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A guitar pick is a type of plectrum designed for use on a guitar. Over time people have made picks of various materials, including nylon, plastic, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, and stone. The most often take the shape of an acute isosceles triangle with the two equal corners very rounded and the third corner rounded to a lesser extent. This shape is, however, merely one of many used by manufacturers.

Styles

Many picks have some form of imprint on them, from simple manufacturer logos to completely customized artist picks bearing the imprinted signature or bandlogo of the musician. One of the early "mass distributors" of customized guitar picks was Rick Nielsen of the rock band Cheap Trick. Rick's penchant for tossing out hundreds of customized picks over the course of a single concert is the stuff of legend. These artist picks have become more popular over the last few decades to the point it's somewhat rare to find a famous artist who doesn't use a custom pick. As the technology for printing improved over the years, so did the variety and quality of the imprints. What began as simple block lettering has evolved into multi-color and highly-detailed graphics. With such a wide variety available, people began collecting guitar picks as a full-fledged hobby. There is even a global network for collectors to trade their picks called PickNET that sprang up in 1994. Custom picks are available at concerts as the musicians frequently toss used picks out to the audience. Some artists even sell their picks through their websites or fanclubs.

Thickness

Guitar picks come in varying thicknesses to accommodate the different playing styles and kinds of strings. Thinner plectra are more flexible and tend to offer a wider range of sounds, from soft to loud, and produce a "click" that emphasizes the attack of the picking. However, some argue that heavier picks produce a brighter tone.

In rock and metal music, while playing electric guitar with hi-gain amplification or distortion, it is generally assumed that thinner picks produce muddier, heavier, less controllable sound and thicker picks produce more delicate, more controlled and well-shaped tone. Thus, thinner picks are usually used in extreme genres, such as death metal, black metal or punk rock. Thinner picks also tend to rip or tear more often if used too forcefully, whereas a thicker one is more likely to wear down over time. Thicker picks are generally used in more discreet genres, such as heavy metal or power metal. However, there are many exceptions to these stereotypes, especially as there is an element of guitarist preference involved in selecting pick thickness.

Many death metal musicians swear by picks thicker than 1.5mm, because it allows more control over heavy gauge strings. Thinner picks tend to give less attack and do not give as much control when doing fast tremolo picking. Also, they tend to wear much faster when used with heavier gauge strings.

Jazz guitar players tend to use quite heavy picks, as they also tend to favor heavy gauge flat-wound strings.

Whether there is truth in either judgement is up to the individual's opinion, and the choice is entirely a matter of personal preference.

Most manufacturers (Jim Dunlop, Alice, Teckpick) print down the thickness in mm or thousands right on the pick. Some other brands (Gibson, Fender, Peavey, Ibanez) occasionally use a somewhat cryptic system of letters or text designations to mark the thickness. Approximate guidelines to thickness ranges are presented in the following table:

Materials

Most common picks are made out of various types of plastic. Most popular plastics include:

• Celluloid. Historically, this was the first plastic ever used to produce picks, and it is still of some use today, especially for guitarists that want to get some vintage feel. Occasionally, guitarists who smoke have accidentally discovered the extremely flammable nature of this material.

• Nylon. Popular material, has a smooth and slick surface, so most manufacturers add a high-friction coating to nylon picks to make them easier to grip. Nylon is flexible and can be produced in very thin sheets. Most thin and extra-thin picks are made out of nylon. However, nylon loses its flexibility after 1-2 months of extensive use, becomes fragile and breaks, so guitarists that use thin nylon picks should have several spare picks just in case.

• Tortex / Delrex. Special plastic, designed to simulate tortoiseshell picks. Has a smooth, silky, opaque surface, surprisingly easy to grip even with sweaty fingers.

• Lexan. Glossy, glass-like, very hard surface, though it wears out relatively fast. Barely bends at all and it's commonly used only for thick and extra-thick picks (> 1 mm). Usually has a high-friction grip coating. Best known example of Lexan picks are Jim Dunlop Stubby series.

