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Picks Influencing my Tone?

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  • Picks Influencing my Tone?

    Someone please tell me it's all in my head. Lately I've noticed my tone isn't quite the same when I use something other than my Red Dunlop Jazz IIIs or Dunlop/Fender mediums. I've been using the Black Jazz IIIs lately as they were the only ones in stock locally. My tone just doesn't feel quite the same. I don't buy into the picks changing tone either. So how does one get into the mindset of where the type of pick they use seems to affect their tone? It's really puzzling me.

  • #2
    I'm absolutely convinced that picks affect tone. At the very least they affect note attack, which is an integral part of the overall tone. I mean, why shouldn't they? For instance, I've found that 1 mm picks sound a lot "snappier" than 2 mm picks. For the most radical difference in tone, compare a thick plastic pick to a thin metal pick.

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    • #3
      Everyone I know that uses Dunlop Jazz's believe the black ones sound better than the red ones. I don't use them so I don't know but I have heard that from more than one person.

      I too believe what picks you use can effect your tone. How much I don't know.

      EDIT: I use picks I'm comfortable with, that I can get a good grip on. Nothing worse than fighting a pick when you're trying to play.
      Last edited by Bengal; 03-27-2008, 04:37 PM.
      I'm angry because you're stupid

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      • #4
        Picks definitely affect the tone It's just like the place on the string where you pick. You pick close to the bridge it sounds more middy, you pick away from the bridge it sounds more bass and bigger, you pick with a thinner pick it sounds more middy, you pick with a thicker pick it sounds more bassy and bigger. That's what I hear whenever I change picks
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        • #5
          yah, picks do matter. i found that picks with pointier tips have a large tone, but harder to play smoother with. my favorite picks are called v-picks. i reccommend evryone try one. http://v-picks.com/
          sigpic

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          • #6
            Of course picks affect tone. The material striking the string makes a difference. Also, the material and thickness of the pick demands different technique. Different techniques with the pick hand give different sounds. Ever try to play with a dime, ala Brian May?

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            • #7
              This thread reminded me that when I was young and broke and learing how to play, I use to use those plastic squares with the hole in the middle that came on bread wrappers back in the day to keep them closed. Now they use twist ties but then they used those plastic squares. I loved the way they snapped off the strings. Need to find some of those, if they still make them.
              I'm angry because you're stupid

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Bengal View Post
                This thread reminded me that when I was young and broke and learing how to play, I use to use those plastic squares with the hole in the middle that came on bread wrappers back in the day to keep them closed. Now they use twist ties but then they used those plastic squares. I loved the way they snapped off the strings. Need to find some of those, if they still make them.
                they do still make them. i just opened a bag of bagels yesterday and it did have the square thing.
                sigpic

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                • #9
                  Bread here uses them too, not crying out to replace my picks though

                  I love tortex sharps nowdays, but can't use just one thickness. 0.88's are great for sweep picking, 1.5's are killer for riffing, spesh on thicker gauges etc. Picks definitely change tone, and they change your timing and can alter technique. Experiment!

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by bibz View Post
                    Bread here uses them too, not crying out to replace my picks though

                    I love tortex sharps nowdays, but can't use just one thickness. 0.88's are great for sweep picking, 1.5's are killer for riffing, spesh on thicker gauges etc. Picks definitely change tone, and they change your timing and can alter technique. Experiment!
                    Yeah, it was more of a, "Oh damn, I can't find a pick. This should do". Back then, I think I'd keep a pick forever. At least until it was a perfect circle. They did snap nice though. Not much of an edge though.

                    I use the Dunlop tortex that have the sharp point. I use the blue ones. Don't know the thickness off hand. I love the attack I can get with the sharp edge.
                    I'm angry because you're stupid

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                    • #11
                      Those green Dunlop .88mm picks have the best tone!
                      _________________________________________________
                      "Artists should be free to spend their days mastering their craft so that working people can toil away in a more beautiful world."
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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Bengal View Post
                        This thread reminded me that when I was young and broke and learing how to play, I use to use those plastic squares with the hole in the middle that came on bread wrappers back in the day to keep them closed. Now they use twist ties but then they used those plastic squares. I loved the way they snapped off the strings. Need to find some of those, if they still make them.

                        LOL handburger roll wrappers still have em tho i think they are a bit smaller....

                        & yes it has an effect on tone. kinda like why if you play with your fingers & not a pick it sounds so much different? whats up with that.

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                        • #13
                          You guys are right. Bagels and hamburger buns still use them.
                          I'm angry because you're stupid

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Bengal View Post
                            You guys are right. Bagels and hamburger buns still use them.
                            Thomas' English Muffins use them, too! I just finished a pack of them yesterday and threw the little plastic square tie out. If you can find the bigger plastic rectangular ties like that, they make good emergency strap locks.
                            I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Bengal View Post
                              This thread reminded me that when I was young and broke and learing how to play, I use to use those plastic squares with the hole in the middle that came on bread wrappers back in the day to keep them closed. Now they use twist ties but then they used those plastic squares. I loved the way they snapped off the strings. Need to find some of those, if they still make them.
                              HOLY SHIT.

                              Of all the places to find common ground.
                              I thought I was the only fool on earth that liked those, and it wasn't due to poverty (we were), but that's actually what I liked. It's a strange world.

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