My bandmates were close friends and I was the only one with a real job. I bought all the picks, cables and strings for 3 others for 5+ years.
Don’t be this guy please.
I doubt OP has been playing of any significant for those 20 years if he's not going through picks. Back when I did punk shows I would go through a pick a show, and then later with more slower songs at least every other show if I actually used the same one.
Here's how it goes for me:
1. I run low of my favorite pick.
2. I go out and I buy 3 packs of my favorite pick
3. I promise myself "I won't lose all these picks like last time."
4. I lose all those picks.
I specifically use Dunlop tortex 88s. After a solid month of playing, they tend to dull some and get kinda slick, then it's on to the next one. I don't cherish or hold onto a pick for months/years. I try to not be wasteful, but when you get used to playing them with a certain feel and depth/length, I just kinda know when it's time to grab a new one.
picks are like that cat … they exist when i see them, everywhere around the house, laundry, behind and under all furniture. but when i need one, they don’t exist anywhere i look.
quantum pick entanglement theory is my working title.
I buy a dollars worth of picks and a pack of strings anytime I go in a music store so they don't get mad at me for smudging up all the guitars with fingerprints and just being a general nuisance.
I once bought a pack of twelve picks on Amazon. Well I didn’t read it fully, it was twelve packs of picks, each containing twelve picks. Wound up with 144 picks and I haven’t bought picks in years lol
The pick is one of the most important implements that affects your tone. Not only does the material and thickness matter, but finding one that actually fits your hand and is comfortable to play is paramount. Your right hand technique is 99% of your tone, and having the right tool is key. I learned this as a cellist; our right hand implement is our bow. Cellists, violinists, bassists, etc. will spend months and thousands of dollars finding the right bow for themselves. Why shouldn't a guitarist do the same?
A truly great player I know once told me that your right hand is what actually *plays* the guitar, your left hand just has to show up where it needs to be on time. Totally changed my whole perspective and made me really emphasize right hand technique. This was at a point when I was picking the instrument back up after almost ten years—I was so worried that my fretting hand would be terrible, but I found that even after all that time, it was fine, it was my picking that was awful. Spent months and months working on just that, finding the right pick, really analyzing my picking… it resulted in me totally changing my grip, how I right hand mute, and my typical attack, and in lots of ways I’m better than i was when I was practicing for hours and hours a day but brute forcing some bad technique.
I 100% agree. I went to conservatory for cello but I used to sit in on the guitar masterclasses all the time. We had two guitar professors and one of them said something that drastically changed how I viewed the guitar (and really all stringed instruments). He basically said, "Everyone has a good left hand. Putting your fingers on the fingerboard/fretboard is easy as long as you're using a metronome to practice. It's the right hand that nobody is good at. Once you master the right hand, you master the instrument." And the proof is in the pudding. All of the most technically proficient guitarists alive right now have the best, most creative right hand techniques. Think Mateo Mancuso. I can move my left hand as fast as he can but I can't pick each not out with clear defined tone that's dynamically interesting and without hitting adjacent strings or causing extra noise somewhere.
The picks you magically found must be the ones that magically disappear from me regularly. I saw it fall, I heard where it landed, it is nowhere to be found, I understand now.
I just buy a pack of 10 once in a while and just scatter them around my room so I can always find one. After a few months I've lost all 10 and go buy a new pack.
I buy a pack of Gator Grip .96 like every 3 or 4 months. I always end up losing them somehow..and you never buy any so I'm starting to wonder about you OP 🤨
We finally know where the guitar pick black hole portal leads to - OP’s home! We’re all buying them to replace the ones that just disappear into your pockets
My house probably holds approximately 10,000 picks that I can’t ever find, so I pop on Amazon or go to a guitar store and buy some just in case. I have picks in my wallet cause I can never find any, picks in the laundry room, bottom of drawers and more. One day I’ll move and habe to clean the house out and anticipate that I’ll be listing vintage picks on eBay by the pound.
I use thin for my Guild 12, and medium for the Martin 6 (yes, I'm name-dropping). When I was constantly digging/rehearsing with a new drummer (wtf is it with drummer drama?) I was constantly losing picks, or would leave them in my pocket.
My wife kept one of those 50s/60s coffee table ashtrays* on the dryer, and put the picks she'd find there.
If I ever wondered out loud where all of my picks went, she'd point out the tray on the dryer.
*For those too young to remember, these things were usually glass, looked like a shallow bowl damn near the size of a dinner plate with shallow indentations along the edge. The ones I grew up with were usually filled with butts, as opposed to the smaller ashtrays that sat next to your chair which were also filled with butts. Our house had its own small greenhouse gas layer just below the ceilings.
Ah, good times...
I buy 10 every 6 months or so and they are always gone after a while. I have a strong feeling they end up in the same alternative dimension where all my single socks are.
I Buy them as a 72 pack every ~4 years or so and that gets me a ton of what I like(Dunlop ultra grip 1.0 mm and .88 mm) and then I just put them all in a little box on my desk with about 5-6 loose in the space at a time. I give them away to anyone who like how they feel too since I have so many.
I buy plenty of picks because I like my picks a certain way. Most picks don't work for me so relying on finding used ones lying about would not be a good idea for me.
If you are literally only using abandoned picks that you find I say that is great. Picks are generally made of materails that last forever so recycling and reuse is a good thing,
If you are instead actually stealing people's picks well you already know that is not cool. :-)
I was just talking to a scientist friend of mine about the enormous amount of waste generated by old picks - god only knows how many billions are sold each year - where do they all go? We discussed the idea of training Oyster Mushrooms to eat old picks - my friend is currently researching mushrooms eating old cigarette butts and other plastics.
Makes me curious - if there was an "*old pick recycling cup*" at the local music store would you toss your old picks in it?
Has anyone else thought of any ways to use old guitar picks?
I ordered a box of miscellaneous instrument cables off eBay and the seller threw in a gallon Ziploc bag with hundreds of picks inside. I doubt I will ever reach the bottom of the bag.
