazz or blues or country western players tend to use thicker pics due to their use of flat wound, heavy gauge strings. The result is a truer tone and more brightness.
All in all, the pic you choose is a matter of personal selection and playing technique. If you are not sure of your selection, get a few different types and try them out. You will find that perfect plectrum (pic) that meets your style and sound.
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