Picks and Plectrums

eric-vaxxine · 2012-08-06T01:46:12+00:00

For many years, the only pick I ever used was a Jim Dunlop Jazz III. But over the last few years I have dumped the JazzIII, I've become a bit more 'picky'.....

Picks and Plectrums

deefstes

eric vaxxine wrote: You'll probably like this.....
I have a copper plectrum that is as bendy as a medium plastic
pick. Bendy metal. It was given to me by Jerry Donahue, many
many years ago.

Jeepers, that can't be very good for your strings?

Bob-Dubery

deefstes wrote:
eric vaxxine wrote: You'll probably like this.....
I have a copper plectrum that is as bendy as a medium plastic
pick. Bendy metal. It was given to me by Jerry Donahue, many
many years ago.
Jeepers, that can't be very good for your strings?

Brian May plays with a coin. Martin Carthy, and a lot of lap steelers, use a metal thumb pick. I don't know if this imposes more wear on the strings, but they get the tone and the attack that they want.

Miemie

Brian May plays with a coin. Martin Carthy, and a lot of lap steelers, use a metal thumb pick. I don't know if this imposes more wear on the strings, but they get the tone and the attack that they want.

As does the Reverend Willie G sometimes(mexican peso in this case)

Psean

Miemie wrote:
Brian May plays with a coin. Martin Carthy, and a lot of lap steelers, use a metal thumb pick. I don't know if this imposes more wear on the strings, but they get the tone and the attack that they want.

As does the Reverend Willie G sometimes(mexican peso in this case)

Yip. And he plays 7 gauge strings and they seem to handle it. Must have such a light touch.

Bob-Dubery

deefstes wrote:
eric vaxxine wrote: You'll probably like this.....
I have a copper plectrum that is as bendy as a medium plastic
pick. Bendy metal. It was given to me by Jerry Donahue, many
many years ago.
Jeepers, that can't be very good for your strings?

Have you seen Donohue play? The way he bends I'd bet a set of strings doesn't last very long anyway - so wear and tear from his choice of plectrum is probably not much of a concern.

deefstes

X-rated Bob wrote:
deefstes wrote:
eric vaxxine wrote: You'll probably like this.....
I have a copper plectrum that is as bendy as a medium plastic
pick. Bendy metal. It was given to me by Jerry Donahue, many
many years ago.
Jeepers, that can't be very good for your strings?
Have you seen Donohue play? The way he bends I'd bet a set of strings doesn't last very long anyway - so wear and tear from his choice of plectrum is probably not much of a concern.

Good point. And not just Donohue, I guess any string bend is string against metal so there's probably no real reason the think that a metal plectrum will do more damage.

ezietsman

If your pick wears down your strings to the point that it bothers you, you should think of changing your strings MUCH more frequently.

deefstes

ez wrote: If your pick wears down your strings to the point that it bothers you, you should think of changing your strings MUCH more frequently.

...or you should stop using a jigsaw blade as a pick.

[deleted]

Hi Guys --Try this for a pick & lets hear your comments

' Cut a normal credit/bank card to the shape you are most comfortable with - e.g a rounded triangle or teardrop shape. Smooth off the edges with an emery board.
The size of the pick determines the rigidity - bigger = flexible & smaller = more rigid
I've been doing it for years - works for me !

eric-vaxxine

Picks are REALLY overpriced here in the UK,
the credit card idea has value, I might give it a whirl.

Picks here cost 50pence each!
2 pints of milk in a plastic bottle costs £1.19.
Enough for 30 picks.

singemonkey

eric vaxxine wrote: Picks are REALLY overpriced here in the UK,
the credit card idea has value, I might give it a whirl.

Picks here cost 50pence each!
2 pints of milk in a plastic bottle costs £1.19.
Enough for 30 picks.

50p!?

When I think the picks I like in SA cost only nine ront...

