The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Posts 1 to 25 of 44
  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    I do not usually play with a pick, but at the moment I'm doing just that working on one of William Bay's pieces for plectrum guitar (in order to see how many questions about interpretation fall into place on the intended instrument rather than playing it with classical'ish technique on nylon strings).

    I'm using white horn picks ("Bone Tones"; Timber Tones: Largest collection of luxury Guitar Picks worldwide) which give me the sound I like most, but of course they do wear.

    Any tips on how to maintain the tip, aka restore it periodically?

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

    User Info Menu

    Yeah. Get a Blue Chip.

    Only half kidding. You can also use micromesh or fine grade sandpiper of the kind that classical guitarists use to maintain their nails.

  4. #3

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by FourOnSix
    Yeah. Get a Blue Chip.
    Yeah, no. I actually looked at them the other day, and made a mental note not to do that anymore. Over 35€ for a piece of plastic the sound of which I might not even like, no thanks.

    I've already used the thing I have for working on nuts and saddles. I think my question is more about the kind of shape you need, and how often you can hope to do that.

  5. #4

    User Info Menu

    Sandpaper is the best…you can get a good kit at strings by mail.

    I use the rounded edges of a fender heavy on flats…not a lot of wear w flats, and when there is I just toss it since they’re cheap. This doesn’t help you at all tho lol

  6. #5

    User Info Menu

    I switched to blue chip 5 years ago and I haven’t lost my pick nor had to replace/buff it. It’s a smart purchase. $35 is not a lot of money in the scheme of things, but where you’re use to “disposable” quality it feels like a big step.

    It also sounds much better than any other pick I’ve owned.

  7. #6

    User Info Menu

    The shape is whatever you prefer. Preferences vary from almost round to very pointy. It's not something someone else can decide for you. How often is related directly to the material. I have no experience with white horn, but it's probably on the softer side. I have Blue Chip picks that are several years old, and show no wear. It's not just "a piece of plastic". I've made picks from many different types of plastic over the years, and IME minor changes in the shape can have large effects on the tone, as can the bevel of the edges. Different materials produce different sounds, not necessarily totally dependent on the shape. About all I can tell you is to experiment with the shape, and buy many more picks as they wear out.

  8. #7

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by RJVB
    Yeah, no. I actually looked at them the other day, and made a mental note not to do that anymore. Over 35€ for a piece of plastic the sound of which I might not even like, no thanks.

    I've already used the thing I have for working on nuts and saddles. I think my question is more about the kind of shape you need, and how often you can hope to do that.
    I have had my Blue Chip, with minimal wear, for 4 years. It sounds better than any other pick I've ever used. I used to go through a gross of picks 2 or 3 times a year when I was gigging a lot.

    So $35 for a pick can be worth it- unless you lose it!

    Regarding your original question, for me when a pick gets worn it's toast, I've never had any luck restoring it.

  9. #8

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by bluejaybill
    It sounds better than any other pick I've ever used.
    That's the thing. Most picks I've tried just don't give a sound I like, including ones with which others get a nice enough tone. I also have a bone pick which is just a bit too bright, very thick and small but which should last a long time (but cost way less than 35€).
    I'm not going to spend 35€ on (sorry, but it's not untrue) a piece of plastic only to find I don't like the sound. If ever I get to sample one it'd be a different matter.

    FWIW, I got the tip about horn picks on here, when I asked which material gave the most finger-picking kind of sound, with also some hint of rosin (as on a violin bow). I've heard the latter thing about Dugain (?) picks too, but those are in yet another price category.

  10. #9

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by RJVB
    That's the thing. Most picks I've tried just don't give a sound I like, including ones with which others get a nice enough tone. I also have a bone pick which is just a bit too bright, very thick and small but which should last a long time (but cost way less than 35€).
    I'm not going to spend 35€ on (sorry, but it's not untrue) a piece of plastic only to find I don't like the sound. If ever I get to sample one it'd be a different matter.

    FWIW, I got the tip about horn picks on here, when I asked which material gave the most finger-picking kind of sound, with also some hint of rosin (as on a violin bow). I've heard the latter thing about Dugain (?) picks too, but those are in yet another price category.
    Blue chip is plastic but it is made from vespel which costs about 8k for a 10 ft square sheet.Best $35 i ever spent.Going to Starbucks during the week or smoking or drinking will cost a lot more and i have a pick that will last forever.It just glides on Flatwound strings.