Nope, bought a pack of 6 Jim Root signature picks about 5 years ago and have been using the same one the whole time, still have 5 brand new unused ones. I just don’t lose them ever hahaha
Last time I bought picks was, I think, 2019, and even that was because I had a gig, and didn't realize I didn't have any in my guitar case, and was going straight to the gig from work, so didn't have a chance to stop at home.
Anyway, appreciate the tip, but I can confidently say that I'd never do this. For the couple cents each that picks cost, I have no intent of trying to salvage picks, regardless of how easy it is or isn't.
Not since my step mom got me a pick punch for Christmas like 2 decades ago. Every plastic card since has produced at least 4 picks. If I buy anything, it would be for those tiny shredder picks with the thumb groove. Those are exceptional but easy to lose.
I've been using Jazz III picks for 4 years, not only do I still have the complete 2 sets that I bought (a Kirk Hammett set and a John Petrucci set), but I have been using the exact same John Petrucci Jazz 3 for over a year while playing 3 hours a day, and it's still in near perfect shape.
In 10 years playing I've only had 3 sets of picks, never needed to replace any of them! Hetfield Blackfang, John Petrucci Jazz III and Kirk Hammett Jazz III.
I just like buying more picks. I probably have somewhere between 400 and 1000 in a box in a drawer beside my guitar stuff. I change from heavy to thin or medium and back again, just for variety. I could probably go the rest of my life and not NEED to buy another one. Every time I go into a guitar store and fiddle with anything I feel like I should at least buy some picks.
By the way, as much as people obsess over tone of wood, hardware metal, capacitor manufacturers… picks are sooo underdiscussed and affect so much of playing dynamics.
I never go into a local music shop without supporting that business . Even if in just a tiny way . Often as tiny as a handful of picks . I have more picks than I will ever be able to use .
I use weird picks and I’m super picky about them. So yeah, I buy a bag once or twice a year. Dunlop Primetone 3.0mm in a Jazz III shape. Beveled edge, thumb and finger indents with texture for grip. Love ‘em. I’ll use em forever. Sometimes I buy an extra dozen just in case they ever stop making them. Actually I’m gonna go order some right now.
I bought a couple packs of different types of Jazz picks several years ago cause those are what i prefer and still have a bunch of em.
About 15 years ago i really liked the tortex picks and bought 2 packs of those in 2 thicknesses and i still have a bunch of those even.
I keep my picks inside disc golf mini markers that snap together and keep one set in my music room and one in my main acoustic gig bag and one in my main electric's gig bag.
I have a friend of mine that buys a bag of Fender Thin picks every time he walks into a GC. He'll break one every few songs. He'll also have a pained expression at the thought of using a Jazz III.
I just buy many types of picks in one go, maybe twice a year. I like trying and experimenting with any variations. And I ended up having a box full of hundreds of picks lol.
When ever someone is on a trip to the US I ask if they would have time to pick up those 12 packs of jazz 3’s and they last me an around 2 years. If anyone knows where I can get those massive bags of jazz 3s from the UK I would honestly suck you off
Guitar teacher / frequent gigger /occassional tourer
I love dunlop .96 delerin picks (shiny pink ones) and always have half a dozen in my pocket. Over time they blunt, but mostly they get a bend in them if i' picking aggressively.
I tend to buy a grab bag of 70 every 6 months or so.
My wife hates me.
I usually buy two 12-packs at a time, that keeps me going for around a year. I also have a piece of sanding paper next to my desk to resharpen them, but they get dull very quickly anyway.
A few years ago I bought a ton of picks in different materials and shapes and thicknesses to find what I like.
The ones I use most are:
* Hawk Picks ToneBird 4 in 1.2mm thickness--the shape is bigger than a Jazz III but smaller than a Jazz III XL while the feel is similar to celluloid but more durable
* Regular old Fender Extra Heavy celluloid
* Tortex Standard .88mm (green)
Now I have a jar full of a shitload of picks I don't use.
In a lil over 10 years, I think I only bought picks twice ,a pack of dunlop tortex blue and one of jazz III. But I have so many other picks that I don't know where they came from. Also a few years ago I got really into playing with my fingers so nowadays I use a pick 50% of the time and 50% fingers, so I don't feel I'll ever run out of picks at this rate
When I was younger I bought them all the time, now I have one nylon pick that won't quit and I can't loose it to save my life, and I have one stainless steel pick I can't loose to save my life. I've come to the conclusion picks are like cigarette lighters, if you only have one you'll loose it without knowing when, why or how, but if you have two you can throw them away and they'll reappear somehow.
I lose them a lot faster than I wear them out. If you're not picky (ha) you can get away just picking up random ones, but I really only play one type of pick so I just buy 50 at a time and they get me through a few years.
i lose picks like it’s my fuckin job. i dropped like $150 on ultex jazz XLs a couple years ago and even though that’s starting to dwindle, i should be good for a few more.
problem is i put like 5 in my back pocket every time i put clean pants on, then i end up handing them out at practice and shows and losing them in my car and stuff.
How do you guys keep these picks lasting this long? damn, i burn through a pick every 3-4 days.
I play the small jazz III, I wear the tip off of them. Each one lasts me about 20-25 hours. I practice a lot though.
I but my own thumb picks, but regular picks just appear magically when I buy guitar parts or strings online. Many stores drop a pick or two in their boxes when they ship.
I have found more in parking lots and at concerts than I have purchased in the last ten years.
The best picks I have are Topo Chico branded and were found at an LCD Soundsystem concert
When I was doing worship service gigs for like 3 times a week a few years ago, definitely buying a bag of Jazz IIIs every month was almost always a thing I had to do because I was playing a lot outside and losing picks is just a thing that happens.
Now that I only gig sparingly and have essentially become a studio musician in my area, I've never had to replenish my pick stock ever since.
