Pick your PICK!!

[Forgotten]

they are good for pinching out some extra harmonics too when doing pinched harmonics.

I learned, or more accurately became more acute at pinch harmonics by practicing them without a pick at all

Interesting...don’t think I ever tried without a pick.

[Jafo]

I learned, or more accurately became more acute at pinch harmonics by practicing them without a pick at all

Hardcore. I approve!

[Mats Eriksson]

I remember those sharkfins. ... Good picks to have in the toolbox.

Yes, yet few people knows how to REALLY make use of the sharkfin pick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lyp3L6 ... e=youtu.be

I still haven't heard of any other pick that can be tucked away inside you fingers while swapping over to fingerpicking at the drop of a hat. First one I've heard of, and only one.

It's true that the pick can really make a difference to tone, just like strings - it's probably the no.1 factor, apart from your pups and how they are wound.

Yes, but hands to your hearts everyone, when you walk into a music shop and want to buy a new pick, I've never heard of anyone trying it out on any guitar. You just bounce it against your other fingers with a grip and are totally satisfied with that. The music shop won't let you wear and tear the pick with trying it out on any guitar, which should be crucial. Not even if you bring your own guitar. And yet they're pretty important for the resulting tone. I've never tried it out until I bought it and brought it home and went ... "meh" . Try that with a Blue Chip pick if you'd like...

Beats me.

[codec_spurt]

they are good for pinching out some extra harmonics too when doing pinched harmonics.

I learned, or more accurately became more acute at pinch harmonics by practicing them without a pick at all

Good point!

The nail of your index finger is your friend.

The pick kind of disconnects you in a way. Though you do need to learn it eventually.

But when first discovering the concept, nothing beats 'hands on' tactile connection.

[codec_spurt]

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I still haven't heard of any other pick that can be tucked away inside you fingers while swapping over to fingerpicking at the drop of a hat. First one I've heard of, and only one.

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Not sure if you are referencing the uniqueness of the sharkfin pick here or just talking about picking technique in general. You can tuck the pick in your hand with any kind of pick - the sharkfin does not have the monopoly on that.

See Robben Ford! He does it all the time. It's one of the main features of his guitar playing - great finger technique, but also exceptional picking ability. And able to switch between them at the drop of a hat. It's really not difficult once you learn how to do it! Robben Ford is in my top 5 guitarists of all time btw...

This shows a variation on the technique:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NjCTud1_jA

[Forgotten]

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I still haven't heard of any other pick that can be tucked away inside you fingers while swapping over to fingerpicking at the drop of a hat. First one I've heard of, and only one.

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Not sure if you are referencing the uniqueness of the sharkfin pick here or just talking about picking technique in general. You can tuck the pick in your hand with any kind of pick - the sharkfin does not have the monopoly on that.

Thumb picks have been around for longer and they make it really easy to go from finger extension strumming to picking. They don’t even require that you tuck the pick away to swap to fingerpicking.

[codec_spurt]

The main limitation with this technique is that you can't use your ring or pinky finger for picking, but you can use your thumb, index and middle finger, which is all I ever use anyway, so no loss!

There are some times when I venture out and use my ring finger on my right hand, but there's no way to swap back and fore using this technique - it's one or the other.

But generally, when playing rock guitar, how many people employ their ring finger to begin with, anyway?

I can alternate between general rock playing/picking and then after tucking the pick away in my palm, I can slap and pop and do some kind of variation of fingerstyle. You can do a lot with just your thumb and your index and middle finger.

The versatility of being able to hide the pick and change between styles, kind of makes up for any shortcomings. But of course it's not perfect. It's a useful thing to know, more than a parlor trick. It's easy to do and can extend the repertoire of just about any guitarist.

I take pride in it not because it's hard to do, but because I have mild dyspraxia to start with.

Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical co-ordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.

DCD is thought to be around 3 or 4 times more common in boys than girls, and the condition sometimes runs in families.

This topic is about DCD in children, although the condition often causes continued problems into adulthood.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developme ... dyspraxia/


I can still be quite clumsy with a lot of things. I quite often drop the top off the milk bottle. I'll knock things over or just drop things in general when I'm in the kitchen. There's nothing I can do about that. It's neurological in nature.

