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Posted by: shredmandan Aug 1 2007, 12:36 AM

Hello Eveyone
What king of guitar pick works best for you?Example fender heavy ,thin ,medium,dunlop ect.There is a pick called Dava control pick that i used to buy but i havent seen in awhile.It had thin,medium and heavy gauge all in one it all just depended on here you held it.Other than that right now im using Fender medium california clears.So what do you use and do you think there is a better pick than the rest.Also what gauge pick do think works best for sweeping?I'm interested to see how many people are different and what they prefer and why

Posted by: muris Aug 1 2007, 12:39 AM

I'm using about 2 mm for electric and about 1 mm for acoustic.

Posted by: Aaron Aug 1 2007, 12:40 AM

i use a pick called planet wave at thin gauge.

Posted by: shredmandan Aug 1 2007, 12:42 AM

Are these the ones that you endorse and light up?

Posted by: muris Aug 1 2007, 01:00 AM

Yeah.

But I used Dunlop before,2mm and 1 mm

Posted by: ibanezkiller Aug 1 2007, 01:03 AM

i use fender EXTRA heavy (silver shine)

Posted by: Sergeant_Ant Aug 1 2007, 01:09 AM

yea, i usually use an extra heavy too, i cant go too fast with lights and medium just not as easy for me as heavy

Posted by: chast Aug 1 2007, 01:35 AM

I use Jim Dunlop USA Nylon 1mm in black
But I think I need some that are a little bit bigger, but I am happy with them right now

Posted by: Owen Aug 1 2007, 01:39 AM

Dunlop 1.14 and 1.5mm.

I used really thin ones at one point, like 0.46mm because it was easier to strum as a beginner.

Posted by: Nick325 Aug 1 2007, 01:47 AM

.88mm medium jim dunlop grip pick

Posted by: Evan Aug 1 2007, 02:40 AM

I use medium Dunlop Celluloid Classics. When I was still in my first few years of playing, I tried out different picks pretty frequently, but I've used my current pick choice for years now. The green .88mm tortex pick was what I used for a long time, and they're more durable and easier to hold on to, but the tone of the celluloid is way better in my opinion. It sounds like it has a sharper attack and cleaner release.

In case you're interested, I play on 9-42 strings when in standard tuning, and my bands have ranged mostly from thrash to progressive metal. I felt that this pick gave me good separation between the fast palm muted notes that you'd typically find in the rhythm parts of a thrash band.

I felt that lighter picks sort of 'flopped back and forth' too much when doing fast rhythm and speedpicking -in that when I had just played one note and was about to play the next, the pick was still bent from playing the first note, which had the effect of forcing bigger right hand movements to compensate which of course slowed me down. Basically, the light picks didn't return from bent to straight in time. Heavier picks don't bend at all, so you have to move the whole pick the complete distance to play the note cleanly whatever that distance happens to be -but still much faster than the lighter picks. I like the medium because they do bend, but they return to being straight very quickly. Because the pick snaps back to being straight so quickly, I'm able use that snapping motion to do some of the picking movement for me when I'm playing a fast series of notes -so I'm able to move my picking hand less for more speed and less fatigue. It's kind of hard to explain this since it all happens faster than the eye can see, but I wanted to at least try to explain this effect.

I also do some sweep picking for my solos, and my current picks work just fine for that too -but I'd like to just briefly say that this is one technique where I prefer a heavier pick. This is because here, any bending of the pick is only going to mess up the articulation of the sweep. I think lighter picks 'forgive' some of the little right hand mistakes that you'll make while you're still learning to sweep, but I think you'll want to move up to heavier picks once you fell comfortable with the technique to get better volume and cleaner articulation in your sweeps.

Posted by: Smikey2006 Aug 1 2007, 02:50 AM

im ordering a light pick.. currently i use Alicia Medium Blacks. and like dunlop 1.5mm or less.. for a bit i was using this black pick with like a yellow tip.. it was almost medium with a solid tip but the body moved and it had a little indent grip for your finger.. i loved it but now ive lost it gotta get summore..

Medium always.. solid but thin.