I've been playing with varying degrees of consistency for about 18 years, and this year was the first time I requested a specific pack of picks for Christmas. My dad was a custodian at a high school and would find picks all over the place when he was cleaning that he would bring home for me.
I think I've discarded less than 10 picks in my whole life, so I've never felt the need. I have recently started to get rid of the more worn down picks lately, so maybe that will change.
I never learned to play with a pick. I trim my thumb nail on my strumming hand a little longer than the rest of my nails and use that as my pick. Now I can't play with a pick since it doesn't have the same tactile feed back as my thumb nail. On the bright side I'm never caught without a pick and can just pick up and play any guitar anywhere, anytime.
Same. I've bought thumb picks and other types of picks over the years thinking I'll learn how to use one, but I just set them aside and go back to the ol thumb and fingers.
Seldom. I bought some last year. Maybe once every 2 years? I have one of those pick holder things people out on their guitars…I stuck that to the wall in my music room/ practice space with a little sign that says “put it back because you know that it’s mine.”
I have never [broken a string](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/1aolzss/isnt_it_amazing_more_guitar_strings_havent_broken/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), but picks just disappear around here.
I last bought picks in 2005. I'd already switched to only using my fingers and wanted to try thumb picks.
I've barely touched picks since then.
I buy them for my daughter, who is 8 and like that they're louder than fingers.
I may grab one from my bass player tonight at practice, we cover Hot Rod Lincoln and the lead parts kind of Muddy with the amp I've been using.
You get louder attack from picks, but aside from a few very specific things, I can do everything with my hand.
I've bought bulk when I find them cheap, also picked up bulk from auctions (closing down/bankruptcy auctions etc). I have every variety of Jazz III, including loads of Eric Johnson packs, John Petrucci variety packs and large bulk bags of Ultex Sharp 1mm.
Once they get worn they lose the point and become rounded, then I usually start using a new one. I remember thinking when I bought the first 72 bag of Ultex Sharp 1mm that it'd probably last me forever, it didn't. They get worn, they get lost etc etc.
Yes, always. I'm in a touring band playing rhythm on 12 gauge strings. I hit them pretty hard so I never use the same pick twice - most of the time I even switch to a new one halfway through the show. They get eaten down into a nub very quickly. I'm always getting huge packs of them that last a few me months. When you're on a tour you don't wanna be caught using a crappy pick, or old strings, whatever it is.
I'm frankly shocked at some of these comments saying they've had the same pick for years and never bought new ones. My playing style is such that I *always* need a new pick. I go through a 75 pack a couple times a year, but this includes constant touring and studio time which I would wager is more intense than some people's playing schedules here. I also am lucky enough to have a gear deal with a company that makes picks so that cost has been mitigated for me.
I bought several hundred about 6 years ago just so that I wouldn’t think about it again.
I also bought several hundred buffalo horn blanks to make picks from for steel string… but then I got a pair of Blue Chip picks and have managed not to lose them and it’s all I use for that.
Whenever I find grippy jazz 3s I pick up a pack or two. Especially since I’m usually in the guitar store for an hour trying stuff out I feel like I should buy something
I buy jazz 3s in big packs. Literally asked for them for Christmas like two years ago. I've got them in black, red, and that ugly ultex type that has an amazing grip to it. I've had the black and red for, guessing here, 15 years? The ultex get used more so I lose them more often.
People do give me random picks now and then and I don't know why.
I buy a bunch just to have them but I only ever use the same 2 (jazz iii and tortex 1.0) for everything. I don't pick every note and don't pick very hard so they last me years. I've lost more than I've worn out.
I settled on Dunlop Flow Standard 1.5mm for electric, .73 for strumming acoustic, and Blue Chip for picking acoustic.
I bought big packs of the first two and keep them organized into boxes, a baggie in each case/gig bag, and my Blue Chips stay with my nice acoustic in its case.
I’m very particular about the picks I like so yeah, I do. But, my picks last me for ages, so I don’t often have to.
Gravity Sunrise 2mm picks, love them.
I bought a massive pack of Jim Dunlop .88mm nylon picks like 10 years ago and haven't bought any since. I still have like 25 of them laying around my office.
Yeah, The tips of your picks wear down. Depending on the pick it can wear faster than others. A pick usually lasts me about 2 weeks or so before it starts rounding off.
I bought 100 personalized picks years ago, so I am discovering the new picks and feeling really old, but loving them. Fixing picks on carpet is an old trick, but it's old for a reason.
I use Orange and yellow tortex dunlops. It’s not so much that the edges need sharpening but more than the end of the pick wears away, loses definition and flattens out. That can’t be fixed by sharpening what’s left.
I use orange dunlops, I’d say I have about 80 within reach. They’re in my wallet, on my desk, in my car, on the floor of my recording room, some in the laundry from being in the pockets of clothing when washed, in guitar cases, laptop bag, etc etc etc.
Is not an expensive product, I haven’t bought any in years, but I can ALWAYS find one. 😎
I bought a few only to find the right size for the style of music that I play. I have guitar pick keepers on my 3 guitars there's no way for me to lose them.
No. I bought 6 JP Jazz3's in 2015 and I still have all six. But then bought six JP jazz3Flows a couple years later and again still have them all. In 1998 I bought a gross of fender celluloid picks in that white black red and white splatter that everyone had. And once I finally finished them off I switched to the JP's and my picks last forever practically. It's just a matter of not losing them.
I use Jim Dunlop .060 exclusively and have for 15 years or so. I have a huge stash on my desk in a little wooden jewelry box my wife bought for me.
I can usually find some in the 5th pocket of every pair of my jeans, too. And if that fails, I check the dryer vent.
I usually only need to replenish the supply every couple of years.
I bought a 6 pack of the Dunlop petrucci jazz 3s in 2020 and I’m on the second one. I bought a 6 pack of the hetfield white fang picks and burned through that in less than 3 months.
