My top picks... in picks

Re: My top picks... in picks

I've tried the "warm" one's in .88 and really like them. The only downside that I have found is that they wear rather quickly.

This is absolutely true. I have to "clean up" beneath my strings after I finish playing with one. But they create a wonderful tone, especially if you play nickel strings on a semi-hollow body. I prefer the 1.0 and I am now using the white ones (the sharpest attack).

And I will under no circumstances pay 40 bucks for a pick. 4 or 5 bucks, ok,, but a line has to be drawn somewhere.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

$63? That's what you pay there? The one I bought is *only* $35 here in the U.S. The Gravity Stealth, which I actually prefer and use, is about $10. Fool? Gee, that's kind of harsh isn't it?

$63 and some is what i buy pickups with. with ur enthusiasm, u ought to make ur own picks with that amount of money u throw everytime u lose one
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

It never ceases to amaze me how the subject of guitar accessories (read: strings and picks) brings out the "bad parent" in so many guitar players. If I want to spend my money on a good quality pair of handmade shoes that make my feet not hurt, do people censure me for "wasting my money"? Or if I decide to spend twice as much on a car that will last twice as long, I don't get lectured on it. Maybe I would expect some expressions of envy from those who can't afford it or can't justify it to the wife. If I blow a couple of bills to see Bonamassa in concert instead of ten or fifteen bucks on some mediocre cover band, who's going to give me grief about that. But let me spend as much as a haircut on a handcrafted item that really does help my playing technique, or makes me sound just a little bit better, and out of the woodwork comes all the naysayers and volunteer critics who wouldn't be caught dead paying more than a quarter for something they use every time they pick up their guitar (although they might spend five times as much for a handmade overdrive pedal instead of an SD-1, or twice as much for hand wound pickups, and don't think twice about it). I just don't get it, people.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

L.L.: do you still have them? Or still use them? What were they made of? Interesting.

Yes, they are all I use. If something were to happen to them or if I lost them it would be like losing my favorite guitar. I dropped one through a crack on a friends porch year before last and paid $20 to the only person there skinny enough to fit through the crawl space to get it for me. They are made from some type of plastic I am guessing.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

It never ceases to amaze me how the subject of guitar accessories (read: strings and picks) brings out the "bad parent" in so many guitar players. If I want to spend my money on a good quality pair of handmade shoes that make my feet not hurt, do people censure me for "wasting my money"? Or if I decide to spend twice as much on a car that will last twice as long, I don't get lectured on it. Maybe I would expect some expressions of envy from those who can't afford it or can't justify it to the wife. If I blow a couple of bills to see Bonamassa in concert instead of ten or fifteen bucks on some mediocre cover band, who's going to give me grief about that. But let me spend as much as a haircut on a handcrafted item that really does help my playing technique, or makes me sound just a little bit better, and out of the woodwork comes all the naysayers and volunteer critics who wouldn't be caught dead paying more than a quarter for something they use every time they pick up their guitar (although they might spend five times as much for a handmade overdrive pedal instead of an SD-1, or twice as much for hand wound pickups, and don't think twice about it). I just don't get it, people.

I am absolutely in your corner conceptually. You make the very strong (and overlooked) point that a pick is vital to the sound produced when a guitar string is plucked. It is undeniable, yet folks spend pennies on this crucial component.

I just can't get my head around forty dollars. But I may wind up there. I want the cleanest tone possible, and my ears don't lie to me. There is absolutely a difference in various types of picks, when you play clean. I have some of the V-picks on order, thanks to your post. Can't wait to try them.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

I am absolutely in your corner conceptually. You make the very strong (and overlooked) point that a pick is vital to the sound produced when a guitar string is plucked. It is undeniable, yet folks spend pennies on this crucial component.

I just can't get my head around forty dollars. But I may wind up there. I want the cleanest tone possible, and my ears don't lie to me. (There is absolutely a difference in various types of picks, when you play clean.) I have some of the V-picks on order, thanks to your post. Can't wait to try them.

They give off different sounds as well as different feels. But if you want the cleanest tone possible you have to look at the whole rig everything from choice of pups to speakers to the choice of material for wood. It can get very complicated and i'm still looking at different things that will give me access to every frequency available and be able to reproduce it and alter it to my liking.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

i used Dunlop Ultex sharps for quite a while, sizes .88 to 1.0 but as you say, that overly bright "click" when you hit the strings was starting to get to me. I Switched to Dunlop Black Fangs which are also Ultex...but for some reason, because of the different matte black finish maybe? that "click has gone away and has definitely warmed up my clean tone, and provided a thunderous THUD on my palm mutted distorted parts
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

i used Dunlop Ultex sharps for quite a while, sizes .88 to 1.0 but as you say, that overly bright "click" when you hit the strings was starting to get to me. I Switched to Dunlop Black Fangs which are also Ultex...but for some reason, because of the different matte black finish maybe? that "click has gone away and has definitely warmed up my clean tone, and provided a thunderous THUD on my palm mutted distorted parts

I saw the video from Namm a few years ago when they introduced the Black Fang and the Ultex 2.0. Brian Kehoe said it has something to do with the dye they use for the black ultex that warms up the tone. I love it and I can't get enough of the,.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

mrprinter, that is interesting. I have two favorite picks - one is plain old tortex .73 for old school guitar-in-a-band playing. For fat lines/nylon I use a pick that looks about halfway between the two pictured in your post. I got a big bag of unbeveled celluloid picks from JB Picks and beveled them myself

FWIW yes it does take a fair amount of time and skill to put a good, playable bevel on a pick; i wouldn't sell my time to do it for a price that anyone would actually pay.

I don't know about the sci-fi type materials like Blue Chip, but with celluloid you have to polish it once in a while. Also if you lose your **** and start bashing with a celluloid pick you can ruin the polish instantly. i like doing it myself because my experience feeds back into my bevel shaping skill and now i have a really good feel for what works for me

anyway, just wanted to +1 for that general shape and size - I think there is something magical about it. sounds like a different instrument with those picks. i wish i could combine the pointy and round corners of the tortex .73 with one corner of my big triangle beveled pick in one pick - that would rule.
 
Re: My top picks... in picks

mrpinter, great review and analysis. Even though I mostly play with my fingers, I'm always looking for the best pick. In fact, I have a bowl of unique picks on my living room coffee table and I'll often go through them and geek out over feel, playability, click, etc. Many of the forum members are familiar with V-Pick and Gravity as they've both been on here giving out free samples to members. I've found great picks from both makers. I'll have to check out Blue Chip someday soon.

For me, even after checking out all the picks available to me, I keep coming back to Dunlop 3.0 Jazz Stubby for electric and a good ol' fashioned, but highly illegal, real tortoise shell for acoustic (sorry, Mr. Tortoise).
 
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