DON'T FRET THE GUITAR
By Joel Bourque

The guitar pick is the most used guitar accessory out there. Many of us can't play a note without one. There endless styles of picks available and it's up to you to find which one works best for your playing style. Picks differ in shape, thickness and construction material.

The conventional shape of guitar picks is a rounded triangular shape. The most popular pick shape is the Fender 351. This comfortable pick is modeled after the first commercial pick made by the D'Andrea Company in 1922. This is the standard in guitar picks for most companies. Another popular shape are Jazz picks. These are are smaller and rounder in size and are great for fast picking. Dunlop has developed the shark fin which has many different playing surfaces for strumming and picking. Triangle picks are larger in size,in the exact shape of an equilateral triangle and are good for heavy strumming.

Thickness can range from thin (as little as .25 mm) to heavy (as much as 3.0 mm). Thickness is probably the most important feature of a pick. Thinner picks are good for strumming while thicker picks are best for soloing and picking. There is no rule that you can't pick with a thin pick or strum with a heavy pick,again it depends on your picking style. Some players use a variety of picks for different situations while others use one pick and adapt their picking technique to achieve different sounds.

Picks are constructed from many different materials. Most are made of plastic such as celluloid,nylon,tortex, and lexan. Celluloid and lexan has a smooth,glassy feel. These materials are flexible and resistant to wear and breakage. Nylon and tortex have a bit of a “fuzzy” feeling. More exotic picks are made from felt, brass, and stone. Some popular pick manufacturers are Clayton, Dunlop (makers of the 3.0 mm Purple Stubby, my one and only pick), Fender, Coolpicks, Martin and Peavey.

There have been several innovations in pick design. One age old problem with picks is keeping them in your hand. Picks are easy to drop. Some picks have a rough surface, even sand paper on them to offer some extra grip. Some picks have raised lettering on them while others have holes drilled through them for texture. There is even a product named “Gorilla Snot” that is applied to the fingers that gets tacky with heat, keeping the pick from falling. Some players put an extra pick under the pickguard of their guitar. If you stand behind a microphone stand you can get a pickholder which holds several picks within easy reach. When all else fails keep a bunch of extras in your pocket.

Sometimes trying a new pick can pull you out of rut and create new sounds. On the other hand, if it ain't broke don't fix it, stick with the pick you use. I'm still waiting on someone to invent a pick that's impossible to loose in the washing machine. Happy New Year and keep pickin' and grinnin'!