Squid
Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 1019
Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Nov 12 2011 04:33 PM
With a sharp point guitar pick control is more accurate, in my experience. I use moderately rigid to rigid hard picks (Dunlop Ultex), but even these "wear resistant" picks quickly dull with the rapid alternating picking of surf guitar.
Long have I been sharpening dulled picks with 120 to 400 grit sandpaper. Although effective, it is time consuming, it generates gritty sand that has to be controlled and discarded, picks quickly become too small to work well, and it is tedious.
Cutting the picks with a scissor is faster and just as effective, but picks become too small even sooner.
I just tried using a sharp slender knife blade. It seems quickest, there is no grit, it is fun if the blade is really sharp, and it seems to minimize pick shrinkage.
If you sharpen your picks what works well for you?
— Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com
|
Ariel
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 1556
Israel
|
Posted on Nov 12 2011 04:48 PM
Good topic! I do it all the time,
and also found a knife to work best,
but I actually don't cut with it, just grind the sides and then make a bevel, maybe finish with a paper. It's important to achieve a smooth curve with no cuts or valleys, I'm into sharpening knives so I got the feel for it down
|
djangodeadman
Joined: Jan 25, 2007
Posts: 1569
Brighton UK
|
Posted on Nov 12 2011 04:48 PM
Just throw them away and use a new one! John Blair seems to discard a pick at the end of pretty much every song.
— Los Fantasticos
|
reventlos
Joined: May 23, 2006
Posts: 209
Costa Mesa
|
Posted on Nov 12 2011 07:15 PM
You're missing the greatest time-honored pick-sharpening procedure for cheap musicians ever: Most stages have indoor/outdoor carpeting of some sort. Just slide your pick hard and fast a few times on each side, drawing the pick towards you with the pointy end trailing. Works like a champ, and you can create a smooth perfect point as sharp as a vampire's tooth if you like. Works best on heavier picks. Try it!
Last edited: Nov 12, 2011 19:47:15
|
eddiekatcher
Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2779
Atlanta, GA
|
Posted on Nov 12 2011 11:02 PM
I am just the opposite. I use one of the two back "corners" rather than the pointy end of the pick most of the time. It gives the tone a compressed sound and feel and is MUCH easier to maintain a relentless double picking attack. It almost turns a medium pick into a stiff one that I prefer anyway.
backasswards, ed
— Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?
|
Rob_J
Joined: Sep 29, 2007
Posts: 500
Sacto, CA
|
Posted on Nov 13 2011 01:00 AM
"I am just the opposite. I use one of the two back "corners" rather than the pointy end of the pick most of the time. "
You are not alone. I've always held the pick with the "pointy" end pointed inward towards my palm and pick with the shallower curved edge. Just seems natural to me. When I first read "sharpening guitar picks" my reaction was "What? = I've never heard of such a thing".
But then, the older I get the more things I discover that I've never heard of.
|
da-ron
Joined: Jan 02, 2009
Posts: 1307
The original Plymouth, UK.
|
Posted on Nov 13 2011 04:50 AM
I use MOshay picks. The ones with a hole in. They seem to last for ages (or I'm not tremolo picking enough!). Picks do need to be nice and pointy, though so I reshape the end a bit, every six months or so. I have to order these picks from the US, so the longer I make them last the less I have to faff about and order them!
I did read somewhere that a custom pick manufacturer would make about 2,000 picks for a guitarist on a world tour. About 10 picks a night I guess!
— http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/
Last edited: Nov 13, 2011 04:52:27
|
Squid
Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 1019
Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Nov 18 2011 12:24 PM
DreadInBabylon wrote:
Good topic! I do it all the time,
and also found a knife to work best,
but I actually don't cut with it, just grind the sides
and then make a bevel,
Similarly I shave both sides of the pick coming to the point forming a V-shaped bevel on the edges of the pick. Then I shave the sides of the point itself. Doing this in the opposite order gives a still sharper point, but I think it is too sharp because it wears away immediately.
