Pick the pick

[Ecadad]

Does anyone use a different weight pick for acoustic then for electric? I use a heavy pick for electric, but a light to medium on my acoustic. It just sounds less harsh and muddy on acoustic

[P Thought]

I switch 'em up frequently, but I tend to like lighter (medium), pointier picks when playing unplugged acoustics.

[rangercaster]

yes ... why not different picks for every guitar ??? ... and picks are cheap so it costs very little to try lots of them 'til you find the "right one" ...

[itsGreg]

Used to, but now I use 1mm brass on everything. Sounds great on an acoustic.

[felis]

1 mm for electric, none for acoustic.

[brookdalebill]

I used a boring old Fender medium for both, for years.
Now I'm into the Dunlop Eric Johnson for both.
Seems to work great.

[Mike Bruce]

I use the larger 3 point 1mm Dunlop Ultex on mandolin, and once in a while on guitar. My new usual guitar pick is a Tusq A1 (after years of Dava GripPicks and Dunlop Ultex). Fred Kelly thumbpick and nails for fingerpicking.

Generally I use the same pick on electric as I do on acoustic.

[colinsthename]

I used to use a Fender medium pick for everything. I ended up getting into bluegrass, and switched over to a really heavy pick for acoustic, still using the lighter pick on electric. Lately, I've been using the same pick for everything (Blue Chip TD50). Easier to keep track of, and I reeeally love the tone. It's difficult for me to go back to anything less than 1mm thick, it just feels like I'm trying to pick with a sheet of paper!

[Chiogtr4x]

I have always used the same pick brand (at least since they first came out) and gauge for acoustic and electric: the green Dunlop Tortex .88's/regular classic shape... BUT about 2-3 years ago I went down in gauge (originally for some more 'snap'/articulation only on the acoustic, but eventually electric too) to the yellow .73's- just a perfect pick for me

[skimballc]

I only use a 1.4 mm horn 'mock tortoise' pick. Anything plastic sounds too muddy to me, and anything thinner is too flimsy.

[blue metalflake]

Of late I've tended towards a medium pick for acoustic, rather than my normal thin pick for electrics. It sounds much fuller.

[LGOberean]

I use two different picks, whether on acoustic or electric, for different tones.

One is a Jim Dunlop Nylon Standard, in .73mm gauge. I use this nylon for a softer attack, for a warmer/easy listening/jazz kind of tone. I also use this nylon pick for when I'm playing a classical/nylon string guitar with a pick. Also, I use this one on my Wechter Nashville-tuned (high string guitar), because the gauge of the strings is so light.



For everything else, acoustic or electric, I use Star Picks by Everly Music, also .73mm gauge.

[gtrguru]

Dunlop Tortex for electric and sometimes on acoustic. For strumming I actually prefer the tone of a medium light nylon pick. I think the pick changes the tone on an acoustic more than on an electric.

As other posts have started picks are cheap so why not try them all.

[LGOberean]

Originally Posted by P Thought

I switch 'em up frequently ...

Originally Posted by rangercaster

yes ... why not different picks for every guitar ??? ... and picks are cheap so it costs very little to try lots of them 'til you find the "right one" ...

Originally Posted by gtrguru

... As other posts have started picks are cheap so why not try them all.

Actually, I agree. Even though, as previously stated, I have settled on two favorites, I came to my choices of my present favorites over time, a trial and error process. And I'm sure at some point I'll experiment again. A package of picks is a cheap "gear" purchase, and the different feel may cause you to play something differently, to develop a new attack, which can produce a subtle nuance to your playing.

And a by-product of experimentation can be a sharing thing. Along the way, I tried a pack (well, a tin, actually) of Snarling Dogs Brain Picks.




The textured/tactile area of the pick extends down so low on the pick that it would catch on the strings and flip out of my hand. This rarely happens with the Dunlops I use. I'm sure it's just the way I hold the pick, but then again, for better or worse, that is the way I hold a pick.

I had shared one of those picks with a 21 year old kid that's just been playing for a few years. The next time I asked him about the pick, he said it's all he uses now; he loves 'em. So I gave him the remaining picks, tin and all.

Yeah, they're cheap, so it was hardly a magnanimous gesture. Still, it felt good to share.

[braderrick]

I still like the old DAVA control picks for my electrics but like HEAVY tortoise shell type picks for my acoustic stuff (bluegrass). I've recently started to get used to using the heavy picks on electrics though.

[gtrguru]

Originally Posted by braderrick

I still like the old DAVA control picks for my electrics but like HEAVY tortoise shell type picks for my acoustic stuff (bluegrass). I've recently started to get used to using the heavy picks on electrics though.

Oh ya those are great. I used to use them all the time. I hope I still have some left.

[kmacaster]

V-pick Chicken Picker. 1.5 mm, the shape of a jazz pick, and difficult to find when dropped.

[BillNeaves]

Bluechip 40mm on electric and a 45mm on acoustic.

[P Thought]

Originally Posted by kmacaster

V-pick Chicken Picker. 1.5 mm, the shape of a jazz pick, and difficult to find when dropped.

I bought one of those recently, and I like it a lot. It's my favorite among my V-picks, at least. Good feel, good sound, easy to hold on to, especially after it warms to your hand. Looks pretty cool, too. It's parked in my nylon-string Tak right now.

[braderrick]

Originally Posted by gtrguru

Oh ya those are great. I used to use them all the time. I hope I still have some left.

Haha yeah I love those old green picks. For a short while I started to have a hard time finding them locally so I went online and bought a few hundred in bulk just in case. Looks like they're still making them though. Been wanting to try some blue chip picks for my bluegrass pickin but haven't saved up enough money yet lol.