National Guitar Pick Day

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Too Many Notes
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Apr 26, 2012
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Ever since my Tonare Grand came over the summer, I have been experimenting with guitar picks. I've found quite a few I've really liked, and I've learned a lot about the pick's effect on the guitar's tone, and what works well with my picking hand. Everything seems to matter with this stuff. Various picks enhance or attenuate different frequencies; they all seem to come off the strings differently; the shape and tips can enhance, or get caught up in the strings. Etc.

I'm not going to review the picks I've tried except to say that the two I like best are the Dunlop Ultex large jazz point picks for acoustic, and Jazz III for electric, and the pick I got to play around with for the last couple of days, the Blue Chip Jazz 50 that works for both, and honestly is worth the price of admission if you are a tone freak. Here it is on my mousepad along with a predictably fussy little wooden pick case I bought about 20 years ago:



You know you're kind of nuts if you pay $35 for a guitar pick, and feel like it was a pretty good deal.

But the only way I can describe the sound of these is...delicious. Really. They sound delicious. They're sparkly sounding, but also warm. They fly off the strings, yet the tone is all there. Most bright sounding picks are clacky against the strings, and lose the lower mids, not these.

Why are they so costly? Well, the reviewers have said that the material costs two arms and two legs, some kind of unobtainium that costs the maker over 4 grand a 10" by 10" sheet. They're CNC'd and beveled by hand. So there's that. But whatever, they really work. After they get warm from your hand, they feel slightly tacky, but they don't seem to leave any residue on your fingers, which is kind of odd in a good way. Because they don't slip around while you're playing, something I often struggle with in the middle of a take.

They're not pretty, like faux sea turtle or celluloid. That's because the material comes one way, and it is what it is. But...the tone is there.

I'm of the understanding that they wear like iron. They don't turn into broken potato chips if you have them in the pocket of your jeans in the washing machine (I haven't tried this yet, but I'm sure it will happen sooner rather than later because I tend to forget, and yeah, I keep it in that pick case in the hopes of preventing that happening).

Worth the price of an entree at a halfway decent restaurant? Well, for tone like that, sure. If I skip lunch every day, maybe I can get another one. ;)
 
I am just embarking on the pick experimentation journey..just ordered the "Hot Dot" from Red Bear…$35 for a guitar pick indeed…:dontknow:…we shall see!
 
You know you're kind of nuts if you pay $35 for a guitar pick, and feel like it was a pretty good deal.

Not if you're paying for a quality product AND quality craftsmanship. It delivers something you hadn't found somewhere else. It's done with a lot of hand work (especially compared to other picks). And you hear a difference. To me, at that point, it's only nuts if you don't think you'll get your $35 worth out of it.

Writ large, your point is what a lot of people use against PRS guitars - nuts to pay that much for a guitar. But if you appreciate the product and the work that goes into the product, it's worth it.

But $35 for a guitar pick???

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It's not, but I couldn't resist using the graphic!
 
The Blue Chip picks are lovely. I still prefer my Brazilian agate pick from Picks'n'Stones for most of my electric playing, but the BC sees a lot of use, especially on acoustic.

The other pick I really like is the traditional Fender shape Pick Boy 1.0 mm. Best-sounding "standard" pick out there IMO.

And $35 for a pick is nothing, considering what a huge effect it has on the sound of your guitar. (which, especially for most on this board, probably cost a LOT more) That said, I don't carry the expensive ones around in my pocket day-to-day, and as a result tend not to lose or misplace them.
 
That $2,500 insect encased in amber pick is awesome. Anyone want their lawn mowed?
 
Took my wife out for a quick bite of dinner tonight, had one appetizer, one drink, no dessert.

Cost me two picks!

The Blue Chip picks are lovely. I still prefer my Brazilian agate pick from Picks'n'Stones for most of my electric playing, but the BC sees a lot of use, especially on acoustic.

The other pick I really like is the traditional Fender shape Pick Boy 1.0 mm. Best-sounding "standard" pick out there IMO.

And $35 for a pick is nothing, considering what a huge effect it has on the sound of your guitar. (which, especially for most on this board, probably cost a LOT more) That said, I don't carry the expensive ones around in my pocket day-to-day, and as a result tend not to lose or misplace them.

Totally agree. And of course, it all depends on what you're playing, but I found today that I could even hear the pick difference playing distorted stuff.

Though naturally it makes a bigger difference (for me) on the acoustic than the electric. One thing I like is that it's easy to control, and feels very fast through the strings.

I won't say I can play a little better with it, because I lack practice time with it, but it does seem to make things a bit different in a good way.

I'll have to try the agate and the pick boy...
 
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On the topic of guitar picks...
I don't use a pick at all when I play (acoustic and electric), though I do sort of collect them. If I were to use a pick, as far as sound goes I'd use my Red Bear picks. They're hard to find, but if you locate on on Ebay, expect to pay at least $25 each. I've tried and have everything, I think... including one that is prehistoric (made from a mammoth tusk). I like picks of different exotic woods, and enjoy those made by Stoneworks - actual stone picks - the one I have of pure turquoise retails for around a hundred bucks.

All that said, again, I prefer to just use my fingers. It's something my son taught me to appreciate before he passed away and I have continued on ever since. It's partly in his honor, and partly because it just has the best sound I have found, after all these others that I now just collect. :)
 
Took my wife out for a quick bite of dinner tonight, had one appetizer, one drink, no dessert.

Cost me two picks!



Totally agree. And of course, it all depends on what you're playing, but I found today that I could even hear the pick difference playing distorted stuff.

Though naturally it makes a bigger difference (for me) on the acoustic than the electric. One thing I like is that it's easy to control, and feels very fast through the strings.

I won't say I can play a little better with it, because I lack practice time with it, but it does seem to make things a bit different in a good way.

I'll have to try the agate and the pick boy...

Pickboy carbon-nylon...varied thicknesses...good tones !!!
 
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