mrpinter
New member
Maybe I can save you a bit of time and trouble, if you're looking for THE pick, like I have been. I've probably spent a hundred and fifty dollars or more in the last couple of years on the things, trying to find the perfect one for me. Am I nuts? I don't think so; picks are important to your playing, and even your tone (yes, different picks have produce different tones even amplified). And this quest has been a lot cheaper than trying to find something like the perfect guitar!
For fifteen or twenty years I used the same picks - Moshays for acoustic, and mostly Pick Boys for electric (the thin ceramic one and the matte black one with the sprocket holes). Somewhere along the line, a couple of years ago, I discovered the rarified world of boutique picks, and things have not been the same since. I've ordered quite a few makes and models, and have made the following discoveries: 1. Some expensive picks really are a lot different and are - for me at least - worth the money. 2. I favor acrylic picks over any injection molded material (including nylons, polymers and polycarbonates, delrin, etc etc). 3. The whole pick choice thing is highly subjective, so take what I say here with a grain of salt. 4. The right pick can unlock the tone that's often somewhat elusive in a fine instrument. Here is what I've learned and the conclusions I've come to:
I've come to like handmade acrylic picks because they sound more "alive" than inexpensive molded picks. They generally have a somewhat brighter tone and a more precise and livelier attack, and they feel better in my fingers - the acrylic material has an inherent tackiness that stays put better than most other pick materials. The two primary acrylic pick producers are V-Picks in Tennessee and Gravity Guitar Picks in California. V-Picks has more models to choose from, and for the last year or so I only used their products. One reason I chose them over Gravity was that V-Picks has the status of being "the original" in making acrylic material-removal method picks, and I felt a certain little bit of loyalty because of that. But none of these things are patented, and there ARE differences in how the two companies make and design their picks, so I don't feel constrained by sentiment any more over that issue. I've gone back and forth between thick and thin picks. I like the smooth feeling of the bevel gliding over the strings, and the feeling of heft, in the thicker picks; but I also like the much brighter tone given by the thinner acrylic picks. For acoustic, I still like a bit of flex, and the brightness is very important to me unamplified, so .75mm or .8mm ultra thin picks are what I use there. Also, as I have become accustomed to these things I've begun to favor smaller picks; probably because they stay put in my grip better than el-cheapo brands, and so I don't worry about them flying out of my hand or of dropping them while playing.
For a number of reasons I've switched recently to Gravity's picks. Maybe because of the different bevel angles and styles, and maybe because of the actual brand of acrylic used, the Gravity's just sound a bit livelier to me, with a crisper attack than similarly shaped V-Picks. As for shape, I like a triangle, because it gives me a bit more gripping surface in my now standard smaller picks. And I like a fairly pointy tip - again, for the brighter tone and greater precision in picking single notes. And I like the standardization that Gravity has across their line in options and sizing. Most of their models come in all thicknesses from ultra thin up to 3 or 4 millimeters (a couple of models go up to 6mm), and I think all of them are available with their unique oval shaped grip-aid hole, and the un-buffed Master Finish bevel - which imparts a bit of a different tone and string contact behavior. (V-Picks has an unbuffed bevel option for many of their models too).
I've been using Gravity Strikers on all my electrics until very recently. I figured that their more expensive Stealth model was virtually the same triangular shape, so how could it be worth twice as much. But after trying one, it is a revelation. the secret is in the much longer bevel, which makes for a thinner pick at the tips, but still allows for that nice grip at my standard 3mm thickness and "Big Mini" size.
To complicate matters a bit... I just ordered a Blue Chip pick to try out. I've tried almost everything else it seems, but the $35 price tag of Blue Chips "cheapest" picks scared me away. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I ordered an STP60 model. I just got it and I must say it is a game changer of a product. It's a little thinner than my Stealth model, and just a hair bigger, but still has the triangular shape I like. This thing is very well made - it has the "speed bevel", which is asymmetric and available in right or left hand versions, and is a beautiful piece of engineering and workmanship. So both it and the Stealth have great bevels that each contribute to playing ease and - presumably - tone. The BC is made of an apparently very expensive, maybe proprietary material that has nice sound making qualities and a natural lubricity than makes them glide smoothly over the strings, and also aids the grip without having the option of a grip hole. Which one is better? For me it's a close race, but I'll be sticking to the Gravity's - which have a brighter tone and crisper attack, which I like, and the Big Mini size is a little more comfortable for me than the slightly larger STP model. It's just a coincidence that the BC costs three times as much - because of the Unobtainium they're made from.
I almost forgot one important aspect of pick comparisons - the subject of pick noise. This is an issue with harder, longer lasting materials like acrylic, because they tend to produce a louder "click" when contacting the strings than softer molded materials. Gravity has managed to control this noise very effectively, but the V-Picks have a characteristic "chirp" on string attack that is highly annoying to a lot of players. This made a difference for me. The Blue Chip is comparatively quiet, but still has - believe it or not - a louder click on string contact than the Gravity Stealth. Maybe that is where it got it's name.
