How To Choose A Guitar Pick - Plectrums Explained!

[@quango2747]

Another fun fact about Tortex (and other Dunlop picks): the order of thickness (ascending) is the order colours of the rainbow. Makes 'em easy to recognise easily when theres a few scattered about

[@joshklenke7041]

Thats super fucking cool what

[@5skdm]

I had some dunlop max grip picks and the grey on the picks are lighter when the pick becomes thinner

[@daveprice5911]

ohh soo thats why my big stubby is dark purple lmao, that baby is THICC

[@fortheloveofnoise]

​@@daveprice5911so is black the thickest 🤭

[@williambebeau1506]

I'm sorry, what?! I've been playing with these things for absolutely ever, how did I not catch this sooner?!?! XD

[@austinknowlton1783]

I started playing over 35 years ago, and I tried a LOT of different picks. My biggest issue was keeping a grip on them, not only avoiding dropping them but also keeping them from sliding around in my fingers to a position where I couldn't play effectively. A couple years ago I started playing mandolin as well, and discovered that I really like the larger pointed mandolin picks, like the ones available from Golden Gate. A lot more surface to grip onto. Now I use them for everything.

[@bradwilliams7145]

I've been a noodler for 50 years and I finally looked up info on plectrums (picks). This was the first and only video that I needed. Thank you much. 😃🎸🎶

[@Cinestudi0]

Tortex 1.14 jazz III pitch black baby!

[@waynewescott6921]

For different guitars, strings, and styles it is good to have at least a couple different gauges of your favorite pick brand/type. After many years of playing I've settled on Tortex yellow .73mm for acoustic and Tortex green .88mm for electric. Everyone is a little different, but these allow a lot of versatility for both strumming and leads without locking into anything that leans too far in one direction. It's extremely important to learn to make adjustments to your grip as you transition between strumming and precision picking.

[@RelicOnMaui]

Tortex yellow and orange (.078, .050), here. I used to use the heavier ones, but as hard as I normally attack strings, they're more than necessary

[@waynewescott6921]

@@RelicOnMaui True. I have one acoustic that sounds better with the orange picks. Individual guitars, or even certain songs, call for something a little different.

[@peytonembaugh1484]

Green .88 is my " I don't know what pick to use right now but I know I won't be let down by old reliable" same with the Dunlop 1.14

[@Sterling_Silver04]

Very glad to have found this Awhile ago I was gifted a guitar and it has always been a goal of mine to learn it. Learned yesterday you needed a guitar pick to properly play, but living rural gives very few options. So today I found an old bolt washer about 2" in diameter and grinded it down to the general shape I need Drilled a small hole at the top for keychain purposes, sandblasted and sanded it to smooth it out, and scored the top area for extra grip. Its fairly thick, but I think it will do the trick to get started.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

you can also use some bone pieces from various animals

[@bretwaldablahblahblah3578]

Try telling that to Mark Knopfler, amongst others...

[@turbzyangling]

You can also order them off the internet

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

The shark fins were my very first plectrums, and are nearly all I have ever used. Granted, I have experimented with Dragon's Heart plectrums, which I very much enjoyed. But, I always come back to the shark fins. After more than 20 years of playing, shark fins are home. That is where I started, and probably where I will end.

[@PaulMabley]

I got a Landstrom Sharkfin plec with my first acoustic guitar back in about 1986 and I think I still have it in my wallet.

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

​@@PaulMabley I go with Dunlop, because they can be bought at the local guitar shop. Dunlop also can go as thick as 1.14mm (the purple ones).

[@althor9997]

I started learning guitar almost a year a go. I got a telecaster, and I've only recently noticed that I got 2mm picks. I went down to a .58 and wow, what a completely different world. I've recently started learning some creed songs, and I couldn't figure out how to get that g string to ring more clearly than the other strings, but after switching to that lighter Guage, it all clicked

[@TheRevenantBalor]

I love anything from .58 to .75 the yellow tortex is what I use.

[@mickavoidant4780]

There is also Dava Control picks. They hinge in the middle to give a bendy or stiff pick with where you hold it.

[@hurrikate]

8:10 was so fun

[@censored7881]

Great video. I'm almost astonished that someone managed to make a video about guitar picks without arrogantly and yet idiotically claiming which one was "best".

[@safi7000]

What are you playing at 6:10? It is so beautiful. Is it part of a song or just a freestyle that came out of your brain??

