Best Guitar Picks For Strumming (2024 Update)

I really like these picks. The thumb and finger make skin contact through the star-shaped hole. For some reason this works for me to almost eliminate pick dropping. It also gives a tactile point of reference when holding the pick. You know exactly where the pick is between the thumb and finger. The hole also acts as a pivot point if your are changing between the blunt side and the point of the pick. Not everyone likes these picks, but come to think of it, I don't like everyone. Give 'em a try and remember to choose your friends wisely.Joe Picker

I used to hole-punch the centers of my picks to help with grip. The star shaped hole on Star Picks does it one better by adding little teeth that grip even better. I have liked these for years and usually bought them singly or in packs of a dozen because that's the way they came. A bag of 50 for this price is terrific. After trying many gauges, I settled on the 0.60 thickness with 0.73 now and then, so I bought a bag of each. Like I said, if you already like these picks, buying them 50 at a time is great. I haven't seen it offered that way anywhere else.Fretts

I have pretty dry hands and dropping picks became an unwelcome pastime. I found my first Star Grip picks in a small music shop in Vancouver when i bought my 12-string. At the time i bought 12 of them – about 8 years ago. Over time my supply dwindled to 3 that i kept in my pocket. When one of the three broke, i vowed to find replacements – although none of the stores i frequented carried them. Until i found Musician's Friend and the rest is history.Jeep

If you play a bass guitar with a flat pick, I don't think you could do much better than these in .63mm or .80mm. I like triangle picks because there's no thought process or fiddling around when you grab one while playing: you've got much better odds of landing the pointy part against the string! For me though, these acetal picks have just the right amount of flex (depending on thickness, of course) and they are extremely durable. They last and last, very slow to wear down and the don't chip or break. Good product. I use them for electric and acoustic guitar as well, but playing bass with these is a pleasant experience.kevin

I have used Clayton picks for years. Unfortunately the Wolf ones no longer come in the 1.26mm thickness, so I bought these and the dove ones. If you read reviews, it seems people love them or hate them. I can't stand flexible picks, so these fit the bill. They are slip resistant.Kirk A.

I don't consider myself a "Professional Musician" per se. I play a few gigs here and there but mostly for my own enjoyment and to help to back up others when they ask. Been playing for over 40 years and my old "ham hock hands" don't do well with the smaller size picks. These are a good fit for me and have just enough flexibility that they are good for rhythm playing and still stiff enough to play a few lead licks now and then. I do have to "scuff" them with a light sandpaper now and then when they start to get too slick and become difficult to hold on to when the hands start to sweat. Also the fact that I was able to get them at a coupon discount doesn't hurt either. I can buy a dozen of these from MF for what I would have to pay for buying five of them individually some music stores.Bo

Okay, first let say that these are very good picks. Great feel and action and they have great grip. The only problem I have is I wish that they were a little thinner. These are a thick .45mm to me. For me a .40mm or .38mm and they would be asolutely perfect and they would be all I used. I still use them a little now but they're just a little to thick for me.Alanbama

I have used Clayton picks 1.52mm for nearly 20 years.I gave these a shot about 5 years ago and I won't use anything else! Had to drop down to 1.20mm as thats the thickest they make. I play Metal with a little darker tone than average 2 modded Marshall jmp's with the presence and trebble set around 9-10 o'clock,Gibson, D'Addarrio, nothing to wooly but dark and these picks are like sonic windex. My tone is clearer and more defined without that hi-mid spike but grabs your ears. I have an old thumb injury and these stick to my fingers on stage .Puts everything else to shame. However they are a fortune, you can not get them off the shelf anywhere I've stopped at around the U.S. and about 6 dozen have come bent right out of the package like they were rolled on a machine while warn and cooled like the end of a snow ski. Ive had some do that after a couple of hours.I only get 3-5 hours out of them before they wear and when they do my accuracy is gone and then in to the trash can. ULTEM RULES! \m/Dirty-D

Picks had a slight bend that will not unbend. Almost the same feeling as using a dried out matte credit card. Maybe I received old picks or something. Anyway not the feeling I was expecting. Like delrin material except smoother.ndrw9139

I have been a fingers bass player for years, but recently thought I would try a pick, especially for fast songs. I use a jazz 3 for guitar, but found it too small and stiff for bass. All of the other picks I tried were too big. These were not only a happy medium size-wise, but the material gives an excellent gripping surface as well.CJ

It's surprising how much a pick affects the sound and feel of a guitar or other fretted instrument. I like this one a lot. The textured surface helps keep the pick from slipping from my fingers. The texture also improves control and tone, acting a bit like a violin bow, holding onto the string, instead of sliding off the way a shinier pick does. I like the thickness, too; not too stiff, not too floppy. It's all a matter of personal preference, but these work well for me.Gordon K.

