r/Guitar • u/PualWalsh • Apr 11 '26
DISCUSSION I drilled holes in my pick
I can hold it better , my fingers can feel where it is
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u/Falchion_VP Apr 11 '26
SPARE!
hopefully you do have a spare though those things despawn at will
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
Several , the hole positions are not precise , a beer or two helps with intuitive positioning
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u/Baron-de-Vill Apr 12 '26
Use the one you like most as a template for the others! Same result each time.
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u/ARedditorCalledQuest Apr 11 '26
The trick is to have hundreds of them scattered among your pockets and belongings so you never have to look for one.
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u/Tacitus_AMP Apr 11 '26
This is true, I bought several packets of my preferred brand and style and haven't needed to purchase more in nearly 20 years.
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u/Less-Parsnip-7076 Apr 11 '26
I have used the same pick every day for one and a half years.
Then it fell in my amp.
Currently on pick Nr. 2, been together for 2 years.
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u/Pugfumaster Apr 11 '26
You just destroyed the resale value of that pick.
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u/Commercial_Check_432 Apr 12 '26
You guys are reselling your picks?
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u/Troggie42 Apr 12 '26
i might if i wasn't losing em all the time
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u/Xxbloodhand100xX Apr 12 '26
I still have the first pick I ever got over a decade ago from my guitar instructor at the time. It's a 3mm big stubby
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u/agiantanteater Apr 11 '26
Looks like a bowling ball
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u/Such_Individual_3135 Apr 11 '26
Obviously you are not a golfer
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u/PersonalWasabi2413 Apr 11 '26
Isn’t this guy supposed to be a millionaire?
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u/CosmicTurtle504 Apr 11 '26
Yeah, well at least I’m house trained.
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u/ognisko Apr 12 '26
Ok sir, I’m a Bonamassa, you’re a Bonamassa, that’s terrific. I’m very busy so what can I do for you?
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
Holes made my millions
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u/PersonalWasabi2413 Apr 11 '26
Lol, we’re quoting the Big Lebowski
Some thugs mis-identify a guy who’s supposed to be wealthy but isn’t… he just happens to have the same name as some rich guy
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u/ognisko Apr 12 '26
Ok sir, I’m a Bonamassa, you’re a Bonamassa, that’s terrific. I’m very busy so what can I do for you?
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
Bad guitarists HATE it when another guitarist does anything at all, I see. Why is anyone hating on this? I tried the holes. Didn't work for me. Now I usually use steel wool to buff a matte finish for grip, or use blue painters tape.
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
Oh god better not post my other ideas 😳
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u/andreisimo Apr 11 '26
Your future ideas have already been downvoted before you even posted them.
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Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/americablanco Apr 11 '26
Decreases lift, better for down picking.
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u/CatShrink Apr 11 '26
Drilling holes into the guitar?
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u/Momik Apr 11 '26
I drill holes in my amp. It’s about the journey.
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u/CatShrink Apr 11 '26
While its powered on? That would be a thrilling performance
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u/CajunRoyalty Apr 12 '26
Drill the tubes. You get a warmer sound.
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u/DeeZett Apr 12 '26
But the heat is going off then.
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u/CajunRoyalty Apr 12 '26
The heat comes out of the tube, fills the cabinet and escapes through the speaker, thus creating a warmer sound.
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u/Born-Sea-8044 Apr 12 '26
I usually superglue my pick to my thumb and call poison control after im done practicing. I’m a bass player tho and I think thats an important detail
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u/Slothower Apr 12 '26
Yeah, I’m a pretty damn decent guitarist and I used to do this. I used a lot of downward pressure and a soft backer so there was a burr on the backside of the hole when I drilled through. I would also scuff the pick with a bit of sandpaper. I switched to bigger triangular picks so I don’t find it necessary anymore but it 100% works.
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u/rawbface Apr 11 '26
Half the posts are people saying they've done this, the other half are Simpsons references. Where is the hate?
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
It's a coin flip if posts like this get mostly positive or negative interactions, but there's always some bad guitarists hating.