I sharpen unused brand new picks this way too because they are not sharp enough for me. Even a pick I've used hard for half an hour is somewhat sharper than a new pick. And that's why it makes sense to sharpen used picks, it's not just to minimize making unrecyclable trash.
— Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com
Last edited: Nov 18, 2011 12:28:48
|
remora1
Joined: Jan 04, 2008
Posts: 1278
San Pedro, CA
|
Posted on Nov 18 2011 12:57 PM
Squid wrote:
I sharpen unused brand new picks this way too because
they are not sharp enough for me.
Squid, I see you're using Dunlop Ultex picks. Are they the standard ones or the "sharps"? I use the Sharps "as is" - they're plenty sharp for me.
image
— Bill S._______
|
Ariel
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 1556
Israel
|
Posted on Nov 19 2011 10:09 AM
Squid wrote:
but I think it is too sharp because it wears away immediately.
Yeah it's a fine art, finding the compromise between sharp enough, and brittle.
Just like knives - there are surgeon's knives, combat knives, utility knives, survival knives etc.
I tend to view picks as something in between, if you use it for half an hour and then the edge is gone, than what's the point ? (pun intended). On the other hand, it's not meant to last forever.
One more thing I do, after the sharpening, I gently brush the edge with a little fire. It gives it sheen, and makes it stronger. Just be careful so the plastic doesn't fold (what's called a "burr").
|
Squid
Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 1019
Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Nov 20 2011 03:20 PM
For leads I use mostly the big triangle Dunlop 0.73 Ultex picks. They give me three points to wear off before I have to change picks. Some days they seem awkwardly big and I switch to the regular ones. Next time I buy regular 0.73 picks I will take your suggestion and get the sharps.
For strumming I use regular Dunlop 0.60 Ultex picks, and I don't sharpen them.
Hi, Dread: Annealing pick points in fire sounds appealing. I suppose you have worked with glass. Angst is an interesting near-synonym for dread. I imagine there are a dozen words for it in Hebrew.
— Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com
Last edited: Nov 20, 2011 15:22:01
|
Mr_Reverb63
Joined: Jul 10, 2007
Posts: 919
San Pablo, CA
|
Posted on Nov 20 2011 03:35 PM
Ive had that problem, i wear out those Dunlop tortoise shell picks like nothing, to the point that when im playing i start smelling the plastic, then one day i ended up keeping one of Mr. Mel Waldorf's picks. it was a Dunlop Nylon Pick.i ended up buying like 3 dozens online. i love em so much, its all i use now. They never wear out, and they have grip! if you people have never tried em i suggest you give them a chance!
— -Zanti
Instagram:
My IG
Combo Tezeta IG
|
Ariel
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 1556
Israel
|
Posted on Nov 20 2011 04:55 PM
Squid wrote:
Hi, Dread: Annealing pick points in fire sounds
appealing. I suppose you have worked with glass.
Hi Squid, no glass experience but plenty of playing with fire 
(Oh, don't try this with nylon picks, you'll destroy them. Only hard material)
Angst is an interesting near-synonym for dread. I imagine
there are a dozen words for it in Hebrew.
Not too much actually... my nick comes from "Natty dread inna Babylon", a Rastafari reference. Song HERE.
Jah love
Last edited: Nov 20, 2011 16:59:09
|
Squid
Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 1019
Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Nov 29 2011 02:09 PM
I just bought and tried Dunlop nylon picks on the suggestion here. With the nylon picks the string tone has less treble than with ultex picks. The 0.8 thickness nylon pick is about as rigid as a 0.6 ultex pick. The 0.66 thickness nylon is very polite, delivering only a small amount of energy to individual strings, so it seems only for background or strumming. The ultex 0.73 has the power and clarity I need, but it does break strings.
However, that the Dunlop nylon picks do not seem to need sharpening, even though they do not have a sharp point. The ultex picks need repeated sharpening.
— Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com
Last edited: Dec 03, 2011 01:10:54
|
May Birthdays 
