What kind of pick?

[robtwagner]

Hi,

I'm new to playing guitar and just getting started. Does it matter what brand or material a pick is ?

Thanks

[richardk]

Hi Mike,

I'd try out a few in a music store and see what feels right for you. There are dozens of different materials, shapes and gauges to choose from. If you find one that you like, go ahead and buy half a dozen of them or so. They have a tendency to disappear.

I personally use a thinner pick for strumming and a heavier one for picking (and a real thick, 3mm pick for electric guitar).

One thing that's more important than the pick itself is how to hold it. Neil has posted a video on that here: http://www.totallyguitars.com/blog/archives/141
It's pretty crucial to do that correctly from the get go since it can be quite difficult to change it later on. At least it is for me.

Have fun,

Richard

[rcsnydley]

Hey Mike,

Richard is right the best thing to do is go to your local music store and check out a bunch of different ones (i.e. material, thickness, shape, size). Pick a few your like and take them home. Play with each of them and see what works the best for you. You may find that like Richard you will like and use different picks for different things. I used to use thinner picks for strumming and thicker picks for lead, but now I pretty much used a thicker pick for everything.

Enjoy
Ric

[Chasplaya]

Good advice so far, just really get a hold of as many different types and get the feel for it also make sure you know how to hold it properly and strike the strings correctly. I tend to use a medium weight one for all my guitars now I recently got a tin of Fender 60th Anniversary picks medium and they are really cool.

[joedever50]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the great advice. I really appreciate it.

[Chasplaya]

Just in case anyone might be interested, I just saw stone picks on a New Zealand auction site 'Trade Me' , they are cool looking picks made out of Agate.

[chris_25411]

i like a 66mm the best out of them all

[s2welee]

I am currently into these really thin Peavy picks that my local store carries (I strum mainly, but flatpick a few things). They have a slight dish to them that makes them fit my thumb perfectly.

-Whit

[Chasplaya]

My old guitar teacher used to drill a hole into the centre of each pick which certainly helps you hold onto the thing. I think you can buy them like that but its a useful tip if you have sweaty hands/fingers. I did a few like that and it helped not because of sweaty fingers but if you drill them in the right place then it gets you to hold the pick at the right place without thinking too much about it.

[Valleyguy]

The problem is most stores sell picks in a pack of a dozen. Starting out you should want a thin pick as it is easier to use. Thicker picks require more precise control and attack. I have moved to thicker picks as i have improved over the years.

Start with a Dunlop Tortex red, which is .50mm, then move to a yellow .73mm or green, .88mm. they go up to 1.14mm, whcih are real stiff. Lighter is good for strumming, thicker for flatpicking and leads, though the lead player I play with uses the reds for leads, so go figure.....