"Live" shows this is the pick I use. I 've never broken one of these, not sure that you can. I've got some that are so old the "gator grip" is worn off smooth and they still work great. Don't get me wrong, it'll take six months to a year of constant use to wear the surface away on this pick, these are the one's I have laying around the studio, most people will lose a pick before it gets this old. I've tried other picks with "grip" but found they were too "overbearing", not sure if that's the appropriate word or not, but I didn't like being able to feel the "grip" part if that makes any sense. Sometimes I will experiment with different picks in the studio depending on what I'm trying to accomplish that day, but when I hit the road this is the pick I make sure I have. You can't beat the price for this kind of quality.nickname? lol ask the ex-wife

Overall: Lets face it, they're just guitar picks, but I prefer the Gibson brand. I feel he Fender heavy are too thick and the Fender medium are too thin. The Gibson brand seems denser and the heavy are just right. The beveled edge also gives the string a good attack. I like the tin the picks come in and in my opinion I can't crack the case on my $2k Les Paul and not have a quality pick in the case.Greg

I have purchased several picks lately. These are better than the others. They have a texture on both sides that allows a firm grip. They do not twist in your hand. Check them out.lmssrc

These are my new favorite pics. I have been using them for months now, and recently have switched from the medium to heavy gauge. I noticed while playing with mediums, when playing metal style guitar techniques the pic would bend out of shape a little after a while. I don't have this problem with the heavy gauge.kd1z

Those are great Jazz II style picks. Great sound, feel and precision. The surface of the pick is very smooth which I like a lot. .55mm gauge is a bit too thin for my taste but that's subjective. My personal favorites are 1.1mm, but if you like a brighter sound and the feel of thinner picks you may try these.Garegin

Fender medium picks have always served me well. They are sturdy, feel good in your hand, and have just the right amount of attack for both rhythm and lead playing. I purchased the Ocean Turquoise set and can attest that they draw the eye, even if you're the only one who notices.Dustin

I personally like the Fender 347 Classic Celluloid (THIN) guitar picks for songs that involve lots of strumming in addition to a softer, quieter sound production as opposed to the Hard picks of the same brand and shape. These are also better for beginning guitarists as they are easier to strum a guitar. Sometimes you just want a quieter pick for certain songs similar to a drum brush drummers use for Jazz or certain songs that are better performed with a quieter, softer sound.irishkale

While I switch back and forth between the type of guitar I play and the thickness of the plectrum, I have been partial to Fender since starting the instrument 30 years ago. This deal is as cheap as they come so far. I've seen several posts that are for just 1 (one, uno!) guitar/bass pick for the same price. Unless it's from a concert by your favorite musician, your wasting your money. I lose one every time, so get a lot, and know beforehand what you need in terms of thickness, the music/tempo at which you play, and the gauge of string instrument that works best for you. An aside: there is an odor when they come in relative "bulk" as will all/most pics. The odor dissipates gradually. One pick doesn't smell but a ziplock bag full of them does. Fast ship. Thanks!storestorm

If you've never tried "Brain Picks" guitar picks, you owe it to yourself to give them a try! The picks themselves are good quality. The material they are made of is reasonably flexible & not brittle so they hold up and last a long time, and not only do they feel good to play with, but they sound good as well. Their quality control also seems to be really good–you don't get a lot of picks with sharp shards of extra plastic hanging off the edges (that's not a huge problem, you can always smooth that off with an emery board/nail file, but I still like that they care enough about their product to make sure they're smooth and ready to play well right out of the tin). Oh, and that's another value-added cool thing about these pics: they're packed in a cool sturdy re-usable metal tin! It fits easily in your pocket and keeps your picks from scattering all over the place and getting lost in the pockets of your guitar cases. But as much as I like the tin, the best part about these picks is the texture. The upper 2/3 of each pick has a raised bumpy pattern to help you grip the pick. This is a big deal for me as I am all about feel when I play and I actually struggled as a beginner to play with a pick. I always felt really awkward, like I wasn't holding the pick right, and I always felt like it was slipping out of my fingers. The Brain Picks have a nice slightly raised bumpy texture that is enough to help improve your grip, but it's not textured enough to feel rough or annoying when you hold them. I've used these in picks in several sizes so far (the purple 0.60mm, the red 0.73mm, and the black 0.88mm), and they're one of my all time favorite "go-to" picks. I prefer them over both Dunlop's USA Nylons and Dunlop's "MaxGrip" Nylons. For the record, my preferred non-textured guitar picks are the Dunlop "Tortex" Series, but when it comes to a textured guitar pick (which is what I use at least 80% of the time), the Snarling Dogs "Brain Picks" are my favs. Give them a try! 🙂mozart-wv

