The Ideal Plectrum? You’ll Only Find it if You Look!

In this new age of countless plectrum variations, Guestblogger and multi-instrumentalist Nigel Hubee talks about what got him thinking more deeply about his pick of plectrum and his happy surprise at finding out how cheaply he could experiment with using picks made of different materials, picks with different shapes, and picks with different thicknesses – and what a massive difference it made to the sound of his instrument. If you’re on your own pick-related journey of self-discovery then allow Nigel to help you take your tone to a level you didn’t know existed.

How the Modern Plectrum Happened

Back in the sixties, the moment I’d saved up enough of my hard-earned paper-round money, I bought my very first (and near-unplayable) acoustic guitar, which came with a plectrum made of celluloid that looked like fake tortoiseshell. While I don’t remember if there was any discussion about what kind of material, shape or thickness of the pick I chose, I do remember that I was aware of there being a few different kinds to choose from.

The celluloid plectrum has actually been around since 1922, after Luigi D’Andrea started producing them in New York in 1922 as an alternative to increasingly scarce and expensive tortoiseshell (the use of which is thankfully, now banned). D’Andrea consulted various musicians and experimented with more than 50 different pick shapes, each of which he gave a unique number. The 351 was far and away the most popular shape and is still just as popular today, forming the outline of maybe 95% of all plectrums being made right now (see a D’Andrea plectrum with the now classic 351 shape below).

New Makes & Materials

And then suddenly, in the mid-seventies, the nylon plectrums made by Jim Dunlop appeared in the box that they would pull out from under the desk when you went in to buy a new plectrum. These new picks became incredibly popular in a very short period of time, and I was also an immediate fan. The nylon Dunlop plectrums were less slippery than cellulose so you had better grip. They also came in a whole range of thicknesses, specified in millimetres – instead of the old three-step scale which included just Light, Medium and Heavy.

Over time, a lot of other materials started to be used. Most of them based on the extremely hard industrial plastic: Delrin. Even Tortex is made from this stuff before it’s processed so that it sounds as much like the tortoiseshell plectrums of bygone days as possible. The same idea is applied to Ultex, which is made from a slightly different hardened plastic. The reason that the quest to find a convincing replacement for tortoiseshell is so difficult, is simply because tortoiseshell is a naturally occurring material made from keratin – which happens to be the same naturally occurring material that your fingernails are made of. If you take a look at the full range of plectrums that are out there now, you’ll find maybe hundreds of manufacturers, some mass producing an array of picks to choose from and some specialising in hand-made plectrums, each with their own individual shape and made from unique materials.

Thickness, Shape, Grip & My Own Plectrum Journey

I realised just how important the thickness of a plectrum is when I first picked up a mandolin and tried to play those classic mandolin trills using the 0.73 medium nylon plectrum that had been my standard tool for years. Because this kind of plectrum is so flexible, it bent everytime I hit one of the highly-tensioned doubled strings and, because you have to move your hand so fast to make a trill, the plectrum just couldn’t keep up with me. This sparked my search for a less flexible plectrum that I could use on stage, not just to play the mandolin, but also an acoustic guitar and a dobro with considerably heavier strings on it (I also play the ukulele and bass guitar using a pretty unusual fingerstyle technique, but that’s for another time).

Variety Packs

The best starting point if you want to get to know what different pick types can do to your sound and your playing technique is to pick up a little variety bag or box of plectrums. Then you can try out the full gambit of possible types, find the one you like the most and then order a few in different thicknesses. Doing exactly that has resulted in my humble collection (pictured below). I’ve systematically tried out every one of these plectrums: (as much as I could) in the same material but with different thicknesses, and then tried out my favourite thickness in different materials and shapes.

» Plectrum Variety Packs

Shape

When it comes to shape, I’m still loyal to the classic 351. While sharper, more pointed shapes like the Tortex III have really gorgeous definition and attack, they don’t glide smoothly enough over the strings to match with my playing style. The bigger triangle shape felt a bit awkward for my hand-size and got in the way, but does work really well if you need plenty of grip and want a firm hold. The smaller jazz models are also great because you can keep them held really close to the strings, giving you way more control, but I just couldn’t stick with them in the end because the grip surface is so small.

» Standard Shape Plectrums
» Jazz Shape Plectrums
» Teardrop Shape Plectrums
» Sharkfin Shape Plectrums
» Triangle Shape Plectrums
» Other Shape Plectrums
» Thumb Plectrums
» Finger Plectrums

Thickness

When it came to thickness (also sometimes called the weight or the gauge), I discovered that 1.5 millimetres was a good compromise between a thinner plectrum that was too bendy and a thicker plectrum that felt too rigid and, depending on the material, tended to sound less clear and defined. With a 1.5mm pick, I have a plectrum that feels really playable and actually makes the instrument I’m playing sound natural.

» Thin Plectrums
» Medium Plectrums
» Heavy Plectrums
» Extra-Heavy Plectrums

Material

For the material, I ultimately went for tried-and-tested nylon, mainly because of the genuinely improved grip of Dunlop Max-Grip plectrums. While other materials can sound just as good, they’re just too slippery for my lighter plectrum grip. The problem wasn’t that I was dropping the pick all the time but, while I was playing, it would slip and rotate between my fingers. The more raw texture of the Max-Grip makes this happen less quickly and because of the grip, you can actually feel it happening so you can easily correct it.

» Delrex Plectrums (Tortex, Delrin)
» Celluloid Plectrums
» Nylon Plectrums
» All Plectrums

In the clips included below, you can hear the Dunlop Max-Grip 1.5mm being used to play a mandolin (with the necessary tremolo trills) and an acoustic guitar.

Experiment!

Get stuck in and experiment with plectrums made from different materials, plectrums with different shapes and plectrums with different thicknesses. You’ll be surprised about just how much influence all of it can have on your sound and your playing style. And, the moment you’ve found the pick that feels just right, don’t forget that most materials (and therefore most plectrums) can wear and even break with use, so make sure to pick up a full bag of your new-found favourite pick.

Let me know if this blog inspired you to experiment with different plectrums and if you made any shocking discoveries along the way. And, if you have any other tips or wisdom to share, feel free to leave them in the comments!