There are a wide variety to choose from

There doesn’t seem to be any universally-accepted, one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to finger picks and the 5 string banjo. You have a range of options and styles. I recently upgraded and spent the “big dollars” on a set of picks…something I thought I’d never do…and I have to say that I’m extremely pleased with the results.

Dunlop, National, ProPik, cobalt coated, stainless steel…whew!

What’s a new banjo picker to do? How do you choose? I guess the short answer is that you experiment and develop a preference. I think you are pretty safe overall if you go with one of the two leading brands in picks today: National and Dunlop. I’ve personally been using Dunlop .025 gauge picks for most of my picking tenure and have loved them. I tend to like the stiffer, meatier picks when I play. You can get metal finger picks in some thin gauges, but for me they feel too flimsy when I try to use the thin gauge variety.

For me, it seems that it takes quite a bit of tweaking/adjusting to get a set of picks to fit and play just right. Because of this, a properly dialed-in set of picks for me is like gold, and I can’t just change picks every week. I played with the same picks for over 10 years before I finally caved in and bought a new set recently, which you can read all about in another blog post I wrote by clicking here: changing picks blog post. I’d love for you to click over and read that post.

Do we need to focus on the little things like picks?

I‘ve been taking my playing much  more seriously in the last couple of years, more so than in the past. I’m focusing in 2010 on personal development on the banjo. There are many areas of focus when it comes to this topic, one of which is finger picks. I think probably this is a bit of an esoteric area for the average banjo picking jam session member or garage band member, and sticking with the major brands found at the retail store is sufficient. However, often I point out to my students that it’s hard to define the difference between an intermediate, advanced intermediate, professional, etc., banjo picker.

Click me! Click me!

I have some skill and ability and might or might not wow you with some of what I do on the banjo. Even just assuming that I am “above average” (the jury’s still out on that one) I wonder what makes Jimmy Mills so much better than me, because clearly he is. What is this touch that Sammy Shelor has? What makes Peter Wernick’s picking sparkle, and how can I have that jaw dropping, other-worldly ability on the banjo? Once you have progressed several levels on the banjo, soon it becomes harder to define the dividing point between where you are at and the next level. I’m inching there slowly, learning to focus on some of the esoteric things. We have to do the basics for sure…good musicianship, timing, tone, accuracy, but there is a certain amount of etherealness to this art form that I am trying to grasp and develop. Which leads me to finger picks.

Are the expensive picks worth it? In my opinion: yes.

Sammy Shelor Stainless Steel Finger Picks come in a fancy case

As part of taking myself to that next level, I recently purchased the Sammy Shelor stainless steel finger picks, and I am absolutely in love with them. (If you don’t know, Sammy is the banjo picker with the Lonesome River Band.) I never knew what a difference finger picks could make in my playing. Haven’t heard of these? You can click over to the AcuTab website to check them out by visiting this link: www.acutab.com. So what makes them better?

Some of you pickers who are knowledgeable of banjo history can certainly correct me on this next thing by commenting below if I’m incorrect in this (please do) but I’ve learned over the years that the original National finger picks were different than they are today. The National and Dunlop picks you find today have a shorter blade, among other things. Turns out that the old (pre-war I believe) National picks that still exist have become quite a collector’s item, selling now for 100′s of dollars. They are sought and valued. This longer blade, turns out, is a real asset.

The write up of the Sammy Shelor stainless steel picks says that the picks are modeled after the old National finger pick design with the longer blade. I’ve been wishing to try picks with a longer blade for some time after seeing Tony Trischka’s right hand…the blades on the picks he uses look like they are a foot long! And few pickers are better than Tony. So these Sammy Shelor picks, the ”better mousetrap”, or maybe other mousetrap, in finger picks, turn out to be quite an improvement because of the longer blade, but also because they are made out of stainless steel rather than nickel coated brass. The tone and timbre that it is produced by my right hand is markedly different using the stainless steel, and my accuracy on some advanced picking patterns is improved. I can comfortably pick the 4th string with my middle finger now…or, maybe I should say more comfortably, because this was always a weak area for me.

I finally took the plunge, but should you?

Shelor Picks. The one on the right is "narrow band" which has been discontinued

All this talk of the better picks is fine and dandy until you start to examine the monetary impact. As of this writing, these Sammy Shelor stainless steel finger picks retail for $35 a pair. For some pickers, it would be considered lunacy to shell out $35 for finger picks when you can get sufficient finger picks for $1.50 a pair that do the job. If it turns out that you don’t like them or they don’t make a big enough difference, then it was an expensive experiment.

If you are a picker dancing on the edge of that next level of picking, then you learn that it can be beneficial to tweak things and experiment. I think that if you are a serious banjo picker who is looking to master the art and seek the heights that can be achieved on the banjo, and if you are far enough along, then it becomes almost a matter of fact that you are going to explore options like professional grade finger picks. I’ve discovered that I’m a proponent of seeking out the professional-grade tuner (see blog post about a discovery I made: click here) the high-end banjo, the good digital recorder, etc. Your playing will reflect the peripheral investments that you make.

Does that mean that you are wrong if you don’t think expensive picks are worth exploring? Of course not. $35 picks are overkill for certain groups of pickers. If you are a beginning banjo student, I’m not sure you’d be best served by spending the dollars on the picks…yet. You don’t have enough of a pattern  or skill set developed to appreciate them. If you are a weekend hobby picker, perhaps expensive picks are way overboard. There is no one-size-fits-all advice to give. The $35 picks aren’t for everyone. In no way am I insinuating that you are less of a picker if you don’t experiment or spend lots of money. It’s just that a certain level of picker begins to see some value in doing so.

They work for me

I‘m glad I made this purchase and I’m enjoying the march to bigger and better things on the banjo. Have you tried various styles or brands of picks during your time playing the banjo? What do you like? What has worked for you? What didn’t work for you? This is one topic where I’d really appreciate it if you would leave some comments in the comment box below. I’m curious to know what your experiences are and my readers can learn a lot about the different experiences that you and others have. This is a great way to spread around this wealth of knowledge that we all have. I can’t wait to read all about your own pick experiments.

Banjo Paul
“Wunse, I coodn’t even spel bango pikker…now I are one!”
www.banjosrule.com (main site)
www.mybanjolife.com (blog)
Click here: Ultimate Metronome