BUYING GUIDE: Guitar Picks

These rules aren't hard and fast.  They are just things I've noticed over the past decade as I've progressed from a beginner player to more of an intermediate player.

I like these tortex guitar picks because they work well when I get nervous playing in front of other people and don't slip out of my hands.  I might have slightly sweaty hands normally.  The sweat kicks into high gear when I get nervous.

My go to for strumming an acoustic (.73mm)

You could even go thinner if you are really just starting out (.50mm)

 

 

 

When you are starting out, you need a very thin flexible pick.  They make for a much nicer sound strumming.  The pick breaks the angle for you and you don't have to be as skilled with the strum.  

Over time, you start to figure out how to let your wrist break the angle instead of the pic and you can strum pretty well with a thick pick. 

In the long run I tended to gravitate towards thicker picks even for strumming as they are better for individual notes and soloing.  Thinner picks start to warp if I strum for too long and they get twisted where a thicker pick will not do that.  For me a thicker pick is way more versatile, but there is a price to pay at first as they are harder to use for a good strumming sound when you begin.

My go to pick for both strumming and picking (.88mm)

The above is my go to for strumming and soloing.  I was not able to strum nicely with a pick this thick when I first started out though.  It made a really thuddy sound as my wrist wasn't able to break naturally and make it work.  It's something you get better at over time.

 

by Peter (5/26/2020)