Guitar pick storage---what do you recommend?

[MarkRhodes]

I have lots of picks in a pencil box. And lots more in a popcorn box. Both hold a lot of picks but it is not so easy to find a particular one when wanted.

Was thinking of the trays that come in fishing tackle boxes.
Looked around for similar 'grid' boxes with a lid.
Something like this seems workable. Not for all of the picks I own but for the top 10 or so I'm most likely to want handy. Big plus: If you knock it over (-which in my case means WHEN I knock it over) they won't all fall out on the floor. Plus you can see what all is inside from the outside.



Wanted to order one yesterday for 10 bucks that had 100 picks in it and I thought, "I don't need 100 more (generic) picks, I just want the case." Another place wanted 39 cents for the case but 11 dollars for shipping. Ouch!

Suggestions?
Better ideas?

[ThatRhythmMan]

Those work very well. You should be able to find one pretty cheaply at a sporting goods store, but a better bet might actually be a craft store. They tend to have those things for sorting buttons, beads, or whatever it is that crafty people need to organize.

[Dennis D]

Been using these tins since day one.......

[bleakanddivine]

[Skip Ellis]

Gee, I just keep mine in my pants pocket. I have a half dozen Fender 358s and a couple Fred Kelly thumb picks - covers the bases for me. Oh, and I have a couple of antique 351 types made from endangered sea creatures that I keep in my wallet for my acoustics but don't use them often.

[dickbanks]

Carry them around in my pocket, always. Never know when a "guitar fight" might break out, and there you are, all dressed up, with no pick. Awful!

Can't use the Altoids tin or the tackle box--where would my mints and lures go?

And I'm quite sure I would just eat the carrot....

[WilliamScott]

Bill Garrett (Canadian acoustic guitarist) had Linda Manzer build a pick holder inside the custom guitar she made for him many years ago. Not the cheapest way to get a pick holder, but classy.

[MarkRhodes]

Gee, I just keep mine in my pants pocket.

O, I do that too. And keep a spare in the wallet too. This isn't about having one handy. It's about having choices when I'm practicing or recording. (Thumb picks, heavier picks, smaller ones, new ones, worn ones, ones I heard about and figured I'd give a try...)

[Strbender]

I use a zip lock sandwich bag. I only use 2 styles of picks. The small fender 358's (solid bodies) and the medium sized 551's (archtop) both heavy gauge. I use the 551's the most so I have them out and ready in all the places I practice at home. I keep a couple 358's in my wallet. I never got into trying one of every pick made. Maybe I'll do that in retirement! I do have a few that I've collected from guitarist throwing them from the stage. I think that if you use a lot of different picks the container that you show would be good. Before the big box music stores arrived that's how my local stores would have them for sale on the counter. Yo Dude I need some picks, here you go man, there 25 cents each or 5 for a buck. Cool.... I miss those days!

[atracksler]

WP Standard wallet with a guitar pick holder in it.

[Dedalus]

I'm in the pants pocket camp, too. Though admittedly, I often forget about them and then hear them rattling round in the clothes dryer.

[strumcat]

Right-hand pants pocket with my change and keys. Left-hand pocket is for soft stuff and scratchables.

At home, I generally just open a 72-pack of Gibson thins and seed the rug, furniture cushions, corners, and crevices. I'm pretty sure they sprout and multiply that way, and there's always a guitar pick handy. Well, except for the ones that disappear into the sock dimension.

[sgosnell]

I would need cargo pants to hold all the picks I have. I use a pick pouch for the ones I normally use, and the rest are in a plastic box I got somewhere long ago. I have some of those compartmented boxes from fishing tackle bags, but I'm too lazy to bother to move and sort the picks I have. That type of container would work well, if only I had the ambition.

[Danny W.]

I have lots of picks in a pencil box. And lots more in a popcorn box. Both hold a lot of picks but it is not so easy to find a particular one when wanted.