  11. #10

    User Info Menu

    I use 2000 grit sandpaper on my Golden Gate picks. It works.

    There are various products for buffing fingernails (in the cosmetics section) that work too.

    I also noticed recently that they were getting sticky (this was part of a larger problem I posted about). Cleaned them with lighter fluid (the kind for cigarette lighters, not bbq - it's apparently a variety of naptha) which worked. Obviously, it's flammable, so it warrants some care.

  12. #11

    User Info Menu

    RJVB, Since you use Timber Tones plectrums, they have a wide range of wooden picks. I have no experience with them, but perhaps an ebony pick should have a nice and "woody" tone and be resistant (ebony is one of the hardest woods, right?).

  13. #12

    User Info Menu

    I bought some bone picks, and horn picks, several years ago while trying to find a pick I like. I have a big box filled with picks. I've made, and bought, wooden picks. I've made picks from CDs and various other types of plastic. They were all a waste of time and money for me. Picks are one of the more subjective pieces of equipment one can try. The upside is that they're mostly cheap, so it's not expensive to try lots of them. But cheap is cheap, and mostly you get what you pay for, or less. If you like the horn picks, buy more of them. You are not likely to have much luck with repairing or reshaping them, but it's your time and money, so file/sand away.

  14. #13

    User Info Menu

    You can gently sand or file it to restore a smooth surface. Be careful not to remove too much material or alter the shape too drastically.

  15. #14

    User Info Menu

    I did about 600 gigs on a national np-2 before the metal was folded over enough that I had to finally part ways with it. I am reasonably handy with metal working files and have a bunch but it's not really worth it to fool with other than knocking the folded edge off the back, which is pointless. The shape that the picking edge takes as you wear it works well until the edge starts to divot out at the end of it's life.

    The blue chip gets lots of hype it's hard to deny that it's good because of so many positive reports but will it do 600 gigs plus rehearsals and personal practice? I don't know I play with fingerpicks anyways so it's irrelevant to me but I know I pull many of my old lady's picks out of the wash machine routinely. She's already got a bad guitar addiction and I can't encourage that stuff so I have to tow the line here at home and tell her blue chip is a ripoff. She uses dunlop primetone I think which are like a cheap knock off of the blue chip but are a decent pick I guess. I'm just not into flatpicking. I'd rather play with my fingers if I can't have fingerpicks.

    She doesn't get blue chip and I don't get these so it's like the first world version of self denial:

    Finger Picks | Landis Studios

  16. #15

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by DawgBone
    The blue chip gets lots of hype it's hard to deny that it's good because of so many positive reports but will it do 600 gigs plus rehearsals and personal practice?
    Yes, probably.

  17. #16

    User Info Menu

    Pick maintenance, for me, is DON'T LOSE THEM.

  18. #17

    User Info Menu

    I wonder if I just don't whack the guitar hard enough because I don't seem to experience the pick wear problems other people talk about. I have some picks that I've been using for 30 years or more, cheap Dunlop Delrin 500 1.5mm. They wear but still sound fine. I have mostly set those aside because I've realized I prefer a much smaller pick than the 351 shape, either cutting down a larger pick (347 cut down to a Jazz III size), the Fender 451 extra heavies or 358 Pro Plecs.

    I don't think there is any way to restore the original shape of the point as it wears, regardless of material. You can polish and shape/smooth the edges which will reduce pick noise, usually soften brightness of tone and attack, and improve the feeling of string release.

  19. #18

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    They wear but still sound fine.
    Same here; the tips go square but I only hear a true difference when I pick a new one.

  20. #19

    User Info Menu

    I've seen many posts over the years about how great the Blue Chip sounds, but no one offers specifics. Omphalo & BJB, in what way does it sound so great to each of you? Is the tone fatter than that from other picks you've used? smoother? Does it enable cleaner runs ? more note definition in chords? If multiple users report the same characteristics on different guitars and strings, I take it seriously.

    I've used ProPlecs for general playing for a while now because they're warmer and richer sounding on my archtops than anything I've tried except Dunlop 477P207 Jazztones. But I like the feel of a smaller pick. Then I found a Dunlop 474P3 Stubby (which are made of Lexan) that someone left on stage last week. It looked interesting, so I cleaned it off with alcohol and tried it when I got home that night. I like it so much that I just bought a pack of 6 and have used them on 3 gigs this week. They're a tiny bit less warm than the ProPlecs because they have a slightly more defined attack, especially with harder picking. But keeping it gentle they're very rich for jazz on an archtop and still give the chime I like for fusion and blues. They're mechanically excellent for all kinds of playing too. They'e easy to grip consistently, so my attach is much more stable now. The ProPlecs shift around a bit in my fingers. And at $1 each, I'll toss them when they're worn enough to affect clean lead picking.

