# How many guitar picks do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833 "2020-02-12T19:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/21 "2020-02-13T04:01:45Z")
What’s funny is that when I played in a band I was almost always finger-picking. But that didn’t stop me from “picking” up random picks in music stores, bars, from other guitarists… One guitar shop had a bowl of them on the counter with their name on 'em. Perfectly targeted advertising. Hmm, maybe I should get my logo on picks instead of printing business cards… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/22 "2020-02-13T06:14:42Z")
I have probably 10 or 15 of them floating around. Also, I don’t play guitar. Over the years, I’ve attempted to teach myself to play a few times with little to no success. I haven’t touched a guitar in over 20 years, other than to move it from one corner of the closet to a different corner of the closet, but I still run across picks in random spots in my house from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/23 "2020-02-13T10:12:11Z")
I have two. One heavy jazz pick with my guitar and another one in my wallet, in case I’m with a guitarist who lost theirs. I wouldn’t mind having a couple more, but I don’t really need it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/24 "2020-02-13T13:13:32Z")
I have three guitar picks. One from Buddy Guy, one from B.B. King, and one from my friend Smokin Joe. I have zero musical ability, they’re just keepsakes. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/25 "2020-02-13T13:15:35Z")
I used to like the extra-heavy 1mm-1.5mm picks, but eventually I stopped playing exclusively metal and I settled on [0.73mm “star picks.”](https://media.musiciansfriend.com/is/image/MMGS7/Star-Grip-Guitar-Picks-50-Picks-.73-mm-Yellow/J01732000004004-00-500x500.jpg) I don’t have a ton of them, I think I got a bag of like 20 a decade ago and still have at least half of them. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/26 "2020-02-13T13:35:30Z")
I play guitar every day. I have about a dozen Fender mediums, a few in my wallet and a few in a bowl near my guitars. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/27 "2020-02-13T15:02:49Z")
Anyone into really fancy/pricey picks? Do you modify yours? I’m entirely ignorant about such things (play upright and clawhammer), but some of the guys I’ve played w/ have discussed picks costing $30 or more, drilling holes in them, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/28 "2020-02-13T15:07:13Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I have that punch too! > > I used to use it with old credit cards and hotel key cards, often trying to find the most interesting bits on the card to center in the pick. I received one of those punches for Xmas many years ago. I like the idea and I used it a few times in a pinch, but IME most things it works on make pretty crappy guitar picks. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/29 "2020-02-13T15:09:17Z")
To play with (Tortex Blues) a dozen+ (4 on-the-go with guitars plus replacements). Also many, many in various stages of worn out, kept as “spares” because I’m too mean to chuck them out. And, the _ **collection** _, I guess more than a hundred (I’m not about to count them). A long time ago I worked as a sound engineer at small time rock gigs, and for whatever reason I’ve held on to a selection of picks that guitarists left behind. Jim Dunlop Nylons seem to be popular (or maybe they just get dropped a lot?) the thinner ones must be like playing with a bus ticket. A surprising number of _Sharkfin_ picks (from Sweden apparently), I don’t even know how you’re supposed to hold these, none of the “corners” seem suitable for plucking, one side is serrated (for chewing through your strings?) There’s an Ernie Ball glow-in-the-dark medium (luminosity didn’t stop it being lost). Some personalised ones (I don’t know who _Cosmic Joe_ was, but he left his teeth marks on his pick). Others have phone numbers on them, I’m not sure who they expected to call? The weirdest (to me) are a couple made of stainless steel. “Normal” pick size and shape (that is, not coin sized) and completely rigid. I’ll have to try one out later, but I can’t imagine it feeling or sounding good. I’m going to wash my hands now, the steel picks seemed clean enough, but the Jim Dunlop nylons are grody. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/30 "2020-02-13T15:54:49Z")
I had a couple dozen till I picked up a cigar box full of them at an estate sale for $5. Haven’t counted them, there might be a couple hundred. I was more interested in the cigar box though, going to make a cigar box guitar out of it. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/31 "2020-02-13T17:18:06Z")
