What kind of picks are y'all using?

[SustainerPlayer]

Funny thing about internet forums. People gripe.

Edited quote for more precision.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[elgravos]

I like to mix it up and will use anything between 0.75 and 1.15 so long as it's a "standard" pick shape.  I'm particularly digging the last pick that the good people of Warmoth threw in as a freebie with my last buy.  That looks to be on the thin side.

I did pick up a couple of hardwood picks though: one ebony and the other rosewood at a local music store a few months ago and while I don't rate them on electric, I find that they are exceptionally good on acoustics to maintain the "organic" quality of the sound.  i.e. closer to fingers - which I mainly use on acoustic provided I have some nails handy which is not a given seeing as they tend to wear down / break / get in the way.  They look to be about 2mm if not more.  Definitely worth a try for acoustic.  It's interesting that you can also easily tell the ebony from the rosewood just from the sound - though the picks are otherwise identical.  As per expectations, the rosewood pick gets you an audibly warmer sound.

 

[bagman67]

Oh, I forgot:  I have some vintage 1967 fingernails I use more than anything else.  Tylereot can attest to the damage they've done to the surface of my green Tele.  They're pretty durable, considering I do nothing but trim them from time to time.

 

[LushTone]

I've tried so many, but my current favorite is a .60 Dunlop Tortex with the Jazz III tip.

 

[Cagey]

I'm a big fan of the Dunlop Tortex and Ultex picks, too. Usually something between a .73 and 1.0 works best for me.

 

[Deadlock]

First post  ccasion14:

I use Dunlop Tortex Jazz III picks (1.14mm)

 

[swarfrat]

When I said it's taken me a long time to get use to the feel of Dunlops, I forgot to say.. I've been using Fender 351 mediums for a most of the time. But Fender doesn't really offer anything between a "medium" and "thin". Dunlop Tortex 0.60 (Orange) is a good compromise between precision (stiffness), sharp enough edge  radius for some zing, and the energy absorption that thin picks give when you're really sawing away on acoustic  or playing with an aggressive kerang on electric.  Yellow (0.63) is roughly equivalent to a Fender Medium.

As for whoever sharpens their picks.. I can hook you up with a lifetime supply of sharpened picks, as long as we like the same picks. I'll play em a week or two, then send them to you.

 

[mrpinter]

Welcome to the Forum, Deadlock.

 

[cjpmmd]

Dunlop Jazz III XL.

 

[toasterdude]

I've tried 'em all. Call me proletariat, but for me nothing works as well as a plain old Fender Medium.

This. Throw in a Fender Heavy every now and then and I'm set.

I am old school as well white pearloid fender heavy for electric and medium for acoustic.

 

[Jeremiah]

Dunlop Nylon .46 or .60 for guitar. .88 or 1.0 for bass.

I used to have a stainless steel pick that was very thin and still quite flexible flexible - about the same amount of flex as the nylon .88 but much thinner. I liked it for bass, but lost it and have never been able to find another one the same. This might be a good thing as it tended to wreck my strings.

 

[ZeyerGTR]

Used Fender 0.73s for many years, but did a "big pick search" a few years ago, tried out tons of different types and finally settled on red Jazz IIIs.  Hard to go back to anything else now.

 

[Dan025]

I'd say on average I probably use a half-dozen or more on any given day - they're lurkin'... EVERYWHERE!

Jazz III Xl's, Clayton 1.36mm acetal, Ultex 1.0's (round side), Ultex 1.40mm "Sharps"... lately I've been into D'Andrea celluloid picks, the 1.5mm "Pro-Plec" and the 1. 21mm rounded triangle. At least half my picks have been modified with holes for grips, or the big triangles slimmed with three different points, or even...

PICKS WITH HANDLES!

Milliput epoxy clay is wonderful stuff.

Though if HAD to do the desert island thing, it would most likely be a X-Heavy  Golden Gate thumbpick, with the tip reshaped to make upstrokes and downstrokes even.

how do you like acetal (delrin) as a pic material? i've worked with it in machine shops and i know it's tough and has a low friction coefficient. i never thought to use it for picks. i would think it's pretty dead acoustically but that can make for silent picking.

 

[mrpinter]

I'd say on average I probably use a half-dozen or more on any given day - they're lurkin'... EVERYWHERE!

Jazz III Xl's, Clayton 1.36mm acetal, Ultex 1.0's (round side), Ultex 1.40mm "Sharps"... lately I've been into D'Andrea celluloid picks, the 1.5mm "Pro-Plec" and the 1. 21mm rounded triangle. At least half my picks have been modified with holes for grips, or the big triangles slimmed with three different points, or even...

PICKS WITH HANDLES!

Milliput epoxy clay is wonderful stuff.

Though if HAD to do the desert island thing, it would most likely be a X-Heavy  Golden Gate thumbpick, with the tip reshaped to make upstrokes and downstrokes even.

how do you like acetal (delrin) as a pic material? i've worked with it in machine shops and i know it's tough and has a low friction coefficient. i never thought to use it for picks. i would think it's pretty dead acoustically but that can make for silent picking.

Dan0 and Stubhead: FYI Dava picks come in Delrin, and it works great for picks because it doesn't impart much or any of it's own characteristics to the sound.

 

[mrpinter]

At the risk of being seen as an incurable cork-sniffer, here is an update on my great pick search. I'm now using all V-Picks.

On my electrics:

All those above are 2.75mm picks. I like how they let me use a looser grip and let me play with a lighter touch. The rounded model gets used on my Tele with flatwounds (has a softer attack than the pointy Screamers)

On my acoustic I am using the Tradition UL in .8mm - I still like to have a little bit of flex for my flattop - which seems to have a greater range of picking dynamics on acoustic:

 

[Updown]

Depends on which guitar I'm playing.

The clarity of this pick on my Warmoth's is amazing ..........    :icon_biggrin:

But for some reason, it sounds like finger nails on a chalk board on my Gibson LP  :evil4:

 

[mrpinter]

Since my last post in this thread I've once again made some changes. I'm still using V-Picks, but now these are my choices for my various guitars:

this one, according to those who have played both, is the closest in attack and tone to real tortoise shell

this one is great for playing jazz on flatwound strings

this one excels on acoustic guitar