[@Town101]

Thank you for helping with the language used to explain what results The different picks give you. Easier to find what you like if you know how to explain your goal.

[@Icisex]

Jazz 3 best for me

[@ultimateinspirationguitar]

Nice work... I'm about to make a simple vid for my own channel on picks and this is inspiring... Super thorough and well produced

[@Keithphotorama]

Excellent video, straight to the point, and very informative. Thank you.

[@waifubreaks1572]

Tortex Jazz IIIs in 1.14 mm work for me the best. I don't have the biggest hands so they fit me great.

[@anthopkins14]

Big fan of that Pompey guitar, up the blues

[@j.rinaldi]

06:10 That is how explaining a pick in a very good way!

[@Newbie-dk1fy]

This song sounds very familiar but I dont know the name of it

[@gtgodbear6320]

I only know one tune on a guitar and I carry two guitar picks in my wallet. They came in handy a few times for other people. A Duniop .88mm and a Fender.

[@lindsaydrew_w]

Really enjoying this vid! Great presenter and so talented!

[@kristenwarren1780]

Ty!

[@krissavagelive]

Very useful information. Thank you 🙂

[@D.O.214]

You forgot to mention the Pick of Destiny!

[@nicholascrow8133]

🤣🤣🤣❤🤘

[@GlassJ0e]

Using the paper thin flexible pick is great for starting out...but once you've got some technique I would recommend moving up to mediums. It takes a few days and you get used to the fuller sound and more precise control. Those thin picks have to be replaced so often that it's very much worth the effort.

[@thedispenser8301]

Thank you!

[@scottdpatterson]

Cheers. Very helpful.

[@yashdamree4900]

I'm new to guitar.. I bought lots of picks. Currently digging a .96 Fender pick..

[@nicholascrow8133]

My preference: grey "grippy" textured Jim Dunlap (flexible guage) for acoustic, slick fender medium gauge for electric (any brad really, just bought a bunch when I got my strat), and thumb picks when I feel like hurting my brain trying to learn Tommy Emanuel songs... Fingerstyle for most of what I play (mayer acoustic songs, think stop this train) Used to do the whole grow/shape my nails, but working as a chef makes this not very practical when not playing... What does everyone else use? Let's need out a bit on plectrums

[@nicholascrow8133]

(Also, doesn't matter what you buy, the moment you buy new ones you find all the old ones you lost haha)

[@d.ferguson6838]

Excellent Video!

[@thelonglife5772]

Try a bluechip … I had no idea. Oddly grippy and incredible slick feel on the strings … no clacky or plastic noise .

[@philhitchings]

Those Shark fin picks look interesting.

[@deniscassiere]

such a generous video! thank you!

[@croay]

idk, I started out recently with electric guitars and tested many gauges and my fav so far is the 2.0!

[@rc4158]

Sir what size of pick will be preferable for strumming ?

[@jameslifetimelearner]

Don’t hold the pick that way if you value your index finger top joint. Make a fist to back it up when flat picking . Watch Molly Tuttle. Albert Lee picks that way, but he uses two fingers

[@valentinrusu1930]

I agree with this whole video. I like, NO, LOVE, the tortex .50mm

[@PaulMabley]

I've never been able to use a plectrum - I hold my hand as if I do have one but use the back of my fingernail to pluck the string.

[@jf5578]

great video! more like this please!

[@pintsize8162]

I tend to switch between 2 picks depending on what I am playing. I use a Dunlop .60 Tortex for strumming and a Dunlop 1.5 Primetone for lead lines.

[@jade007z]

Great Video!! Thank you!

[@johntoomey8768]

Thanks mate!

[@mayravixx25]

So basically from what I gathered from this, I'd want to use a felt pick for my bass since in all honesty, fingerstyle scares me, and I'd want to use a jazz pick for guitar.

[@Fallub]

Great video. Thank you.

[@christianluna6055]

Where can I purchase the shark fin picks?

[@glizzyconsumer69]

You'll always be my favourite Sam

[@groverjuicy]

Used to be a Tortex .88 diehard 'til I discovered Ultex (also Dunlop) .73s Give 'em a try people! They're sooo comfy and stick to your fingers (as weird as that sounds) but they're not "clammy".

[@sleepy4x]

I tried them, but went back to the tortex. For me the Ultex sound a bit harsher and I do not realy like that.

