Picking the Right Pick For Guitar

There is an old saying in musician circles that goes, “guitar players always get their pick”.

In this particular reference the connotation is that, of the musicians that comprise the members of a band, it’s the guitar players that get their choice of the finer things in life. In the rawest sense, it’s a saying that guitar players spout off to brag about their ability to get a date.

But in the literal sense, guitar players “do” get their pick, nearly every time they sit down to play the guitar. Unless, of course, we are discussing finger style players.

There are a million choices when it comes to guitar picks and it can seem a little daunting to a beginning guitarist which one to choose.

Although there are a plethora of “plectrums” (official name for a pick) available, the differences in picks can typically be broken down into shape, thickness, material and brand.

Shape
Triangular “heart” shaped picks dominate, but there are also teardrop, oversize triangular, sharks fin, and more.

Thickness
Picks come in many different thicknesses but can be generally thought of in “light”, “medium”, or “heavy” categories. The thickness of picks can often be found in various gauges that are stated in terms of mm (millimeters) or thousandths of an inch.

Material
Picks can be made of various plastics including nylon, celluloid and tortex. They can also be made of metal and even gemstones.

Brand
There are obviously many manufacturers of guitar picks and the choice of brand is largely a personal decision. Some of the more popular are D’Andrea, Dunlop and Fender, just to name a few.

How Do I Choose?
As a beginning guitarist you may be having a hard time figuring out the best guitar pick to choose. A safe bet may be to pick up (pun intended) a handful of light gauge and medium gauge standard triangular “heart shaped” picks.

In the early days of beginning guitar, you will be doing a lot of strumming. A light gauge (thin) pick will be perfect for this because it will offer the most flexibility, making strumming much easier.

As you progress into single note picking, you may want to consider moving up to a medium gauge pick. The extra thickness will give you added “stoutness” which will allow you to “attack” the notes better, but also offer enough flexibility for strumming.  

By the time you are mastering scales and leads, you may very well be using a heavy gauge pick which helps in terms of precision and speed.

We are all creatures of habit and over time you will find picks that feel comfortable to you, eventually you may settle on one that is “your pick”. I use a Dunlop nylon .88, which is more of a medium/ heavy pick. I am so used to playing them that anything else in my fingers feels foreign.

Spend some time experimenting with various picks shapes, thicknesses and styles. They’re cheap so shop around until you hit on something that feels good to you. And once you do, buy a million of them so you always have one available.

One last piece of advice from an old road dog guitar player. If you ever can’t find a pick, if you’ve scoured the house and there just isn’t one to be found… look in the dryer!