The Guitar Pick: Advantages of a Plectrum with Variable Thickness

von Carlos Diez Macia 01. Dezember 2019

For most people, the thickness is one of the most important attributes of a guitar pick.

The thickness of a plectrum defines how dark or bright the tone becomes. It has an enormous impact on the feedback you directly receive from the guitar strings, and the control you have over the pick.

What is a guitar pick with a variable thickness?

It is a plectrum, whose body and tip have different material thicknesses (see the figure below).

guitar pick thickness

They combine both aspects of thin and thick picks: comfort, рrесіѕіоn, rhуthm, and ѕрееd of рlау. You gradually gаіn flexibility іn thе mоvеmеnt оf уоur hаnd to рrоduсе a mоrе fluid gаmе and the desired ѕоundѕ that you imagine are realized.

Avoiding “flat” guitar picks and using guitar picks with variable thickness will offer several advantages for your playing style.

5 advantages of using a guitar pick with variable thickness:

The solid and thick body of the plectrum gives you a better grip and control.
By increasing the material thickness, the designers can create deeper and more complex 3D surfaces in this area of the guitar pick.
A thinner tip will give you enough flexibility to achieve greater versatility when developing different guitar techniques.

Increased bass when using thinner pick tips: The thicker body will create a darker sound, while you can still enjoy high treble caused by the thin attack area.

The contrasting vibrations on the different areas of the guitar pick will create a new ergonomic experience.

Guitar pick colors

Conclusion:

Variable thickness is one of the most uncommon features of guitar picks. Using these types of guitar picks for the first time might cause your fingers to have a short adaption phase, during which they will relearn how the physics of these picks behave.

At the end of the process, you will learn how to control a new type of gear and take advantage of the five points mentioned before.

There are many other attributes that can help you take your playing skills to the next level: Discover more in my article, 6 Underrated Features of a Guitar Pick.