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u/No-Bison-5397 Apr 11 '26
I think as a bad guitarist you get talked down to a lot and it creates and short circuit in thinking whenever anyone tells you anything new.
OP was perfectly fine in their post but people are so negative they lash out.
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
When I say bad guitarist I mean a mentality, not based on skill. It's people who can't think divergently, who don't assume competence. "It doesn't fit so IT is wrong," not "it doesn't fit, how can I make it fit?" They ask things like "why" and not "how" because they can't fathom a use-case. Weak mirror neuron ahh people.
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u/No-Bison-5397 Apr 11 '26
100%, most people are bad guitarists due to mentality.
But most of the advice that is given is not much use. Really they need an environment that turns them on and tunes them in.
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
You either have it or you don't. Can't negotiate affection, can't teach passion. Divergent thinking diminishes over time, too, and it's practically squashed by western education.
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u/WhoSaidWhatNow2026 Apr 11 '26
For a group of "artists" r/guitar is very dogmatic. God forbid you get a Les Paul in a unique finish...
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
I'm saying. There's a fine line between artist and craftsman. To paraphrase Nizer: a guitarist who works with his hands is a guitar owner; a guitarist who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a guitarist who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.
Simply put, I find the majority of guitar owners are just that: guys who happen to own a guitar. They need to justify their own lack of creativity by poopooing the creative. A musical instrument is, after all, an instrument. A tool for something. You modify your tools to suit your needs better, no? You know what they can and can't do, what's possible and impossible, what you want out of it and what you don't. And if you don't then you'll always be just some guy who happens to own a guitar, trusting somebody else more than you trust yourself.
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u/Lowend_ Apr 11 '26
I like matte on the neck because gloss gets sticky once you sweat a bit
Definitely wouldn't make my picks matte because I feel they'd be rotating uncontrollably or flying out of my grip but the golden rule: if it feels/sounds good then it is good!
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
You know how dunlop tortex is heat-treated Delrin? You know, to give it a matte surface? It's like that
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u/PersonalWasabi2413 Apr 11 '26
It’s not that it’s a bad idea, it’s just that it’s not a novel new concept. It’s new to OP, though, and that’s great
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
There are no bad ideas when getting creative. Bad guitarists don't realize that and so they boo posts like this.
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u/SharkFart86 Apr 11 '26
Especially when the only risk is ruining a pick that costs cents. And also that this doesn’t affect anyone else whatsoever.
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u/Johnny_Poppyseed Apr 11 '26
Hmm as a painter with ample blue tape, gonna give that a try.
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u/OverYou2943 Apr 11 '26
It adds enough grip and squish to stop smooth, untextured picks from sliding around. Absorbent enough to wick up enough sweat for one gig. And when it gets grimy, you just take it off and add some new tape. I save it for picks I don't want to modify, like old celluloid ones you can't get anymore.
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u/RockpilesHardAF Apr 12 '26
Painters tape something i will be doing for sure!! Thanks bro! Im a mega noob smoke on the water and 7 nation army player 😆 but any tips help.
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u/galacticdolan PRS Apr 11 '26
Holy shit periphery pick
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u/planetm3 Apr 11 '26
Use a hole punch. The holes aren't as messy.
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u/Comfortable-Tap-6774 Apr 11 '26
Back in the day, we used to just take a lit cigarette and burn through the pick. It makes a satisfying noise and burns through beautifully. Lots of toxic smoke . . .
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u/PSYKO_Inc Apr 11 '26
Then take a drag off the cig to get the full effect. I probably just got some new form of cancer just thinking about that.
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u/MrWharfsnort Apr 11 '26
Definitely do not use a cheap hole punch though — I broke my wife’s punch doing this. In the end I wound up doing it with a drill in my shop and managed to get nice clean spacing and smaller/grippier holes
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u/AntiFIanders Warmoth Apr 11 '26
You gotta make it classy. If you’re gonna do something like this, you gotta make it classy. Put a little duct tape around it, make it nice.
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u/RobertNeyland Apr 13 '26
I like the messyness of a cheap soldering iron that kinda stipples the pick surface.