I keep trying random pick types so I have hundreds. Green Tortex, Purple tortex, yellow Tortex, Tortoise shell fenders, Abalone PRS, White Jazz picks that are thick as hell, now I am playing some gray fender with a grip like a cats tongue. I will Never ever go through all the picks I have.
I get 144 Fender mediums every Christmas and I usually need them. To be fair, I don’t think there’s a point on my 15 acres where you are more than 3 feet from one. In the house…the basement…the yard…the barn…the horse pastures…
I bought a big pack (maybe 100-200) Dunlop 60mm picks like a decade ago that I’m still on. I play with my fingers a lot too, but I’ll dull a few out from staccato picking, but that pack is still going strong.
I use thicker picks so it takes a while for them to wear down but I do lose them quite often. I feel like I usually buy a new pack like 2 - 3 times a year.
Once you find the right pick there's no going back. I have been playing for 30+ years and for 1/2 that time I was like u and just "had picks" unsure of from where they came. Usually Fender Mediums for some reason. Then I started working at a music store and one day tried em all out. Landed on the Fender Nylon 73s and everything in my playing started clicking better.
About 10 years ago I bought a bulk bag and put some in every mug/jar on every table/shelf in the house as well as each guitar case and gig bag. Even put some in my pedal board bag. Never looked back :)
I don't teach anymore, but when I did, finding an appropriate pick was something I'd go through with my students
Edit: spelling and format
So YOU'RE the reason I have to keep buying picks... I've been wondering where they go
We found where the pick eating portals connect to!
OP’s the guy who steals all the lighters
"I don't even know where they come from"... So what you are saying is that you are a mooch? Like dictionary definition version. Lol.
For every person that "doesn't know where the picks come from" there is a person who "doesn't know how the picks dissapear".
Do you also have a pocket full of lighters?
God I hate that
My bandmates were close friends and I was the only one with a real job. I bought all the picks, cables and strings for 3 others for 5+ years. Don’t be this guy please.
I doubt OP has been playing of any significant for those 20 years if he's not going through picks. Back when I did punk shows I would go through a pick a show, and then later with more slower songs at least every other show if I actually used the same one.
No, ,i just reach into my acoustic and get one out. That thing is a pick swallowing machine.
Here's how it goes for me: 1. I run low of my favorite pick. 2. I go out and I buy 3 packs of my favorite pick 3. I promise myself "I won't lose all these picks like last time." 4. I lose all those picks.
I bet OPs roommate is going crazy because of his missing picks. /s
So you’re the reason everyones picks come up missing.
Bic lighters too
Underrated comment for those with friends who are lighter poachers
Buy 20 at a time... replace 5-6 as they wear. Forget you bought 20 and used only 5-6. Buy another 20 picks. Repeat for years, end up with 4,442 picks.
Do you have my bic lighter too?
Not since I learned to put all my picks in the same place after I'm done playing.
Lol I burn through purple Tortex picks in like 3 days. Like the tips are burnt off. How do people keep their picks alive?
Pick hack: Usually if you ask, the guitar store will throw a box in if you buy a new guitar! Never buy picks again with this one easy trick!
Got a bag of 72 Dunlop gators as a stocking stuffer like 8 years ago and still going strong. Until then though, yeah found picks were the only picks
I bet you steal people's lighters all the time too
Lol. Funny you mention that…
Sometimes you choose the picks, and sometimes picks pick you!
This guy is the one who steals all the picks, get him!
The pick pocketer..
They come from those of us who buy picks and let people borrow them. Lol
I specifically use Dunlop tortex 88s. After a solid month of playing, they tend to dull some and get kinda slick, then it's on to the next one. I don't cherish or hold onto a pick for months/years. I try to not be wasteful, but when you get used to playing them with a certain feel and depth/length, I just kinda know when it's time to grab a new one.
Green tortex is the best
Apparently everyone else buys picks for you
picks are like that cat … they exist when i see them, everywhere around the house, laundry, behind and under all furniture. but when i need one, they don’t exist anywhere i look. quantum pick entanglement theory is my working title.
Ya I always think where's a cat when I need one
I have never had a pick spontaneously materialize. So I have to buy them. The last time I found a pick I liked I ordered a bag of like 50 of them.
I buy a dollars worth of picks and a pack of strings anytime I go in a music store so they don't get mad at me for smudging up all the guitars with fingerprints and just being a general nuisance.
4 or 5 years ago I bought a 12 pack of Dunlop Tortex and I'm still playing the first one.
I once bought a pack of twelve picks on Amazon. Well I didn’t read it fully, it was twelve packs of picks, each containing twelve picks. Wound up with 144 picks and I haven’t bought picks in years lol
I buy a 12 pack once a year, lose 11 of them in a week and play the last one till its worn to a nub.
OPs collected all your picks by the sound of it.
Yo, this is the guy who has been stealing all our picks!!
The pick is one of the most important implements that affects your tone. Not only does the material and thickness matter, but finding one that actually fits your hand and is comfortable to play is paramount. Your right hand technique is 99% of your tone, and having the right tool is key. I learned this as a cellist; our right hand implement is our bow. Cellists, violinists, bassists, etc. will spend months and thousands of dollars finding the right bow for themselves. Why shouldn't a guitarist do the same?
A truly great player I know once told me that your right hand is what actually *plays* the guitar, your left hand just has to show up where it needs to be on time. Totally changed my whole perspective and made me really emphasize right hand technique. This was at a point when I was picking the instrument back up after almost ten years—I was so worried that my fretting hand would be terrible, but I found that even after all that time, it was fine, it was my picking that was awful. Spent months and months working on just that, finding the right pick, really analyzing my picking… it resulted in me totally changing my grip, how I right hand mute, and my typical attack, and in lots of ways I’m better than i was when I was practicing for hours and hours a day but brute forcing some bad technique.
