I want to get the thinnest guitar picks I can find.

Are there different thickness, are they all the same, save for manufacturing variances.

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I used to get Dunlop picks that had a thicker part for the held area and then the various thickness at the point. I liked that type. But that's all I know, except that you really have to try them to know what suits your style of playing.

Fender sells Thick, Medium and Thin picks (at least I assume they still do). I always preferred Mediums, but I know speed demons who swear by Thins. Any guitar store should stock them.

They vary by thickness/stiffness ( double the thickness and the stiffness goes up 8 times) but also by material. Best thing is to try a bunch and stick with what you like.

When I played steel string, I liked thin, hard picks, like Martins, though others were the same except the logo.

We bought our son a pick punch for xmas last year. He’s tried all kinds of materials from credit cards to gallon jugs. Don’t know what his favorite of the day is now.

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most manufacturers categorize by the mm. i usually use .88mm though for the Dunlop Primatones i discovered in the last few years i went down to .73mm. the thinnest i’ve ever recommended is .60mm for new students which to me is pretty floppy. i’ve never taken note of how thin they go below that.

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Dunlop had nylon picks that were fractions of a mm thick. It was like waving paper at the string. Back when I thought I’d be the next Paul Gilbert or Yngwie Malmsteen I tried them. Just never quite panned out the way I hoped.

[youtu.be]

[youtu.be]

Dunlop Herco Extra Light:
[www.jimdunlop.com]

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2020 09:56AM by ztirffritz.

I like Dunlop's.

You can get a variety pack of Dunlop's online. I'd go that way and find the one you like best. I just went to a thicker dunlop and like it better than the thinner one I'd been using.

I played around serious bluegrass flat pickers and they used heavy or extra heavy picks. None used thin flimsy picks and I understand why.

When I'm just playing in my office and using a pick, I use the Dunlop nylon picks. They are very thin. It takes getting used to, but I like them. Most of the time I'm playing acoustic, I fingerpick (i.e. no pick at all).

No, not all are the same by any means. When sourcing picks for using at OWC / including in toolkits, I asked the expert - Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. Rick throws more picks to the crowds (or did, before the pandemic) than any artist LOL he goes through thousands on a tour and is really *ha ha* picky about what ones he uses.

He turned me on to [claytoncustom.com] and we had ours made there and have for years now. They sent me samples of multiple thicknesses, and of varying hardness, to find the ones that stood up to our prying and bent, never broke ;)

Many sizes, many different characteristics and you'd need to experiment for sure to find the right ones for you.

Pics, or Rick's many picks!

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Quote
OWC Jamie
No, not all are the same by any means. When sourcing picks for using at OWC / including in toolkits, I asked the expert - Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. Rick throws more picks to the crowds (or did, before the pandemic) than any artist LOL he goes through thousands on a tour and is really *ha ha* picky about what ones he uses.

He turned me on to [claytoncustom.com] and we had ours made there and have for years now. They sent me samples of multiple thicknesses, and of varying hardness, to find the ones that stood up to our prying and bent, never broke ;)

Many sizes, many different characteristics and you'd need to experiment for sure to find the right ones for you.

Pics, or Rick's many picks!

I have some OWC picks I scored at SXSW a while back, plus several of Rick's picks (I caught the album he tossed out during "Surrender" the last time Cheap Trick headlined Atlanta), and can confirm: those are good picks.





Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2020 10:45AM by Will Collier.

Hey that's awesome

Cool you caught the album. When we saw them a few times ago in Ohio, we were on stage right next to Rick. His first album toss went WAY bad because they had a huge ceiling fan blowing down to cool the crowd off, that fan had to be 20' across. The album toss, it nosedived right into the crowd like 6' off stage and probably caused an injury (well, I hope not!) He yelled for the backup album and his guitar tech Larry (RIP, he passed away a couple of years ago, great guy) was literally strapped and jacked into the next guitar Rick needed for the next song and was retuning it - he had a panic look on his face, tossed the album to my wife who had to deliver it to Rick for the RIGHT toss to the crowd - about 50' out into the middle Rick sent it away from the fan that time.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Here’s a good primer on guitar pick material and sizes:
[www.stringjoy.com]

Generally, many guitarists choose picks based on the gauge of strings they use. With heavier strings people generally chose heavier picks as thin picks produce more “flap” in the sound and can slow picking down. But of course it’s all a personal preference. When I was studying with Pat Martino in the 70s he showed me his Min’d agate stone picks. He used stone because his guitars where strung with 16s on the first string. They produced a very loud sharp sound that he liked. I’ve been using small, medium weight, mandolin picks from the time I worked in a music store on 48th St in NYC back in the 70s. For me, i found I could play faster doing circular and cross picking with them.

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JoeM

Quote
OWC Jamie
Hey that's awesome

Cool you caught the album. When we saw them a few times ago in Ohio, we were on stage right next to Rick. His first album toss went WAY bad because they had a huge ceiling fan blowing down to cool the crowd off, that fan had to be 20' across. The album toss, it nosedived right into the crowd like 6' off stage and probably caused an injury (well, I hope not!) He yelled for the backup album and his guitar tech Larry (RIP, he passed away a couple of years ago, great guy) was literally strapped and jacked into the next guitar Rick needed for the next song and was retuning it - he had a panic look on his face, tossed the album to my wife who had to deliver it to Rick for the RIGHT toss to the crowd - about 50' out into the middle Rick sent it away from the fan that time.

I got lucky; it ricocheted off the ceiling of the hall and fell into my hands. Then some jackleg tried to steal it a few minutes later... but I prevailed.

I do know that some are cellulose based and great for using as fire starter in emergency situations.

There are pick shootouts on YouTube.

Just buy a Dunlop or other brand pick assortment pack and then mess around to figure out what you like. The packs are cheap.

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