Picks and Plectrums

guitarjack66

Inspired by a post which mentioned pick thicknesses I thought I'd raise a slightly different point about them. While most guitar teachers and even us players just blindly throw out pick thicknesses in terms of preferences I have found that picks of exactly the same thickness can still be more or less flexible or 'bendy' and I feel this is just as important as thickness,maybe even more so. Most of my favoured picks are in the .73 range but there are notable differences in their flexibility. 

Is this point(haha!) often overlooked?

TheMadMick

Stiffness is important - especially if you're struggling with the post picking click. I found the answer to that on Acoustic Guitar. You need to hold the pick nearer the picking area to minimise flexing. However, that does influence the tone.

To widen the debate - the other thing that makes a difference is how sharp the part of the pick is that comes into contact with the strings. The sharper the area, the brighter the tone.

Picks, the oft forgotten aspect of tone.

PS is the plural of plectrum not plectra - any classics scholars out there who can clarify?

guitarjack66

I'm a fan of rounded edges and more of the pick showing through my fingers than less. I just feel a bit more comfortable this way.
I certainly can hear stiffer picks sound more like the sound of their material,particularly plastic.

jaymenon

TheMadMick said:

PS is the plural of plectrum not plectra - any classics scholars out there who can clarify?

the plural of ‘plectrum’ is indeed ‘plectra’

DavidR

TheMadMick said:

Stiffness is important - especially if you're struggling with the post picking click. I found the answer to that on Acoustic Guitar. You need to hold the pick nearer the picking area to minimise flexing. However, that does influence the tone.

To widen the debate - the other thing that makes a difference is how sharp the part of the pick is that comes into contact with the strings. The sharper the area, the brighter the tone.

Picks, the oft forgotten aspect of tone.

PS is the plural of plectrum not plectra - any classics scholars out there who can clarify?

Yes. Latin 2nd declension noun. So like bellum (war). The plural nominative is therefore plectra. I actually failed Latin 'O'level in 1970 but I can still remember the declensions and conjugations, some of them anyway. Must have been beaten into me!

(Note that, in English usage, it can be a bit keen to use the Latin plural of nouns which have successfully leapt from Latin into English. Hence you could say forums, maximums, ultimatums etc. Not fora, maxima or ultimata. I suspect that the correct English for the plural of plectrum is therefore plectrums).

Or plectra. You choose.

What re really need here is a Stratocaster playing Latin professor!    :-)

roberty

1mm nylon is way more flexible than 1mm tortex. I think that is what makes nylon picks a bit nicer for acoustic

roberty

DavidR said:

TheMadMick said:

Stiffness is important - especially if you're struggling with the post picking click. I found the answer to that on Acoustic Guitar. You need to hold the pick nearer the picking area to minimise flexing. However, that does influence the tone.

To widen the debate - the other thing that makes a difference is how sharp the part of the pick is that comes into contact with the strings. The sharper the area, the brighter the tone.

Picks, the oft forgotten aspect of tone.

PS is the plural of plectrum not plectra - any classics scholars out there who can clarify?

Yes. Latin 2nd declension noun. So like bellum (war). The plural nominative is therefore plectra. I actually failed Latin 'O'level in 1970 but I can still remember the declensions and conjugations, some of them anyway. Must have been beaten into me!

(Note that, in English usage, it can be a bit keen to use the Latin plural of nouns which have successfully leapt from Latin into English. Hence you could say forums, maximums, ultimatums etc. Not fora, maxima or ultimata. I suspect that the correct English for the plural of plectrum is therefore plectrums).

Or plectra. You choose.

What re really need here is a Stratocaster playing Latin professor!    :-)

According to wikipedia:

"Plectrum" has both a Latin-based plural, plectra and a native English plural, plectrums.

I think you're probably okay unless you start mixing Latin and English plurals, eg "I have enough plectra to fill several stadiums"

BillDL

Sex et dimidium duodecim. Linguae hodiernae pigrae fiunt et evolvuntur.

Soupman

Or just call them picks.... 

fastonebaz

I like to store all my picks inside my acoustic. 

maltingsaudio

Pick feel flexibility and tone is a big rabbit hole, yes different makes of pick at the same weight, differ enormously in feel and tone, you need to find the one that suits not only your style but also the guitar you are using. Reference my comments in the other thread using a heavier plectrum to get the strings vibrating more to get a better tone may improve your perception of how the guitar sounds, the downside is you are going to have to spend time adjusting your technique to accommodate the change in feel.    

Mellish

@maltingsaudio is right.