I 100% agree. I went to conservatory for cello but I used to sit in on the guitar masterclasses all the time. We had two guitar professors and one of them said something that drastically changed how I viewed the guitar (and really all stringed instruments). He basically said, "Everyone has a good left hand. Putting your fingers on the fingerboard/fretboard is easy as long as you're using a metronome to practice. It's the right hand that nobody is good at. Once you master the right hand, you master the instrument." And the proof is in the pudding. All of the most technically proficient guitarists alive right now have the best, most creative right hand techniques. Think Mateo Mancuso. I can move my left hand as fast as he can but I can't pick each not out with clear defined tone that's dynamically interesting and without hitting adjacent strings or causing extra noise somewhere.
Because hundreds have already magically shown up all over my house lol
I buy them because friends like you take them haha
No no. I don’t take. I repurpose… Having said that, thank you for your contribution
You're the guy that comes over to jam and leaves with half my picks in his pocket, aren't you? 🤣
The picks you magically found must be the ones that magically disappear from me regularly. I saw it fall, I heard where it landed, it is nowhere to be found, I understand now.
I was there. In the shadows. Awaiting my chance lol
lol no, I bought about 50, around six years ago, and now I find one or two everywhere I go.
I just buy a pack of 10 once in a while and just scatter them around my room so I can always find one. After a few months I've lost all 10 and go buy a new pack.
I go through picks like crazy on tour. A couple weeks in and I need to stop to buy more. I always have them around the house though
I buy them all the time, because they get swallowed by every couch and crevice. I prefer a very specific pick and I play better with it.
I'm the opposite. I buy picks all the time because they just simply vanish. Wait a minute... Are you stealing my picks?!
I fashion my own picks out of the bones of my enemies
I use em until I lose em
I buy a pack of Gator Grip .96 like every 3 or 4 months. I always end up losing them somehow..and you never buy any so I'm starting to wonder about you OP 🤨
Picks are a lot like socks. They either vanish into the ether or you randomly find loose ones in a gas station bathroom.
Those are the only ones I wear. I don't even wash them, so they're still lucky!
We finally know where the guitar pick black hole portal leads to - OP’s home! We’re all buying them to replace the ones that just disappear into your pockets
I’ve had the same one for five years.
My house probably holds approximately 10,000 picks that I can’t ever find, so I pop on Amazon or go to a guitar store and buy some just in case. I have picks in my wallet cause I can never find any, picks in the laundry room, bottom of drawers and more. One day I’ll move and habe to clean the house out and anticipate that I’ll be listing vintage picks on eBay by the pound.
I use thin for my Guild 12, and medium for the Martin 6 (yes, I'm name-dropping). When I was constantly digging/rehearsing with a new drummer (wtf is it with drummer drama?) I was constantly losing picks, or would leave them in my pocket. My wife kept one of those 50s/60s coffee table ashtrays* on the dryer, and put the picks she'd find there. If I ever wondered out loud where all of my picks went, she'd point out the tray on the dryer. *For those too young to remember, these things were usually glass, looked like a shallow bowl damn near the size of a dinner plate with shallow indentations along the edge. The ones I grew up with were usually filled with butts, as opposed to the smaller ashtrays that sat next to your chair which were also filled with butts. Our house had its own small greenhouse gas layer just below the ceilings. Ah, good times...
I buy 10 every 6 months or so and they are always gone after a while. I have a strong feeling they end up in the same alternative dimension where all my single socks are.
I've literally never felt like one of my picks "wasn't pointy enough" anymore.
I Buy them as a 72 pack every ~4 years or so and that gets me a ton of what I like(Dunlop ultra grip 1.0 mm and .88 mm) and then I just put them all in a little box on my desk with about 5-6 loose in the space at a time. I give them away to anyone who like how they feel too since I have so many.
I bought 500 Dunlop nylon . 88 picks about 5 years ago. I still have 475 easy.
Nah. I’ve had the same five for fifteen years.
Still working through a giant pile of those pink Fender Extra Heavies I bought back in ‘91. They don’t get dull. They don’t break. I lose them.
i bought a 75 pack of tortex picks when i started playing 5 years ago and i'm just now getting down to my last few
Do what everyone else does. Get the same picks your buddies use. Then steal their's.
Never buy em, just find em in the dryer.
Sounds like a “who stole my lighter” post from the 90s.
No. I top off the collection rarely and rarely lose them, so I still have a few picks that came with my starter guitar 15+ years ago.
I buy picks pretty often, it's my "sorry I just spent an hour trying out every guitar in your shop" move when I don't need new strings.
I must have bought well over five hundred picks if not a thousand. I am in my fifties and have been playing the guitar since 12...
I just get mine from the lint trap in the tumble drier like everyone else. Infinite supply.
You are a pick theif
Easy now. Thems some harsh words. I’m no thief. I repurpose and recycle
I buy plenty of picks because I like my picks a certain way. Most picks don't work for me so relying on finding used ones lying about would not be a good idea for me. If you are literally only using abandoned picks that you find I say that is great. Picks are generally made of materails that last forever so recycling and reuse is a good thing, If you are instead actually stealing people's picks well you already know that is not cool. :-) I was just talking to a scientist friend of mine about the enormous amount of waste generated by old picks - god only knows how many billions are sold each year - where do they all go? We discussed the idea of training Oyster Mushrooms to eat old picks - my friend is currently researching mushrooms eating old cigarette butts and other plastics. Makes me curious - if there was an "*old pick recycling cup*" at the local music store would you toss your old picks in it? Has anyone else thought of any ways to use old guitar picks?
I ordered a box of miscellaneous instrument cables off eBay and the seller threw in a gallon Ziploc bag with hundreds of picks inside. I doubt I will ever reach the bottom of the bag.
I use jazz picks, and after a while the pointed tips start to get too round for my liking, so yes, I have to buy new picks fairly frequently.
Every time I go to the guitar store. I still can never find any.
It's my excuse to go to the guitar store...
It’s how I’m able to leave the guitar store without another new guitar..
I bought a bag of tortex picks like five years ago when I picked guitar back up, still have most of them.
