{"id":14660,"date":"2018-05-02T22:17:14","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T22:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roadietuner.com\/?post_type=blog&p=14660"},"modified":"2024-12-19T13:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T13:45:02","slug":"picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roadiemusic.com\/blog\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Guitar Plectrums Part 1: Why Pick Gauge Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my experience, the beginner guitarists<\/a> who stay the course are often those who take a lot of care when buying their first guitar.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t just pick up a cheap acoustic guitar<\/a> from the mall or the first used electric guitar they find at a yard sale: they do their research and make sure they find the guitar gear that will help, rather than hinder their playing journey.<\/p>\n

But even the most diligent would-be guitar heroes have a tendency to overlook a vital piece of guitar playing equipment.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll get a great guitar, amp, a quality lead and a reliable tuner (easy-to-use in rehearsal and onstage, Roadie 2<\/a> is a great option for beginner and experienced guitarists alike).<\/p>\n

BUT, when it comes to buying a guitar plectrum, they\u2019ll spring for any old bag of cheap guitar picks on the guitar store counter.<\/p>\n

Big mistake\u2026<\/p>\n

Why? Because your playing lives and dies by your plectrum, and having the wrong kind of plectrum for your playing style will put a spanner in the works when it comes to learning the guitar.<\/p>\n

Fear not! Roadie<\/a> is here to help you pick the plectrum (in both senses of that phrase) that will aid you on your guitar-playing journey.\u00a0 And in today\u2019s article Guitar Plectrums Part 1; we\u2019re talking all about thickness.<\/p>\n

Gauging your gauge:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve probably noticed that plectrums have gauges printed on them in millimeters. Those gauges have a huge impact on the kind of sound you\u2019ll get out of them. Here are the three main types.<\/p>\n

1- Light Gauge Plectrums (.40mm to .60mm)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>These plectrums are very bendy and good for acoustic strumming<\/a>, producing a nice, bright sound. They\u2019re typically the choice of beginner guitarists because they offer little resistance compared to heavier pick, which makes strumming easier.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an acoustic singer-songwriter type, light gauge plectrums are your friends.<\/p>\n

2- Medium Gauge Plectrums (.60mm to .80mm)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Light gauge plectrums are great for gentle strumming, but if it\u2019s rocking rhythm or leads that you\u2019re after; they\u2019re not going to deliver the goods for two main reasons. First reason is because they don\u2019t provide much in the bass or midrange department when it comes to tone. Second reason is that they lack heft when it comes to making your single note leads stand out. As Premier Guitar<\/a> notes, .60mm to .80mm are the most popular guitar plectrums out there because:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026they\u2019re the perfect combination of stiffness and flexibility for rock rhythm work and full-bodied acoustic accompaniment (especially in solo situations), and they\u2019ve got enough heft to produce powerful tones on leads and hook figures as well.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>If you\u2019re an aspiring Jimmy Page or Angus Young, a medium gauge plectrum is the way to go.<\/p>\n

3- Heavy Gauge Plectrums (.80mm to 3mm)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>As obvious as it sounds to say it, a heavier plectrum is key to a heavier sound. Crunchy rhythms, dynamic solos and meaty sounding lead lines are much easier to obtain when you\u2019ve got a .80mm to 1.5mm pick in your hand. Of course, it goes without saying that these picks are not your friend when it comes to mellow strumming, and are more the choice of a budding James Hetfield than a budding James Taylor.<\/p>\n

At the extreme end of the heavy spectrum are your 1.5mm to 3mm plectrum behemoths. A bit of a niche product as far as plectrums go; they\u2019re traditionally the choice of bebop jazzers for facilitating a mellow and warm tone and a clean tone. But, they also work for extreme metal riffers in the market for scooped mids.<\/p>\n

Enjoyed Guitar Plectrums Part 1? Check out part 2 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":14661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[1293,1294,1295,1305,1306],"class_list":["post-14660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-tutorials","tag-instrument_guitar","tag-level_beginner","tag-genre_all","tag-content_tutorial","tag-tutorial_setup"],"yoast_head":"\nGuitar Plectrums Part 1: Why Pick Gauge Matters - Roadie Music Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Guitar Plectrums Part 1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadiemusic.com\/blog\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guitar Plectrums Part 1: Why Pick Gauge Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Guitar Plectrums Part 1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.roadiemusic.com\/blog\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Roadie Music Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RoadieOfficial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-02T22:17:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-19T13:45:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.roadiemusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/blogpicks.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"833\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"553\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@roadieofficial\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@roadieofficial\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Guitar Plectrums Part 1: Why Pick Gauge Matters\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-02T22:17:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-19T13:45:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":624,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/blogpicks.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Instrument_Guitar\",\"Level_Beginner\",\"Genre_All\",\"Content_Tutorial\",\"Tutorial_Setup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Learning Hub\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roadiemusic.com\\\/blog\\\/picking-plectrums-why-pick-gauge-matters\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guitar Plectrums Part 1: Why Pick Gauge Matters - 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