[@RelicOnMaui]

Now that plectrums are 400% more than decades past, I ask again the age-old question: WHERE DO THEY ALL DISAPPEAR TO??? Only a fraction wind up in clothes-dryers! I've been a die-hard Tortex Triangular user for years now... because I palm them so often, changing from pick to fingertips, often in a single phrase, altering timbre and volume dynamics

[@ckscovers]

i started using tortex bcs it feels very good, the only problem is i feel it kinda slipping off my fingers? what do you recommend? do i just go back to the ones i used before?

[@DbiPro]

I use the red for acoustic and electric when I need a full sound and not a metallic one

[@unityone1571]

Thought u was giving me the finger for a second on one of them bar chords😂😬 i thought we supposed to keep fingers curld on chords. But i'm litterly a noob! Like, youtube, couple weeks newb😬cool vid, thanks for the info👌

[@CultRelics]

What about the taste? Never discussed!

[@Salamander_falls]

I like the blueberry the best

[@From_the_mil]

Is that a Taylor GS mini?

[@PendelSteven]

Very simple actually: I've got the same pickup as you do. Tortex, .73 mm. But on holding the pick: I use three fingers to hold it like you would hold anything with three fingers or well: the thumb and the two other fingers acting as one big one, you get what I mean.

[@DzakiBean]

i also use the yellow 0.73 standard dunlop tortex most of the time. i think they're the great all rounder guitar pick. they have nice tonal characteristic, bright enough for the sound to pop out but not too bright and thin sounding. 0.7s is the sweet spot in my opinion. it has enough stiffness for nice defined tone and still flexible enough for not so aggressive strumming sound. but currently i'm still switching back and forth between standard dunlop tortex 0.73 and dunlop gator 0.71. the dunlop tortex produces better tone to me, but the pick noise are a just little too loud. the dunlop gator are more effortless to use and better pick noise, but they sound a little bit too bright and a little bit too thin to me. still can't decide which one is the one for me 😂 i've already tried various plectrums like standard tortex, tortex III, "the wedge" tortex, tortex flex, tortex flex jazz iii, tortex flow, dunlop gator, dunlop nylon max grip, dunlop max grip jazz iii, dunlop 204, dunlop ultex triangle, tusq td and tusq st. my favorite picks from what i've tried are tortex standard 0.73 and 0.60; dunlop gator 0.71 and 0.58; and tusq td 0.88. still switching back and forth between three of them. picks are one of the most important "little" thing for me, can't live without them 😂

[@SeaDrive300]

I like the Tortex Standard 0.73 and the Gator 0.71, as you do, but my favorite is the Tortex *Flow* 0.73. It has the same feel as the Tortex Standard, but I prefer the slightly smaller size, and I love the shape. Been playing them for about a year now, and have seen no reason to play anything else...

[@DzakiBean]

@@SeaDrive300 yeah man, tortex flow feels nice to do strumming stuff. the only downside for me is the tortex flow has brighter tone to the treble strings, because personally i don't like trebly tone and the other downside is it doesn't have the "clapping" pick noise like the tortex .73 standard do. i hope dunlop will made a smaller standard tortex, i think it would be nice😁 currently i'm sticking to the max-grip .88 cause i love the way it made the treble strings sounds more rounded and warmer overall. but i still use the standard tortex .73 if i need brighter and crunchier tone😁 have you ever tried the dunlop primetone? i'm still really curious cause i haven't tried it, i can't found one in any local music store where i live.

[@SeaDrive300]

@@DzakiBean Yes, I've tried the Primetone, I think it was the Standard Grip 0.73. They have a ridged, grippy interior, which I liked, but they're just regular hard plastic, which I didn't like. They don't give you that fat, sweet Tortex tone, and they don't feel as good in the hand. But if you want to try them, Sweetwater carries the whole line.

[@DzakiBean]

@@SeaDrive300 thank you so much for sharing👌🏼 tortex will always have a special place in my heart😁

[@moritzwagner4332]

My problem with plastic picks is that after some time they bend and I can’t use them 😅.