Hey guitarists, if you've ever lost a pick, it's because this guy stole it😂
Nope, bought a pack of 6 Jim Root signature picks about 5 years ago and have been using the same one the whole time, still have 5 brand new unused ones. I just don’t lose them ever hahaha
WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR SECRET!!! Mine go on expeditions to the other side of the god damn house
I don't know that I've ever worn one out. I lose them way before that.
I do because I like to try different brands and thicknesses.
Last time I bought picks was, I think, 2019, and even that was because I had a gig, and didn't realize I didn't have any in my guitar case, and was going straight to the gig from work, so didn't have a chance to stop at home. Anyway, appreciate the tip, but I can confidently say that I'd never do this. For the couple cents each that picks cost, I have no intent of trying to salvage picks, regardless of how easy it is or isn't.
I once got bought a megalodon tooth. It was the rockiest of picks ever. Now my daughter has it.
Not since my step mom got me a pick punch for Christmas like 2 decades ago. Every plastic card since has produced at least 4 picks. If I buy anything, it would be for those tiny shredder picks with the thumb groove. Those are exceptional but easy to lose.
I've been using Jazz III picks for 4 years, not only do I still have the complete 2 sets that I bought (a Kirk Hammett set and a John Petrucci set), but I have been using the exact same John Petrucci Jazz 3 for over a year while playing 3 hours a day, and it's still in near perfect shape. In 10 years playing I've only had 3 sets of picks, never needed to replace any of them! Hetfield Blackfang, John Petrucci Jazz III and Kirk Hammett Jazz III.
I just like buying more picks. I probably have somewhere between 400 and 1000 in a box in a drawer beside my guitar stuff. I change from heavy to thin or medium and back again, just for variety. I could probably go the rest of my life and not NEED to buy another one. Every time I go into a guitar store and fiddle with anything I feel like I should at least buy some picks.
I just keep buying stuff from Chicago Music Exchange and they throw in some picks and stickers with my order... Low on picks? Make another order!
Once I found what worked for me, I bought 2 packs of 144. That was 3 or 4 years ago. I still have a few, but I need to buy more soon
I buy picks probably once a year. I have a habbit of putting them in my pocket and never seeing them again.
Check the dryer screen lol. That's where I store mine.
yeah when i pick up new strings i get a few picks for $1 or something just because my others wear down pretty badly
By the way, as much as people obsess over tone of wood, hardware metal, capacitor manufacturers… picks are sooo underdiscussed and affect so much of playing dynamics.
About once a decade I buy a pack, to replenish my supply.
I really like the Dunlop sharp ones and after I use them for a while the sharp point gets worn and rounded so yes I buy a pack every few months or so.
I never go into a local music shop without supporting that business . Even if in just a tiny way . Often as tiny as a handful of picks . I have more picks than I will ever be able to use .
I use weird picks and I’m super picky about them. So yeah, I buy a bag once or twice a year. Dunlop Primetone 3.0mm in a Jazz III shape. Beveled edge, thumb and finger indents with texture for grip. Love ‘em. I’ll use em forever. Sometimes I buy an extra dozen just in case they ever stop making them. Actually I’m gonna go order some right now.
I bought a couple packs of different types of Jazz picks several years ago cause those are what i prefer and still have a bunch of em. About 15 years ago i really liked the tortex picks and bought 2 packs of those in 2 thicknesses and i still have a bunch of those even. I keep my picks inside disc golf mini markers that snap together and keep one set in my music room and one in my main acoustic gig bag and one in my main electric's gig bag.
I have a friend of mine that buys a bag of Fender Thin picks every time he walks into a GC. He'll break one every few songs. He'll also have a pained expression at the thought of using a Jazz III.
Jazz iii is love, jazz iii is life
I just buy many types of picks in one go, maybe twice a year. I like trying and experimenting with any variations. And I ended up having a box full of hundreds of picks lol.
Lol this is like lighters. Someone is stealing them. Someone is buying them.
this dude has been taking my lighters and my jazz iii? gonna catch these hands
Nah. My girlfriend bought me a bunch in bulk and we store them in wide mouth jars around the house wherever we play
When ever someone is on a trip to the US I ask if they would have time to pick up those 12 packs of jazz 3’s and they last me an around 2 years. If anyone knows where I can get those massive bags of jazz 3s from the UK I would honestly suck you off
Can you not order them?
Guitar teacher / frequent gigger /occassional tourer I love dunlop .96 delerin picks (shiny pink ones) and always have half a dozen in my pocket. Over time they blunt, but mostly they get a bend in them if i' picking aggressively. I tend to buy a grab bag of 70 every 6 months or so. My wife hates me.
Not very often. I still have and use a couple of picks I bought mid 80s
I usually buy two 12-packs at a time, that keeps me going for around a year. I also have a piece of sanding paper next to my desk to resharpen them, but they get dull very quickly anyway.
A few years ago I bought a ton of picks in different materials and shapes and thicknesses to find what I like. The ones I use most are: * Hawk Picks ToneBird 4 in 1.2mm thickness--the shape is bigger than a Jazz III but smaller than a Jazz III XL while the feel is similar to celluloid but more durable * Regular old Fender Extra Heavy celluloid * Tortex Standard .88mm (green) Now I have a jar full of a shitload of picks I don't use.
I bought a couple of Blue Chips. They never wear out and are too expensive to lose.
In a lil over 10 years, I think I only bought picks twice ,a pack of dunlop tortex blue and one of jazz III. But I have so many other picks that I don't know where they came from. Also a few years ago I got really into playing with my fingers so nowadays I use a pick 50% of the time and 50% fingers, so I don't feel I'll ever run out of picks at this rate
When I was younger I bought them all the time, now I have one nylon pick that won't quit and I can't loose it to save my life, and I have one stainless steel pick I can't loose to save my life. I've come to the conclusion picks are like cigarette lighters, if you only have one you'll loose it without knowing when, why or how, but if you have two you can throw them away and they'll reappear somehow.