My favourite pick is a Dunlop Tortex red, point 50mm. Recently I bought a pack of 12. Even though they are the same make and same thickness, they don't all give the same sound  

guitarjack66

Mellish said:

@maltingsaudio is right.

My favourite pick is a Dunlop Tortex red, point 50mm. Recently I bought a pack of 12. Even though they are the same make and same thickness, they don't all give the same sound  

Absolutely. This is the thing when youtube and social media instructors talk about picks,they almost always only talk about thickness. Little mention of shape,triangular,teardrop,sharpened,round and so on,let alone the materials they are made from. It really isnt just a case of .77 or .83 or 1 or 2mm and so on.

Soupman

With me, it's about grip - I like the tortex .50s (the red ones) but find they feel a bit slippery as soon as the satin finish wears off.
Someone got me some hobgoblin (the beer) ones which were about 1mm and decent, but I had to dribble bostick runs over them to grip!
Then I found the 0.50 Herco nylon ones which have a patterned top which I can keep hold of.

Fred Kelly makes identical thumb picks in either 'poly' or 'delrin' - the delrin ones sound warmer.
Your point about shape is also valid @guitarjack66 .
FK speed picks (delrin) have a narrow toungue (so more flex) and sound different to his regular shaped ones in the same material.
Gawd this is getting nerdy. Sorry mate!
   

Tannin

DavidR said:

(Note that, in English usage, it can be a bit keen to use the Latin plural of nouns which have successfully leapt from Latin into English. Hence you could say forums, maximums, ultimatums etc. Not fora, maxima or ultimata. I suspect that the correct English for the plural of plectrum is therefore plectrums).

Or plectra. You choose.

What re really need here is a Stratocaster playing Latin professor!    :-)

A forum plus another forum is two fora every time. 
Maxima - yes.
Ultimata - a bridge too far.

As for plectrums (um, should I be saying "plectra", not sure about that one) when I used to use them I liked thinish, medium flexible ones with very rounded elliptical tips. I had a box of 100 or so, which lasted me for decades. Now I can't find them. (Not that I need to anymore, I'm fingers-only these days.) 

With the rounded tip (and to some extent even with a sharp tip) you could vary the strength of the pluck by rotating your wrist a little so as to angle the plectrum at (say) 15 degrees to the string. That gives a much harder pluck because it is less prone to bend. 

Failing those (after I wore them all out / broke them / lost them) the old Jim Dunlop .73 would always do at a pinch.

bertie

its plectrums,   its a word of latin origins that's been brought into the english language and "adapted"

Mellish

@Soupman ;;; try liquid chalk on the Dunlop Tortex red.

I don't use it but you may find it makes the surface less "slippery"  

Soupman

@Mellish never heard of liquid chalk, so googled it. I see weightlifters use it for improved grip.
Thanks for the tip, but the plec isn't that heavy.....

randella

roberty said:

1mm nylon is way more flexible than 1mm tortex. I think that is what makes nylon picks a bit nicer for acoustic

I use Dunlop Jazz III XLs. I like the Ultex ones (opaque) for electric - they're pretty much unyielding. The Jazz III XL standard black one, made from nylon, is the same thickness with a bit of flex in which I prefer for acoustic. The nylon gives a slightly nicer tone - probably making this up and it's certainly (massively) subjective but the nylon sounds ever so slightly less scratchy and brash to me.

Other than that, I like the pointy tip - I always disliked worn-out picks. Finally, and I think this is a big part of it, the Jazz picks are great to hold with the textured surface. There's something reassuring about them, I think that feel is important.

Anyway it's a rabbit-hole alright. I've been playing for decades now and only switched to these a few years back. Pretty much used Tortex up to that point.

Mellish

@Soupman ; rock/speed climbers use it too. Forget weight, the primary function here is GRIP  

guitarjack66

Soupman said:

With me, it's about grip - I like the tortex .50s (the red ones) but find they feel a bit slippery as soon as the satin finish wears off.
Someone got me some hobgoblin (the beer) ones which were about 1mm and decent, but I had to dribble bostick runs over them to grip!
Then I found the 0.50 Herco nylon ones which have a patterned top which I can keep hold of.

Fred Kelly makes identical thumb picks in either 'poly' or 'delrin' - the delrin ones sound warmer.
Your point about shape is also valid @guitarjack66 .
FK speed picks (delrin) have a narrow toungue (so more flex) and sound different to his regular shaped ones in the same material.
Gawd this is getting nerdy. Sorry mate!
   

Grip is very important to me too,but I keep meaning to buy those grip holders to try out. I dont fancy putting grip glue all over my hands so a grip would be better.