Is having a "bad" pick/plectrum an excuse for crappy playing

Thunkful

Banned
Member
Sorry for a provocative Subject, but what I mean is that i've heard some guitarists say that pick really shouldn't affect your playability. However i feel that for example a Dunlop Jazz 3 picks are way easier to play with when compared to those limp fender and some other brand picks that usually fold into a calzone when you strum with them. Also the smaller size of the Jazz 3 picks seem to make them feel even sturdier when holding one.

Am i really just a shitty player for not really being able to do anything with those flaccid picks or anyone else here who feels like i do about this?

Also a general pick/plectrum thread. :confused:
 
I can't use those tiny picks ,there just isn't enough to hold onto. I also don't like thin flimsy picks.Fender medium is my pick of choice, I can use heavy as well but prefer the medium .
As for your original question " is a pick an excuse for crappy playing"? NO. You should have plenty of what you like on hand and if your blaming your pick then maybe its time to find a new excuse.
 
Well I will say that finding the right pick is very important to yourcomfort level in playing. I notice a difference in my playing with using different picks even just slightly different sizes. I got some picks from Ola Englund which are 1.14 jazz III's and then I have some 1.25's that are larger in shape. As soon as I grab one and start playing I notice a difference and it affects my playing. If I used thin or medium ones then I'm pretty screwed and it does feel sloppier. Once you find your goldilocks zone you adapt your entire playing around that (at least I do). Could I play all the same stuff with any pick? Sure but it will change the way I dig in and transition between strings
 
splatter":wcvbla2f said:
As for your original question " is a pick an excuse for crappy playing"? NO. You should have plenty of what you like on hand and if your blaming your pick then maybe its time to find a new excuse.
Absolutely and i'm always armed with Jazz 3s when it's time for guitar business. But, for the sake of an argument, let's imagine that someone would force you to play with their pick which happens to be one of those sloppier thin ones and you let the guy know that your playing might not be that great with that given pick, could that be counted as just a bad excuse for not playing well?
 
I've been playing JazzIII forever it seems. I can't even hold another plectrum without it feeling totally foreign in my fingers. So, ya, it does affect my playing if I don't have my pick-of-choice.

YMMV.
 
I have played carbon fiber jazz iii's for a long time and I just make sure that I have one on me. The limp fender pics I can't deal with or tolerate for shit tbh.
 
Another Jazz III abuser here. I have like 12 sitting on top of my amp and I have some in my truck in case I go to Guitar Center and don't want to deal with their cheapy GC picks they hand out. So yeah, I would say wrong pick = crappy playing. Use what works best.
 
I cant use the thin fender picks, they flex and makes the timing off by a small amount, just enough to drive me crazy. Plus, they suck.
 
Thanks guys, i already feel better about myself being able to play to my best only with the Jazz IIIs, didn't know that so many people were fond of them too. :D But i can understand why.
 
I look like a pick as a specialized tool,you have to have the one that works. That to me is a MLB player with a specific sized/weight. You could give any .300 hitter a bad bat, and they couldn't hit for shit. Use what works best for you, and be responsible for having your tool with you.
 
orange tortex for 20+ years now.
When they're bent, or super worn (which never happens since i loose them so fast), they feel "weird" in my hand, and i do feel like it cramps my playing enough for me to at least notice.

jarred dines has some joke in one of his videos where the guitar player "NEEDS A FRESH PICK!!", and i totally have thought that, in my drunker, sloppier moments playing. :LOL: :LOL:
 
Jazz IIIs are the only ones I can articulate with, but for shuffle-rhythm playing I've never been able to avoid shaving my knuckles on the strings.

I've often wondered if an intermediate-sized pick, something between the JIII and regular Dunlop 1mm Nylon would allow me to do both. I think there's something in that ballpark from Dunlop so hopefully someone can recommend one I ought to try. Gotta be readily-available (one reason I choose Dunlop), ultra-cheap and have decent grip...
 
JimAnsell":zatjndq8 said:
jarred dines has some joke in one of his videos where the guitar player "NEEDS A FRESH PICK!!", and i totally have thought that, in my drunker, sloppier moments playing. :LOL: :LOL:
Music Is Win imo had that same joke in one of his videos IIRC and that exact joke caused me to make this thread :D I thought that it was seen as a world ending thing if you wouldn't be able to play with a flaccid pick.
 
Everytime I go to GC they hand me a thin pick to use when trying out guitars. They probably did my wallet a favor
 
I can't use the Jazz III style picks. I mean, I could probably adjust to the smaller size but I would drop them all of the time...LOL.

I like a regular sized pick with some kind of grip on it. anywhere from .80 to 1.0 is fine by me.
 
Back
Top