[bjuno]

I normally use a Fender - Medium pick when I play my acoustic. But the sound tends to be very, very bright & loud. I tried changing to the Fender - Thin picks but they snap after a few minutes of playing.

I like the sound I get when I just use my fingers w/o a pick but it just tears the heck out of my fingernails on my strumming hand.

What are your suggestions for 'mellowing-out' the sound of the strings when using a pick?

Is it related to the pick type & material?
Should I try to strum & pick the strings with less force?

Thanks!

[LeeB]

Many brands of picks have the thickness in milimetres on them. I would suggest buying several ranging from say 0.60mm up to 1.10mm.
I know I use different thickness' depending what I am playing, however my go to pick... the one I always start with or if I am strumming open chords in a song... is 0.88mm .. usually..

[allthumbs]

It is such an individual thing with so many factors, it is really up to you to sift through all the choices and find what feels best to you

[hb]

I have been playing around with picks and angles quite a bit lately and am amazed at the different sounds you get. Lately, I have been using a fairly light pick with the star hole in the center. I have noticed that closing the hole completely with your fingers makes a different sound than leaving a little of the star hole exposed. As far a mellowing....this sounds a little awkward, but use a star pick with a little of the hole exposed and used the round corner of the pick and hit the strings up closer to the neck than normal. I get quite a trebley mellow sound from this. The combinations are endless but kinda fun.
hb

[cush66]

The type of material makes a diff to. Try some nylon picks. The 46 mm nylon is the soft flexible ones and the sound is not as bright.