Dyspraxia is a neurological disorder.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151951.php

I only have it very slightly, but still...

It's good to practice your motor coordination. There's nothing better in this world than playing guitar for that. The 'hiding the pick' trick is just a bonus earned from years of practice, just like being able to bend my left-hand thumb back at a right angle!

Another benefit of playing guitar is that it seems to hold back and mitigate against the effects of arthritis as well. I've had some quite serious problems with this lately and it's not going away. But playing guitar can really be beneficial, even if it is quite painful to start off with.

[codec_spurt]

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I still haven't heard of any other pick that can be tucked away inside you fingers while swapping over to fingerpicking at the drop of a hat. First one I've heard of, and only one.

---

Not sure if you are referencing the uniqueness of the sharkfin pick here or just talking about picking technique in general. You can tuck the pick in your hand with any kind of pick - the sharkfin does not have the monopoly on that.

Thumb picks have been around for longer and they make it really easy to go from finger extension strumming to picking. They don’t even require that you tuck the pick away to swap to fingerpicking.

I don't get on with thumb picks, though I want to.

Besides, it's two very different styles of playing again:
1: Fingerstyle, Slapping/popping.
2: Rock picking/strumming/lead playing.

Thumb picks kind of limit both those techniques.

Tucking the pick away is just something that you naturally end up doing or don't. I suppose you can learn it, but most that do it well do it out of a natural need to just play that way. It's quite alien to some which makes it seem like some kind of advanced technique, but it's really not. If someone with mild dyspraxia can do it so deftly, then it must be a lot easier for more 'neurotypical' people.

I suppose the ideal would be having a really long and strong nail on your thumb (plus other fingers too). But even then, that would get in the way of picking as well. It's all a compromise, I suppose.

[Forgotten]

Thumb picks do have a learning curve as they tend to be at somewhat of an unnatural angle, but they’re definitely very practical for some styles of playing.

[codec_spurt]

Yes.

I refer you to the genius that is Antoine Dufour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnnBpnVn1ck

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Dufour

Dufour wears acrylic artificial fingernails on each finger of his right hand, aside from his thumb. The nails help to create a crisp, clean sound. Regarding these nails, he buys commonly available acrylic nails from a store, and then cuts them down to size. After gluing the nails on, he cuts and files the nails to his preferred length. These fake nails are not worn/glued over the entire fingernail, rather, they are worn on approximately half of the front tip of the nail. Commonly, he uses a Dunlop thumbpick which he files down so that the tip of the pick is shorter and at a more comfortable angle for his playing style.

[The Noodlist]

Hybrid picking, best of both worlds.

[Forgotten]

Hybrid picking, best of both worlds.

Definitely one of the cases where a thumb pick works well.

[an-electric-heart]

I use Jim Dunlop nylon 1mm (black) for electric, and Jim Dunlop .73mm (dark grey) for acoustic. But I've got some wooden one in the post, I've been getting into looping with my acoustic, so I'm going to experiment with different picks for different tones.

[Teksonik]

I use Jim Dunlop nylon 1mm (black) for electric,

Me too, love 'em. Someone on YouTube suggested Jim Dunlop Jazz 3 picks (the reds ones) for Metal so next time I go pick shopping I'm going to get a few of those to see how they work for me.

But if we define "pick" as anything that causes a note to sound on a guitar then much of my "picking" comes from my left hand in the form of hammer ons and pull offs.

I'm left handed but play RH guitar so my right hand has always been the weak link. Well that and total a lack of talent, skill, etc.......

Not "metal" but a hell of a player.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxOd0XmdhX0

[bharris22]

I went over to Planet Waves Black Ice about 10 years ago and haven't looked back since:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PGXIIO/re ... UTF8&psc=1

The size is between that of a standard pick and a Jazz III. But the real killer feature (for me) is the material it is made from. It actually seems to slide off of the strings, so I don't get any of the hard plastic sound when playing jazz, for example - it is like the pick itself is not a part of the sound equation any more. I now use them for rock, as well, and just love them.