Thick guitar pick that does not chirp/click?

[charleyrich99]

I use v-picks and don't notice any chirp. They produce, to my ears a louder sound, darker sound than other picks I have tried.

[JollyW]

I realise this is an old thread, but this is a topic that’s been bugging me for years.

In the Troy Grady video, he points out that with an acoustic, you can hear two separate notes/harmonics - one from each side of the pick. I wonder if this is one reason why so many gypsy jazzers pick so close to the bridge? Then they’re able to reduce or eliminate the longer side with damping, but the shorter side may so short as to not be as obvious - and also maybe not as noticeable from being so high in pitch.

Whether that’s the case or not, I’ve heard huge differences in the volume of clicking between players all using Wegen 3mm Gypsy Jazz picks - which were de rigueur back when I made my first stumbles into Hot Club playing - and all using rest strokes. For that reason I assume technique plays a big part. I’m not convinced a firmer grip is the answer as many of the players I admire in that genre claim to have relaxed wrists and fingers.

[JollyW]

I wonder if this is one reason why so many gypsy jazzers pick so close to the bridge? Then they’re able to reduce or eliminate the longer side with damping, but the shorter side may so short as to not be as obvious - and also maybe not as noticeable from being so high in pitch.

Well, I just grabbed my cheap Selmer copy and a Wegen GJ pick and I think I’ve disproved my own theory. Playing closer to the bridge didn’t seem to reduce the click, or not noticeably.

What it DID make a significant difference to is the effect - I think Troy Grady refers to it as sizzle - when the pick lands on a string that is already vibrating. I suppose that makes sense, given that the amplitude of the string vibration is much less there, nearer the node.