Picking Strategies, Picks, and Prices.

[Iggo]

Last edited Sat May 19, 2018, 10:19 PM - Edit history (1)

So I've been having trouble learning the second solo from Sultans Of Swing, specifically that arpeggiated stuff on the B and E strings with a picked note and a pull-off on the E, and since I'm not any kind of a finger picker, and I'm primarily a down-picker, it's been throwing me for a major loop for a looonng time. I finally...FINALLY...figured out that if I start the part right before the pull-off on the E string with an upstroke, I'd be in a better position for the downstroke on the B.

But my Jazz III wasn't leaving me a lot of room for error. I needed a bigger harder thicker pick with a rounded tip instead of a pointy teardrop. So I was on the hunt for a new pick, which isn't that hard because I've got a million of them.

Ya see, every year I go to this music industry trade show in Anaheim and hang with the hoity-toity industry-types. I'm not one of 'em. I'm in HVAC. My boss has a side business that gets him and three buddies in the door. One of the things you can count on at these trade shows is that everybody and their mother are going to give you handfuls of free guitar picks just for breathing. I've got a bucket full of them at home.

So anyway, I'm digging through the bucket, looking for the total opposite of a Jazz III and I come upon this big orange clear shiny plastic 3mm log of a pick called a Gravity Classic Standard. Seriously. This thing has no give, no grab, nothing. I'm sliding over strings like I'm rollerskating on ice. It's beautiful. I'm like, "This is cool. I wonder if I have any more of these." Nope. That's the only one.

So I jump on Amazon to see if I can get some to come to my house rather than having to lug my ass down to the local Guitar Center. And yep, they got 'em.

$9.99 + $2.77 for shipping.

For two picks. Two of them. One pick and then another pick, and that's it.

Twelve dollars and seventy-six cents for two picks.

Is this normal?

[Hoyt]

1. Amazon is about the most expensive place for picks. But that is probably about normal by time

you figure in shipping that you get free with Amazon Prime.

Those Gravity picks get pretty good reviews, on guitar and mandolin sites.

But, get this, there are actually some very popular picks out there that go for $35 to $40 a piece. You don't see them in stores, unless it's a super high end one. Look up BlueChip picks.

I still like Fender, Dawg picks for mandolin, Pro Plec and even some simple Dunlops. I use everything from heavy to thinner gauges because they make the instrument sound so different just by spending a dollar or two.

Getting ready to drone away on my Bouzouki tonight.

[Iggo]

3. Prime not available.

I did check out Blue Chip's website, though.

The one I'd want, the 2.5mm TAD100, is $75.00.

[Glamrock]

2. He'll no that ain't normal.

I'm a frontman and even I know that's crazy expensive! Fuck that,get yo ass down to the sto baby!

[Iggo]

4. I checked GC's website. They ain't got 'em.

However, I am going down there tomorrow to see if they have something...anything...similar.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Something Much Cheaper To Try

Both Fender and Dunlap make a rounded triangular pick in 5 different flexes. Because it's a little longer than a normal pick, the tip is a little more flexible making rapid up/down picking very comfortable. They're called a "346 Shape"

I'm pretty speedy and i like to shift between picking every note and full legato. I actually don't do a whole lot a single pull offs or hammers, just when it makes ergonomic sense.

I find it really easy to play fast with those picks, and those things are priced just like any other pick. Per the Fender website, they're 12 for 5 bucks.