Pick REALLY shape your tone

Shibby

Shibby

New member
First of all I'm used to hearing all my firends talk "Use a thicker pick, man, it's cool to use at least 1,14mm picks" like they're trying to say if you're not using thick picks that means you don't have balls.
I'm gonna share my experience with you guys. I simply love two picks
- Fender Thin/Medium .60mm
- Dunlop Gator Grip .96mm
The first one is reallu accentuating high mids and high and gives certain grit to distortion (very Jimmy Page like sounding)
And the latter really smoothens distorted sounds and makes lower mids to stand out.

My point is that - don't listen to others, when they say what is best.
Listen to your sound, your ear and preference.
And try different picks on your way to YOUR sound. It's the cheapest way to change your tone.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I only use Dunlop Black Gold Jazz picks on my electrics. When properly played in, they let me sound as smooth as i want, and as gritty and bitey as i want. All by varying the touch.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I picked up an old pick the other day that I used when I first learned guitar, I think it was 2.00 mm, a Dunlop jelly I believe (clear with a very rounded tip). It sounded completely lifeless, with absolutely no highs coming out, none of the normal pick noise.

I'm sticking with my Dunlop Ultex picks, 1.00 mm. I've tried tons of picks and this is the one I like.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

Thickness does affect the tone by a lot, but I think the angle of the pick when it hits the string matters a lot too - if not more.

Most of us do it without thinking about it. Basically the more parallel to the string the pick is, the higher the tone gets.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I like the dunlop type plastic vs. the harder fender type plastic, plus they get all slick.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I agree 100%. I'll use .88mm tortex for faster playing and .71mm gators for digging in deep and open chords.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

fingerace said:
Thickness does affect the tone by a lot, but I think the angle of the pick when it hits the string matters a lot too - if not more. Most of us do it without thinking about it. Basically the more parallel to the string the pick is, the higher the tone gets.
Click to expand...

I agree. I use .88's & pick at an angle for bite, and I like the sound of pick attack coming through the amp.

I think the pick thickness you use is based a lot on how thick your strings are.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I choose picks by feel mostly. It's more of a matter of how they effect my playing. The pick material effects the attack sound. Tone? I don't know. I can play with a sample pick from a store, and it sounds ok.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

Pete Galati said:
I choose picks by feel mostly. It's more of a matter of how they effect my playing. The pick material effects the attack sound. Tone? I don't know. I can play with a sample pick from a store, and it sounds ok.
Click to expand...

Feel is an important factor too.
It's amazing how well gators stick to the fingers, and fenders have some slinkiness to them - they're "just right" for me.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

i use 2mm dunlop graphite adamas picks for everything. they allow me to get a nice array of tones. sux that they stopped making them, i need to make sure i dont lose the small stash i have left
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I use picks of various materials for different tone. But they're all in the .71 to .88 range. I have a couple really heavy picks I like to use for Rhythm stuff. I think they are called Dunlop sharps 2.0mm
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

for some reason i never was a big fan of dunlop and fender and other production picks. oddly enough, my personal fav has been those red picks they give you at the guitar center. its just something about them that attracts me to them. also when i bought my custom shop les paul, they sent me these black gibson custom shop picks that are also wonderful to use, but i have no idea where else you can find them.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I use .96mm picks, on occasion I also use "medium" picks (don't know the exact size). I like the feel of the .96mm, they just feel much more solid to me...on occasion I will use the medium for a slightly smoother feel.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I can't stand playing with anything above 1mm. Starts getting too high for me and I hear a lot of pick noise...

I can go as far as .50 with those orange dunlop Tortex pics shaped like a tear.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I definitely agree with the title of this thread. I experienced it quite vividly this week end.

For a wee while I have been using large Gibson pick as quite like the feel of those. It is only when I try one of the thick tortoise pick (I'd say slightly above 1mm) that I realize they were killing, or at least not completely giving the full dynamic range. I need to find out now what these picks are and get a pack of them.

Otherwise I quite like the thin plectr'o for strumming, they feel quite nice. The thicker ones feel good as well but give a kind of deaf / mat quality to the sound. They are made of a different plastic, a different texture and I really think they are quite interesting. These are the one with the hole in the middle. Some have no tip, and are just a ring, they are quite nice for strumming as well.

Used the green tortex for a while but never really enjoyed them particularly.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I grow my nails on my right hand, on every finger. If you can keep them in good shape, it gives you the best controle and tone ever.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I've been using the Gator grip Dunlops for a couple years now. The 2mm ones. I really like how they thickened up my tone and took a lot of the scrape out of my sounds. While perusing GC one day I saw the Dunlop Jazz picks and once I tried them I fell in love. They both have a huge effect on my sound and my playing. I like the Jazz picks for more articulate stuff and the 2mm Gators for chuggier more solid down picking type riffs.

But yeah picks will have a huge impact on your sound.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I love all the Dunlop Tortex picks, I have them all available. Thin for acoustic, mid-thin and mid-thick for electric based on that day's feel and heavy for bass.

Don't forget, even using the pick differently will affect your tone. I read that The Edge uses the fat side of his on an angle, and lo and behold, the Strat tone took one step closer to his tone.
 
Re: Pick REALLY shape your tone

I agree. I use a pretty thin gauge that i've used for a long time. Then my dad got me a pack of picks that were the wrong gauge. Dunlop heavys, 1.14. At first i was like "shoot, they're not what i normally use" but after a while i realized that when playing a strat thicker picks just sound better, at least to me. The ones i use are too thin, and the dunlops i got were to thick. So i think i'm going to invest in some that are just in the middle.
 
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