So here they are, the two best picks I've yet to play. Of course YMMV by quite a bit. But this might be useful or interesting to other gear-geeks here. Here are the two winners:
For fifteen or twenty years I used the same picks - Moshays for acoustic, and mostly Pick Boys for electric (the thin ceramic one and the matte black one with the sprocket holes). Somewhere along the line, a couple of years ago, I discovered the rarified world of boutique picks, and things have not been the same since. I've ordered quite a few makes and models, and have made the following discoveries: 1. Some expensive picks really are a lot different and are - for me at least - worth the money. 2. I favor acrylic picks over any injection molded material (including nylons, polymers and polycarbonates, delrin, etc etc). 3. The whole pick choice thing is highly subjective, so take what I say here with a grain of salt. 4. The right pick can unlock the tone that's often somewhat elusive in a fine instrument. Here is what I've learned and the conclusions I've come to:
I've come to like handmade acrylic picks because they sound more "alive" than inexpensive molded picks. They generally have a somewhat brighter tone and a more precise and livelier attack, and they feel better in my fingers - the acrylic material has an inherent tackiness that stays put better than most other pick materials. The two primary acrylic pick producers are V-Picks in Tennessee and Gravity Guitar Picks in California. V-Picks has more models to choose from, and for the last year or so I only used their products. One reason I chose them over Gravity was that V-Picks has the status of being "the original" in making acrylic material-removal method picks, and I felt a certain little bit of loyalty because of that. But none of these things are patented, and there ARE differences in how the two companies make and design their picks, so I don't feel constrained by sentiment any more over that issue. I've gone back and forth between thick and thin picks. I like the smooth feeling of the bevel gliding over the strings, and the feeling of heft, in the thicker picks; but I also like the much brighter tone given by the thinner acrylic picks. For acoustic, I still like a bit of flex, and the brightness is very important to me unamplified, so .75mm or .8mm ultra thin picks are what I use there. Also, as I have become accustomed to these things I've begun to favor smaller picks; probably because they stay put in my grip better than el-cheapo brands, and so I don't worry about them flying out of my hand or of dropping them while playing.
For a number of reasons I've switched recently to Gravity's picks. Maybe because of the different bevel angles and styles, and maybe because of the actual brand of acrylic used, the Gravity's just sound a bit livelier to me, with a crisper attack than similarly shaped V-Picks. As for shape, I like a triangle, because it gives me a bit more gripping surface in my now standard smaller picks. And I like a fairly pointy tip - again, for the brighter tone and greater precision in picking single notes. And I like the standardization that Gravity has across their line in options and sizing. Most of their models come in all thicknesses from ultra thin up to 3 or 4 millimeters (a couple of models go up to 6mm), and I think all of them are available with their unique oval shaped grip-aid hole, and the un-buffed Master Finish bevel - which imparts a bit of a different tone and string contact behavior. (V-Picks has an unbuffed bevel option for many of their models too).
I've been using Gravity Strikers on all my electrics until very recently. I figured that their more expensive Stealth model was virtually the same triangular shape, so how could it be worth twice as much. But after trying one, it is a revelation. the secret is in the much longer bevel, which makes for a thinner pick at the tips, but still allows for that nice grip at my standard 3mm thickness and "Big Mini" size.
To complicate matters a bit... I just ordered a Blue Chip pick to try out. I've tried almost everything else it seems, but the $35 price tag of Blue Chips "cheapest" picks scared me away. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I ordered an STP60 model. I just got it and I must say it is a game changer of a product. It's a little thinner than my Stealth model, and just a hair bigger, but still has the triangular shape I like. This thing is very well made - it has the "speed bevel", which is asymmetric and available in right or left hand versions, and is a beautiful piece of engineering and workmanship. So both it and the Stealth have great bevels that each contribute to playing ease and - presumably - tone. The BC is made of an apparently very expensive, maybe proprietary material that has nice sound making qualities and a natural lubricity than makes them glide smoothly over the strings, and also aids the grip without having the option of a grip hole. Which one is better? For me it's a close race, but I'll be sticking to the Gravity's - which have a brighter tone and crisper attack, which I like, and the Big Mini size is a little more comfortable for me than the slightly larger STP model. It's just a coincidence that the BC costs three times as much - because of the Unobtainium they're made from.
I almost forgot one important aspect of pick comparisons - the subject of pick noise. This is an issue with harder, longer lasting materials like acrylic, because they tend to produce a louder "click" when contacting the strings than softer molded materials. Gravity has managed to control this noise very effectively, but the V-Picks have a characteristic "chirp" on string attack that is highly annoying to a lot of players. This made a difference for me. The Blue Chip is comparatively quiet, but still has - believe it or not - a louder click on string contact than the Gravity Stealth. Maybe that is where it got it's name.
So here they are, the two best picks I've yet to play. Of course YMMV by quite a bit. But this might be useful or interesting to other gear-geeks here. Here are the two winners:
Last edited:
