 The many faces of the Dunlop Primetone series. Musicians are notoriously "picky" about gear--what gauge strings they use, which effects pedals, capos, tuners, slides...right on down to how many thousandths of an inch they prefer their flat picks! Over the years I've grown to prefer thicker picks for acoustic guitar, anywhere from 1 to 1.5mm. For electric, anywhere from .88 to 1mm tends to work well. But that's just me. Every customer has a very specific pick preference, and I'd like to think that we stock something for everyone here at Sylvan. With all that demand for specialized thickness and feel, there are now companies making boutique and customized picks. Would you believe that?! Who knew that their would be a demand for $40, $50, $75 picks! Crazy, I know. Companies like Blue Chip and Red Bear picks are just a couple of the brands slangin' high dollar plastic. But luckily, you don't have to spend the big bucks to get great tone out of your instrument. Here at Sylvan, we stock a wide variety of picks by companies like Wegen, Dunlop, Clayton, Golden Gate, and many more. One line that I am currently a big fan of is the Primetone by Dunlop. I will forego an explanation of what makes these picks so great and direct you to a description from their website: Primetone Sculpted Plectra will glide off your strings and bring out the true voice and clarity of your instrument. With hand-burnished sculpted edges, these picks allow for fast, articulate runs and effortless strumming. Made from Ultex for maximum durability and superior tonal definition. Available in three different shapes with a low-profile grip or a smooth traditional surface. There you have it! These work for me. How picky are you going to be the next time you stock up on plastic??  McCoy Tyler is a salesman at Sylvan Music with an aptitude towards acoustic guitars, amps, and pickup systems. When he's not spouting musical knowledge on the sales floor, he can be found doing some hot picking and sweet singing with his group The McCoy Tyler Band.
2 Comments
Robert Shaw
5/20/2015 09:58:11 am
Thanks for this pick info. I only use a big thin cool brand for articulating my 12 string play"n. I"m not skilled enough to transfer as quick, string to string compared to just using my own fingers. I think flat picking is possibly faster and articulates each string better and, as someone improves, they prefer thicker picks? I"m just guessing but whatever works & makes each player happy! 5/21/2015 04:20:06 am
Hey there Robert! That's absolutely the right approach--whatever works for you and makes you further enjoy the act of playing your instrument. I find that a thicker pick really improves my tone on an acoustic guitar, especially since my personal guitar is a dreadnaught and really requires a lot of energy to get that big spruce top moving! But ultimately, it's up to the player to find out what works best for them. What style of music do you play? Are you a solo performer or do you play with a band? How heavy is your pick attack? These are all questions to consider when trying out picks. Plus, they're (usually) cheap, so why not try them all! Leave a Reply. |
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