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The best ukulele pick depends on who is using it, and everyone has their own style. Thankfully, there’s plenty of ukulele picks out there to choose from. Whether you’re trying to avoid tender or calloused fingers or just get the right sound, we could help you choose the pick you need.
Keep reading, and we will help get you on the right track to playing tunes the way you want to hear them!
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Lohanu Leather Picks
Made with high-quality genuine leather, you know you’re getting a durable product with these Lohanu Leather Picks. If you’re looking for nice warm and full tones, these are a good pick to go with. They even have a cutout in the middle to give you extra grip for those jamming sessions.
Know Before You Buy
- These picks are very comfortable and have a great shape.
- These produce a nice mellow sound.
- They produce a strong sound for playing for a group.
BoloPick Felt Picks
These BoloPick Felt Picks have the same standard guitar pick shape, but they are smaller and softer than most felt picks. Made with a synthetic felt, you can be sure you’re going to have nice mellow sounds. These picks are great whether you’re a beginner or a pro.
Know Before You Buy
- These picks don’t take away any of the gentle and pleasant sounds that the ukulele offers.
- They are well made, and they make the ukulele sound great.
- These picks are really good quality and will get good use.
Dunlop 9020TP Shell Plastic Finger and Thumbpicks
Pick fast and accurately with these tortoiseshell print finger and thumb picks. The plastic construction of the Dunlop 9020TP Shell Plastic Finger and Thumbpicks will give you durability and warm sounds.
Know Before You Buy
- These picks are comfortable for long periods of use.
- They give that natural fingernail sound but louder.
- Dunlop always makes high-quality picks.
Golden Gate FP-1 Felt PIcks
Golden Gate FP-1 Felt PIcks are made of 100 percent genuine felt. With these picks, you could expect to be producing nice soft and relaxing mellow tones.
Know Before You Buy
- These provide great stability and produce nice warm sounds.
- The felt these are made with is very durable.
- You can’t pass on this price.
Diamond Picks Leather Pick with Diamond Cutout
Diamond Picks Leather Pick with Diamond Cutout is made with two layers of 100 percent genuine leather for added durability and has a cutout in the center to provide an excellent grip for jamming. These picks will bring you unique and gentle sounds.
Know Before You Buy
- These are excellent picks with a nice rich sound.
- The cutout helps keep great control of the pick.
- Many users prefer these over other picks.
National NP-8W Thumb Picks
If thumb picks are your go-to pick, you may want to add National NP-8W Thumb Picks into your case. These are built for large thumbs and very durable.
Know Before You Buy
- These allow me to play fast and consistently.
- These stay nice and secure even with aggressive strumming.
- Great picks, great fit.
HonuPicks Ergonomic Leather Ukulele Pick
HonuPicks Ergonomic Leather Ukulele Pick made with premium leather is designed for comfort and will bring you rich, clean sounds. These are made extra durable so that they don’t get floppy like many leather picks, and they bring you natural, warm sounds like you’re playing with your fingers.
Know Before You Buy
- These sound great, and they save your fingers.
- Much better than a pick, but still no sore fingers.
- Some of the best sounding and most comfortable pick that you could find.
Wedgie WRM Soft, Medium, Hard Rubber Pick Sampler
The rubber material of the Wedgie WRMS50 Rubber Mini Sampler removes nearly all of the pick noise, only leaving you with nice clean, warm sounds that a regular pick will never be able to compare to. The rubber is contoured to fit your thumb and provides you with a strong, grippy surface so you could keep your grip while jamming.
Know Before You Buy
- These play a nice warm tone with no click of a pick.
- These are a fan favorite amongst experienced ukulele players.
- These picks provided nice deep sounds.
How to Choose the Best Ukulele Pick for You
A lot of people just use their fingers and fingernails to pick the strings of their ukulele, but you may want a pick for whatever reasons. Perhaps you’re trying to get a different sound out of your ukulele, or maybe it could just be for comfort reasons. Either way, we could help you choose the right ukulele pick for you.
Different Types of Picks
There are a few different types of picks that you have available. You either have:
- A regular flat pick, properly known as a plectrum.
- Thumbpicks
- Fingerpicks
- Classic fingerpicking
Each of these will provide its benefits and its downfalls, but we have to choose something when we play.
A Flat Pick
Although there are several types of flat picks, they’re not commonly used with ukuleles. We won’t go into detail since they’re more than likely not an option for you in this case.
Plastic Pick
With a plastic pick, you will have a nice clean and crisp sound along with smooth movements when you pick your strings.
Felt Picks
Felt picks do the same thing as plastic picks and give you fast sounds and smooth movements, but you could expect lighter, softer tones off of the felt. Depending on the quality of the felt, the pick may wear down fast.
Rubber Picks
People say that these picks wear down fast and sometimes don’t recommend them for that reason, but people also say that the rubber picks give you nice unique soft and warm sounds.
Thumbpicks
Thumb picks allow you to be more comfortable and relaxed while playing. Using a thumb pick will also give you nice full, rich sounds when you play. If you normally use your finger and thumbnails while playing, this could be good to practice with every once in a while just in case you break a nail.
If you choose to normally play with the thumb picks, make sure to practice with your bare thumb and nails, so you don’t have a weird transition if a pick breaks.
Fingerpicks
Just like the thumb picks, you just slip them on your fingers and get rocking. Your range of motion could be limited to only being able to strum up, though.
Classic Finger Picking
Your fingers are always with you, at least I hope so. Being able to just use your fingers is a good skill to have, especially with a ukulele. You get those nice warm and natural sounds from using your fingers. The only downside is that your fingers might get sore after a while if they are callused.
Know the Sound that You’re Trying to Play
To get the right sound, you want to make sure that you choose the right pick. You don’t have to limit yourself to only that kind of music. You just want to make sure that you have to right kind of pick for the kind of music that you’re going to be playing so you could achieve the sound you’re trying to get.
Choose Depending on the Size of Ukulele
Again you’re not forced to limit yourself, but you should know that the size of your ukulele will change the sound of your ukulele, so when you choose a pick, you want to make sure to choose one that suits the sound of your ukulele.
As the size of the ukulele gets bigger, the sound will usually get fuller and deeper.
Find the Best Material for You
By rule of thumb, the smaller the ukulele that you have, the higher the sound you will get out of it, the bigger the ukulele that you have, the deeper the tones will be. Music is about being creative, but even to be creative, you need to know the kind of sound you’re trying to go for. For that, you need to know which kind of pick is going to compliment the sound that you’re trying to play.