Tips & Techniques
Q&A: Which guitar pick I use & why
Lesson #300
The guitar pick I recommend…
Watch a video explanation & overview of my preferred pick here!
Editor’s notes
Hey friends! In this video I answer a question many of you have emailed in: which guitar pick do I use? I’ll answer the question, explaining why I use the pick I’ve favored for the past 10 years or so (Dunlop .46mm “Delrin” 41P.46, light pink) — and why I’ve settled on this pick after experimenting with a few similar ones over the years.
I recommend buying the pick from a local guitar store. But if that’s not possible, here’s a link to get it from Amazon (purchasing after clicking this link gives a few cents back to me):
Why I like this pick
The two main reasons I like the Dunlop .46mm Delrin style pick:
- It’s flexible enough to create a softer sound on the strings, but not too flimsy as to prevent you from projecting individual strings when necessary. I’ve experimented with picks from Dunlop in both directions – the next thinner version, and the next more stiff version… in both attempts, I felt like I was moving away from the sweet spot that the .46mm provides.
- It’s material has a nice “grip” on my thumb and index finger, which I find much more helpful than nylon when it comes to keeping control of the pick (and not dropping it).
In the video I’ll talk through all this and more, with some visual examples and guitar playing demonstrations to accompany some of the points I make. I hope you find this helpful… thanks to all of you who asked this question!
Get my lessons in your inbox!
Every couple weeks I send out an email newsletter with links to whatever new lessons I've made. Sign up here and stay in the loop!
Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!
If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).
You can also support me on Patreon. For only $5/month you'll get access to a print-friendly PDF of my notes for each new lesson (view free sample).
Thanks!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!
Recent video lessons:
📝 My "song" PDFs are now individually purcasheable! I've arranged a licensing agreement with Musicnotes, a service that lets you buy my sheet music arrangements. Patreon supporters get 50% off each purchase. Learn more here »
June 22, 2022
How to Make Drum Tracks Using GarageBand's Beat Sequencer
A beginner's guide to using GarageBand's Beat Sequencer tool to create custom drum beats! Even if you're a total novice when it comes to drumming (like me), I'll walk you through the basic steps to create rich-sounding drum tracks to play over while practicing or performing.
May 27, 2022
Creating a Fingerstyle Arrangement of Tom Petty's "American Girl"
A few years after learning American Girl the way Tom Petty plays it, I returned to it — this time determined to work out a low-key, easy-going fingerstyle arrangement. Here's how it went!
May 22, 2022
Using Triads & Double-Stops to Punch Up a Melody
As part of my Learning Lead Guitar series, I share a realization I recently had showing different ways to fill out melody lines using triads, double-stops, and harmonized sixths.
May 19, 2022
Q&A: Learning a Song for a Wedding? Here's My Advice.
I answer an audience question about how to go about learning a song (with a tricky riff) for a peformance at a family wedding.
May 12, 2022
List of My Beginner-Friendly Song Lessons
After many requests from y'all, I finally created this list of all my beginner-friendly song lessons! These are grouped by key, allowing you to take the chord shapes you already know and find other songs using those same shapes.
May 4, 2022
Easier Ways to Play B-minor (No Barring Required)
Two easier ways to play B-minor, using open chord voicings — super helpful to have these in your toolkit. Includes different practice riffs to accompany each chord voicing.
Browse my all lessons
By lesson type
- Full Song Lessons
- Beginner Songs
- Backing Tracks
- Play-Along Covers
- Warm-Up Exercises
- Tips & Techniques
By song decade
By musical genre
By guitar technique
By musical key
By popular artist
- Johnny Cash
- Tyler Childers
- Tom Petty
- Neil Young
- Nirvana
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Willie Nelson
- John Denver
- Guns N' Roses