Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone have experience playing a guitar with a silver pick?

I hear it will sound more treble-y. Not being one for an ear for sound, will this be a terrible match for a curly spanish cedar top/rosewood sided guitar?

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Colleen, wife to Mark Kett and longterm lurker to the OLF
http://www.pearlinlays.com

Silver can get marked pretty quickly as it's a soft metal. I had one one, also a normal nickel pick, and really didn't like the brash, trebly tone I was getting.

Mind you, I don't like any other pick much either. I find it enjoyable coaxing different nuances of tone just by using my fingertips & nails.

I have some stainless steel picks, some brass ones, and some MOP ones. They all have a similar sort of super-pingy scratchy sound, though the MOP pick is much better than the other two in that regard. Of all the picks I've made from various materials, ones made out of purpleheart sound best hands down.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Wow, what thickness? I have some purpleheart lying around.....

be very careful about using metal picks if you are an aggressive player....the damage they can do to a top is quick and impressive (don't ask me how I know this....)

I've used stainless and copper and they can tear heck out of strings! I liked the sound because they seemed to give one an extra edge when needed, but when playing soft you really don't hear the difference in tone.

Are you talking "silver" or stainless? I don't think I've ever heard of silver picks before!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

The ones I made were 2mm, but the consideration is simply how thin you can make it and not break it. They will wear down a lot faster than plastic or metal picks, but you can always make up 15 from a small piece of wood with a dremel on a router base so it's not such a big deal.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Aye. I came across the Silver picks on Etsy.
I am glad I asked y'all about it.

Now the purpleheart, NICE. Snakewood? Would that work. I've got some bits that might do well. Its nice and strong etc.

Hrrrrmmm.....

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Colleen, wife to Mark Kett and longterm lurker to the OLF
http://www.pearlinlays.com

I bought some water buffalo horn picks off of ebay that came from taiwan (i think). They're pretty
nice, thin and stiff - very similar to real tortoise shell, but more durable, less prone to chipping. You
want to try them out as an alternative to metal, especially if it's the stiffness you're after.

Like others, I've tried some metal picks, but found the tone too 'tinny' for my tastes & imagine they could tear up a guitar top pretty fast if you got to playing too many protest songs.

john g