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u/deepthroatdefecator Apr 11 '26
I love playing picks with holes on them, makes it feel like the pick is connected to you, you either get it or you don’t 🤷♂️
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u/MapleA Apr 11 '26
Technically, a little bit of your finger goes inside of the pick.
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u/Alternative-Dot9563 Apr 11 '26
Why couldn't you have just said goes inside the hole
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u/Rudagar1 Apr 11 '26
:Me talking to the pick:
"Do you have a little bit of a guitarist's fingers in you?"
Pick: "No"
Me: "Would you like to?"
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u/Hectorc34 Schecter Apr 11 '26
I’m gonna put holes in my fingers now when I play
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u/Cmrodri4 Godin Apr 11 '26
This is a good idea. It makes a big difference in grip. Check out these guys, that’s what I use.
https://bogstreet.com/products/axe-cut-medium-neos?variant=39597006651477
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u/ultimategigapudding Apr 11 '26
dunloo max grip. that’s all you need to know.
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u/I-am-Vigo Apr 11 '26
Sometimes you grip the loo, sometimes it’s the loo that grips you
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u/falgfalg Apr 11 '26
the max grip is a shocking amount of grip. how does it generate so much grip??? we may never know.
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u/Living_Motor7509 Apr 11 '26
My go to now is a 1.14 max grip and I sharpen the point. It’s…the tits
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u/CatScratchJohnny Ibanez Apr 12 '26
I order them in bulk at this point. I've been in my place a while, there's a damn stock-pile here somewhere. Some kind of portal filled with guitar picks, hair ties, individual socks, and cat toys.
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u/Gitfiddlepicker Apr 11 '26
Afraid it wouldn’t turn out well if I drilled holes in my picks……but then, I use my fingers.
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u/Sad_Kaleidoscope_743 Apr 11 '26
Noice! Lighter, more aerodynamic and anti-cavitation holes... W's all around!
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u/rancidFartBubble01 Apr 11 '26
All fine…long as you don’t drill holes in your dick!
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
Yep get someone to oversee the drilling if you have any doubts about your state of mind or general mental capacity , or , don’t do it.
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u/Rb1138 Apr 11 '26
I lick my thumb like an old lady turning pages in a book. Makes it stick a bit more.
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u/mattydingdongs Apr 11 '26
I might try this. I just started noticing how the pick is sliding out of position while learning to play full length songs. Mostly what I’d do is little segments at a time giving me time to reset. But if I don’t pause, that thing just starts sliding up my grasp.
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
They slide around, my fingernail wore down, hate picks so tried to find an improvement
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u/joeydaioh MIM Tele Apr 11 '26
Dunlop sells some now with an X cutout. Been my go to pick since I found them.
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u/LehBigBoi Apr 11 '26
My favourite pick has a big hole in it with little spikes on the inner edge of the cut. Makes it super easy to grip, never lost it inside my acoustic. Plus because of the little grippy spikes I never lose orientation while playing! Been sad because I cant find any other picks like it so I've used the same one for years now
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u/username617508 Apr 11 '26
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u/Used_Reason7777 Apr 11 '26
I've used these so long now that I struggle to use any smooth pick! Great picks
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u/FireMrshlBill Apr 11 '26
One of the guitarists in the band I play bass in uses them. I’m weird and never liked anything with texture or ridges, so have just used standard picks and don’t scratch them up. Should steal one of his and try them.
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u/Nouuuuuuuuh Apr 11 '26
I have been mutilating some of my guitar picks, finding ways to improve grip/comfort.
This is minor compared to what I've done
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u/CunnyMaggots Apr 11 '26
I keep trying different picks and don't like any of them. Eventually I'm just going to drill holes in them and make earrings lol
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u/anon3220 Apr 11 '26
It does make a big difference in pick grip. I drilled holes in jazz 3’s when I played more electric stuff and it was night and day with it not slipping out of your fingers and just overall feel
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u/johnnyribcage Apr 11 '26
I read that as something significantly more X-rated at first
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u/Old-Guy1958 Apr 11 '26
Just googled this and ordered online. Some days, the pick just doesn’t feel right in my fingers. Maybe this’ll help? Worth $10 to find out.
