How do folks make a pick grip better?

[rpjazzguitar]

I found some of these at the Office Depot today. They are called "Reinforcement Labels" and are only $2 for a package of 900 (!).

I stuck a couple on a pick and they are pretty nice. I would've liked for them to be a tad bit thicker, but I agree, they do seem to work well.

I've tried putting a second one on, right over the first one. Thickens it a little bit. But, mostly, I find that one on each side of the pick works.

[Bahnzo]

I've tried putting a second one on, right over the first one. Thickens it a little bit. But, mostly, I find that one on each side of the pick works.

Yep, I've been going with just one on each side and I like it. I've found putting a second on over the top actually leads to some slippage of the stickers.

I really like the Dunlop Jazz Tone picks, they are thick and have a nice soft(er) tone to them that I haven't been able to produce with others. They just need to have some sort of grip pattern on them as they are too smooth for my taste.

[tonedeaf]

I use candle wax (used to hold candles in a candlestick). They are just sticky enough to hold the pick on your finger, but not make it sticky and annoying. I am still using the small can that I bought about 10 years ago.

[rpjazzguitar]

Yep, I've been going with just one on each side and I like it. I've found putting a second on over the top actually leads to some slippage of the stickers.

I haven't had any trouble with the second one slipping. But, I didn't think the second one improved grip enough to go to the trouble of putting it on.

The Golden Gate mandolin pick I use is pretty easy to hold even without the circular label. The bigger advantage is that the circular label is really easy to see on the floor when you drop the pick. Saves time. You don't drop as many and they're easier to find.

[careyhofer]

Hi everyone, and happy Easter. Don't post much but I really appreciate those of you that do. I just had to relate my experience with slippery picks. Over the last 10 or 15 years I have been playing mosty jazz/great american song book duos with clarinet/sax. All fingerstyle. Hence I don't use the pick unless I play in larger combos. Because of this (can't think of any other reason) my pick is always constantly moving around. Very frustrating.

I tried everything from licking my finger and thumb (things get a little better once I am warmed up) to drilling holes in my picks, roughing them up with sandpaper, dava picks (fixed it for the most part but didn't like the sound etc) to etching grooves with a metal etcher etc-you,get the idea. Nothing seemed to,work.

Finally one day I thought, maybe it's my hand that was the problem, not the picks. This led me to thinking about some kind of powder or something. Maybe violin rosin would work. I googled it and sure enough, it seemed to help a lot of people. I bought some at Guitar Center, scraped some off and tried it.

Works perfectly! Almost couldn't believe it. Makes your finger and thumb just a little tacky and works just as well if not better when I warm up and start to sweat a little. It lasts (at least for me) at least a couple of hours-haven't tried it for longer than that. My right hand relaxes and I play better. Yay me! This is of course only my experience but hopefully if you are having the same problem this will help you.

[Ukena]

Blue Chip picks solved this problem for me. Since I started using them 9 years ago, I haven't yet dropped a pick.

They're not sticky, at all; they glide off the strings, but they stay between your fingers, and the grippiness doesn't ebb. But they aren't cheap.

[sgosnell]

The Blue Chip picks stick to my fingers well enough that I can release one finger (or thumb) completely, and the pick will stay on the other finger (or thumb) even with the pick underneath it. It just stays in place as if my finger were a magnet and the pick were ferrous. And the pick glides across the strings more smoothly than any others I've tried, of any material composition. I don't know how it works, but it does. Surface tension, perhaps.

[careyhofer]

Interesting. I will have to try. Thanks for the advice guys. I know there are a little expensive. Will they work for faster funk strumming?

[sgosnell]

They're picks. They will work for any style. You just need to decide on the shape and thickness you prefer. I have several, of different shapes and thicknesses. I put the ones I'm interested in into the wishlist on the site, then give links to the wishlist to family members who ask what I want for Christmas or my birthday. So I got most of them for free.

[Dodge]

I use picks with tiny three holes in the center made with a push pin.

For extra grip I apply a very small amount of Stick-Um Candle Adhesive (available at Hobby Lobby) to the pick.
This waxy substance is east to remove and not a messy as Gorilla Snot.