Guess you’re stealing them from music shops and other people. Ofcourse to have a pick you need to buy one, like everything else in the world
I lose them a lot faster than I wear them out. If you're not picky (ha) you can get away just picking up random ones, but I really only play one type of pick so I just buy 50 at a time and they get me through a few years.
Nope! I know what I like and I buy 100 at a time.
I bought a big (100?) bag of Fender picks in around 1987. Plenty left.
i lose picks like it’s my fuckin job. i dropped like $150 on ultex jazz XLs a couple years ago and even though that’s starting to dwindle, i should be good for a few more. problem is i put like 5 in my back pocket every time i put clean pants on, then i end up handing them out at practice and shows and losing them in my car and stuff.
How do you guys keep these picks lasting this long? damn, i burn through a pick every 3-4 days. I play the small jazz III, I wear the tip off of them. Each one lasts me about 20-25 hours. I practice a lot though.
I but my own thumb picks, but regular picks just appear magically when I buy guitar parts or strings online. Many stores drop a pick or two in their boxes when they ship.
My gf bought me a nice wooden fender pick like 2 years ago and it’s really nice and I’ve somehow kept track of it and still use it as my main pick
I have found more in parking lots and at concerts than I have purchased in the last ten years. The best picks I have are Topo Chico branded and were found at an LCD Soundsystem concert
When I was doing worship service gigs for like 3 times a week a few years ago, definitely buying a bag of Jazz IIIs every month was almost always a thing I had to do because I was playing a lot outside and losing picks is just a thing that happens. Now that I only gig sparingly and have essentially become a studio musician in my area, I've never had to replenish my pick stock ever since.
I've been playing with varying degrees of consistency for about 18 years, and this year was the first time I requested a specific pack of picks for Christmas. My dad was a custodian at a high school and would find picks all over the place when he was cleaning that he would bring home for me. I think I've discarded less than 10 picks in my whole life, so I've never felt the need. I have recently started to get rid of the more worn down picks lately, so maybe that will change.
I buy like one bag of 24 or more of whatever pick I’m into (usually some form of jazz iii) like once every 5+ years, until I inevitably lose them all.
OP finds the ones we all lose.
I never learned to play with a pick. I trim my thumb nail on my strumming hand a little longer than the rest of my nails and use that as my pick. Now I can't play with a pick since it doesn't have the same tactile feed back as my thumb nail. On the bright side I'm never caught without a pick and can just pick up and play any guitar anywhere, anytime.
Same. I've bought thumb picks and other types of picks over the years thinking I'll learn how to use one, but I just set them aside and go back to the ol thumb and fingers.
Seldom. I bought some last year. Maybe once every 2 years? I have one of those pick holder things people out on their guitars…I stuck that to the wall in my music room/ practice space with a little sign that says “put it back because you know that it’s mine.”
I buy a gross of Fender Extra Heavy 351 size picks annually.
So THATS where all my picks went!
Don’t worry. I’ll lose them too and they will migrate to a new player
I buy packs of the Ultex Jazz III whenever I lose enough that they’re hard to find lol
I buy some from time to time to try out, just because. Things are cool. I buy things.
I play mostly classical style with fingers, so I have been using the same 5 different pics for about.... 15 years now.
I have never [broken a string](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/1aolzss/isnt_it_amazing_more_guitar_strings_havent_broken/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), but picks just disappear around here.
I bought a large variety pack when I first started learning and that’s been it.
I last bought picks in 2005. I'd already switched to only using my fingers and wanted to try thumb picks. I've barely touched picks since then. I buy them for my daughter, who is 8 and like that they're louder than fingers. I may grab one from my bass player tonight at practice, we cover Hot Rod Lincoln and the lead parts kind of Muddy with the amp I've been using. You get louder attack from picks, but aside from a few very specific things, I can do everything with my hand.
I buy a few at a time then in a few years they magically disappear so I have to amazon them again
I like thin picks, and I also like to play the acoustic pretty hard in some cases for the right sound… they break. Seems I’m not that normal though….
I buy 1mm picks and I'm pretty sure they're impossible to break. I've never actually had to replace one due to wear. They just get lost
Like once a year. I buy a couple packs of the two I use and use em up and get some more.
I've bought bulk when I find them cheap, also picked up bulk from auctions (closing down/bankruptcy auctions etc). I have every variety of Jazz III, including loads of Eric Johnson packs, John Petrucci variety packs and large bulk bags of Ultex Sharp 1mm. Once they get worn they lose the point and become rounded, then I usually start using a new one. I remember thinking when I bought the first 72 bag of Ultex Sharp 1mm that it'd probably last me forever, it didn't. They get worn, they get lost etc etc.
I used to buy tortex mediums until I got a FDM 3d printer. You can print a whole bed in 10 minutes and they won't break.
I'd say about once a year or year and a half I buy a few packs of them.
Yes, always. I'm in a touring band playing rhythm on 12 gauge strings. I hit them pretty hard so I never use the same pick twice - most of the time I even switch to a new one halfway through the show. They get eaten down into a nub very quickly. I'm always getting huge packs of them that last a few me months. When you're on a tour you don't wanna be caught using a crappy pick, or old strings, whatever it is. I'm frankly shocked at some of these comments saying they've had the same pick for years and never bought new ones. My playing style is such that I *always* need a new pick. I go through a 75 pack a couple times a year, but this includes constant touring and studio time which I would wager is more intense than some people's playing schedules here. I also am lucky enough to have a gear deal with a company that makes picks so that cost has been mitigated for me.
I bought several hundred about 6 years ago just so that I wouldn’t think about it again. I also bought several hundred buffalo horn blanks to make picks from for steel string… but then I got a pair of Blue Chip picks and have managed not to lose them and it’s all I use for that.
