How to Make Guitar Picks from CDs

Quick! You're up for a gig in 5 minutes! Guitar, check. Amp, check. Picks... You don't have picks! Only a blank CD, Scissors, Sharpie, a rough surface, and an old sock...

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Step 1: Materials

As mentioned in the intro, to make a fast guitar pick, you will need...
-Old CD (I recomend one that doesn't have important info on it)
-Scissors
-Sharpie
-Rough Surface (NO, not your hairy arms) Sand Paper 200grit
-Sock

Note: I was about to publish this when I found that redfox1160 had already done this
so my apologies if you see this as spam.

shrinkie says: Jan 8, 2013. 3:30 AM

ive made a few thousand picks and i find the best stuff cd related is playstation 1 discs that i heted up with the bottom of my laptop first before cutting and they take almost a year to break tho :/ but other that that just but the perspex sheets there great

Ward_Nox says: Jul 22, 2009. 3:53 PM

now i admit i don't play but arnt picks made from a harder plastic than CD's

bob777 says: Jun 11, 2012. 1:06 AM

actually my good sir i am a beginner guitar player but i know that guitar picks can vary between thicknesses

chandlersdeath (author) says: Jul 23, 2009. 9:32 AM

Well, no. Some picks get down to .60mm. I don't think someone could break these picks while playing.

Palci says: Dec 19, 2010. 3:34 PM

Honestly - picks made from CD break easier than any bought in a guitar store. Tried.

IGTB says: Jun 20, 2010. 11:50 AM

Another idea if you wanted to get creative with this, would be to use a litescribe type CD printer which are always coming down in price. Then use a CD label template with your favorite graphics program and design your own image on these picks. I suppose a cheap ink jet would suffice with either labels or special ink. I think some of those Epson ink jets print on CD's too. Worth looking into just for creativity, not sure about practicality. However unique design and promotions for your band may be worth the effort and additional costs incurred.

corebob says: Jun 4, 2010. 12:05 PM

these are cool and all, but they do not compare to dunlop's Tortex, gator grips, or ultex.... although like the intro basically says "You're up for a gig in 5 minutes! Guitar, check. Amp, check. Picks... You don't have picks! Only a blank CD, Scissors, Sharpie, a rough surface, and an old sock..." yeah last resort only for me neat trick though.. never thought you could cut CD's with scissors, should be able to put my ex gf's cd's to use