Making a custom guitar pick is a fun and satisfying experience. You can make guitar picks from just about any kind of material. It's also pretty cheap depending on where you source your materials.
In this post I show you how easy it is to make your own picks from metal. But you could just as easily use these same instructions for plastic picks. Using guitar picks made from metal may help give your guitar playing a brighter sound and a better feel. I'll show you how easy it is.
You can follow these same instructions to make guitar picks from plastic too! Why I started making my own metal guitar picks.
Skateboard Picks. Guitar Picks. Hand Crafted Plectrum Guitar
Buying metal picks at the music store was a real disappointment for me. They were always overpriced and never the right thickness/gauge for my taste. So I set out to make my own just the way I like them. When I was done I found that there is no other comparable metal pick being sold at any store. The picks I make are so awesome that I have been using them for years.
Here is a list of the basic materials and tools you need to make picks. Feel free to substitute items to better fit your needs.
1) The metal - I find that sheets of nickel silver works best but copper is great too. Where to get......(see below). Substitute plastic sheets for metal if you like. Try cutting up an old credit card.
Guitar Pick Charm · A Guitar Pick Pendant · Jewelry Making, Wirework, And Decorating On Cut Out + Keep
You might be perfectly satisfied with the metal sheets you can find at the local hardware stores or hobby shops in your area. However, after going to a couple hobby shops and and finding some pretty good copper sheets that worked well for the picks I was making, I was still not satisfied with the thickness. I also didn't like the way copper tarnished. Copper looks great at first but gets tarnished rather fast.
I researched other metals and found out about nickel silver. Despite the name, there is no silver in nickel silver. It is a combination of copper and nickel that looks silver. Based on the gauges I had been buying of the copper, I guessed the gauge that would be perfect for me would be 0.032' and set out find it online.
This post contains my affiliate link at amazon. If you buy through them it actually helps me with costs associated with running this site.
Make Your Own Guitar Picks
I was right, this was the best gauge for my taste in a guitar pick, but everyone is different so just experiment with different thicknesses. They even sell copper sheet at amazon HERE.
With your fine tip Sharpie marker, trace your template pick onto your metal sheet. Try to make one continuous line around the template to make it easier to follow the line when cutting.
Use your metal snips and cut out the pattern. I recommend cutting along the outside edge of your marking. If cutting around the curves is too difficult for you, just cut in straight lines as best you can then trim it down a little bit at a time as if you were trimming your big toenail.
Holding Your Guitar Pick
Sand the edges to make them smooth. If you have a lot of extra material to get rid of, use a Dremmel tool or file to remove it then sand the edges smooth. I sand my edges at an angle almost as if I was making a dull blade edge.
That's all there really is to it. You should now have a brand spanking new metal guitar pick you can experiment with and give new dimension to your guitar playing!
The only other thing you need to get other than the ink pad is some sort of stamp. You need a stamp with your logo design or band's name. You can google custom made ink stamps to buy or you can make your own. It's possible to carve out your stamp design in a potato! Once you have a stamp dip it in ink then stamp your pick with it and allow it to dry. Adding gloss paint over the top helps it stay longer. Be sure to test on some cardboard or other plastic first.In this guide, we’re going to show you the different items and materials that can be substituted for a guitar pick when you’re in a bind!
Pick Holder Guitar Pick Personalised Guitar Pick Guitar
We’ve organized our suggestions in order of practicality – with the most practical guitar pick alternatives at the top of the page and the least practical toward the bottom.
We’ve all used a hole-puncher or 3-hole punch in school to make holes in our paper, but have you ever used one to make a guitar pick?
We’ll talk more about materials below, but DIY guitar pick punchers are ideal for using with old gift cards or credit cards because of the plastic they use.
You Make Me Feel So Good (set Of 5 Guitar Picks)
Not only do these handy little gems give us a guitar pick to shred with in a pinch, they also help us lower the amount of plastic we end up throwing out by just a little bit.
If you don’t have a DIY guitar pick puncher on hand, you can use your scissors to cut a triangular shape in an old credit card or plastic gift card.
Pro Tip: Many credit cards and gift cards have rounded edges, so it helps to cut from the corner and incorporate that edge into the triangle shape you are trying to make.
Cheap Easy Guitar Pick!
Unless you strictly carry cards, you’ll probably have some change on you. A coin is a great alternative to a guitar pick when we don’t have one on us.
Card stock is a bit flimsier that a credit card’s plastic, but that doesn’t mean we should rule it out as an effective DIY guitar pick!
We can even fold up a thinner business card into a small triangle to make a DIY guitar pick that fits our fingers and isn’t as flimsy!
Pick Or No Pick?
Pro Tip: If you have some glue lying around, glue the insides of your folded pick together to reinforce it and make it sturdier.
If you have a thicker card stock, you can stack two on top of each other and cut out the shape of a pick.
The world has switched over to streaming and playing vinyl, and cars are hooked up with Bluetooth meaning that you don’t even
File:guitar Pick Puncher
Once again, this type of DIY guitar pick is a great alternative in a pinch, but we don’t recommend using them for very long.
You could definitely do a lot worse than using an old SD card to play guitar when you don’t have any other alternatives!
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.
How To Make Guitar Picks
This means you will get a ‘pick-like’ sound from using them, whereas as CD or business card may give you a different tone altogether.
This is probably one of our favourite approaches to a DIY guitar pick, and the best part is you don’t even need a pick at all!
All of these methods are great when we need a DIY guitar pick in a bind, however there’s one thing that always gets the job done better:
Insight Rombo Tagged
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.
Guitar Pick Necklace
Glue may shed onto the strings, and coins will begin to damage your strings after some time, causing them to sound dull instead of fresh.
If you have to make use of one of these for a while, make sure you grab yourself a new set of strings when you buy your next set of picks!
If you’re looking for more DIY guitar pick ideas, we’ve found some resources that you might find useful! Check them out below:
How To Make Guitar Picks From Cds
If you enjoyed this free guide from the National Guitar Academy, you’ll love the other free resources we have laid out for you below!
Learn how everything fits together quickly, easily and effectively. We share ninja tips (for instant fun!) but also timeless fundamentals that will deepen your understanding.This article was co-authored by Tomas Michaud and by staff writer, Eric McClure. Tomas Michaud is a Guitar Teacher and Owner of the Real Guitar School and Starland School Of Music in Alameda, California. With over 40 years of experience in the music industry, Tomas creates step-by-step lessons for adult beginners that want to play acoustic guitar and create their own music. He is passionate about making fun and accessible material for people wanting to learn a new instrument. He has recorded six CDs and has a B.A. in Music from California State University - Easy Bay.
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