Strum with Precision: Choosing the Best Picks for Your Acoustic Guitar

Strum with Precision: Choosing the Best Picks for Your Acoustic Guitar

To form the best connection with your guitar, you’ll need the right guitar pick. The plectrum may be one of the smallest, most inexpensive pieces of music gear you can buy — but it has a mighty impact on your guitar’s sound and the technique you use. With thousands of acoustic guitar pick designs, simply thinking about the many options can send your brain way out of tune.

That’s where the guitarists at Strings and Beyond come in. We’ve put together this acoustic guitar pick guide to help our fellow musicians understand how different designs affect how you play. Use it to decide which picks to keep in your collection for playing rock, folk, country or any other style.

Acoustic Guitar Pick Sizes

When people talk about guitar pick size, they’re usually referring to the thickness. This is also called the pick gauge. Acoustic guitar picks can be anywhere from 0.2mm and 5mm thick depending on what and how you play. Most guitarists work with picks between 0.4mm and 2mm. Here are the four main guitar pick size ranges:

• Thin guitar picks are between 0.4mm and 0.6mm thick. These are best for strumming and for the delicacy required on classical guitars. A thin pick flexes a lot, which produces a bright, trebly sound but makes it harder to play single strings.
• Medium guitar picks are between 0.60m and 0.8mm thick. They offer enough flex for strumming yet are sturdy enough for single-string and solo playing. A medium pick has a well-rounded sound with good highs and mid-ranges. Because of its versatility, this is the most common type of guitar pick.
• Heavy guitar picks are between 0.8mm and 1.2mm thick. They let guitarists attack more on single strings and deliver a warmer, more dynamic sound for jazz and flamenco. The downside is that they aren’t as good for rhythm work
• Extra-heavy guitar picks are between 1.2mm and 2mm thick. They produce the darkest, most mellow tone and give you the most control — but are the most difficult to strum full chords. As such, outside of jazz, extra-heavy picks are rare (though not unheard of) in the acoustic guitar community.

We recommend beginners start with medium picks. A 0.73mm guitar pick, which is a common size from manufacturers like Dunlop and Ernie Ball, offers the best range for a variety of play. As you hone in on your preferred style and sound, you can switch picks accordingly.

In terms of physical size, the general rule is to use larger picks for rhythm guitar and smaller picks for lead guitar. How big a pick you should use also depends on your hand and finger size.

Acoustic Guitar Pick Materials

For many years, most guitar plectrums were made from tortoiseshell. In 1973, though, this material was banned internationally. Many materials for acoustic guitar picks have been introduced since then that alter the sound and feel. These are the five most popular options:

Celluloid Picks

Originally developed in the early 1900s, plastic celluloid picks are made of the same material as traditional movie film rolls. They are cheaper than other materials, offer a balanced tone and are more flexible for strumming. On the other hand, they tend to wear out relatively quickly.

Nylon Picks

A nylon guitar pick has a similar flex to celluloid and a warmer sound. They are more durable than celluloid and can be manufactured in thinner gauges but have a much slicker feel. As such, many nylon guitar picks have special bumps, texturing or holes to improve grip.

Delrin Picks

Also known as acetal picks, Delrin guitar picks use a heavy-duty rigid plastic that makes your guitar sound brighter and lets you attack lead parts. If you are doing rhythm work, you may need to get thinner picks than normal. Dunlop’s popular Tortex guitar picks are made of Delrin.

Acrylic Picks

This is another good option for guitarists who want a durable, stiff guitar pick. They tend to be thicker than other picks and are slick like nylon. However, acrylic guitar picks will give you the brightest sound, and they are often the most colorful if you want some visual style.

Polycarbonate Picks

A modern creation, thermoplastic polycarbonate guitar picks offer the strength and impact resistance of Delrin or acrylic while having more flex and warmth. Polycarbonate is frequently used for thumb picks, and it’s also a good jazz pick material.

Acoustic Guitar Pick Shapes

The final major consideration is the shape of your guitar pick. Again, there are many possible pick shapes, but we will focus on the four that are used most often by acoustic guitarists.

• Standard guitar picks, or 351 picks, have rounded corners and a pointed tip for a traditional grip. Though the tip usually has a rounded edge, you can get them with a pointed edge for added brightness.
• Teardrop guitar picks are more rounded on the sides and top. This makes them easier to hold, but you won’t have as much control over how hard or soft you play. You can get them in wide or thin designs.
• Triangle guitar picks are larger picks with straight sides and sharp tips. They’re better for rhythm guitarists and the double-stop technique — and unlike other picks, you can use any of the three tips to play.
• Jazz guitar picks are similar to teardrop picks but have straighter sides to give guitarists more control. They’re commonly known as Jazz III picks since this is the trade name under which Dunlop pioneered them.

Most manufacturers offer a big variety of picks. Because they’re inexpensive, you don’t need a huge investment to try them out. Still not sure what you should use? Call Strings and Beyond at (877) 830-0722 for assistance.