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Medium Gauge Guitar Picks

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Medium Gauge Guitar Picks

von Carlos Diez Macia 04. April 2021 2 Kommentare

Medium guitar picks are the most popular choice amongst guitarists and they offer the best of both worlds, right? Well, it is not that easy.

Guitar-picks-medium-gauge

In our last article, “thin vs thick guitar picks”, we discussed both guitar pick thickness ranges in depth. Medium guitar picks deserve a separate analysis.

1- Why does guitar pick thickness matter? 

Guitar pick thickness is usually measured in millimeters and this is an attribute that can change various aspects of a pick like flexibility, tone, volume, pick noise, durability, control over single notes, and more.

medium-guitar-pick-thickness

The thickness of a guitar pick is for this reason considered one of the 4 fundamental attributes of a guitar pick, along with guitar pick material, shape, and size.

2- Medium guitar pick thickness:

 Medium guitar picks range in thicknesses from 0.55 and 1 mm.

 The following is what a survey performed in March 2021 has shown. Thousands of guitarists were asked to define the following pick thicknesses:

  • The maximum thickness of a thin guitar pick
  • The minimum thickness of a thick guitar pick

With both limits established, we obtain the thickness definition of medium guitar picks.

medium thickness guitar pick

The maximum thickness of a thin guitar pick was defined as about 0.55 mm by 2.292 guitarists.

medium thickness guitar pick

The minimum thickness of a thick guitar pick was defined as 1 mm by 1.308 guitarists.

3- What is a medium guitar pick?

Medium guitar picks are guitar picks with a thickness between 0.55 and 1 mm. These guitar picks are very popular because of their versatility; in some areas, they offer the advantages of both thin and thick guitar picks.

Guitar pick medium thickness

Medium gauge picks have the broadest flexibility range. In this pick thickness interval, the material will play the most important role when it comes to defining the flexibility of a pick.

In other words, thick guitar picks are always stiff and rigid. With thicknesses over 1 mm, even the most flexible pick materials are stiff, and therefore the material has less influence on the flexibility of the pick. This relation creates a broad flexibility range amongst medium guitar picks, which can be very flexible or very stiff, depending on the material used.

guitar-pick-materials

The same effect can be applied to tone, durability, and pick noise.

Typically, medium guitar picks are used by lead guitarists who also implement rhythm guitar techniques and look not only for an all-round compromise between single-note melodic phrases and strumming, but also potentially developing a more versatile guitar career that integrates different techniques and mixes both worlds together.

4- Thin, medium and thick guitar picks:

As you can see in the descriptions of medium guitar picks below, most of the characteristics have a very ambiguous statement. Since medium guitar picks are affected the most by the material properties, it is not possible to generalize these aspects for all medium thickness guitar picks.

 

Thin guitar picks (under 0.55 mm)

Medium guitar picks (0.55 - 1 mm)

Thick guitar picks (over 1 mm)

Flexibility

Flexible/very flexible

Medium flexibility or stiff, depending on the material.

Rigid/very rigid

Tone

Lighter tones, less bass

Warm tones for softer materials. Brighter tones for harder materials.

Warm/dark tones and mellow tones

Volume

Maximum volume is limited. Lower dynamic range.

Can provide high volume with the usage of hard materials.

Provide high volume. Broader dynamic range.

Guitar pick noise

Noticeable pick noise

Reduced pick noise when the pick has a variable thickness.

Reduced pick noise

Durability

Less durable

Depending on the material.

More durable

Control

Less control for single notes

Very versatile. Control of single notes is possible if the player is experienced with this type of pick.

High control of single notes

Popular techniques

Rhythm guitar, strumming, tremolo picking, ...

Very versatile. A combination of both thin and thick guitar picks is possible if the player is experienced with this type of pick.

Lead guitar, shredding, sweep picking, ...

Common type of players

Beginners, acoustic guitar players

Most popular thickness. Medium thickness is used by beginners, intermediate and advanced guitarists.

Intermediate and advanced guitarists

This makes medium gauge guitar picks the most difficult picks to estimate without having tested them, and it is one of the reasons why we created the “guitar pick parameters” included in every product page, like in Rombo Origami.

medium thickness guitar pick

5- Medium guitar picks are the best picks for beginners:

For most beginner guitar players, medium gauge guitar picks are the best option. You are in a process in which experimenting with sounds and learning new techniques will shape your profile as a guitarist in the future.

You might change your music taste during this process or even change your guitar type. You must stay flexible and versatile to allow your skills to develop in all directions and be a more rounded guitarist.

For this, a medium guitar pick is perfect, since you will be able to try different techniques with a pick that works very well in many different areas. After you have decided the direction of your development as a guitarist, increasing or decreasing the gauge won’t be that difficult.

Therefore, this is statistically the best option to start with if you want to try different guitar learning paths.

beginner guitar player

However, there are some exceptions: Some beginner guitarists know exactly what kind of player they want to be. They know from the very beginning if their dream is to become a very technical metal player, if they prefer being an expert acoustic guitar rhythm player, or if they will focus on songwriting and not on their guitar skills.

These examples are very rare, but they exist. In this case, you might want to consider starting with a guitar pick that has been designed for the type of skills you want to improve.

If you are a beginner, this might be interesting for you: Guitar pick for beginners

6- Medium guitar picks at Rombo

Rombo Origami guitar pick - 0.75 mm

Flexible but still rigid enough for note control. Right amount of flexibility for a snappy fluid attack that's bright and crisp. The concave surface on the hold area ensures ergonomic and comfortable hold.

medium-gauge-guitar-picks

Rombo Prisma guitar pick - 0.8 mm (available in September 2021)

A classic shape enhanced by modern surface technology. The geometry on the main body has different height levels for the most comfortable hold and grip.

medium-thickness-guitar-picks

Rombo Crisp guitar pick - 1 mm (available in September 2021)

Medium thickness combined with geometric concave design surfaces. The result? Unexpected flexibility with great bass tones. Its medium-sharp tip provides extra warm tones.

medium-guitar-picks

7- Conclusion on medium guitar picks

Each pick has a specific purpose, and you choose the pick based on the sound you want to achieve as well as other personal preferences like comfort and grip.

Medium picks are not just the picks in the middle of thick and thin guitar picks. They are a perfect approach for those guitarists looking to develop versatility and flexibility in their learning path. 

Due to the high influence the material has on these picks, they are the most difficult picks to estimate before testing them, and every medium guitar pick is unique. Despite this, they are the best choice for most beginner guitarists.

However, if you have a very clear idea of the skills you want to develop in the future, you might be looking for either thin or thick guitar picks, which we discussed here.

  • Teilen:



Carlos Diez Macia
Carlos Diez Macia

Autor


2 Antworten

ROMBO
ROMBO

23. April 2022

Hi Alex!

Thanks for asking :)
There are four parameters that we use to describe the picks in the packaging:
- Attack
- Flexibility
- Tone
- Technique

The bars are coloured because of the packaging design but they do not relate to the thicknesses of the pick :)
We will think about changing this in order of avoid confusion :D

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

Alex Cargill
Alex Cargill

19. April 2022

Hi – I just received an order from you which included a set of Origami picks in different colours !
I’m a bit confused about the colour bars shown on the card which refers to “ Soft release, Rigid, Warm, Strumming “.
Does this mean the colours of the picks have different qualities or does this refer to the Origami picks generally?
They look good and I’ll have a practice with them today and might get a few more !
Regards,
Alex.

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