Sat down with my DV-52 last night and decided to do a tone comparison with various types of picks I've collected over the years. The picks I tested were a brass TekPik, a solid silver Mojo pick made from a 1954 US quarter dollar coin, a pre-ban elephant ivory pick, and a Brain pick which I believe is nylon plastic. The strings are D'Addario phosphor bronze mediums.
In terms of volume and ringing tone, the Brain pick was quite superior, followed by ivory, silver and brass.
Beginning with the ivory pick, the tone became softer and more muted, with the brass being the most muted. This effect was most notable on the wound strings. Interestingly, the sound of the pick touching the wound string, kind of a "scratchy" sound, increased in the same order, i.e., the brass pick produced the most "scratch" when attacking the strings, the Brain pick the least.
My thought is it's good to have the choice when playing different songs where I want the guitar more muted or maybe a Blues number where I want a little more pick-string noise.
Makes me wonder how my assessment of different strings might be affected by pick selection.
Just a couple more observations: I use a combination when fingerpicking - plastic thumbpick and brass fingerpicks. On the mandolin I usually use a Dunlop Jazz pick, but the brass one has been proving pretty nice for Bluegrass licks, and I also mostly use the Jazz pick on my electric, but the silver Mojo pick really sounds nice on this guitar too. The electric is strung with Ernie Ball Power Slinkys. The interaction between the silver pick and the nickel-steel wound strings makes a real cool sound
Next on the list, maybe some hardwood or stone picks?
In terms of volume and ringing tone, the Brain pick was quite superior, followed by ivory, silver and brass.
Beginning with the ivory pick, the tone became softer and more muted, with the brass being the most muted. This effect was most notable on the wound strings. Interestingly, the sound of the pick touching the wound string, kind of a "scratchy" sound, increased in the same order, i.e., the brass pick produced the most "scratch" when attacking the strings, the Brain pick the least.
My thought is it's good to have the choice when playing different songs where I want the guitar more muted or maybe a Blues number where I want a little more pick-string noise.
Makes me wonder how my assessment of different strings might be affected by pick selection.
Just a couple more observations: I use a combination when fingerpicking - plastic thumbpick and brass fingerpicks. On the mandolin I usually use a Dunlop Jazz pick, but the brass one has been proving pretty nice for Bluegrass licks, and I also mostly use the Jazz pick on my electric, but the silver Mojo pick really sounds nice on this guitar too. The electric is strung with Ernie Ball Power Slinkys. The interaction between the silver pick and the nickel-steel wound strings makes a real cool sound
Next on the list, maybe some hardwood or stone picks?
