The Story of the Pick Materials - Unique Materials

In the previous blog post "The Story of the Pick Materials – Standard Materials," I introduced the common materials used for guitar picks such as celluloid and nylon, as well as the guitar picks made of these materials. This time, I’m going to introduce some guitar picks made of a little more unique materials.

The first material is metal.
Some guitar picks are made of metal, such as stainless steel or aluminum.
This is a stainless steel pick.

Here’s a stainless steel guitar pick available at Sound House↓

JIM DUNLOP / 4600.20 Standard

The characteristic of the stainless steel guitar pick is the solid attack feel.
After having tried one, I felt that it wasn’t suitable for shredding, probably because it was a bit heavy. But the lows and highs that it produces makes it good for distortion. I noted that it was a bit heavy, but it might be good to practice shredding with this pick. Personally, I thought it was also surprisingly good for getting a clean jazz tone.

We also carry some aluminum picks our lineup of metal guitar picks. Aluminum is a little light as far as metal guitar picks go, and I would recommend one if you are considering converting from other standard guitar picks. The impression I got with this pick is that the sound characteristic is not too low, and high tones are easy to get. It’s also suitable for a good rock distortion sound.

Here’s one of our aluminum guitar picks↓

JIM DUNLOP / 467R TECKPICK BLACK

It might be interesting to use a stainless steel pick for riffs, and an aluminum pick for solos.

The next few materials that I’m going to introduce are non-metal natural materials.
Some of you might think of tortoiseshell when someone mentions guitar pick materials. Of course, tortoiseshell is a natural material. It’s made from the turtle shells, and has been used for guitar picks for a long time.
Moderate flexibility and solidness are the main characteristics of tortoiseshell, providing a lightweight, smooth touch on the strings. More than that, I personally feel they have a luxurious appearance.
There are more guitar picks made of natural materials, and next, I’ll look at a wooden ones. The texture depends on the species of wood, but they are generally smooth, light, and nicely solid. Also, the impression of the pick itself is that it’s not easily worn down. The sound characteristics also depend on the wood, but overall, both high and low tones come out well. The tone is not too high, and there is a distinctive mellowness to wood picks.

This is a rosewood pick available at Sound House↓

PICKBOY / GP-AS/RW1

The last material I’ll introduce is buffalo horn↓

PICKBOY / GP-HN/1

Picks made of buffalo horn and bovine bone have a very strong attack and make produce a high tone.
The PICKBOY//GP-HN/1, which is made of buffalo horn, is about 3.00mm thick, which is pretty thick for a guitar pick. However, the sharp tip and smooth material allow for shredding, and the use of high level picking techniques without having the pick get caught by the strings.
In addition, the hollows for the thumb and index finger on the surface make for a highly functional this guitar pick.
Being a natural material, the colors and patterns are not even, but each one has a unique look, and there’s something attractive about guitar picks made of natural materials.

That’s all for "The Story of the Pick Materials – Unique Materials."
Changing the material of your guitar pick may be one of the cheapest ways to create your own sound. Why not try out some different guitar pick materials?

I’ll continue to introduce more guitar pick materials if I find some other interesting ones!