BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to musical accessories and, in particular, to a plectrum having a regular grip but a thicker portion useful for striking, strumming or plucking strings of a musical instrument.

2. Description of Related Art

Plectrums, commonly referred to as picks, are used for striking the strings of a stringed musical instrument when gripped by a musician's hand. The thickness of a plectrum affects the ease of gripping the plectrum, the ease of playing and the sound produced by the musical instrument.

Conventional plectrums have the same thickness where gripped as where used for striking, thus many musicians are habituated to a standard thickness of grip. However, this results in inconvenience of gripping if, for musical reasons, the thickness of the plectrum where striking the strings is desired to be thick.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,729 to Leong discloses a plectrum having one thickness at a plurality of edges of two portions offset transversely by a stepped member. However, the single edge thickness of the plectrum of Leong restricts the plectrum to a trade-off between thickness where striking the strings and where gripped.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,977 to Byrns discloses a plectrum having a panel whose thickness decreases to relatively thin inner and outer points where striking occurs. Accordingly, the plectrum of Byrns is not suitable if the thickness of the plectrum where striking the strings is desired to be thick.

An object of the invention is to address the above shortcomings.

SUMMARY

The above shortcomings may be addressed by providing, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a plectrum for striking a stringed instrument, the plectrum being planar so as to define a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the plectrum comprising: (a) a gripping portion disposed at a wide end of the plectrum, the gripping portion having a first thickness; and (b) a thicker portion disposed at a narrow end of the plectrum opposite the wide end, the thicker portion having a second thickness that is at all points of the thicker portion at least 10% greater than the first thickness, the plectrum defining a tip in some embodiments.

The first thickness may be in the range of 0.4 mm to 2.0 mm. The first thickness may be 0.9 mm. The gripping portion has a definite amount of flex depending on the thickness of the first thickness, akin to a conventional pick or plectrum. The flex of the gripping portion is thus dependent on the material and the thickness thereof, but the flex is not variable. The second thickness may be at least 10% greater than the first thickness. The second thickness may be in the range of 2.0 mm to 10.0 mm. The second thickness may be 3.0 mm. The thicker portion may be dimensioned to facilitate striking or strumming the strings of the stringed instrument. The flex of the thicker portion is less than the flex of the gripping portion, and in embodiments where the thickness of the thicker portion is significantly greater than the thickness of the gripping portion, the thicker portion may be inflexible.

The plectrum may include a beveled edge. The beveled edge may provide a transition in thickness from the second thickness to the first thickness. The plectrum may include a beveled edge at each of the first and second sides. Each beveled edge may include a plurality of edge sections. The plurality of edge sections may include a transition edge section, a left edge section and a right edge section. The plectrum may define a central plane between the first and second sides. The plectrum may be symmetrical about the central plane. The plectrum may define a plectrum area equal to the total surface area parallel to the central layer on one of the first and second sides. The gripping portion may define a gripping portion area parallel to the central layer. The gripping portion area may be in the range of 50% to 80% of the plectrum area. The thicker portion may define a thicker portion area parallel to the central layer. The thicker portion area may be in the range of 10% to 40% of the plectrum area. Each beveled edge may define a beveled area parallel to the central layer. The beveled area may be in the range of 10% to 30% of the plectrum area. The plectrum may be made of a polymer. The plectrum may be made of a plastic. The plectrum may be made of acrylic. The plectrum may be made of nylon. The plectrum may be made of wood. The plectrum may be made of a stone. The plectrum may be made of a bone or other natural materials. The plectrum may be made of any combination of these materials. The gripping portion and the plucking portion may be integrally attached to each other.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures and claims.

