Pick Thickness - Does It Matter?

[Bingefeller]

Just wondering on what everyone's thoughts are on the thickness of picks and whether you feel it makes a difference when it comes to picking fast, strumming and stuff like that.

Personally I don't think it makes too much of a difference. However, if I was to use a very thin pick, such as a Jim Dunlop Nylon .60mm, then I find fast picking very difficult with this. The thinnest pick I can play normally with is a Dunlop .73mm Nylon.

On the other end of the scale, I don't know how some people play with really thick picks such as 2mm or 3mm. I think that you need to have some give in a pick to absorb some of the attack. The thicker the pick, I find, the more chance there is that it flies out of my hand when playing, especially when strumming!

Of course, it depends on the material as a 1.5mm Nylon pick wont be as stiff as a 1.5mm Dunlop or something like that.

I think that, when playing leads, if you angle the pick right then the thickness wont matter too much as you'll be striking the string with the edge of the pick and it shouldn't really flex. Think of getting hit with the edge of a ruler - it's very stiff - but when if you get hit with the face of it it flexs a bit more. This is how I look at picks.

[barney.]

i use the 3.0mm stubbys and to me they give more dynamics, better control for picking and better tone...you can really dig in when you need to, iff you done it with a thin pick it wouldnt have the same response....try a thicker plec ...specially the stubbys , i think they give better picking technique as well...without angling the pick and doing that machine gun type of thing...

[thereformant]

Thin pick sound shit when you tremelo pick while palm muted on the lower strings, you get a horrible scratchy noise on each stroke. I find it easier to get pinch harmonics with picks over 1mm. Currently i have a variety between 1mm and 2mm and cant settle on a favourite yet.

[thereformant]

fingers are better suited for strumming.

Thick picks are better for picking individual notes.

Fixed that for ya chief

[BucketheadRules]

My favourite picks are purple Tortexes, which are 1.14mm (it says here)... I find these are my favourite for all my electric requirements. For acoustic strumming I use thinner picks, not sure what gauge.

I can't play electric with shitty thin picks and I fucking hate Jazz IIIs as well. Green and purple Dunlop Tortex ones are the perfect thickness for me.

[mellowsun]

I pretty much use .88mm Dunlop Tortex's for everything, work well for strumming but stiff enough for alternate and economy picking, and work equally well for electric or acoustic.

Did experiment with 2mm and 3mm picks, but found they coloured the tone too much - particularly on acoustics, where they sound really horrible, IMHO.

[davilazita]

I use fingers mostly but I use 1-120 on my strat and 60-80 on the acoustics.

It does make a difference to be honest IMO thick picks are just a lot more accurate, you dont flap about with them, you know where they are all the time. Also when I started using thicker picks for electric I found it difficult at first but eventually it imroved my feel alot.

But strumming an acoustic with a thick pick sounds horrendous to my ears.

[ddlooping]

Pick Thickness - Does It Matter?

It does, very much so.

@Barney: I've started using the 3.0mm Stubbys fairly recently and quite like them (I used to use the Dunlop Jazz III XL).
However, if my fingers are not perfectly dry, they tend to rotate to the extent where I end up picking with the side of the pick. :/
Do you have the same problem?

[barney.]

It does, very much so.

@Barney: I've started using the 3.0mm Stubbys fairly recently and quite like them (I used to use the Dunlop Jazz III XL).
However, if my fingers are not perfectly dry, they tend to rotate to the extent where I end up picking with the side of the pick. :/
Do you have the same problem?

no idont have that problem with them, but with being smaller i used to drop them and with them being thicker they bounced all over the place ..iv got used to them now though and its well worth it..

i think iff you just stick in with them it will become easier and well worth it in the long run..

[stuagu]

2mm dunlop (purple) is what i uses oh yes. any less than that and i dont feels in control of the pick at all... oh no.