I'm a bassist that plays about 30% of a nights worth of songs with a pick. I am primarily a finger player, but I've tried dozens of different picks in my quest for finding the right sound, feel and grip in a pick. My guitarist uses these, and I started using these during shows. As a semi novice pick user, these amazed me because they wouldn't slip around and love the angle of attack, regardless if I was sweaty or not (a huge issue for me with smooth picks). This has been the only pick so far I don't worry about shifting when I play, they just stay put. I'm not a big fan of nylon picks, but these are ok sounding, balancing attack with warmth well. With stainless steel roundwound strings, they bite without being too brittle. As I don't play a lot with a pick, these will last a very long time before they wear out. I most likely will lose them first. A nice perk is the metal tin they come in. It's a lot harder to lose this way for me. For my style they are a touch over my comfort level for flex (I'm used to Dunlop big Stubbys heavy gauge) so I'm going to try the 1.14 gauge SD picks to see if they are more to my liking. In conclusion, they aren't my favorite sounding pick for my bass style, but the grip is amazing. The fact the pick stays where I need it to due to its texture design, out shadows the best sounding picks in my belief. I'll will be buying another (heavier) gauge soon, but I wouldn't dream on changing the design.jamesbaghr

I wanted to like these picks, I really did. The grip is excellent and feels more like a gritty material than simple raised bumps. This is the reason why I bought them and it is there where they delivered. But that's it. The actual pick itself is quite floppy, a standard tortex feels rigid compared to these. The big problem is that my dozen picks all have extra plastic material around the sides. I have to trim off around the edges if I want to actually used these. Every pick has a sharp nub on the top while the actual point has material hanging off that catches on the string. I feel like I'm cleaning up poorly cut out Gundam model parts. The tin is the nice though.Moe

It may sound funny, but your choice of plectrum (Pick) has a huge impact on the sound of your guitar! A heavy pick will produce a more mellow sound with less attack, whilst a thinner one will sound brighter with greater attack and have the flexibility that allows for faster picking techniques. Harder materials also impart brightness to your sound and increase attack. I choose Fender Thin picks because they are both hard and flexible and produce a very natural sound, at least to my ears. Fender have been making these forever, and for good reason – Just like the Stratocaster guitar, somethings just work better than others and can't really be improved upon that much. If you're a really heavy hitter, you might find yourself going through a few of these Fender THIN Picks during the course of a gig, but they are cheap enough, and it is a small price to pay for the benefits they bring, in my opinion.mark1964-6979

Highly recommended! My favorite pick and of course made by Fender! I prefer thin to the medium and heavy-thin gives me the sound a flexibility to play on all of my guitars! Buy them in quantity in case they break occasionally from jamming too hard!Bill

I bought this pack of Tortugas because I was attracted by the material, I thought it was a new celluloid color. In reality I was wrong, this material is definitely not celluloid, and I also made a mistake ordering the 551 size, which is much smaller than the traditional Fender shape 351 and with a sharp point. However I am getting used to them, even if they are more suitable for an electric guitar than the acoustic I am playing. Grip is good, there is no flexibility in the XH version I bought so it's quite good for fast passages, I would say it sounds slightly brighter than a traditional celluloid plectrum with less attack noise. The material looks beautiful and I already ordered a pack of 351 to compare.cuthbert_1978

these picks are amazing! they sound awesome due to the sharp end. no matter how good u are these picks will make u sound better with sharper and stronger sound.Cisco T.

