Credit Card Guitar Picks

here is something cool to do with old credit cards or fake ones you get in the mail

Step 1 Materials

you will need:
Credit Card
Scisors
Sharpie
Guitar Pick

Comments

[jensantonho]

A little tip to people that thinks they are to thick. You can make a thinner one out of plastic from the side of a bottle. ;) They still work! just did it myself :P

[wevvie]

Since I like a medium flex pick, I tried taking cards to work on the train with a small pair of scissors, a pencil and a bit of 200 grit sandpaper (to feather the edges).
I would trace the shape of my favorite picks, cut the shape and sand the edges so they were slightly rounded and the resulting pick had a nice, even shape.

Sometimes I'd cut the raised letter/numbers into the pick as well (when it's cold outside the picks tended to slip around and I didn't always have surfboard wax to keep them in place).
I've had different experiences with different cards but mostly positive.
I've taken people's old ID cards and made picks with their photos visible.
All in all, it's a great way to give that plastic another life, if only for a while.
Many of my picks have lasted years.

[d_malakian_69]

Sorry to destroy your world but I've tried a credit card guitar pick and in 3 days of using it it broke in half, you have to consider a better material for them. Although of that this is very original :)

[wevvie]

All credit cards are not the same. some are laminated pressed paper which will come apart with little use.
I used to take my favorite shaped picks (triangular) to work with me (I was a locomotive engineer) and when I had time I'd trace the outline, cut two or three from a card, use a little sandpaper to do the fine shaping.
I've got picks I've used for years. I have a wallet with about ten in it most of the time. Even found that the embossed numbers and letters were easier to hang on to.

[beehard44]

i guess you were too hard...

[admanrocks]

thats strange never happened to me. you should consider trying this again. i posted this instructable almost a year ago and still have those pics :)

[Joe857]

Your "cool shaped one" won't work very well. >.>

[Gambite]

y do u say that?

[beehard44]

he wants to comment. lets not make a big deal about it

[dannyo013]

I would just like to point out that playing with a normal credit card itself would work... so why wouldn't a lopsided pick made from the same material work? >.>

[asdfcrow]

If you want a low gauge pick, just use the top of a yogurt container or something else. My Dad's been doing this for years, he prefers them to normal picks.

[nuckthebuck]

great idea and the area with numbers idented is great for grip. it changes the sound of your guitar strumming but turtle shells sound great. i wanted to try the carbon fiber picks havent found any cheap ones tho.

[An Angel Called X]

 Oh boy! This was a great Instructable. I always kinda wanted to make my own, but never knew how. Thanks! Here are how mine turned out. Just made them out of some ID cards from previous school years. 
It makes my guitar sound a bit flat, but it is alright. Guess I just have to find a better material for them. But all-in-all, this was very nifty!^^

www.flickr.com/photos/50451027@N06/4628227354/

[freewheeler]

over here,in India,we get these plastic ties for bread loaf packets which are thinner than credit cards,yet stiffer.these make better plectrums

[beehard44]

same here in the philippines, bread name is Gardenia.

[fritzpsychotic]

how hard are those pick?

[admanrocks]

they're pretty hard, id say about the thickness of a fender medium or dunlop 1.2 mm

[Metal4God]

i use the .73 guitar picks (tortex)

[beehard44]

i use paper pics....

[Noodle93]

Our Cinema's over here in Australia have a free club that gives you really terrible offers. You sign up for free and they send you their card, made from the same stuff as credit card material. Then you go onto their website and click 'I lost my card.' And get another one for free! Free guitar picks, easy! Woah, that sounded like I was advertising.

[beehard44]

not really. Would saying "we give terrible offers! sign up now! " be advertising?

[jrc976]

If you ever go to McDonalds. Steel the gift cards

[pocketwatch]

nothing cooler than a mcD's guitar pick!

[shamedglory]

right after christmas, most stores will get rid of their seasonal gift cards. i dumpstered a TON of old navy cards a while back, and made a bunch of picks. some are even holographic. :)

[beehard44]

niiiice

[admanrocks]

Sick-Nasty!

[eplpsp2]

This works great with CD's too if you want a SUPER heavy guage pick.

[lennyb]

i did a similar thing with waste cards from a plastic id printer.(nobodys perfect} for best results i sanded the edges and tapered back to make it more flexible also because the cards were still stiff i used a holepunch to punch out designs in the body of the pick to make it more flexible and give you a better grip looks cool too.

[admanrocks]

hmmm... thats a good idea to sand the edges, I never thought of that. but these credit cards are fake ones so they're thiner than real credit cards, about the thickness of a "medium" fender pick.

[Mcblugi]

rubbing them on a carpet (yes it works) or with a cloth will get all of the sharp corners out and well make the pick more smooth around the edges

[lennyb]

makes sense. the ones i used were pretty beefy good for shredding strings or hard playing a bass

[norsehorse]

What is a heavier material you could make these out of. I prefer heavier ones for speed picking, and id rather not layer them.

[Mcblugi]

u can use a old cd

[Constructo Man]

isn't it kinda thick though?

[admanrocks]

Well, it depends on your preference, but they're perfect for me and most people it seems.

[A good name]

I find that I can almost never strum up and down with thick picks, I can only pick out individual strings. I use my thumb mostly, but this is still a great idea.

[DELETED_craz meanman]

(removed by author or community request)

[LargePaperCup]

ftw

[Constructo Man]

Anyway.....I made 5 picks out of itunes and juice it up cards, used a reamer to put holes in them and put them on a necklace. Now I'll have one everywhere I go!

[Constructo Man]

Or 5.