Jazz pick shootout

[drew_half_empty]

So about a week ago in lessons my teacher told me my right-hand technique is a little weak--apparently I'm using too much of the pick and my stroke is too wide. After my teacher looked at the picks I was using (dunlop tortex uhh... purples, I guess) he said they could be part of the problem, and when he tried to play with one I noticed it sounded a lot sloppier, so I figured there may be something to it.

So I took a tour de local shops looking for jazz picks, and ordered 2 kinds of dunlop jazztones from musiciansfriend cause no one local had em. So I ended up with

Dunlop red JazzII
Dunlop Tortex jazz (lil black ones)
Dunlop Jazztone 204
Dunlop Jazztone 207

of course everyone's pick tastes are different, but these are my personal experiences with each

JazzII - this was probably my least favorite. It never seemed really seated in my fingers and because of the slick surface fell out a lot once my hands started sweating. Plus i never really dug the sharp pointed picks, and this one is all kinds of pointy.

Tortex - Probably my second favorite, I should note that I took some sand paper and rounded off a couple of these cause they're way pointy too, but after that they work pretty great--good gripping surface, wide enough to get a good grip on but still small enough to keep it pretty tight & stable, very conducive to fast runs... good pick all around. If i was into pointed picks this one'd probably be it, but as it is shaping them is kind of a pain.

Jazztone 207 - this ones a lil bigger, more conventional pick size, but it's still really thick and has a rounded edge. For comping and stuff it's awesome, but for fast leads I found I had to adjust my grip a little bit to keep it stable and not flopping around. It sorta works, but it's real easy to use too much of the pick or like I said not hold it firmly in place, which is what I'm tryin to get away from. Grip surface is pretty good, too, doesn't slide around in sweaty hands

Jazztone 204 - these picks are the effin ess. Not quite as big horizontally as the tortex's, bout the same length, but a lot thicker and they come with a nice rounded edge. Right out of the bag I felt like these were doing what I shaped the tortex's to do but better, it's SO easy to play fast with them. For chords... ehhh maybe a little small, I wouldn't strum a whole set with em, but for comping between solos they work just fine. No idea why no one locally carries these, or any of the Jazztones for that matter.


So now I have a dozen of my ideal jazz picks and a couple dozen more that I'll probably never use. Still it was a cheap endeavor, and I'm glad I took the time to do it

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

Take a pocket knife and scuff up the part of the Jazz II that is slipping out of your hand. Then it'll be a perfectly usable pick (at least this is what I used to do with all my red Jazz IIIs before I discovered the yellow ones) that doesn't slide away from you.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

I've used the red Jazz IIIs for about 6 years now but recently I've come to like the stiffness of the black ones a bit more. Makes up for the inherent trouble you get from the reds while trying to pound out rhythms.

 

[tc]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

I like the way the black J3's play, but prefer the sound of the red J3's.

These days I'm using the Eric Johnson J3's and they have better grip and have a more worn in tip compared to a regular red J3.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

For real, check out the jazztones, they're way better. Plus look at all the different shapes you can get

 

[tc]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

The thing with the Jazztones is that they're about 2mm thick if my memory doesn't fail me...and like I said, I like the way a really thick pick plays, but I generally prefer the sound of a 1mm-1.3mm pick. Thicker than 1.5mm and you start hearing a much more prominent click in your attack (specially if it's pointy) that bothers me a bit unless I feel like playing metal or something. And these days I pretty much don't play metal at all.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

I really dig the way the 204 feels on my Tele, as it is still articulate, but has a warmer tone than a Jazz lll. I should try a 205 as well.

The 207 makes the best mandolin pick you can get for under 5 bucks, any day. If you play with the shoulder, you get more of a point...two picks in one.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Jazz pick shootout

I can't deal with the added thickness from the Jazztone picks but they do last a long time and will improve your picking if needed.

I'm all about the Jazz III Max Grips these days...mostly the Carbon Fiber but I like them all. I do also like the regular Jazz III and the EJ Jazz IIIs...