The lowly guitar pick is one of the most overlooked pieces of music gear. Yes, a great guitarist can use a chunk cut from a milk carton and sound good; but generally guitarists pick a certain pick and stay with it.

Ashkelon Sain of Portland’s Submarine Fleet was the odd man out. Of the guitarists who responded to our inquiry, he was the only one who didn’t say “Dunlop”.

He plays with Clayton regular shape .63 gauge.

“Nylon rules!” says Sain.

Clayton also makes picks of graphite as well as custom picks which you can design (looks-wise anyway) for around $25.

Chris Connelly told us he uses Dunlop 60's-light grey.

Other guitarists were more general regarding brands, but provided more detail about what makes a good pick.

“The only preference that I have for picks is that they aren't too stiff,” says Greg Lucas (Final Cut, Chemlab) “I used to use Jim Dunlop, those are my fave because they have finger grip thingies and get a rough edge that is good for chunks.”

Ben Londa of Austin, Texas’ Exit is also a Dunlop man.

“My favorite picks are Jim Dunlop .88 mm picks. They are really durable, but not thick – the gauge is fairly mid-weight yet still thin enough to give an acoustic a crisp, airy sound,” says Londa. “They last forever, also. And the part that you hold has a bit of traction which helps out a lot in a live setting (read: sweaty setting).”

Jon DeRosa of Aarktica says he too, typically used Dunlops, medium or medium light.

“Just because I've always bought them and they work fine for me.” Says DeRosa.

Nate Van Allen, formerly of The Tossers and The Siderunners, also strums with Dunlops.

“(They are) rigid enough for control, they don't seem to break, not too sharp of a point, they make a nice acoustic guitar sound, right thickness, and easy enough to find in stores wherever. “says Van Allen.