The Jim Dunlop Ultex picks are everything a guitarist could ask for. They get the job done right and are extremely durable. I found the Jim Dunlop Tortex picks to wear away at the edges very quickly, deeming them mediocre to play with. The Ultex don't face that problem, as they are made out of a stronger material. Do yourself a favor, and get these picks!Jake

Excellent product that I would highly recommend. My challenge was I wanted a thicker pick so you don't get that flex while playing which makes playing articulate difficult. But other thick picks have that rounded edge which deadens/muddies up the sound. I also like the traditional larger pick size of Fender. The Gel solved my problems. I play the heavy to extra heavy versions but can still get that crisp ring and harmonics of a thinner pick when I need it – especially with distortion. But you also get the bass too. The other advantage of these picks for me is that they make playing effortless especially when playing fast. I play fairly light so I don't have the wear issues on these. Great product. If you use the sides of this pick – you won't believe how fast you can play – it will be your fretting hand that will have to keep up. These picks changed my playing for the better.Super 400

These picks are among my favorites. Easy to hold on to, great tone, easy to see if they fall on the floor. The light and medium/light (blue & green) in particular are not as durable as some other picks, but they do sound better than most. I like a pick that sounds clear & crisp and not muffled. I don't want a pick where the bass sounds muddy and these provide the tone I want. I like these much better than any other pick. The only other picks I really like as well are the Dunlop Ultex.Randy

I used the Dunlop Tortex red picks for 20+ years, but GC was out of them the day I was there, so I bought these. They're flexible enough for alternate picking, but thick enough to really dig in. Also, I haven't been able to break one yet…Derek

I've been using Tortex 1mm. for years on electric, didn't like them as well on acoustic, so I've been experimenting. The Ultex is very slightly brighter than the Tortex, the Gels are brighter/harder still. Fender Heavy Celluloid/mock tortoiseshell are the brightest of the three, with less mid emphasis, which suits acoustic for me. This is all down to personal taste.frankmusic99

very good guitar picks, durable, greate shape, good thickness, good shape, greate all round pick FOR hard picking as well as for bluesy sound and for acoustic sound.. if you do like to have ONE size an ONE type of guitar pick for a longer time and different purposes… ithis is probably pick for you !!fspin

My wife and I have an Assortment of Guitars and music genres we love to play. So to have this assortment of picks to play every style, from rhythm to lead these picks fit the bill at a price point it would be foolish to pass up. Been playing since the 60's and love the feel of these classic picks. Think you would too.buzz-r

3-10 packs of medium, 1-10 pack of heavy, 1-10 pack of light, Never have to hunt down another pick, if it goes inside your guitar until you shake it out. 10 pack is a great gift for a friend who also plays. With the internet is so easy to get songs, chords to play those memories.Lionsfan3315

They look great But I was expecting two sets of the same picks that’s the reason I ordered two sets I was disappointed when I didn’t get a second linkin park pickMikaila

I did not buy them for me but it turned out to be a great gift. It came organized and very fast. I would recommend to anyone!orangeblossom11_4

Good value for the sheer quantity of picks in the box. They are rather cheap, and wear out pretty fast. However, I use thick flatwound strings and have a fairly agressive playing style, so that probably is a catylist to the issue at hand. Overall if you want a box full of okay picks for a decent price, go for it.vandalman101

I have recently switched from flat picks to thumb picks. My picking has improved noticeably. I am a big fan of the Ultex picks, so it was nice to see an offering from Dunlop.Richard E

The picks may need to be adjusted to fit your thumb size. If they are too large, use a scissors to cut of the end of the curved section that wraps around your thumb, then sand down the rough edges. Then heat the bend to over 425 F (boiling water is not hot enough – use a cigarette lighter or other hotter heat source), put some pressure on the pick to close the gap between the part you filed and the blade of the pick, and allow the pick to change shape to the new smaller size. If the pick is too small, just heat the bend using a heat source over 425 F, and open the pick to the desired size.Peter

I would give these picks a solid 5 star rating if not for the fact that the large size is still much too tight to use for more than a couple of minutes at a time. The size and shape of the blade is excellent, and the attack really compliments metal fingerpicks quite well. Unfortunately, I can only handle having my thumb squeezed for a very short period, so these picks are virtually useless to me. The standard plastic thumb picks in large are extremely comfortable, so I guess Ill continue to use them for now. If Dunlop only made these picks in an extra large size, my problem would be solved. With all that being said, if you have smaller hands and/or thumbs, I highly recommend giving these a try.6438robertc