Paper thin pick, am I crazy?

Hey folks,

I've recently switched to quite a bit of pick playing, and originally I had purchased a 2.0mm Triangle Stubby from Dunlop. With it, playing was fine, but the pick always seemed to get tangled up in the strings, maybe because I was playing too hard. However, I was browsing picks in a local guitar shop today, and I found a mysterious copper pick that was thinner than my fingernails, and very flexible (not stiff at all). I brought it and have been using it, and I've noticed that though I had to get over a paint scrapping sound on the roundwounds, my playing feels far more accurate than it did with the firmer thick pick, and quicker funk lines and borderline shredding type lines actually feel much more fluid with this pick. Now, I'm to understand that thin picks are the devil when it comes to the quicker stuff and playing with accuracy, yet the exact opposite seems to hold true for me.

I guess my dumb n00b question is, where am I missing the point? Is there a chance that I'm doing something wrong with my technique? I know Steve Swallow as an example uses his own thin copper picks, but are they flexible as is this one? Thanks!

[vindy500]

copper picks are thin yes, but they are designed for speed picking however, try different picks, find on comftorble for you, myself i use fender "heavy" picks, there shiny

Originally Posted by vindy500

copper picks are thin yes, but they are designed for speed picking however, try different picks, find on comftorble for you, myself i use fender "heavy" picks, there shiny

Thanks, that's actually a logical enough explanation for me. This pick is actually pretty comfortable playing wise, so I'm going to stick with it for awhile.

[SOA_bassist]

this summer i am going to be getting myself some copper picks so i can play some faster death metal bass lines that i cant finger-style at this moment in time, and i have almost always found that i have the same accuracy no matter the thickness of the pick.

[steveb98]

To me the thinner the pick the thinner the sound.

I like a heavy pick and used to practice with stone picks. For practice they exaggerated the wrist movement and made me use more forearm. Then when I switched back to my normal pick I could do more with less effort. Kind of the weighted bat theory.

[SOA_bassist]

for the thinner sound i just turn up my low mids and lows a bit and turn my trebe and high mids down a tad

[Trevorus]

A really good bassist friend of mine used red dunlop tortex which would be a thin pick. He had great tone and was really quick. I find that a good medium is best for me, though.