Different Picks for Different Licks

[Bellycaster]

Hi

This has probably been discussed before, but do any of you guys prefer to use different pick gauges for different styles of playing?

eg: Thinner picks for funk 16th strumming and regular for, say blues solos etc.

This is not for TONE but for ease of playing different styles!

I use 0.71's but keep wanting to use a slightly thinner pick for funk. Some online "teachers" recommend you stick to the same gauge whatever the style, so you get used to 1 type??????????????

Cheers

[erictheweary]

Just seen Paul Simon mentioned on another thread and he is the only guitarist I can recall describing using different picks for different songs, on acoustic a tone thing as much as a style thing I think.

[Grunfeld.]

Three different picks regularly used:

Big Stubby 2mm for most things. (Or 3mm, depends on mood.)

Purple Tortex 1.14 for thrashy punk things. More wear-resistant than Stubbies. If I don't use Tortex I'll totally round off a Stubby in the first set.

V pick -- yep, I've actually found a use for them -- when learning lead work which I find a bit tricky. Just seems easier somehow. When I've got it I'll take over with a Stubby.

[monquixote]

Would never use a thinner pick for funk. It's about pick control not a thinner pick.

I use a Carbon Fibre Jazz III for everything on electric and a big stubby for bass.

[Bellycaster]

Three different picks regularly used:

Big Stubby 2mm for most things. (Or 3mm, depends on mood.)

Purple Tortex 1.14 for thrashy punk things. More wear-resistant than Stubbies. If I don't use Tortex I'll totally round off a Stubby in the first set.

V pick -- yep, I've actually found a use for them -- when learning lead work which I find a bit tricky. Just seems easier somehow. When I've got it I'll take over with a Stubby.

2MM ? Jeez, I thought 1mm was fat. That would be like trying to play with a biscuit to me

[Bellycaster]

Would never use a thinner pick for funk. It's about pick control not a thinner pick.

I use a Carbon Fibre Jazz III for everything on electric and a big stubby for bass.

I was thinking of the Physics of the situation. To me, the thinner the pick, the less resistance there is. I have held off from trying to alternate pick thickness. Every guitarist is different, we don't all have the same physiology. I'm sure all guitarists do not hold there pick exactly the same way. I think I am slightly unorthodox, thus I have to compensate in some minor ways. I hope this makes sense.

[monquixote]

I was thinking of the Physics of the situation. To me, the thinner the pick, the less resistance there is. I have held off from trying to alternate pick thickness. Every guitarist is different, we don't all have the same physiology. I'm sure all guitarists do not hold there pick exactly the same way. I think I am slightly unorthodox, thus I have to compensate in some minor ways. I hope this makes sense.

Is it because you want more flexibility?

In which case you might want to try a different material rather than a different thickness.

[guitarfishbay]

My favourite picks are the Dunlop Nylon range. I use a 1mm for electric usually, and varying sizes for acoustic, .60mm for strumming and either a .73mm or .88mm for picking/strumming depending on the balance of picking to strumming in the song.

For playing metal/anything requiring a lot of fast picking I use a dunlop tortex 1.14mm 'the wedge'. It is the best compromise I've found between comfort, rigidity, and a sharp tip (which I find helps with fast picking/sweep picking).

A good compromise pick to keep in your wallet is a Dava control pick. They cover a lot of ground just be adjusting your grip.

I used to use Jazz IIIs for electric, but I found I couldn't re-adjust to larger picks for playing acoustic quick enough after using them so I no longer use them. I tend to stick with regular size picks all the time now to minimise changes needed in technique. The one exception is for playing bass, where I like using thick triangle shaped picks because I find them easier to use against the fatter strings of a bass.

[frankus]

I use red Jazz XLs ... it's all to do with how hard I grip them... or more often than not I palm it (hence the XL) and play with my fingers.

[Viz]

Always use a 2p for Don't Stop Me Now solo