“What kind of guitar pick should I use”?

I get asked this a lot. And the answer is almost always:

“whatever works for you”

I know, not much of a help there, but at the end of the day it does come down to personal preference.

Regardless, give some thought on what kind of pick to use. It might just help you a little more with your playing.

What I can offer are the following thoughts and suggestions:

If you are primarily a strummer on acoustic, you might want to go with a lighter pick. It doesn’t offer that much pick/string resistance as you strum. It makes for an easy movement across the strings.

If you do a lot of single note picking, especially soloing, you might want to look at heavier picks. This would mostly be for electric players but it can also be for acoustic players too.

And if you do a lot of both, like me, you might want to find something in between.

Here is a good starter set to purchase for $4 where you can find what you like. It’s a variety pack from Dunlop (a brand I favor):

Variety Pack

I use Dunlop Tortex picks in the following way:

.88mm for my electric

.6mm for my acoustic. I should note that because I strum and pick a lot, this is a good “hybrid” for acoustic. Sometimes, if I am only picking notes on acoustic, I’ll grab the .88mm for that song, then switch to .6mm for the next song. I really don’t use the light picks because of my style of playing. But, it might be good for you.

Here are some ideas for light picks:

.46mm Tortex

Dunlop Nylons

Fender Thins

For electric players who do a lot of single note picking and/or soloing, this is a long time favorite of many players (including me):

Fender Medium

Hopefully you get the idea. I think the best way is to simply try a bunch yourself and see what works best.

And as always, I’m here to help to!

I hope this helps make you more successful in your playing!

Rock On,

PS: I just made my TOP 10 Favorite Alex Lifeson Riffs Video taken from his huge catalog of Rush songs. It was a lot of fun to make! Let me know what you think: Best Rush Songs on Guitar

PPS: I’m also on a roll creating some CRAZY 30-60 sec guitar solos using some exotic scales. It sounds pretty cool:

Hungarian Gypsy Minor in F

Hindustan Scale in G

PPPS: Oh and hey, can you do me a favor? I’m starting a mission to grow my You Tube Subscribers to more than 22 (Ha!). No, seriously, if you can quickly hop over there and “Subscribe”, it would be so very awesome!

I promise that the videos (most of them at least) will be entertaining and/or informative!

Here is the path to arrive there:

6 String Corner

Px4…S:

Want to know the 4 Techniques to help you play your favorite songs? Get the eGuide here: Chronic Chord Condition