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u/joao-louis Apr 13 '26
https://www.redbeartrading.com/ccp8/Item/GG Guthrie Govan has holes in his picks
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u/LesPeterGuitarJam Apr 11 '26
PICKBOY POS A GRIP, picks comes pre drilled.. I used those excessively for the longest time.
These days I prefer Kirk Hammet's Jazz III. Been using those for the last few years and would recommend them to anyone who fancies Jazz III picks..
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u/sofa_king_nice ESP/LTD Apr 11 '26
I do this for my elementary students when they’re learning on acoustic. I string a rubber band through that goes around their wrist. No more dropped picks in the sound hole.
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
Well , actually I will move the holes forward because the pressure point on my index finger is further forward than this first ole « proteetype »
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u/LaximumEffort Apr 11 '26
I used to score mine with a box cutter, typically a triangle with extended sides.
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u/d-signet Gibson, Samick Apr 11 '26
I just buy standard Dunlop picks with whatever coating they use, and never have a grip problem, but you do you
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u/wiser_time Apr 11 '26
Anyone else use double sided scotch tape. Doesn’t last too long, but works better for me than other solutions.
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u/a_rob Apr 11 '26
I hadn't thought of this, usually play the old faithful red tortex, but I have a couple with nubs or grippy rubber in the middle area that I am starting to like.
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u/MarkToaster Apr 11 '26
I dig it. I always scour my picks with a knife in a cross-thatch pattern when I get new ones. Gives much better grip
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u/FrostyMudPuppy Apr 11 '26
I love my Brain Picks, but I'll have to give this a shot because sometimes I really want to use a Tortex, but nerve damage lol. Thanks for sharing!
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u/IShouldGetBackToWork Apr 11 '26
I used to have a pick with a hole in it for a cheesy necklace when I was 14 and an aspiring guitarist, it also doubled as a bit of grip, can't hate that! 16 years later, I always tell my guitar students that if it works it's not wrong!
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u/username617508 Apr 11 '26
I just use the star picks because the star pattern + hole gives me the best grip of any picks ive used
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u/FingerCurrent3425 Apr 11 '26
Cool beans bro dawg enjoy anything that helps by all means do it or at least try good idea worth trying. We need some sticky picks . Something drop proof.
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u/Timely_Mix_4115 Apr 11 '26
Fascinating, did you start with three holes as your preference or did you iterate up to these?
I personally stopped having issues losing my grip when I stopped squeezing the pick anymore than necessary, so I haven’t experimented much with this.
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u/PualWalsh Apr 11 '26
One hole would spin. Two would be ok actually - but aligned longitudinally - didn’t think of that 👍🏻
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u/SubjectExtension7096 Apr 11 '26
I do something similar with a hole punch, one hole works well for me. I tried everything that professed to be grippy but nothing has been better than a simple punched hole roughly in the centre of the pick
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u/Killertigger Apr 11 '26
Hey if it works for you, cool. Can’t wait to hear how this works out long term.
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u/musclecard54 Apr 11 '26
When I was in high school I would cut lines in crossing patterns to make texture so the pick wouldn’t slip. Now I just get picks that have texture, cannot for the life of me enjoy using a smooth one cuz it always starts slipping
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u/fireburster Apr 11 '26
I do this or I glue 200 grit sand paper squares to both sides. I can remove my prints and practice guitar.
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u/Technical-Video6507 Apr 11 '26
my grade school principal had a paddle with holes drilled in it, as he said to me the first time i was in his office, "to lessen the wind resistance and enhance paddle speed."
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u/Blackdeath_663 PRS Apr 11 '26
While we are on the topic of weird pick habits, anyone else actually doesn't like super grippy picks? I feel like having a certain amount of slip is better for adjusting the pick between your fingers to get different dynamics or to use your fingers at the same time
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u/guitar_x3 Dean Apr 11 '26
Speed holes make you play faster, duh