Welcome to part one in my EzineArticles series on guitar thumb picks!
I have spent a lot of time trying out different picks on electric guitars, nylon string guitars and perhaps most importantly steel string acoustic guitars and I thought I would offer some of my insight into what I feel you should consider when choosing a guitar thumb pick or finger picks.
Part one will consist of a few key points you should consider when making your decision with reviews and different information to follow.
Guitar Type
First and foremost: What type of guitar are you using? Amplified Electric, Nylon, Steel String? This will be probably the most important deciding factor in choosing a suitable thumb pick. An amplified electric guitar will not need the same thickness of thumb pick as a non amplified steel string acoustic. Why is this? 95% of the time you will be playing the bass strings with the thumb pick and the thick plastic thumb pick that gives you a good response and tone on an acoustic guitar may overpower the bass on an amplified electric guitar and be too hard to control. Same goes for nylon where you will want to find a pick that provides a clean release from the bass strings as not to cause too much “scratch” and buzz when entering and exiting the string.
Style Of Music
Next up: What style of music are you playing? Super Important! Personally I’m sort of a thumb pick freak, I use them for almost everything I play and have gotten to the point where I don’t particularly like to use flat picks (with certain exceptions in recording situations etc…). But even if your not quite as crazy about them as I am it is still worthwhile to take a little time and experiment which picks work best for different styles, and even different tunes!! For example when I am playing a straight up boom-chick Chet Atkins style tune with a lot of alternating bass between the low E and D strings, I love to use a Zookies 10 degree (more on them later!) because the altered angle allows my hand to sit in its best possible position. However, if I am playing a modern arrangement a la Don Ross then I prefer a good old Dunlop Large White, which has a very thick measurement and provides a nice tone no matter if my hand happens to be slightly out of it’s normal angle because I’ve just returned to the strings after a slap or other percussive hit. When I’m playing rock and roll or some heavier stuff on my Les Paul I’ve recently been using the HERCO thumb picks that look like normal guitar picks, all the convenience and signing tone of a regular pick with the ability to free up all my fingers if I need to, AND if you happen to have a few beers on stage you don’t need to worry about dropping it!! huge bonus!
Type Of Tone
Lastly: What sort of tone are you looking to achieve? Remember guys and gals when it comes to playing guitar of any sort, even if your just strumming a few chords TONE IS GOD!!! So many young guitarists don’t get this fact but your tone is what people recognize and remember about your playing! You can play a brilliant arrangement of anything but if your tone sucks, it will turn people off even if its only sub-consciously. Different thicknesses, different materials and different angles of attack are all going to affect how that pick makes you sound. I know there are a million other things to worry about when it comes to tone (a completely different article!) but don’t let this easy one get in the way. Buy some different types so you can spend some time with them and see what works for you, use your ears!!
Hope this was of some interest to you and please check out my blog and leave me a comment!
