The D’Andrea and Fender #’s 355, 346, Scalene, and others of the D’Andrea Triangle Shapes are generally more substantial plectrums:
There are several shapes discussed here and they include D’Andrea Triangle Shapes…
Triangles:
Of the D’Andrea Triangle Shapes most picks are types of triangles, yes? 3 points, 3 sides. But there are shapes that cry out “I’m an actual triangle. There are equilaterals (3 equal sides and sharp point) and Realeaux Triangles are another:
The Equilateral Fender (D’Andrea Originally) 355 is on the left and the Fender Realeaux Triangle 346 is on the right. I’ve seen videos of Carlos Santana using the 355 shaped picks. The 346 Realeaux is more popular however. Yes, it IS a type of triangle, look it up here.
But that’s not all, there are other tri-tipped picks, such as Scalenes. The D’Andrea Triangle Shapes aren’t the only ones :
There are Scalines, often with curved corners:
One thing all 3 have in common, and the reason I group them here is that they are wider and often work as 3 finger picks. It depends on how they are held and used…
Generally, these are easier to hold, and in fact, are often used for lap and table instruments. They are also popular with Mandoline Players. We review some of them and more reviews will come!
Their Size is in the general range of 33 +/- mm or about 1.3 inches.
For those new to guitar (or other instruments), it might help to try a triangle if you are having trouble fiddling with things. You might like a more rounded tip for strumming or a sharper tip for plucking such as sharp bass riffs.
Doing so can let you focus on other parts of playing. But watch out that you don’t develop the inability to use any pick handed to you. Availability of a special pick during a performance might not exist. You pros know this, and you learners are still forming a feel for picks.
The Realeaux is great because of its curved sides, which bow out as parts of a radius from the opposite point. They are useful because all are generally tipped in a more bluntl form. They are easily held, the added width from the bowed sides gives them a larger feel than their actual stretch.
There are quite a few Realeaux picks out there (I have 3 different ones), but there are less of the sharper tipped 355s. If you are happy with the more common pick materials (more on that in the materials sections), then these might be a “go-to” pick for you.
There ARE exceptions, the Realeaux picks now come in a number of materials, I will review an Ebonite Pick in the coming weeks with such a shape.
Now, as for Scalene picks, they exist with rounded tips.
If one holds them on the short edge they work quite well for table and lap instruments, and I will mention here that like Rhomboids they are more important to many other stringed instrumentalists than guitar.
Such shapes lend well to a long arc in your arm’s movement, which, when swept side to side, makes a strong plucked tone even when strumming. They make a more deliberate strike with individual notes ringing out.
But the D’Andrea/Fenders?
There are numbers for different pick styles, for instance, the 355 is a pointy equilateral triangle. The 346 is a Realeaux Triangle.
The 351 and other standard shapes are covered elsewhere but it and the 451 are more or less triangles also, arguably. When we look at the above 3, we exclaim “Now THAT is a Triangle”, however.
he numbering system started with D’andrea when they started the pick business, learn the numbers to speak the lingo! We’ll cover some of the histories that include D’Andrea on a future page. See the Markus Register for references. (The History Page is coming soon.)
I’m in a hunt for more of the 355 shaped models, right now I just have 2. One problem is if you are too firm with your touch, they will break at the tips, but at least you have 3 of those tips.
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