mutepointe wrote:I use XL strings on my guitar and prefer a thin pick. Those white Dunlop picks are the best I have found so far. Well, there was a pick I found once. It was a clear triangle in the jar of picks at the local music store. The pick was super thin and plastic. It shattered to pieces after one set. There were no other similar picks in the pick jar. I've search high & low in other pick jars. I've come to the conclusion that I've seen every thin pick on the market. All stores sell the same thing.
Anyone else looking for the perfect pick?
I guess every guitarist does, sooner or later.
First you gotta choose the right material for the sound you want. I've tried many different picks until I finally settled for Tortex.
Tortex is an artificial plastic material which is supposed to get close to the formerly used turtle housing material.
Since we don't want to hunt and kill turtles just to get picks, Tortex is a wonderful substitute.
It produces a nice warm tone, it does not shatter and it lasts relatively long.
The surface is grippy, so it doesn't turn and slip very much when you're sweating.
Second: you need to find out the shape you like best. After playing shark fins for many years, I ended up playing tear drop shapes, because the defined "tip" gives a more perfect control over your attack and the notes are responding faster. With the round edge of the shark fin that's not the case.
Third: You need to find out, what gauge you want to use (thickness of the pick).
As a beginner I started with very thin picks because it's a little easier as long as you don't have proper control about pick positioning and attack strength.
As a beginner I tended to go to deep into the strings. Ifyou do that, you get "stuck" in the strings. Since thin picks are flexible, they give away by bending.
Even though I liked that during my first 5 years or so, it's NOT what you should do.
A thicker pick which doesn't bend gives you much more control over attack and forming the tone but it needs practice to control your picking hand.
I've been playing .88 picks, teardrop, Dunlop Tortex for nearly 10 years now and I'm as happy as can be.
I tried Fender picks but the plastic is too fragile, it shattered/splintered as well.
It can be a long journey to find your most suitable pick for your style but it's worth it to invest maybe 10 dollars to buy a hand full of different brands and material.