Posted by: moles Aug 1 2007, 02:50 AM

i have about 50 1.14mm dunlop picks lying about my house.

love them.

just the right thickness so they dont move about too much when speedpicking and speedriffing and still easyish to strum =P

Posted by: D0NNY Aug 1 2007, 03:21 AM

Dunlop Jazz III XL's

Posted by: The Uncreator Aug 1 2007, 03:25 AM

Dunlop 2.0mm Gator Grip Heavys, Extremely durable, with absolutely NO GIVE. just the way i like it.

Posted by: fkalich Aug 1 2007, 03:30 AM

while the thick pick is of course fast, problem I have is the attack is not sharp enough. maybe if I could find one with a bevel on it. Or sharpen it myself. But for now, the ones I use claim to be 1.5, but I don't think they are that thick. but I think I have the thickest of that brand. they also have little dots in the plastic molded in at the grip, I like that. And it does have a bevel at the edge, so a very sharp attack, much more clear than other picks. Not sure of the brand name, it has a little symbol on it that looks like the NIKE symbol.

Posted by: Sircraigery Aug 1 2007, 04:51 AM

Hey, I'm just wondering if anyone else has heard of this stuff called Gorilla Snot. It's a tacky kind of goop that you put in your pick and rub a bit into your fingers to hold your pick. Before I started using it, my picks would always slide sideways. Works wonders for my drummer to, now we can get through the song everytime (even when we're drunk haha)

This was a bit off topic, but I was just curious if anyone else uses it...and it has something to do with the pick.

Posted by: shredmandan Aug 1 2007, 04:57 AM

Yes
I have heard of it. I havent used it straight or drunk but i know that it's been out for awhile now.Musicians friend used to sell it and maybe still does.

Posted by: fkalich Aug 1 2007, 05:22 AM

thanks, will find and try that. although, they really came up with a disgusting name on that one. and this comes from a guy who has 8 cats, i clean out the world's largest litter box daily. I am not easily disgusted.

Posted by: The Spartan Aug 1 2007, 06:36 AM

I make my own picks...not from scratch but what i do is...i glue 3 hard fender picks together with super glue then shape them the way i want...i usually make them very small...the reason i do this is that i like my picks to be super stiff n there's no pick out there that is stiff enough for me

EDIT:oh n I glue a small piece of 60-grit sanding paper on it so it doesn't fall...cuz my hands r kinda toooo sweaty

Posted by: AliMo Aug 1 2007, 06:37 AM

Personally I like to use the Pick of Destiny : D

Posted by: fkalich Aug 1 2007, 06:42 AM

interesting. do you line them up perfectly? I would be tempted to try having the middle one just a hair extended relative to the outside ones, to give it a bit of a sharp attack. have you tried that?

Posted by: The Spartan Aug 1 2007, 07:26 AM

I do line them perfectly ..and if u make a mistake just sand them a little bit from the sides n u're done.I haven't tried extending the middle one..but i make them all as pointy as i can to get a real sharp attack and easier shredding...here's a pic of my fav one..i've been playing with it for over 6 months now

(the one on the left is my "custom" pick and the other one is a standard heavy Fender pick)

Posted by: Pavel Aug 1 2007, 08:02 AM

When i was in Ukraine last year i bought Peavy 1.14 and 1.4 - a bunch of them so right now i am playing on those picks!

Posted by: fkalich Aug 1 2007, 08:34 AM

great idea, I am going to experiment. btw, where are you from? beside home. always curious where people are from.

Posted by: The Spartan Aug 1 2007, 09:01 AM

I'm from Saudi Arabia

Posted by: fkalich Aug 1 2007, 09:15 AM

very international forum members here, makes it interesting. again, thanks for advice, will give it a try. quite innovative.

edit: replaced word "audience" with "forum members" (had been a bad choice of term).

Posted by: Otto Aug 1 2007, 09:21 AM

When I dont use my teeth I pick with a dunlop 1,14mm

Posted by: The Spartan Aug 1 2007, 09:56 AM

Btw...if u had any problems while doing it..u can PM me or send me an email i'll be glad to help u

Posted by: fkalich Aug 1 2007, 10:11 AM

thanks. in any event, I will post on this thread and let you know what transpires with my efforts.