What picks are y'all using?

[mrpinter]

Here's something else somebody might be interested in: Honey-Picks does custom orders. They'll make almost anything you want. There is a minimum of only three picks for a custom order, and if it is a variation of one of their models it's the regular price plus an additional dollar per pick. I've had several orders made - it's addictive. Here are some I had them make for my business, they're all acrylic except the white pearl one, which is Kirinite:

 

[scottp]

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.


View attachment 60273

I got some of these to try a few weeks ago and really like them!

 

[Logrinn]

Nowadays I use D’Addario’s triangle one’s that I ”customize” myself by putting two circular rubber(?)/silicon(?) ”grips” on them.

This gives me a better, thicker grip while simultanously having a thin pick.
I’ve gone from thin to thick (heavy) picks and now back to thin ones.

 

[Waraxe]

I am a pick whore, lol. I switch up between these:

Dunlop gator 2mm
Dunlop tortex jazz xl 1.3mm
Dunlop tortex jazz 1.15mm
Gravity picks in 2mm and 3mm sizes
Dunlop primetone 1.5 and 2mm
Clayton acetals in the jazz size.

Spring and summer was all about the Gravitys.

Now, I am big on the Claytons and the Dunlop jazzes. This is no doubt due to me basically playing only one guitar, which sounds best with these.
Oddly, I do not like bigger versions of these, even though they are the same thickness and materials. They feel different to me, and affect the way I play apparently.

Picks are quite cool. A cheap piece of plastic, with its material, thickness, and profile can drastically change your tone for better or worse.

If I don't like how a pickup or guitar sounds, I run through my picks to see what works best first.

 

[Spud]

ULTEX® JAZZ III XL PICK 1.38MM

From picks to pedals and every accessory in between, Dunlop Manufacturing has been creating world-class gear for musicians for over 50 years. We consistently create the best selling picks and analog electronics, and carry a large line of accessories that set industry standards in their...

www.jimdunlop.com

 

[jay4321]

I might occasionally use the lighter green ones and almost always the yellow ones on acoustic. Once someone suggested cross-scoring the area you hold with a razor they became better still

 

[Waraxe]

I use a bunch.

Dunlop:
Tortex 2mm
Jazz 3 tortex in 1.14mm
Jazzxl in tortex 1.34mm or something like that.
Small fat clear purple 3mm jazz pick

Clayton acetal jazz size 1.52mm

Gravity picks 3mm standard size, triple pointed triangle.

I am a thick pick guy, and vary between the above depending on guitar and sound I am looking for.

The smaller sized picks seem to work better for me these days

 

[dongle]

Insanity, by V-Picks… I don’t use picks often, but the picks I do use are truly insane.

 

[mrpinter]

Teaser: these haven't gone into production yet, but I have one to try out. I love it - it may be my new favorite pick.

EDIT: The revised lineup is now official, and all on the Honey-Picks website. This is from the Kirinite page:

 

[mrpinter]

My small picks (Honey-PIcks smalls are 26mm tall) gave me a lot of control, but my knuckles getting scuffed against the strings every time I strummed a chord got to be more and more of an irritation. So I've now migrated to medium sized picks (29mm tall). That eliminates the problem, and I find that I haven't lost any control. And that means, of course, buying some new picks! I needed an excuse for my gratuitous purchases from Honey-Picks anyway - I kind of collect them now, they're so pretty they're like little art objects. Here are a couple new ones I'm currently using:

Casein/Galalith, Medium, 3mm, H-P's Hornet shape, with the Multiple Hole grip option, in Jade. Casein is said to be the closest of synthetic pick materials to actual tortoise shell in feel and tone. It is bright and warm toned, and has a really nice feel - with a very smooth attack and release off the strings:


Kirinite (a hardened acrylic), Medium, 3mm, Honeybee shape, Multi Hole grip, in Black Ice. This is my favorite shape right now. Kirinite is about as bright as Casein, but maybe a little less warm. Bright, neutral colored tone.


Has anyone else made any changes in their pick usage?

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Currently I use Dunlop Jazz III Ultex 1.38mm, Dunlop Ultex .73mm through 1mm, and Dunlop Nylon (acoustic) sizes .60mm through 1mm. Lots of tonal variation among picks, so good to have an arsenal, especially for the differences between fast single-note playing and light acoustic strumming.

I used to use Gator Grip, but came to prefer the Ultex. Both great materials.

I relate to Waraxe and others who find changing up the pick/method(s) of articulation before other elements of the setup allows for radically different results/sounds, often with less time wasted and better results than switching up guitars/pedals/amps/etc.

 

[Eddie-Applegate]

1mm (red) Dunlop Stubbies all the way


At need, i’ll use a red Jazz IIi

 

[Spud]

View attachment 60644

I might occasionally use the lighter green ones and almost always the yellow ones on acoustic. Once someone suggested cross-scoring the area you hold with a razor they became better still

I am gonna try that on my picks as they can be slippy thank you

 

[Strat Avenger]

I am gonna try that on my picks as they can be slippy thank you

Or...you could switch to Dunlop Gator Grip since they are never slippy.

 

[Scab Pickens]

In my early thrash metal days, I'd put a patch of skateboard grip tape on my picks. It worked. Nowadays, I have relaxed my grip a bit .

 

[mrpinter]

Discovery! Honey-PIcks makes picks out of Delrin - a fairly common inexpensive plastic pick material. I never paid much attention to them because their Delrin picks only come in .78mm thickness. They're selling them at a give-away price - $1.50ea. I ordered three of them a few days ago to increase my ticket enough to get free shipping (postage would have cost more than the three picks). So I got them and find they are perfect acoustic guitar picks - for me anyway, because I like fairly thin picks for acoustic. They have a couple of grip options - multi holes, and a round concave depression in the middle they call "texture grip". I ordered mine with the standard logo, but the logos are laster etched into the plastic and provide a nice, not too obtrusive grip texture on their own. They come in all the Honey-PIcks shapes and sizes, but .78mm is the only thickness offered. They have a bit of flex to them, but not much, and have a neutral tone without a lot of pick noise. Give them a try - they're actually pretty good picks.

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Discovery! Honey-PIcks makes picks out of Delrin - a fairly common inexpensive plastic pick material.

How do these compare to the Dunlop Delrin?

 

[mrpinter]

^^^I don't know - it's been such a long time since I used anything like that. I imagine they'd be similar. On the Delrin Picks page in the Honey-Picks website they say that these picks are hand beveled, like their thicker picks are. I can believe it - they glide smoothly off the string. That would be one difference, and these are probably laser cut like all their other picks, instead of molded. But it would be interesting to compare them.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Delrin is slippery. Why even bother when there are other materials that are easy to hold onto?

 

[mrpinter]

^^^Yes, Delrin by itself is slick, but as I noted above, the logos and artwork on mine are laser etched into the pick and provide enough texture to mitigate the slipping somewhat.