Was thinking of the trays that come in fishing tackle boxes.
Looked around for similar 'grid' boxes with a lid.
Something like this seems workable. Not for all of the picks I own but for the top 10 or so I'm most likely to want handy. Big plus: If you knock it over (-which in my case means WHEN I knock it over) they won't all fall out on the floor. Plus you can see what all is inside from the outside.



Wanted to order one yesterday for 10 bucks that had 100 picks in it and I thought, "I don't need 100 more (generic) picks, I just want the case." Another place wanted 39 cents for the case but 11 dollars for shipping. Ouch!

Suggestions?
Better ideas?

I bought two like that at JoAnn Fabrics for $4 total with coupons many years ago. Keep picks in one, screws and small guitar hardware in the other.

Danny W.

[marcwhy]

Blue Chip and V-Pick have small carry cases.

[campusfive]

I've been burned by keeping a Wegen in a leather button-clasp pick holder on my chain (i.e. using it often enough that the button loosens), only to find my pick is gone.

I switch guitars and guitar cases (sometimes gig bags at home, flight cases on the road, etc.) often enough that I have to have my picks on my person (i.e. in my pocket) all the time, rather than stashing little caches in each case.

(As mentioned in the Blue Chip thread), I used to use little 2"x3" plastic baggies, but those tended to tear and need to be replaced every couple of weeks. And eventually that got old.

Something like an altoids tin would've been appealing, but a full-size one is way too big to keep in my pockets, and in generally I didn't like opaque boxes, because I could never tell if I'd put my picks back without opening it, so it had to be something clear.

I ended up with a hinged plastic box from the container store that is 2"x3"x1/2" approximately, and it's perfect. I keep about 5-10 picks in it, ear plugs, and a Tile (a bluetooth tracker you can ring from your phone).

The tile means I never have to look that hard when I can't remember where I put my pick case (is it still in my pants from last night? downstairs on the dinning room table when came back from gig last night? etc.)

And it was a couple bucks for the case, and it's easily replaceable if the hinge ever starts to go. 6 months since I found the right box, and I can't say I've found any problem with my solution.

[rpjazzguitar]

I keep mine in the zippered pocket in my Mono case.

But, I keep extras in my earplug pouch and my car. A few sitting on the table near where I practice. I used to carry one in my wallet, but it kept falling out. Probably ought to tape one to my driver's license.

[rmpmcdermott]

Blue Chip and V-Pick have small carry cases.

I have that V-Pick pouch and it's great. But it definitely won't solve Mark's sorting issue, unfortunately.

[A. Kingstone]

Under the couch cushions.

[Marty Grass]

I got a bunch of urine specimen cups (unused) on line. They have tops than you can write on with a Sharpie. That way I can sort them and stack them. The cups are cheap.

Here's a link: https://www.ebay.com/p/Dynarex-Speci...d=401266433146

[dogletnoir]

Maybe something like this might work?

No separate compartments. but see through, latchable, and fairly compact.

[rmpmcdermott]

I got a bunch of urine specimen cups (unused) on line. They have tops than you can write on with a Sharpie. That way I can sort them and stack them. The cups are cheap.

Here's a link: https://www.ebay.com/p/Dynarex-Speci...d=401266433146

This make me laugh, it's so strange. But then I thought about it and it's actually a really useful solution! Haha

[Woody Sound]

I keep mine in a folding change pouch, in my case. And a couple of spares in my wallet for impromptu “appearances.”

[MarkRhodes]

Before the big box music stores arrived that's how my local stores would have them for sale on the counter. Yo Dude I need some picks, here you go man, there 25 cents each or 5 for a buck. Cool.... I miss those days!

I remember those containers! I think some were made by the manufacturers (Dunlop, etc.) I rememer wooden boxes too. That's what I was thinking about the other day. Instead of a container (such as a pencil box) that will hold lots and lots of scattered picks, I wanted something that allowed them to be separated and visible.

Here's what I bought. Should arrive in the day's mail. It's marketed as a fishing lure box.

[whiskey02]

Levi Strauss was a genius because he knew that pocket watches would one day be supplanted by wrist watches and at that time all gentlemen would inevitably realize that they could now carry their guitar picks in the same pocket they had once used for time pieces.