Question Home

Position:Home>Performing Arts> What is the difference between a light guitar pick and a heavy guitar pick?


Question: What is the difference between a light guitar pick and a heavy guitar pick!?
I am a beginning guitarist and I was looking for some guitar picks!. I found some Fender picks, but one says HEAVY and the other says LIGHT!. What's the difference!? Do they make different sounds!? I play classic rock and was wondering which would be right for me!. Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
The thickness, and the material that the guitar picks are made of will make a difference in the sound!. Depending on what you're playing could also have an effect on how long the strings will last!. You're going to receive many answers, and I'm sure most will be personal preference just like mine!. I've been playing since the 60s, and I've gone through many different styles of music!. I prefer the Fender 355 triangle!. Thin for very fast, and hard chords!. Medium for lead!. Because there are three sides on the pick, if you break one side, you don't have to stop playing, there are two sides left!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Light picks are best for lead playing; heavy picks are best for rhythm--in most cases!.

The picks are categorized by the thickness of them--thin for lights, thick for heavies!.

I use medium thumb picks--never straight picks!. I get the best delivery for leading and rhythm simultaneously!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Light gutiar picks: theses ones are made for ACOUSTIC and some CLASSIC ROCK and ALT ROCK, the reason why its used is because there is less of it, and it will bend a lot more so it gives it a nice bassier sound to an acoustic, equalizing the noise of the gutiar strings, ways to feel a differnce:take it in ur hand and bend it, not to far but just enough to feel the bend, also play with it and then play with the heavy to HEAR the difference

Heavy picks:These ones are a lot tougher and do not bend, like at all, they usually are thicker as welll and are made for HEAVY ROCK, METAL, and bassically anything with a lot of SOLOS in it, there reason it is used for these genrees is because there is not as much "bounceback- as in when u hit the strings there is no lag time where it hits the next string giving it a chunkier chuggy sound" and it is used for soloing because u can alternate pick much faster with picks that dont bend

which would be right for you: i myself would say try the light pick first, see if u fine playing that, one way to tell that the heavier pick is for u is if u pick pretty fast and really put a lot of force, a heavy would be good then because that is just ur bodily prefrence, always follow what u think will make u play better!.!.!.


good luck in ur guitar career!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Usually heavy picks are reserved for the bass guitar!. They are much thicker and the sound they make on normal guitars is a very icky sound in my opinion!. It also makes it harder to pick faster!. I suggest a light or medium pick starting out!. Try medium first and see what you think of the sound and control!. If you don't like it, move to light!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I use a medium made by Dunlop!.
I like them because they do not slide around in your fingers when you get swet gets on you hands!. I prefer the medium because it is not to heavy!. The thing to remember is the medium picks will snap back quicker for faster picking than what a thin pick does!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I have fender gutair picks too u usaully use heavy with steel string and light with nilon stringed gutairs i actually have extra heavy because i perfer it and if ur a begining gutairist a easy song to learn is horse with no nameWww@QuestionHome@Com

it really depends on what guitar you use and your perferance

acoustics in my opinon are easyer with heavy and electrics with light

i myself enjoy light pics because i can do some crazy alternate picking on elcectricsWww@QuestionHome@Com

you should know light is the thinest and heavy is the thickest!. the difference is that they sound different!.i sogest heavy if your into rockWww@QuestionHome@Com