It can be difficult to imagine, but the guitar pick is one of the simplest yet most essential components of your setup. Finding the perfect guitar pick is crucial since it has a significant impact on your tone. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the top guitar picks on the market right now.
It’s usually a good idea to have a variety of options available because as our playing progresses, our preferences may alter. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to stick with actual plectrums; rock legend Brian May created his signature tone with a British sixpence. It’s definitely worthwhile to try out a few different plectrums and do a lot more study as a novice guitarist because switching up your plectrum could affect your playing style.
The common guitar pick, often called a “plectrum,” is an indispensable tool for most guitarists, yet its significance is frequently underappreciated. Simply switching the plectrum you use can significantly alter the tone you produce, as well as how you play and how your guitar feels to you. We’ve tested some of the top guitar picks for electric, acoustic, and bass guitars to help you decide on the make and model that’s suitable for you.
Table of Contents
Jim Dunlop Tortex Standard .88mm Green Guitar Picks
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In response to the original CITES guitar crisis, which forced the industry to look for tortoiseshell substitutes, Jim Dunlop created the Tortex pick in 1981. Tortex picks were first introduced in 1981 and were initially created as a replacement for tortoiseshell (thus the tortoise design). They continue to be the industry standard today thanks to their strength, adaptability, and dazzling attack. They provide a neutral tone and a cozy grip. With a gauge range of.50mm (red) to 1.14mm, Dunlop’s color-coding system makes it simple to discover replacements for your preferred gauge (purple).
Well, tortoises and guitarists alike are eternally grateful for it. Since then, Dunlop has released a ton of picks, many of which provide a customized playing experience for particular playing types, but we found that the Tortex, with its straightforward happy-medium form and bright, quick reaction, felt like the greatest starting point for your playing.
Consider it a clean slate for all fashions and a necessary building block that keeps us using them long after the powdery chalk finish has faded from use. Everyone can find something since it comes in a variety of gauges. But the right one is a green 0.88mm Tortex. These are the Best Guitar Picks in 2023.
Fender 351 Classic Celluloid Guitar Picks 12-Pack
- Comfortable and familiar feel provided by the traditional 351 shape
- Celluloid picks give the traditional feel, with a smooth striking surface...
- Heavy gauge picks are rigid and durable providing a smooth, warm tone with...
Fender’s 351 celluloid picks have always been excellent; Angus Young prefers their vintage models with the stamped emblem. The logo on the more recent models is printed, and in hot, sweaty conditions, you might prefer a little extra traction. The Wavelength pattern, a set of grooves carved into the pick that should provide you a bit more traction, can be useful in this situation.
The bulk of Fender’s picks are made of celluloid, yet they come in a startling array of sizes, shapes, and thicknesses. In comparison to many other pick varieties, this substance has a warmer tone. The 551 is a bigger body and sharper tip version of Fender’s classic 451 form, making it ideal for lightning-quick single-note licks.
A medium pick made of celluloid is thinner than Dunlop Tortex’s 0.88mm medium and has a similar motion to heavier picks made of materials like Delrin or nylon. However, we discovered that if you are really digging in with a light or medium pick, it pays to scale up a little. These are the Best Guitar Picks for Beginners in 2023.
Gravity Picks GSUM15P
There are several alternatives in the Gravity range of acrylic picks, which are available in nine various shapes, four diameters ranging from 0.96 inches to 1.25 inches, and three different thicknesses (1.5mm, 2mm, and 3mm). There are thousands of alternatives when you do the arithmetic. But let’s concentrate on this tiny pick instead; it is comparable to a Dunlop Jazz III and has a good sharp point to engage with the strings thanks to the Sunrise profile. In our tests, we discovered that this acrylic pick provides a bright, clear tone.
In some Gravity pick varieties, the pick edge has an unpolished “master finish” that, while it may feel a touch scratchy to some, offers a wonderful tactile reaction in a pick made for quick and accurate picking.
ChickenPicks Badazz III 2.0 mm guitar picks
- The SOUND is much more SOLID because these picks have more MASS. Not those...
- Your guitar never sounded so full and you never played fast and picked...
- The thickness of the body, coupled with the texture of these picks make it...
The Badazz III is one of ChickenPicks’ thick, precisely edged picks that makes playing quick jazz lines a snap. It has a little more triangular design than the company’s more conventional 351 Shredder model.
The Badazz III is offered in two pick thicknesses: a 2mm pick that can confidently penetrate heavy gauge strings without yielding, and a 2.5mm pick that is accessible for those who have fully embraced the thick pick. The shredders that like to sprinkle pinch harmonics throughout their lines would particularly benefit from this. We’ve discovered that ChickenPicks delivers on both of its promises of “bright tone with loads of bottom end” and that their choices will last the distance.
Jim Dunlop Tortex Flow Standard 1.0mm Guitar Picks
- Tortex flow picks combine the bright snap of Tortex picks with the geometry...
- Features a wide angle to focus your attack and a sharp tip for superior...
- Available gauges (mm): . 50, . 60, . 73, . 88, 1. 0, 1. 14, 1. 35 & 1. 5mm
With this fresh spin on an enduring classic, the popular Tortex series receives a bevelled-edge makeover. The gliding motion that made Dunlop’s existing Flow picks popular with shredders like Andy James and John Petrucci is still present, but it is now combined with the classic Tortex material for an even snappier reaction. They come in gauges ranging from.50mm to 1.5mm. These are the Best Guitar Picks for Rock in 2023.