Pics....the type you play with with....

[BMiller]

Well, to accompany my post about strings and being a bad guitar dad, I thought to pose this question after practicing tonight.

When do you get rid of a pick? Yeah, some get dropped and forgotten on stage, others live through the washer but not the dryer (I found many when I took mine apart recently), and some end up in jars or cups...or wasting away on the night stand.

I use .88mm Dunlop Tortex....the green ones. I was thinking about how every time that I go to rehearsal, I put the same 10 pack in my pocket (the cardboard has long since worn off but still new) and the same old worn out stack in as well. What do I use for rehearsal and gigs? The easy ones not in the package.

So when does one get rid of a pick? I've got a couple hundred brand new ones sitting around. Three hundred or more used ones in a baggy. Why do I keep them around? Why do I keep using worn picks over new ones? What am I supposed to do with worn pics? Does the pic of choice have an impact on tone? Does it impact my ability to play?

So when do you send a worn out pick to the rubbish bin?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Come to think of it,I don’t recall ever throwing out a pick.

 

[Clashcityrocker]

It's a fact that the dust created by picking is eaten by plankton in the ocean contributing to global cooling. All the scientists agree on this.

 

[WA Paul]

Come to think of it,I don’t recall ever throwing out a pick.

This! Packing things up last month and yep, I swear I still have nearly every dang pick I ever acquired (can’t say I bought them all!). Since switching to Blue Chip picks a few years ago I haven’t used any other pick.

 

[jak3af3r]

I use those .88 tortex too. Mine probably aren't .88 at the tip anymore I use them so much. I was given several V-Picks and never really liked them so they're in a little wood box somewhere.

 

[Tone-y]

Like other's have mentioned here, I don't think I ever 'get rid' of a pick, they just stop getting used when they get to a certain level of wear. I used to use the think purple dunlop picks. They'd last me a fair while, but eventually there'd be no real tip on them and it'd be time to retire them to the pick graveyard. I bought myself a blue chip pick (expensive to buy and import to the UK) on the recommendations here as they were said to last forever. I liked the idea of not having to adjust to a wearing pick all the time. So far so good!

 

[Deli6505]

I previously used the Green Tortex since the 80s, and switched to the Yellow Tortex picks for the past 10 years. And not to sound totally PRS fanboy-ish here, but I recently started using the orange .60 PRS picks since I'm playing more hard rock these days and not so much chug-a-lug metal. As for when to know when to chuck them, it's when the end starts getting too rounded and little nicks at the tip. Most of the time, I find them in the bottom of the washer and dryer because my wife doesn't check my pockets when she does the laundry.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

I also use green Tortex (or the PRS branded equivalent). Once a year or so I get a wild hair and throw away any I find with rounded off tips, and pull out a few new ones to distribute around my studio.

 

[veinbuster]

Lighter ones I throw away when they warp, which they do after some 10s of hours of use. Thicker ones I let get lost.

 

[bodia]

I've, maybe, thrown out 8 picks since 1983

 

[sergiodeblanc]

This! Packing things up last month and yep, I swear I still have nearly every dang pick I ever acquired (can’t say I bought them all!). Since switching to Blue Chip picks a few years ago I haven’t used any other pick.

Oh, I just lose them.

 

[garrett]

When I used the Tortex picks, I'd eventually notice my picking got less accurate when they wore down enough. Into the bin they'd go.

But now that I have a couple of Blue Chip picks, I think these suckers will last me years before they wear down.

 

[Ovibos]

When they don't taste as good, since invariably they end up in my mouth at some point when I need my hands free.

 

[Mark Ray]

I have a little "superstition" when it comes to the picks I use. They have to be Fender, Medium, Blue Moto. I buy them by the gross on ebay as needed. I tend to really dig into the strings, and one side edge of them gets chewed up, to the point where they can snag and break a string. At a certain point I just drop it on the stage and grab another from my mike stand's pick holder (I usually use 2 or 3 per gig). I leave them where I drop them. Funny story with that: Last Saturday night we played at one of our regular establishments, and a guy who's usually there tried handing me one of the ones I had used there last month and discarded. I told him about my process and that he could keep the pick. Dude was like all happy LOL.

 

[László]

My fans treasure them when I throw them into the audience.

“Liar. You don’t have any fans.”

“Must you always follow me around and point out the obvious?”

 

[bodia]

My fans treasure them when I throw them into the audience.

“Liar. You don’t have any fans.”

“Must you always follow me around and point out the obvious?”

I'd call ya out anyway. No way you're toss Blue Chips into the crowd!

 

[bodia]

When I used the Tortex picks, I'd eventually notice my picking got less accurate when they wore down enough. Into the bin they'd go.

But now that I have a couple of Blue Chip picks, I think these suckers will last me years before they wear down.

Between those, and Red Bear, I'll never need another pick.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

I use ‘em till I lose ‘em.

Now that I use Gravity picks, I am careful not to lose so many.

 

[CandidPicker]

My fans treasure them when I throw them into the audience.

“Liar. You don’t have any fans.”

“Must you always follow me around and point out the obvious?”

Scrap that idea, Mr. Pen Pal.

 

[walrus]

I use Dunlop Ultex .6 triangles. They can get worn after a while, but it looks like I'm the odd man out - I replace the pick when I change strings. I love the feel of a new pick, and the feel and sound of new strings! I change my acoustic strings every two months, and my PRS Hollowbody strings every month. Depending, maybe 20 hours of playing per month on the PRS, a bit less on the Guild acoustic.

It's a pretty inexpensive "treat" to give myself. I only have two guitars!