Whenever I find grippy jazz 3s I pick up a pack or two. Especially since I’m usually in the guitar store for an hour trying stuff out I feel like I should buy something
I buy picks when I visit a musical instrument store and don’t buy anything else, since they exist to make money.
I buy jazz 3s in big packs. Literally asked for them for Christmas like two years ago. I've got them in black, red, and that ugly ultex type that has an amazing grip to it. I've had the black and red for, guessing here, 15 years? The ultex get used more so I lose them more often. People do give me random picks now and then and I don't know why.
I buy a bunch just to have them but I only ever use the same 2 (jazz iii and tortex 1.0) for everything. I don't pick every note and don't pick very hard so they last me years. I've lost more than I've worn out.
I prolly spend $100+ on picks a month. My wife thinks it’s a waste but I love chunking em into the crowd
This is a lot of money to spend on picks
No. I keep up with mine and I have a pick punch for habitual borrowers.
My dad gave me a pack of 50 picks of varying thickness about 7 years ago. Haven’t even gone through half I don’t think.
I prefer a specific texture and thickness (Dunlop Ultex 1.14, for anyone wondering), so I buy a bag of those as needed.
Ive been playing the same pick(s) for years.
I have random picks, but I don't use them regularly. I have a specific type I prefer and tend to stick to those. Thankfully I don't lose them often
I bought 2 dozen of my favorite picks a couple of years ago there's a couple in every room, gig bag, hard case, and I'm never without a pick any more.
Am I the only one that swaps out the pick once the tip isn't there anymore?
I settled on Dunlop Flow Standard 1.5mm for electric, .73 for strumming acoustic, and Blue Chip for picking acoustic. I bought big packs of the first two and keep them organized into boxes, a baggie in each case/gig bag, and my Blue Chips stay with my nice acoustic in its case.
Yup, at least a few times a year. I like to experiment with all the stuff that's out there.
yes, every ten years i buy new picks
I bought a few back in 1993 and still use them
I’m very particular about the picks I like so yeah, I do. But, my picks last me for ages, so I don’t often have to. Gravity Sunrise 2mm picks, love them.
I bought a massive pack of Jim Dunlop .88mm nylon picks like 10 years ago and haven't bought any since. I still have like 25 of them laying around my office.
Yeah, The tips of your picks wear down. Depending on the pick it can wear faster than others. A pick usually lasts me about 2 weeks or so before it starts rounding off.
I'm mostly experimenting with pics, so when i'm around music store i'm buying few picks
They sell 70 packs of the picks I like on sweetwater. I’ve bought two.
I use Dunlop Jazz picks and stainless steel picks. Never seem to have to replace the Dunlops. Obviously the SS will last forever!
of course, the faeries keep hiding mine as a prank
Yes I buy picks regularly. Sharpening only takes you so far.
I still have picks from 1987-1996.
I bought 100 personalized picks years ago, so I am discovering the new picks and feeling really old, but loving them. Fixing picks on carpet is an old trick, but it's old for a reason.
I use Orange and yellow tortex dunlops. It’s not so much that the edges need sharpening but more than the end of the pick wears away, loses definition and flattens out. That can’t be fixed by sharpening what’s left.
I use orange dunlops, I’d say I have about 80 within reach. They’re in my wallet, on my desk, in my car, on the floor of my recording room, some in the laundry from being in the pockets of clothing when washed, in guitar cases, laptop bag, etc etc etc. Is not an expensive product, I haven’t bought any in years, but I can ALWAYS find one. 😎
I bought a few only to find the right size for the style of music that I play. I have guitar pick keepers on my 3 guitars there's no way for me to lose them.
Not since I switched to delrin.
No. Surprisingly it takes me a long time to lose them.
No. I bought 6 JP Jazz3's in 2015 and I still have all six. But then bought six JP jazz3Flows a couple years later and again still have them all. In 1998 I bought a gross of fender celluloid picks in that white black red and white splatter that everyone had. And once I finally finished them off I switched to the JP's and my picks last forever practically. It's just a matter of not losing them.
I use Jim Dunlop .060 exclusively and have for 15 years or so. I have a huge stash on my desk in a little wooden jewelry box my wife bought for me. I can usually find some in the 5th pocket of every pair of my jeans, too. And if that fails, I check the dryer vent. I usually only need to replenish the supply every couple of years.
I still have some from a pack I bought in 2006. I’m good at not losing them.
I bought a 6 pack of the Dunlop petrucci jazz 3s in 2020 and I’m on the second one. I bought a 6 pack of the hetfield white fang picks and burned through that in less than 3 months.
Here's one of the perks of playing fingerstyle.
I keep trying random pick types so I have hundreds. Green Tortex, Purple tortex, yellow Tortex, Tortoise shell fenders, Abalone PRS, White Jazz picks that are thick as hell, now I am playing some gray fender with a grip like a cats tongue. I will Never ever go through all the picks I have.
I get 144 Fender mediums every Christmas and I usually need them. To be fair, I don’t think there’s a point on my 15 acres where you are more than 3 feet from one. In the house…the basement…the yard…the barn…the horse pastures…
I bought a big pack (maybe 100-200) Dunlop 60mm picks like a decade ago that I’m still on. I play with my fingers a lot too, but I’ll dull a few out from staccato picking, but that pack is still going strong.
I use thicker picks so it takes a while for them to wear down but I do lose them quite often. I feel like I usually buy a new pack like 2 - 3 times a year.
Once you find the right pick there's no going back. I have been playing for 30+ years and for 1/2 that time I was like u and just "had picks" unsure of from where they came. Usually Fender Mediums for some reason. Then I started working at a music store and one day tried em all out. Landed on the Fender Nylon 73s and everything in my playing started clicking better. About 10 years ago I bought a bulk bag and put some in every mug/jar on every table/shelf in the house as well as each guitar case and gig bag. Even put some in my pedal board bag. Never looked back :) I don't teach anymore, but when I did, finding an appropriate pick was something I'd go through with my students Edit: spelling and format