I have a medium sized jam jar full of them. I like heavy picks because I feel like I have more control with them and there is no slop. There are 3 I like: the old 1.6mm Brain picks (before they restarted the business), 1.5mm Dunlop Max Grips (which oddly feel just like the thicker Brain picks) and recently I have been into the unnecessarily expensive 1.5mm Truetone picks. They really do sound a little brighter and clearer. They aren’t as thick but just as hard (I feel dirty saying that lol). There are also a few oddball ones. I keep some thin ones for a different strumming sound. When I was a beginner I would pick and strum too hard and wear down picks, so I searched for harder ones that would not wear down. As I got better, that was no longer a problem. I sometimes wonder about the very expensive picks such as BlueChip, V-Picks and Wegen but I can’t bring myself to buy one. It is probably smart to use Fender picks because they will always be around. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/32 "2020-02-13T17:33:26Z")
Oops, I meant Primetone picks not Truetone. =p ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/33 "2020-02-13T18:15:20Z")
I have also tried brass, stone and coin picks. I did not like them and found them to be “clicky.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/34 "2020-02-13T18:56:34Z")
I have probably a couple of hundred. I have about 75 of the type that I actually use. I have two picks in my pocket everywhere I go. I have another collection of ones that I’ve burned through trying to find the right gauge and material. Some are just for fun. My wife went to a Chicago concert with a girlfriend and came home with a Chicago-branded pick that they guitarist threw into the audience. Your son has 5000? There is a fine line between compulsion and collecting. Maybe he’s just a collector. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/35 "2020-02-13T19:51:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Anyone into really fancy/pricey picks? Do you modify yours? > > I’m entirely ignorant about such things (play upright and clawhammer), but some of the guys I’ve played w/ have discussed picks costing $30 or more, drilling holes in them, etc. My picks were $10 each when they were made and sold. I do modify them. The picks are made from brass cymbals (hence the name) and I engrave new ones so I have some ridges and grooves to grip with my fingers. (When I started playing guitar, dropping the pick was a major problem for me. To counter it, I made a rule that if I dropped my pick I had to stop practicing/playing. This encouraged me to focus more on holding on to the pick, since I like making noise with a guitar more than almost anything else in existence. 30+ years later and this is still my rule: if I drop the pick, I turn the amp off and put the guitar down. I very, very rarely drop my pick anymore. Like, maybe once a year, at most.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/36 "2020-02-13T19:55:27Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > The weirdest (to me) are a couple made of stainless steel. “Normal” pick size and shape (that is, not coin sized) and completely rigid. I’ll have to try one out later, but I can’t imagine it feeling or sounding good. I used various steel and aluminum picks before I found the brass ones I use today. The aluminum ones were okay but wore down quickly. The steel ones were okay but lacked response and a good edge. The brass ones are extremely responsive, sound great and have a good edge that gets better with use. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/37 "2020-02-13T21:22:00Z")
I have zero, but my husband has several hundred. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/38 "2020-02-13T21:37:58Z")
1. 4 blue fender mediums, 4 blue fender lights, and one pick-shaped seashell that I don’t know when or how I got and I’ve never used but is stored with the picks. I’ve had them since I got the guitar 28 years ago. I just started learning to play last month. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/39 "2020-02-14T01:53:17Z")
Many, haven’t been playing much lately but have guitar picks out the wazoo. There was a time when I would have predicted my most likely cause of death would be choking on a guitar pick. I tended to put them between my lips when doing the finger picked part and then forget it was there! Thank God I gave up playing guitar! 😃 Seriously, hoping to get back to it. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833/40 "2020-02-14T02:04:23Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I received one of those punches for Xmas many years ago. I like the idea and I used it a few times in a pinch, but IME most things it works on make pretty crappy guitar picks. Picks punched out from credit cards were perfect for strumming “cowboy chords” if I was standing in front of church leading out an impromptu song service. Every once in a while I would punch out a few dozen and then give them a decent sanding to take off the rough edges. But my serious guitar playing was jazz, so I had many dozens of those fat stubby jazz picks all over the house. Nowadays as a bassman, I try and try, but can’t get the feel for using a pick on the bass. The only way to get the tone I want is with two fingers. Even those felt picks don’t feel right and are too bright. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-guitar-picks-do-you-have/847833.md?page=3)