Heavyweight

I wrote before that my preferred picks are thin, but of late I have had a change of heart. I read an article in which a guitarist extolled the virtues of heavy picks, saying, "the heavier the pick, the bigger the sound" (or something to that effect). I didn't believe it initially and went to my guitar to confirm to myself that my choice of picks was correct. I strummed a few chords and heard the familiar percussive sound of soft plastic meeting tense steel, and I went away satisfied.

But then in a recent trip to Manila, as I was doing my usual rounds of guitar stores, I decided to buy some picks. The store (JB Music Mart, if I remember correctly), however, didn't have light picks and offered me some heavies; I hesitated for a while and then told myself, what the heck, I'll try them. In the back of my mind I knew it was a mistake, but for 15 pesos apiece it was not going to be an expensive mistake.

When I got back home to Davao City I tried my new picks, and what I heard blew me away. Instead of sounding harsh as I had feared, the heavy picks gave very bright, very chunky, very percussive, very full, and very heavy sounds. No matter if I picked or strummed, the heavy gauged plastic gave a richer sound. It even made me play a little bit better because I had more control of each note.

So now I'm packing heavy picks, and so should you.