[@panduwidiatiaga1129]

Jazz III tortex .88 my fav pick ✌🏼

[@harrison738]

I mainly play metal, so I use either john petrucci jazz iii picks, or standard Dunlop jazz iii's, however in school, I'm in a rock/ acoustic band, so for that I use .73 tortex picks for the songs where I need to solo, and for acoustic songs, I use either red or orange tortex picks, for strumming, also for some reason, I can't stand normal nylon picks however I adore the Dunlop jazz iii's, which I believe are also nylon

[@LeeGee]

That's funny: exactly the same situation here on those pick weights and genres, and the nylon. I actually have a nylon allergy: if I sit on a nylon seat, I come up in welts -- it's very common, and it seems only to manifest badly if I touch a lot of nylon. With the picks, I think they make my fingers feel a little...odd? I'm trying metal picks for metal, and although the tone is different, and they 'clank' if held too loosely, I'm enjoying the precision their thinner composition allows: those purple Dunlops are too thick, and the edges too blunt for my taste.

[@nicholascrow8133]

Also, surely I'm not the only one whose super glued a pick to their thumb or index finger for some strumming/fingerprinting hybrid playing? Or am I just getting lazy as a stoner guitarist at this point? 🤣🤘

[@TheSpoonwood]

Super Demo..... 45 year player

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Only bad thing about this video is you did not demo a bone or stone pick.

[@fistovuzi]

he didn't even mention graphite. i use Dunlop Adamas graphite 2mm. Gerry Garcia's pick. i've used only them for 25 years.

[@holysmoke8439]

Since I'm in new York. Would I use a dime... would that b equal to what Brian used

[@Netryon]

I like these 0.73mm others are too hard. Playing it with coin would wear down your strings, so don't do that to your car if you are parked at the tunnel. Find me media, and have a dance in the square. There is some specific sound you can get with these to fool around, because that movie was your inspiration if you guitar was dusting in the corner for some time. I don['t want it falling from the hands or being too hard on a strings so it's too loud, so 0.73 it is.

[@hanifnada17]

I usually use "bonus pick" from buying strings and other stuff. I want to by pick on it own, but don't know what to pick.

[@nicholascrow8133]

If you can, goto a music shop and try some, if you can't due to covid, call up a music shop and ask for a few different ones, the Jim Dunlap ones are about a buck each, get a light,medium and heavy one and that should be enough to work out what works for you.

[@nicholascrow8133]

Once you know what you like they are cheaper still if you buy a pack

[@LeeGee]

Look online for a Dunlop assortment.

[@ibechuckp]

Sick video man! I'm not sure how to contact you directly but I made a new type of guitar pick that adds a lot more body to the sound and would love your feedback on it. Working name for it is the Full-Spectrum Plectrum. Please let me know if you'd be interested. Thanks

[@DaganWilkin]

🤘🤘🤘

[@groverjuicy]

Is that you Dagan?

[@jordanwhiteking]

Im stuck playing with the 1.5 pick

[@strange_jason]

Jazz picks are the best

[@caseygreen]

Was that chord progression from The Tourist by Radiohead?

[@gourabshow3993]

🤘

[@DbiPro]

Finally

[@NoisyGiraffe]

TIL I've been using the "wrong" pick for over 10 years. I use only a thumb pick because I like how secure it is on my thumb and I mostly play rock and shoegazey stuff.

[@nicholascrow8133]

Its not the wrong pick if it works for you and you enjoy it! That's the beauty of music, diversity 🤘 (the lack there of is why we all hate nickleback... 🤣)

[@charleslongmire4149]

can you post a link to the fender felt pick you use?

[@palanthis]

*Unless you are James Hetfield. Then you hold the pick between your thumb and index + middle fingers.

[@JimmyLamandrija]

why he wear the finger picks like that tho xdd

[@LOFIGSD]

Is there a pick just for right handed people, because it would stop my Left handed Son nicking them?

[@preston2636]

Yes. I think they're called blue chip Theyre beveled for left and right hand.

[@sargentbutternut7255]

just have to buy yourself a pack ov left handed picks. lol

[@bretwaldablahblahblah3578]

I could never get they hang of picks. When I found some guitar hero's where the same I felt better about it. You don't need one.

[@PuneMusicVlogs]

Gibson Heavy ✅

[@LewWelchThePoet]

👍🏿🤘

[@daggercatz7297]

Lmao looks like ive held a pick wrong all the time, ive always had my pointer in a kind of L shape because that lets me chocke up really on the tip of the pick

[@abdulmoizmir6782]

Why am I here. I don’t use a pick😂

[@JohnnyRebKy]

I dunno how guys play with picks that are thick as a toe nail lol 😂. Plus it makes guitar sound muddy and less volume.

[@bread6085]

Jazz 3 gang

[@rik-keymusic160]

Anyone familiar with picks that suddenly ghost you? 😅