Modern plastics can be ranged this way from the easiest to bend to the hardest: Nylon, Delrin, Tortex / Delrex, Lexan. This means that the same medium (for example, 0.70–0.80 mm) pick would be fairly flexible if made out of nylon and very solid if made out of tortex.

Picks made out of steel will produce a much brighter sound than plastic ones. They do however wear the strings quickly and can easily damage the finish on the guitar if used for strumming especially on acoustic guitars. Brian May of Queen uses picks which replicate his original choice — a silver sixpence coin. Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top uses a regular Mexican peso.

Shapes

Some picks have small protrusions to make them easier to keep hold if the fingers start to sweat (very common on stage due to the hot lights). Some picks (as illustrated) will have a high-friction coating to help the player hold on to them. The small perforations in the stainless steel pick serve the same function. Many players will often have spare picks attached to a microphone stand or slotted in the guitar's pickguard.

The equilateral pick can be easier for beginners to hold and use since each corner is a playing edge.

The shark's fin pick can be used in two ways - normally employing the blunt end or the small perturbations can be raked across the strings producing a much fuller chord.

The sharp edged pick is used to create an easier motion of picking across the strings.

Bass players who use a pick normally use much heavier picks than guitar players. Some bass players find that coins make excellent picks, though some prefer slightly thinner picks to increase speed and endurance.

Technique

Picks are usually gripped with two fingers—thumb and index—and are played with pointed end facing the strings. That's the most common technique. However, it's a matter of personal preference and many notable musicians use alternate grips. For example, Eddie Van Halen holds the pick between his thumb and middle finger; James Hetfield and Steve Morse hold a pick using 3 fingers—thumb, middle and index; Pat Metheny holds a pick normally, but plays using the rounded side of the plectrum, as does George Lynch. Stevie Ray Vaughan also played with the rounded edge of the pick, citing the fact that the edge allowed more string attack than the tip. His manic, aggressive picking style would wear through pickguards in short order, and wore a groove in his beloved Fender Stratocaster, Number One, over his years of playing. Jimmy Rodgers and Freddie King have a special kind of technique utilizing two picks at once.

The motion of the pick against the string is also a personal choice. George Benson and Dave Mustaine, for example, hold the pick very stiffly between the thumb and index finger, locking the thumb joint and striking with the surface of the pick nearly parallel to the string, for a very positive, articulate, consistent tone. Other guitarists have developed a technique known as circle picking, where the thumb joint is bent on the downstroke, and straightened on the upstroke, causing the tip of the pick to move in a circular pattern. Circle picking can allow greater speed and fluidity. The angle of the pick against the string is also very personal and has a broad range of effects on tone and articulation. Many rock guitarists will use a flourish (called a pick slide or pick scrape) that involves scraping the pick along the length of a round wound string (a round wound string is a string with a coil of round wire wrapped around the outside, used for the heaviest three or four strings on a guitar; this wrapping creates a rippled surface that produces quite a distinct sound when scraped with a pick).

The two chief approaches to picking are alternate picking and economy picking. Alternate picking is when the player strictly alternates each stroke between downstrokes and upstrokes, regardless of changing strings. In economy picking, the player will use the most economical stroke on each note. For example, if the first note is on the fifth string, and the next note is on the fourth string, the pick will use a downstroke on the fifth string, and continue in the same direction to execute a downstroke on the fourth string. The economy picking technique sounds as though it would require more conscious thought to execute it but many guitarists learn it intuitively and find it an effort to use alternate picking. Conversely, some guitarists maintain that the down-up "twitch" motion of alternate picking lends itself to momentum better, and hence trumps economy picking at high speeds.

Jazz guitarist Tuck Andress has written a comprehensive article on picking technique, often cited on the web.

Picks wear out with use, and many guitarists prefer the playing "feel" of new picks.

Reference

1. Popoff, Martin (2006-01-20). "Pick Yer Poison — The Mysterious World Of Guitar Pick Collecting". Goldmine.

External links

• Guitar pick choosing tips
• Guitar Plectrums An brief article discussing the various aspects of guitar plectrums.
• Picks - How To Choose The One For You by Britt Burch, an article that compares various pick gauges and materials.

• Guitar parts and accessories