Let’s Make Some Picks!

Hello everyone, I'm Rimito, a night time computer music composer.

A guitar pick is a necessity for guitar and bass players (although some people don't use them).

It is a small but significant element that affects the tone, playability, and many other aspects of the guitar.

They come in a wide variety of sizes, thicknesses, materials, and designs, from the common ones sold at stores for about 100 yen to high-end ones made of wood, metal, or tortoiseshell, and there are also fun shapes such as rice balls and teardrops, as well as jazz picks.

This time, I decided to make my own picks out of thin plastic plates that I had at home, because the picks I was using did not fit the playing style of the songs I was practicing. The materials I had at home were from a 100-yen store. There are many benefits that can only be obtained by making your own picks, such as creating your favorite design, creating an easy-to-use shape, and being able to make dozens of picks from a single 100-yen plastic board. I hope you will try to imitate my work and give it a try yourself! (Please be nice since this is a homemade project. Please be careful not to hurt yourself with scissors or anything sharp.)

Please take a look at this for your reference.

■ Let's prepare

Here is a summary of what you need. This is a list of items that you can buy at Seria or Daiso.

• Board material you want to use as a pick
• Pick for a model
• A sign pen
• Scissors
• Sandpaper (#100 to #180 coarseness)
• Sponge sandpaper (#800 to #1000)

The board material you want to use for the picks can be a plastic board, acrylic board, or even a wooden board, as long as it is 0.5mm to 1.2mm thick and can be viable as a pick.

I bought the sandpaper shown in the photo from Daiso and Seria. (Sorry for taking a photo after using it.)

As for what kind of pick is best to use as a model, even the same rice-ball or teardrop shape has slightly different dimensions in detail. In particular, the roundness (sharpness) of the tip of the pick varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and there is a wide variety. Therefore, I recommend using standard picks from major guitar makers here. For example, here are some examples.

FENDER / 351 Shape Shell Medium

Also, use paper scissors. Scissors for cards may have jagged edges, which can be troublesome to handle later on.

Let's go!

■ Let's make a mold

The first step is to make a mold. If you start with an original design from the beginning, it is easy to make mistakes in size, so let's start by making a mold.

Cut the plastic board to an appropriate size,

and trace it with a marker pen.

It looks like this. (Sorry it's hard to see. Sweat drop.)

If you have an alcohol-based solvent (disinfectant may also be possible), you can remove the ink even if it sticks out a little on the inside (it may not be possible to remove it, so try beforehand).

By the way, this seal is an anti-slip for picks. (I often use the center of the pick for playing, so I cut off the bottom half and play with that.)

I found it at a relatively low price off of Sound House.

GRECO / G-GRIP

A material that can be used underwater is made into a type of sticker for picks. So, even if you sweat, you can still get a good grip. It adheres firmly and doesn’t slip. However, the life of the sticker is about 6 months, and it gradually becomes sticky. But, I still recommend it. Wash and degrease the pick thoroughly before applying it.

■ Let's cut it!

Once the mold has been made, the next step is to start cutting.

You can use a cutter, but I think it is too difficult to cut into a curve on the plastic board with a cutter, so you should use scissors here. At first, cut around the line appropriately and go back and clean it up later.

This is what I cut out.

The trick is to cut the pick tip at once. If you let go of the scissors halfway through, you are more likely to make a mistake. (I, Rimito, failed once here.)

■ Let's shape it!

After cutting, finish by sanding and shaping.

First, use #120 coarseness, and attack the very edge of the line drawn with a signet pen. Burrs will appear, but these will be dealt with later, so leave them alone.

Next, polish the sides of the surface with a coarse grit of about #180. If the sandpaper and the pick are kept at 45 degrees, the burrs will come off.

■ Let's finish the last step.

The last step is the finishing. Using a sponge sandpaper with a coarseness of about #800, carefully and meticulously polish the side of the pick until the white areas are gone.

Then, carefully file the tip of the pick with a #1000 coarse sponge file, and you are done for now.

The finished product looks like this.

■ Some are special at first glance.

For example, rich type (a.k.a. Pentagon, Beatles) and,

Meijoshokai / Hon Tortoiseshell Pick, Base Type II (Rich Type) 1.2mm

Ergo picks for basses, etc.

ESP / ERGO PICK 1.0mm

There are many different shapes of picks in the world, so it is interesting to use them as a reference, take a crack at them, or create a completely original shape.

■ Try to put a sticker on it.

GRECO / G-GRIP

As I mentioned earlier, if you are not satisfied with the picks you made, try putting this on them. I think it will make it a little easier to use. I, Limito, did the same.

■ Try using them as straps.

You can make a stylish instant key chain by drilling a hole with a drill sold at Daiso or other 100 yen stores and then putting a ball chain through the hole. If you are careful about the position of the holes, you can make a beautiful key chain.

■ Finally, what do you think?

How was it? I have written about how to make an original pick as well as many other things. I hope you found this article useful. Thank you again for reading this article. Have a good musical life.