  21. #20

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
    I've seen many posts over the years about how great the Blue Chip sounds, but no one offers specifics. Omphalo & BJB, in what way does it sound so great to each of you? Is the tone fatter than that from other picks you've used? smoother? Does it enable cleaner runs ? more note definition in chords? If multiple users report the same characteristics on different guitars and strings, I take it seriously.
    For one thing, Blue Chip picks really bring out the fundamental, with less high harmonic ‘noise’, so your picking sounds cleaner and stronger.

  22. #21

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by cmajor9
    For one thing, Blue Chip picks really bring out the fundamental, with less high harmonic ‘noise’, so your picking sounds cleaner and stronger.
    Interesting. Compared to what? When I have heard people demonstrating Blue Chip picks, I find that I think they sound thinner and brighter rather than darker and fatter.

  23. #22

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    Interesting. Compared to what? When I have heard people demonstrating Blue Chip picks, I find that I think they sound thinner and brighter rather than darker and fatter.
    I have 2 Blue chips,a 1 mm and a 2.5 mm.The 1 mm is brighter and the 2.5 is darker in sound. The Blue chip has minimal pick noise,has less friction on the string and seems to not slip in your fingers.I still use other picks but if i had to use just one it would be the 1 mm Blue Chip.I have the pick for years now and it shows practically zero wear.

  24. #23

    User Info Menu

    Picks wear in three basic ways;

    - the side edges get nicked or just rough
    - the tip shape proper gets blunt
    - the tip edge gets "slant wear"

    To smooth the side edges use Scotch-Brite (1 inch square will last a lifetime), rub along the edge
    The restore the curve of the tip edge shape, rub Scotch-Brite along the edge (eventually the pick will become shorter in its longitudinal axis)
    To restore slant wear, rub Scotch-Brite along the edge (put a hard object behind the pad to get a square edge, use finger behind pad to get a bevel)

    Pick maintenance?-sb-jpg

    Slant wear is the asymmetric line of the tip's leading edge when viewed head on; it looks a little like a propeller, results from the pick slant angle being slightly different for up and down strokes. Looks like this:

    Pick maintenance?-pick-jpg


    There is no consensus on the perfect pick because of variation in how we hold them, how firmly, variation in slant and angle, and picking technique. Pick materials are more or less subject to the production of anomalous artifact sounds. For example, a very hard pick upon first touching the string may produce contact bounce or may produce a "two-tone" sound during the attack by dividing the sounding string length for some initial milliseconds by a usually non-harmonically related ratio. To hear an exaggerated version of these sounds, just play a few seconds with a heavy coin like a U.S. nickel as a pick.
    The material least subject to producing those sounds is probably Nylon, with the thinner Delrin picks coming in second, however some will miss the "edge" they are used to hearing.
    Switching picks often results in discovering or subduing unwanted artifacts. The subsequent contact of a rest stroke might or might not be heard through the pickup, or a habit of letting the pick incidentally buzz against sounding strings might begin to be heard or disappear.
    If you're at the crossroads, best thing is to get a handful of different shapes, materials, and thicknesses. Play with all of them to narrow the field, then spend some time (weeks) with the contenders to be sure. Once you know the formula that suits you, then you can make informed explorations into the high quality (expensive) versions.
    Happy is the guitarist whose favorite pick is available everywhere $3 per dozen.

  25. #24

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
    Then I found a Dunlop 474P3 Stubby (which are made of Lexan) that someone left on stage last week. It looked interesting
    This?


    I find I like this shape best for now:


    I have the same shape in ebony which gives a real nice sound on nylon strings.

    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    The material least subject to producing those sounds is probably Nylon, with the thinner Delrin picks coming in second, however some will miss the "edge" they are used to hearing.
    You're forgetting about the felt picks some people use, and I have a few "hard" rubber picks (which are kind of interesting on nylon strings, pointless on steel).

    I find that picks that slide to well off the strings are problematic for me; it happens too often that it does just that without producing the sound I intended.

  26. #25

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by RJVB
    This?
    This -

    Pick maintenance?-img_1770-png
    I found it last Sunday at our weekly blues brunch, ordered a bag of 6 that night, received them Monday, and used them Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They’ve now my official pick