Bob-Dubery

rinkledrocker wrote: Hi Guys --Try this for a pick & lets hear your comments

' Cut a normal credit/bank card to the shape you are most comfortable with - e.g a rounded triangle or teardrop shape. Smooth off the edges with an emery board.
The size of the pick determines the rigidity - bigger = flexible & smaller = more rigid
I've been doing it for years - works for me !

I tried that, but had problems with delamination.

deefstes

OK, seeing as this entire discussion has been had before, I suppose now is a good time to post a link to the Pick Punch which usually gets posted at around this point in the plectrum discussion.

http://www.pickpunch.com/

singemonkey

deefstes wrote: OK, seeing as this entire discussion has been had before, I suppose now is a good time to post a link to the Pick Punch which usually gets posted at around this point in the plectrum discussion.

Yep.

needleshy

I usually use JazzIII or Ultex .71 or 1mm.

I have used many credit cards back in the day but they wear down way too quickly and also leaves white dust all over your guitar so.

Has anyone on the forum been brave/patient enough to order a Red Bear Trading Co. pick yet? www.redbeartrading.com

i was looking last week at ordering some of the new Tusq picks, but the shipping cost is 20$ so i cancelled that but if there are a few ppl in CPT keen to order with me we should order as a group, the picks are rated pretty highly by the ppl who have used them. Its an ivory composite pick which sounds pretty cool.

=

Nitebob

Psean wrote:
Miemie wrote:
Brian May plays with a coin. Martin Carthy, and a lot of lap steelers, use a metal thumb pick. I don't know if this imposes more wear on the strings, but they get the tone and the attack that they want.

As does the Reverend Willie G sometimes(mexican peso in this case)
Yip. And he plays 7 gauge strings and they seem to handle it. Must have such a light touch.

Is this acoustic or electric 7's? I don't see anything below 10's in acoustic anywhere...so I play with electric 9's :-[

deefstes

Nitebob wrote: Is this acoustic or electric 7's? I don't see anything below 10's in acoustic anywhere...so I play with electric 9's :-[

You string your acoustic guitar with electric 9's?!?!? ???

Is it that your guitar's tone is too awesome and you feel the need to ugly it up a little?

Psean

Nitebob wrote:
Psean wrote:
Miemie wrote:
Brian May plays with a coin. Martin Carthy, and a lot of lap steelers, use a metal thumb pick. I don't know if this imposes more wear on the strings, but they get the tone and the attack that they want.

As does the Reverend Willie G sometimes(mexican peso in this case)
Yip. And he plays 7 gauge strings and they seem to handle it. Must have such a light touch.
Is this acoustic or electric 7's? I don't see anything below 10's in acoustic anywhere...so I play with electric 9's :-[

Electric:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/rev-willys-strings

I didn't know they came in such light gauges either; I haven't seen 7's in any other brand though.

BTW, why would you want to go lighter than 10's on acoustic?

symbolofmylife

deefstes wrote: I've fallen in love with these Dunlop Ultex plectra. I specifically like the 0.73mm as it offers just enough stiffness for solo and just enough flex for strumming.

I also like these. Amazingly, the Hetfield Black Fangs are also great picks!

arjunmenon

Nicholas L wrote:
Nitebob wrote:
Psean wrote: Where do you get these?
I find that most shops just stock the more popular stuff - mainly dunlop, sharkfin and fender + a few others.
So true, half the cool stuff we don't even get here in SA, you have to buy what everybody is using. If only the had the cool stuff, everybody would be buying that, but that's another thread altogether.
Too true guys. I bought mine through takealot.com the one day as they were on discount plus i wanted a few other things. so I just added to the package. Arjun is actually the one who introduced me to them. Not sure where he got his from.

I got mine through forumite Stephen G when he organized a group buy.
Quite like them, however, i do switch between the Jazz III and the Dava every now and then.
On acoustic, i find the Dunlop nylon skinny (0.36 mm i think) or fingers work best for me.