Guitar picks

there has been many threads like this
This one quite recently
http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=39975&start=0

I don't think genre matters. It's just a matter of using a pick you're comfortable with. Type and thickness may change over time -- I know it has for me. But there are no standards.

It is a subject that is raised every couple of months and the results are always the same. There is no "one size fits all" in Pickworld - everyone has a different opinion and many can't make their minds up and use several different picks (yes, I'm one of them :D ).

I have had lessons with two different teachers and both have tried to get me to use thick picks as they give better tone and are louder and say lighter picks cover up bad technique. I havent been able to get on with thick picks, it must be my poor technique :roll:

Your preferences change. I've even noticed my instructor change pick types over the years.

I think some genres can get away with any kind of pick, but I can't imagine playing any type of metal with a thin pick.

I don't have enough experience with playing the guitar to state, as well as I haven't used anything else other then what came with my guitar (cheap acoustic wife bought. QVC, don't make fun of me :D)

I do know that I don't have a good grip on my pick(s) and it moves around in my fingers very easily. Next time I get some strings, I'll pick up some picks (sorry bout that, no pun intended)

It's been said in several similar threads:
Picks are cheap.

Grab a variety and try em out.

You'll eventually find what feels best for you.

And then after you choose your favorite, grab one of the others every now and then, just to see if your preferences have changed.

I just read the Brian May never uses a pick- has always used a sixpence coin. Apparently he just likes the sound of copper coin on steel strings- plus the coin has serrated edges, which can be used to make weird sounds. Each to his own.

So last night I tried to play some Queen with a quarter, and it sounded like crap. :roll: I guess that the problem isn't so much using a coin, though- it's me.

Try a bunch, and try different things as well. I use a big stubby (2mm) on my electric 90% of the time, and a dunlop 0.71 on my acoustic for folky rock probably 50% of the time. The rest of the time, it's just my fingers and nails, or occasionally a paper clip.

:)
Ande

Picking with a coin's an old idea.

Watch the Nirvana "Unplugged" tape sometime and you'll see Pat Smear playing his old Buck Owens guitar with a quarter.

Credit cards are another old favorite for makeshift picks. Milk jugs once were, but the plastic's too thin and floppy nowadays.

Credit cards are another old favorite for makeshift picks. Milk jugs once were, but the plastic's too thin and floppy nowadays.

Is the price of picks really breaking the bank for these people?

No, but it's fun to experiment, and sometimes folks just get caught without a pick. Once I saved the day for a young man who was getting ready to perform in church and couldn't find his pick! I had one in my wallet and gave it to him.

I just read the Brian May never uses a pick- has always used a sixpence coin. Apparently he just likes the sound of copper coin on steel strings- plus the coin has serrated edges, which can be used to make weird sounds. Each to his own.
Ande
The sixpence, that Bryan May uses, is an old one (commonly called a "tanner"), from the days when they still had a high silver content. He must have quite a few, because they are quite soft and will wear reasonably quickly.

A coin, credit card, milk jug, paper clip . . . take your pick.