Thicker picks test

[HalfBlindLefty]

A couple of weeks ago I went to my guitar store and choose 4 thicker picks than the .88 Dunlop Tortex I normaly use and hove quite a lot in stock of.

Some how the Artcore was asking for other picks and I was in for the experiment :)
Starting with the Gibson XH, a bone pick (brandless) A Dunlop 2 mm and a wooden pick (brandless)
Been playing with them all, found out that when using the Artcore I grab the Gibsom most of the times.

I have recorded a couple of short soundbites (single mp3) to give you a idea of the different pick's influence on the guitar's sound.
1 - The Gibson feels good and for now I like the sound it gets from the guitar.
2 - The bone's point is a bit to pointy for my taste ( will file that rounder shortly)
3 - The Dunlop playce nice
4 - The wooden pick has a sharper sound to my ears and doesn't convince me to use it.
5 - Last soundbite is my trusty .88 Dunlop Tortex

Let's hear some opinions

12bar-Plectrums.jpg (200.82 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

download/file.php?id=2843

Ohh that guitars tone'at this amp setting....
Mhh the noise is from a double fan I forgot to switch off, sorry for that

[MichaelRobinson]

Yes. Hans. There is room for many discussions about the sound and what to do to accomplish what you want. I think everyone should experiment with the sound that you like. It's individually although there are room for exchanges of opinions here.

Good luck with youre experiments.

[VikingBlues]

The change in sound that a different pick can make can be pretty big. Size of pick, thickness of pick and for that matter what sort of material the pick is made out of. I'm convinced too that different styles of guitars will work better with different picks.

I've found the acoustic guitar is even more affected than the electric. I've been using a thumb-pick playing acoustic finger-style (due to a skin problem on my thumb) and a Fred Kelly made of Delrin has turned out to be a winner for me by a huge distance.

But if you want extremes in sound, then different picks on the mandolin family make a mind-blowingly massive difference.

It's a good idea to try out a selection anyway. Not only for the ones that give a better sound, but for the ones that feel more comfortable to play, and in the hope of finding one of those magical ones that helps the creative process. Hope you find one of those - good luck!

[vancouverois]

I also find some sound difference when I use different picks, I believed it was just a personal trend but finally it does.
Thickness may be one of the factors, the material of the pick as well as the guitar strings.
So along the time, I have kept some I really like and often lost others in various places.
I guess the shape can influence a bit the attack as you hold then differently,it may have some result on the tone too.

Here are the ones I used the most.
The purplish (street find) has some Santana vibe on the Yamaha SG2000.
The Lollar is quite thick and seems to be made of pickup fiberboard bobbin, nice influence (mediums) on the sound.
The rainbow produces no interference noise when playing clean (Strat, Tele) and the black top round shaped Gibson (heavy) is a secret weapon for overdriven blues.

The most used.

DSCN0730.JPG (128.68 KiB) Viewed 6303 times

[MichaelRobinson]

Not to forget the angle you strikes the string. Neither the distance from the saddle. If you work out how to use your thumbnail, and the pick together you can get very useful sound.