What picks are y'all using?

[mrpinter]

I rotate between these for the most part. The Honey-Picks Bumblebee V2 shape on the left is made of Kirinite - a hardened acrylic. It's bright, and great for rock, power pop, fusion, etc. The Pickboy Modrez in the middle is made of resin and is warmer/darker than the other two picks. It's good for jazz and ballads, stuff like that. The Gravity Gold series pick on the right is made of a kind of space age thermoplastic that is impervious to wear. I've had some and played them exclusively for a good 5 or 6 years, and they show no visible wear. They have almost a neutral tone and brightness - sounds good for for just about everything. I just wish they came a half millimeter thicker, because they feel thin to me (my favored thickness for electric guitar is 3mm). Those are mine, let's see or hear about yours.

 

[triple jim]

I punch them using my pick punch as needed, from sheets of Delrin that I got from McMaster-Carr.

 

[TBurst Std]

I use some Clayton Acetals I customized. As I recall .87 for acoustic and 1.0 for electric. Most find my 1.0s too stiff.

 

[Rick]

None, don't like picks. Saw Hubert Sumlin years ago and never looked back.

 

[Strat Avenger]

For electric guitar, I'm torn between the Dunlop Jazz III (47RXLS) 1.38mm nylon, and the Dunlop Gator Grip .96mm.
There is absolutely nothing better.
For acoustic, I like the Fender Heavy.

 

[electric__steve]

Am I the only one that doesn't like super heavy picks? I love thin picks on acoustic and mediums on electric. Although I've gotten some Graphtec picks recently that I'm liking a lot, even though they're thicker.

 

[mrpinter]

Am I the only one that doesn't like super heavy picks? I love thin picks on acoustic and mediums on electric. Although I've gotten some Graphtec picks recently that I'm liking a lot, even though there's a lot thicker.

I use heavy picks (for me that means over 2mm thick, and 3mm is my preference) because they give me more control. That's almost impossible to quantify, but even if they just gave me the feeling of having more control, that would give me more confidence in my playing - which couldn't do anything but help me to play better, right?

For me at least I find them easier to hold on to, that's a nice thing on a stage. If you really thrash the strings with a heavy pick like you can with a very light and flexible one you're likely to break strings, so you're almost forced to play with a lighter touch - which, IMO, helps with control (there's that word again) and playing dynamics. So that's my case for heavy picks - you should give them a shot, after the initial unfamiliarity you might just like them.

 

[VanHeGen]

When I started playing I was using a Dunlop Jazz III, and I had a hard time controlling by picking. The problem was really my lack of technique, but using a Dunlop Max-Grip, 60mm gauge (EVH-branded) pick helped. And I´ve been using that ever since.

I´ve read in so many places that you should use a much stiffer pick especially if you want to play something faster (like Malmsteen), but for some reason I just play better with that "sloppy" pick. And hey, Eddie did pretty well with it

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

I like the Dunlop Jazz III XL Tortex because it's pointy and I use a small pick movement. 1.0mm seems to be fine with 10-46 string gauge.

My knuckle doesn't bend very well, so those tiny little jazz picks don't work for me. The XL size is as big as an normal guitar pick.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Am I the only one that doesn't like super heavy picks? I love thin picks on acoustic and mediums on electric. Although I've gotten some Graphtec picks recently that I'm liking a lot, even though they're thicker.

I like heavy but not super heavy. Thin picks flex too much and are harder to hold onto.

 

[supertruper1988]

I use the XJ sized picks from In Tune Guitar Picks. 1.0mm thick. I had a bag of 100 printed for my wedding 9 years ago and I still have it. I dont like much heavier than 1.0mm everything else feels too bulky.

A good friend of mine gave me a piece of real tortoise shell from back when that was a pick material. I made a couple picks out of that. He claimed that it would do wonders for my acoustic guitar tone and while I can hear some difference, the picks are too sentimental for me to use regularly.

 

[bagman67]

Man, my pick game is all over the place. My default is Dunlop's dark green Gator Grip (1.5mm) or black (2mm) in the standard teardrop shape. Pretty much always have one in my pocket. Lately I've been fooling around with the Maxgrip Jazz III Stiffo. And then there's my chunky little digits - I play fingerstyle or hybrid a fair amount of the time.

 

[TBurst Std]

Here is a pic of my picks

 

[TBurst Std]

Indeed! was a contemporary Christian group I helped form quite a while ago. Had a 100 of each made. Thicker is black letter, thinner is blue letter. Still have about 25 of each left. Well more than that cause every case have a couple in them (so that’s about another 36, plus I carry 1 of each in my pocket daily.

 

[ruscio]

Nothing fancy here, I like these a lot. For me, they're neither too thin nor too thick, they have a comfortable grip, and I like the slightly pointed tip. I am intrigued by a thermoplastic that's impervious to wear, though. I got some titanium picks of similar shape and size to these Dunlops and I love that they show no wear, but their effect on the feel and sound isn't to my liking.

 

[Lbpesq]

Electric: Telefunken 1.6 Graphite enriched Delrin Triangle
Acoustic: Dunlop .88 Tortex (green one with the turtle)

Bill, tgo

 

[NedRyerson]

Tortex Flex 0.88. A friend brought some over once and at first, I had a hard time dealing with just how small they are, but I got used to them pretty quickly. Now, a standard-sized pick just feels too enormous. And I still play mainly right-hand-heavy palm-mute chugger metal

 

[stratamania]

Usually, I tend to use my fingers, though when I do use a pick it is generally a purple Dunlop 1.5 mm.

 

[ghostrider25]

Always liked the roundness of these for accidental pinch harmonics.

 

[rockandroller]

I play 90% finger-style, but when I do need a pick, it's an orange Tortex (forget the gauge!)