Guitar Picks

My choice of Blues Picks

I never struggled, asking myself what guitar pick I needed, nor ever contemplated which was used for rhythm or lead. I just bought a handful of different ones and naturally ended up playing just a couple that felt right. Both were very thick. One was a Fender’s Extra Heavy celluloid plectrum. As seen in the image below, it is a Fender guitar pick which I think is the one of the best guitar picks for blues music.

The second one was my own special treat and I love and cherish every bit of that idea. It was a 5 dollar silver coin issued in 1992…that a jeweller turned into a real blues guitar pick for me…

 It is a fantastic piece of work that turned into an unexpectedly versatile tool, which I do not abandon regardless whether I play rhythm or lead. It is perfect for hitting single notes, adding the bright diamond tone to your sound and works great if you want to struck entire chord since silver slides so well on the nickel strings. An all around universal and best guitar pick for me. Don’t believe me? See what Rev. Willy has to say:

His is a Mexican Peso metal guitar pick, made especially for him. Listen to how this plectrum sounds below.

Your choice of Blues Guitar Picks

There are countless types to choose from:

There are jazz guitar picks which are usually thick and relatively small to give the notes more intention. Such as the Jim Dunlop Stubby Picks.

There are Banjo Plectrum which you put on each of your fingers: 

There are plastic, metal, wood, glass, credit card and all things in between picks:

Thicker picks are in favor of solo players while thinner picks are easier to play rhythm with. Grab them by the handful because they will get lost often and it will happen at the worst possible moment to give you the “Guitar Pick Blues”.

It is not a necessity to play with a plectrum, Albert King used his fingers and he was a lefty. But if you fancy picks like me, you will discover yet another hidden world in the rich universe of Blues Guitar.