What can i use as a guitar pick

It keeps on happening so frequently that you must need to figure out a guitar pick alternatives idea to save you from this frequent mishaps. I always feel that Damn!!! In this situation the best solution is that you keep more than a dozen of picks in your guitar case or bag. But, we are here to discuss the alternate guitar picks plectrum option which we can use whenever required or can craft one out of thin air. I am sure you may have used coins as the guitar pick before and they are totally worth it for just couple of times.

But, It may sound like a quick fix and of course it is the quickest fix but is surely not good for your guitar in long run. If you are playing a song which requires picking at a good speed then the strings will face a lot of unnecessary tension which is not good at all. So In short Coins are good and quick pick alternate but for only slow songs and just for a couple of songs only. Another quickest fix is the use of Sim card as a guitar pick. The thickness is not as that of a regular plectrum but still it is quite handy and is of relatively same size.

The only criteria you need to take care of is that the size of today's sim cards are smaller nano sim on mobile devices as compared to old sim cards. Sim card wont damage the guitar strings and is a quickest and easiest fix for the moment. The closest perfect guitar pick can be easily made from regular plastic card like the old credit or debit card.

The thickness and vibration of these cards are closely resembles a 0. It wont even hurt the guitar strings and won't break easily too. This thickness is perfect for making hard yet slightly flexible guitar picks out of them! However, unlike with SIM cards, you have some work to do before you can use a plastic card as a guitar pick substitute:. These 4 steps show you the process! The first step to crafting your custom substitute guitar picks is to draw your wanted outline on the plastic card.

You can draw a shape by hand or outline another guitar pick or a coin. Now grab a pair of scissors and cut the pre-outlined shapes out of the plastic card. The last step to crafting your substitute guitar picks is filing down the edges.

You can use a nail file, sandpaper, or anything else you have at hand. You can also roughen up the surface of your substitute guitar pick for a better grip while playing. Enjoy your self-made substitute guitar pick! As there is space for multiple guitar picks on one plastic card, you might want to experiment with different shapes and textures.

All in all, DIY guitar picks made of plastic cards are a flexible but more work-intensive option. You can shape your substitute guitar picks however you want, but you have some crafting to do before you can use them. Their thickness makes SIM cards flexible enough to play strumming rhythm parts and hard enough to play fast lead runs.

In my opinion, both the Nano- and the Micro-SIM are too small to hold them comfortably while using them as a pick. I found only the Mini-SIM to have sufficient size for holding it comfortably. Source: SIM card sizes. Pieces of metal can be attractive substitutes for a guitar pick.

For a guide on how to make your own guitar picks out of an old CD, click here! They do, however pack quite a punch on chords, giving them song string definition in the process. Due to its hard edges, an SD card will grip the strings lightly as it hits them, creating some good definition in the sound.

SD cards are also made from plastic, much like many guitar picks are. It can be disorientating for guitarists to understand which scales work with which keys.

With this in mind, we created a cheat-sheet; a key and scale-finder that you can use again and again. Playing this way also encourages us to explore fingerpicking, which is never a bad thing to pursue.

Many of the methods listed above are great to use when we have absolutely nothing else lying around, however we always suggest that you keep a good stock of guitar picks around. Real guitar picks are designed to complement guitar strings, instead of fighting against them like many of the DIY picks in this guide will. You may find that your DIY guitar pick will deteriorate quickly, or that it may harm your guitar strings after prolonged usage.

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Download Article Explore this Article methods. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Purchase a pick punch from a music shop or online. A pick punch is the easiest way to mass-produce your own custom guitar picks. It is essentially a hole puncher with a pick-shaped template that cuts plastic into a guitar pick.

It looks like a large stapler and is extremely easy to use. You can purchase a pick punch online or at your local music shop. You can even sell excess picks that you make to turn a profit.

Get an old gift card, ruler, or plastic sheet. A pick punch will turn any material into a pick-shaped cutout, but the best materials for guitar picks are hard plastics. Credit cards, gift cards, rulers, and other hard plastics will all work as picks. Slide the plastic item into the slot at the end of the punch.

Slide your plastic item into this slot. Look through the viewfinder to adjust the image on the pick. The pick punch has an opening on one side of the slot so that you can see what your guitar pick will look like after it has been punched out.

Squeeze the handles together to pop your guitar pick out. Squeeze hard until you hear a click. Once you hear the click, squeeze as hard as you can. The pick will pop right out of the outline.

Turn the pick around in your hand. Grab a sheet of to grit sandpaper and fold it around the pick. Rub the sandpaper back and forth to smooth it down and remove any sharp edges. You can also use a nail file or sanding brick to smooth the pick out. In a pinch, you can scrape the pick against jagged concrete to wear it down a little.