Tone is in the hands..... or is it in the picks?

[davent]

V-pick Screamer for electric and acoustic, would like to try some of the fatter ones as well, next order...

Used to use various thicknesses of Tortex but once i got the 'V' no going back.

[jkokura]

I actually have and use and like a variety of picks also, but I haven't got a photo of my collection handy.

I have a couple of these Dunlop 'stubby' picks I like quite a bit. For a long time I used a 1mm one, and then my mom had one of mine cast by a jewellery maker she worked for, so I ended up with a pair of them in sterling silver (really cool sound). Don't have any of the originals, but I still have the silver ones. I do have a 2mm one, which is HUGE, and a couple of the 1mm jazz size which are really good for lead playing.

I've been leaning more and more to Jazz sizes for electric and full size for acoustic. So I have a couple different jazz sized picks for electric playing, and I'll have to try some of the above suggestions.

For acoustic rhythm playing I've always liked the Dunlop Tortex 'orange' picks, but a while back I picked up this variety pack of these Dava picks which I've been gravitating to. They're a Delrin material, which I really like the sound of, and they're a bit thicker, but they have a rubber grip build into them, and a flex point as well, so depending on where you hold the pick you'll get a thinner or thicker feel. I'm using some of the jazz sized version for electric playing, and I use the larger 'regular' sized ones for acoustic rhythm.

Jacob

[Haberdasher]

i use my nails mostly. nothing beats the feel of something attached to your finger.  and i never drop my fingernail.
when i do use picks i use the dava w grips.  i'm kind of heavy-handed so i find having a flexible pick helps me not murder everything so much on electric.  the rubbery texture gives a softer sound, but a lot of that depends on how you play anyway imho.

[Droogie]

I use Dunlop "Jazztone" 204 exclusively, in combination with hybrid picking.

and i never drop my fingernail.

That would be painful!

[JakeFuzz]

I used to use Dunlop Tortex but I started using Lollar picks and can't see myself looking back anytime soon. Very unique sounding/feeling pick. Got one with a p-90 purchase and once it took on a good bevel I knew I had to order more.

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=BagOfPics

Just checked and it looks like they don't sell them anymore!

[pickdropper]

I dropped all of mine and can't find them.   

[icecycle66]

I dropped all of mine and can't find them.   

Exactly.

I'm not too picky.
I did have a really nice 2mm wooden pick once.  It was the perfect balance between defined pick attack and soft finger attack. 
Other wise i use the pink Dunlop Delrin  picks with a bandaid wrapped around it.  These picks wear down pretty fast, but I'm fine with that.  I use the worn down picks on treble guitar to try and neutralize the attack on those thin strings.

[Frag Magnet]

For me it goes like this:

Bass:  Fingers only.

Guitar:  Purple Tortex (whatever thickness that is).  No special reason other than I don't drop them as much as other picks and they're thick enough to stand up to the .012s I string my guitars with except for...

Twelve String:  Something mediumish (using a Function (F)x pick currently) mainly because of the lighter string gauges on the twelve and not wanting to restring that bitch any more than is absolutely necessary.

(I strum like a gorilla.)

[upthepunxxx]

The guys at the LA pedal Show were passing out V-Picks last year, and I picked one up. It looked a little ridiculous to me so I put it away until, I was listening to the Amps & Axes podcast (great show by the way) and Vinny from V-Picks was the guest. That show peaked my interest and I pulled out my old free v-pick. You know what, I actually really dig them! I think I got a Medium Pointed, but was just one the website and gonna pick up one of the screamer Models. They are pricey, but in the grand scheme of things, 4 bucks isnt that much for new inspiration and possibly breaking out of old playing habits. Cool things happen under those circumstances. Which V-Pick models are you into?

[blearyeyes]

Herco Gold nylon. Not fancy but very practical. Great grip and you can use one for five sets a night for a year. If you don't lose it but...

Tone is the combination of everything; The tree your guitar started as, the craftsmanship of the guitar builder, your hands, your pick, the strings, your technique, if electric the pickups the electronics the preamp the power amp, the speakers as well as the acoustic environment. Last but not least the ears that hear and the mind that perceives. Tone is so cool it is beyond putting into a box....

[alanp]

Dad uses the lightest Dunlop nylon pick (the pure white one), really light acoustic strings, and compensates by strumming the living crap out of them.

I use a Dunlop nylon 0.66, I think. I use a heavier one on the resonator. Fingernails when I'm doing single note, though, the pick is just for strumming!

[jubal81]

What's amazing is I've used the SAME pick every day for about 4 years now - Buffalo horn pick from Brossard. It's thick, slick and sounds great for strumming and digging in.

[lincolnic]

So am I the only one still using Fender heavy picks like a neanderthal?

[Muadzin]

Dunlop Jazz III's only. I need something that's thick and small as I can't play with anything that's thin and big. I used to be able to play bigger picks but now they feel clumsy. Never could play with thin picks. To me they feel like they're flapping about like a playing card on a bike's wheel.

I know from U2 message boards that the tribute Edge's swear Edge's chime comes from using blue Herdim picks and using the broad holding side ultimately I believe that true tone comes from one's hands and mind. Not a piece of gear. Any famous guitarist will still sound like himself, no matter the guitar or rig he's playing. Sad news for beginning guitarists who want to sound like their heroes probably, as there is no wonder pedal or gear piece that will make you sound exactly like your hero. But on the plus side, think of how incredibly dull musicians would sound if they could all sound like their heroes from the start? And the long search that it takes to try and emulate your heroes ultimately leads to develop your own tone. After all, great guitarists like Brian May didn't start wanting to sound like themselves, they wanted to sound like their heroes as well. In the end its the journey, not the destination, that makes it interesting, and the journey might take you to interesting and unexpected places you never had in mind if you had an instantaneous 'get there at once' magical button.

[Willybomb]

I use 0.96 Dunlop Riffs (the fluro green ones) exclusively.  It sounds a bit wanky but it's to the point that I fudge notes constantly if I use something else.  I arrived at that gauge after breaking strings a little to frequently with the purple tortex 1.14mm and the 1.0 black nylons.  The .88 greys and .93s felt too flimsy, and I hardly ever break a string with these (D'addario XL 9-46).

The sad thing is that the Riffs don't come in separate gauge lots - they come in a mixed jar - so I usually buy $20-$30 dollars worth at a time, shifting through the jar.  On the upside I get the other gauges for my students to use when they don't bring their own.

I should start renting picks out though, as I probably go through $80 a year on picks for the kids as they quite often forget to give them back (and I forget to get them back) at the end of the lesson.