Home Page

Looking for guitar tab, sheet music? Written by Greigg Fraser Take Your Pick There are many factors that come into play which defines a guitarist's sound: the amp, effects, guitar, strings, pickups and so on. However one often over looked component is the pick! The thickness, size and material it's made from all have a dramatic effect on your overall sound. As I'm sure you all know, picks come in a variety of sizes from large triangular ones (like the type used by Carlos Santana) to very small "mandolin" style picks. Common materials include: plastic, nylon, tortex (a man made substance to approximate tortoise shell), and even metal and stone picks are available. The thicker the pick, the more volume and to a point the better the tone. Some guitarists may disagree with me, but I have found the light flimsy picks simply don't sound very good. Much of the dynamics that can be coaxed out of a guitar are just much easier with a thicker pick - at least of medium thickness. Too thick is not so good either - some can make you feel you're playing with a cough drop! As far as a preference to pick material, everyone has their own opinion. To me most plastic or nylon picks sound too "clicky" and brittle, where as tortex picks seem to have a darker tone, with almost no "click" but still has the same presence you get from plastic, nylon or metal. Size matters a great deal as well (no double meaning implied). I find larger picks are too hard to handle, where as smaller picks are easier to control.. Also it's much easier to "palm" the pick when bare fingers are required. The pick I use is a "Jim Dunlop Tortex Jazz III: Heavy". It has a very sharp point which I find easier to squeeze artificial harmonics out with, and being very small I find it easier for hybrid picking (pick and fingers) as well - less material to deal with. If you admire a certain guitarist and wonder how he or she get's that sound, don't stop with just a particular guitar or amp - find out what sort of pick they use. Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top uses a Mexican Peso, Roy Buchanan used a penny, and Brian May of Queen uses a schilling, (speaking of metal). Ritchie Blackmore, formerly of Deep Purple makes his own diamond shaped picks from heavy plastics, while Eric Johnson uses Jim Dunlop Jazz II red nylon picks. Experiment. I'm sure you'll find how a certain pick can truly help define your own personal sound! Greigg Fraser is a guitarist/songwriter from London Canada. Click below to visit his web site and listen to audio samples from his two CD's! http://www.clevernet.net/curlymaple/ String 'Em Up How to string your guitar properly. Guitar Finish How can I get my guitar's finish to look glossy again? Loose Guitar Frets? Don't Fret! Learn how to fix those loose ones. Keeping Your Balance How to balance your guitar pickups. Take Your Pick Everything you wanted to know about your guitar pick, but were afraid to ask. Tremolo Tips Tips on setting up your guitar's tremolo system. Guitar tips and tricks Adjusting your guitar's neck, fixing guitar bridges, tips for your guitar nut, more. The Heavier Headstock Myth Can headstock mass really increase your sustain? Click here for more musician articles at CleverJoe's CleverJoe's Home Page Join Cleverjoe's newsletter     Submit a web site http://www.cleverjoe.com Copyright © CleverNet. All rights reserved. CleverJoe says: If yer clever, you'll also check these great sites: IndieMusic.ca   GuitarTab.ca   MusicianResource.com