Learn about the different types of guitar picks: manufacturing materials, Thickness, Sizes and Shapes. How to hold the pick correctly.
There are many different types of picks, with different characteristics, sizes, thicknesses, hardness and materials used in their manufacturing. Due to these factors, a pick can deliver a greater or lesser attack depending on its hardness.
A plectrum can also be used for strumming, staccato, or plucking. This accessory can even give the instrument a different tone, depending on its make materials.
Guitar Picks: Different Thickness
When it comes to the thickness or hardness of a pick, there are three main groups:
- Soft picks would be 0.4mm thick or less.
- Medium picks would be between 0.5 and 1mm.
- And the Hard ones would be those that are 1mm thick or more
A soft pick gives us a softer attack and a slightly duller tone. On the other hand, a thicker and harder pick gives us a more violent attack and tone. For this reason, picks of a certain thickness are often used in hard musical genres such as Metal music. In addition, a hard pick allows us to attack strings of a certain gauge much better, since it is very common to use thick gauges of strings to play these styles.
In any case, it is advisable for beginners to use picks of medium or light hardness. Once you have reached a certain level of mastery, you can try harder picks, if you ever need them. Soft picks are geared towards rhythm and strumming, hard ones towards staccato and plucking, and intermediate picks would be in an all-round area.
Types of Guitar Pick Materials
As for the materials used to make the pick, there is practically no material that cannot be used to make it: plastics, wood, bone, metals, ivory, stone, tortoise shell, etc.
Each material used in the made of a pick will contribute its own particular tone, so this is something to take into account apart from the grip, size or hardness of the pick.
Celluloid, Nylon, or Tortex
Among the plastic materials that we can find in the manufacture of different types of guitar picks, we have celluloid. One of the first plastic materials used in the manufacture of this type of accessory, and it is also one of the most used materials today. Very appropriate for classic or vintage sounds. In fact, picks made of celluloid are usually accompanied by the word Classic, such as Fender Classic guitar pick.
Another widely used material is nylon. Its particularity is its flexibility and low noise when attacking the string. Some people think that nylon picks are for acoustic or Spanish guitars, but nylon picks have always been used to play electric guitars, such as the Dunlop Jazz III. One of the most popular types of guitar picks among musicians.
Nowadays, one of the most popular plastic materials is Tortex, used by the Dunlop brand. Delrex is basically the same material, but this variant is used by the D’Andrea brand. These materials are used as a replacement for tortoise shell, which was withdrawn from the market in 1970.
Both the Delrex and Tortex have a matte finish and a very pleasant velvety feel, as well as good grip. They also have the typical shape of the guitar pick Jazz III by the Dunlop brand.
This would be the most common, but Brian May, for example, has used a sixpence coin as a pick, which gave him a metallic tone, and according to Brian, gave him a fuller sound. Some people even shape the coin into a pick. I don’t know what the Federal Reserve thinks of this, but the result is quite striking.
Guitar Picks: SIZES
The size of the pick is usually chosen according to personal taste. However, for beginners it is advisable not to use a pick that is too small, to avoid it constantly slipping through their fingers.
- The most popular pick shape and size is the 351, which is medium sized and has a rounded tip.
- The famous Jazz pick would be somewhat smaller than the 351, and with a sharper tip.
- Teardrop plectrum and a very small size.
- In large picks we have the 346 shape, but we also have it in a reduced version (Baby).
- And the largest would be the 355 model, with a wingspan of almost 4cm. This model is the one used by Mr. Carlos Santana.
There is also a shark fin shape, which is a kind of multi-purpose pick. With different tips that can be used depending on the situation, and with undulations on one side to be able to scrape the strings more efficiently.
Guitar Pick Cutters
There are also pick-shaped cutters, so we can make our own picks out of plastic sheets, business or credit cards, or anything else we can fit into the cutter.
A pick should satisfy us in terms of response, grip and tone, but this may depend on each string gauge, tuning or musical theme. We may need several types of picks to have them available depending on the theme or situation.
In short, the thing is to try a good assortment of different picks to choose the models that best suit our personal taste. Since the prices for standard models are quite affordable, and it is the only way to find our pick.
As I have mentioned on several occasions, there is no such thing as a set rule here. On the contrary, innovation is highly valued in the electric guitar world. So if you want to experiment with anything that can be used as a pick, go ahead, as in the aforementioned case of the sixpence coin. Or if you want to do without the picks and play with your fingers, fine. You wouldn’t be the first (Mark Knopfler, Richie Kotzen, Jeff Beck, etc…)
How to Hold and Use a Guitar Pick
The standard way to hold the pick is with half of the pick free, and the other half covered by the index finger and thumb.
The contact between the fingers and the pick is usually made with the tip of the thumb and the side of the third phalanx of the index finger. This way, the plectrum will be well held and stabilized, but without having the hand tense.
Your hand should be relaxed, but at the same time you should hold the pick firmly. You can practice this technique running the pick along your leg as if you were scratching yourself. This can help you grasp the concept, to keep a good grip with your fingers, while relaxing your hand to strum or pluck with precision.
We can hold the pick more towards the tip, so that the artificial harmonics emerge more easily. In this way we can slightly stop the vibration of the string with the side of the thumb, immediately after plucking the string with the pick. This way the harmonics will appear almost without realizing it. Although it is better not to overdo this effect, and to use it in a surprising way, rather than abusively.
We can also attack the string with the entire surface of the pick, which will give us a jazzy feel. Or we can twist the pick a little to attack the string with the edge of the pick, to get a more rock touch.
