• From: North Europe
  • Registered: 2007-08-20
  • Posts: 135

Topic: Strumming With a pick

This is the flip side of the other strumming post. I am really not pleased with the tone I get when using a pick. So I was wondering if any pick (or plectrums as we used to call em in ancient Rome) user can reveal the tricks to soften up the tone. I am also confused by the thickness/material choices. The only thing I DO know is you need 10 so you can find 1 when you need it!

Suz

I am playing all the right notes - but not necessarily in the right order! [Eric Morecombe]
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 2,662

Re: Strumming With a pick

Jim Dunlop nylon picks are my choice. The .60's are very thin, .73's are thicker than the .60's but not too stiff. I use the .73's for most all of my guitar playing. They also have .88 and 1.00mm sizes.I use the .88's for my bass guitar. The best thing about nylon picks is they don't break, ever! The tips will wear down with time and then you'll have to replace it. I usually will get about 12-15 gigs with one pick. That's 48-60 hours of actual playing time. Go to a music store and try a few out. Here's a link;

http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=contact

Give everything but up.
  • From: Almancil, Algarve, Portugal
  • Registered: 2006-09-02
  • Posts: 6,198

Re: Strumming With a pick

Hi Suz

If you are always losing your picks you can buy a stick-on holder to keep attached to your guitar then you always know where they are.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Roger Guppy's Website

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
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  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Strumming With a pick

I use the same pick as SouthPaw, except I actually like the .88 for guitar playing.  I use a much larger pick when I use a pick on my bass.  Each time I go to the guitar store, I buy a few different styles of picks that I've never tried before just to see whether I like them.  The Jim Dunlops have been the ones I have found to be easiest to hold onto.  I play pretty loudly, so maybe I should try a softer pick.  Either that or learn to sing louder. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

5 Reply by HannahBeth (edited by last_rebel 2007-10-11 17:15:45)

  • From: Texas
  • Registered: 2007-07-31
  • Posts: 950

Re: Strumming With a pick

Dunlop .60's for me, sometimes I use a little thicker one. The soft picks tend to give that mellow sound I like about thumb strumming, but also the chicka chicka sound I get from a pick smile
  I use a pick and finger style, its not really fingerpicking, its more like picking/strumming....... does that make sense? Anyway I'm kind of backward, but very set in my ways lol

All You Need is Love smile

HannahBeth's Website

  • From: Ireland
  • Registered: 2007-09-23
  • Posts: 84

Re: Strumming With a pick

Jim Dunlop picks make the sound softer.

jaminfesteddonkey's Website

  • From: North Europe
  • Registered: 2007-08-20
  • Posts: 135

Re: Strumming With a pick

Looks like Jim Dunlop wins the day .. thanks for the feedback, gang.
Suz

I am playing all the right notes - but not necessarily in the right order! [Eric Morecombe]
  • etc_04
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  • From: OHIO
  • Registered: 2007-07-25
  • Posts: 204

Re: Strumming With a pick

Also see how the angle of the pick hitting the strings affects tone.

You have to forget about what other people say; when you're supposed to die, when you're supposed to be lovin'. You have to forget about all these things. You have to go on and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven.
                                                        -James Marshall Hendrix
  • From: Dearborn, Michigan USA
  • Registered: 2007-10-13
  • Posts: 15

Re: Strumming With a pick

I have found that the thickness of the the pick will change the tone of the sound.  I use Dunlop Thins (.50).  Play around wit different brands and thickness till you find the ones that give you the sound and ease of playing you want.  Picks are the cheapest tonal change that you can do for the sound you want.

Peace Love & Rock'n Roll
  • Registered: 2007-10-13
  • Posts: 1

Re: Strumming With a pick

hi i use the "HERDIM" 3 sided pick, 3 thicknesses in one with a non-slip centre, it also has a bit that looks like it could be used to cut pastry ??!! the Germans think of everything lol

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Re: Strumming With a pick

I am a Dunloper too, and as far I can read it correct (I use the a lot) it sais .73, it is not the really soft picks, but I don't like "picks" you can't bend with your fingers. I take them and try to squeeze, if it bends, I take it. Fender has some good picks too.
Too soft, be careful, I had received some martin picks, I got them for free and I choose very light, but I think they are all broken.
If I am not wrong, there were once pics made from the shell of a turtle, and some guitar playrs still use a coin.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Strumming With a pick

I've been converted to Wedgies. They have like a wee impression on them for your thumb to sit in. Very comfortable to hold, less slip. I use 60's, I like just a little bend in my pick. Just a little though.
I used to have problems with how it sounded strumming with a pick but I discovered that it was down to how I was holding it.
Just one other thing. Try recording yourself strumming. I bet you don't sound as bad as you think.

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • Registered: 2007-09-18
  • Posts: 1

Re: Strumming With a pick

I fold a peace of paper for my pck

  • From: Cincinnati, OH
  • Registered: 2007-07-16
  • Posts: 282

Re: Strumming With a pick

Alvee, I tried the wedgies, but because of the impression for your thumb, I got the sense that pick wasn't bending the same on the upstroke--I get one out of the "pick box" every now and then, but just can't get used to them.  I'm still stuck on the Tortex .58's...I think that is a dunlop product too.  Use a heavier one...the yellow one whatever that is, for my electric.  Has anyone tried the Ultex pics?  I like how they sound but the lightest .6 feels real stiff to me.  Think I'm going to try the Clayton pics because they come in this cammo pattern that looks pretty cool...hey, there's a good reason to buy 'em.
Dunlop has a lot of strong products I think--my favorite capo is a dunlop and I love it.  All my guitar cleaner / wax stuff is dunlop...good stuff.

  • Zurf
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  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
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Re: Strumming With a pick

alvee33 wrote:

I've been converted to Wedgies. They have like a wee impression on them for your thumb to sit in. Very comfortable to hold, less slip. I use 60's, I like just a little bend in my pick. Just a little though.
I used to have problems with how it sounded strumming with a pick but I discovered that it was down to how I was holding it.
Just one other thing. Try recording yourself strumming. I bet you don't sound as bad as you think.

Just got some of these.  I feel like I have a lot more control.  But mine do not have any bend and  it is LOUD!  I'm going to try some more of these with a thinner construction.  One of the next things for me to learn is picking arpeggios, inversions and scales, which will require far more pick control than I have now. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: Ontario
  • Registered: 2007-06-09
  • Posts: 25

Re: Strumming With a pick

i know its old, but just thought id add, im using Dunlop 1.5s haha