Your plectrum of choice...

mity88

Hi guys,
I have stumbled upon some threads concerning picks, but id like to ask you to give some feedback as to why you like a certain pick, be it grip or tone whatever.
im exploring different plectra at the moment and so your info will be a great help.
I currently use:
Fender mediums for all round playing,easy to hold and soft enough for strumming but hard enough for picking.
Fender thins for strumming,they sound real good coz theyre so soft
and a thick blue dunlop tortex for fast and more aggressive picking.the shark fin shape gives good grip and the thickness gives great tone.

Looking forward to hear what you like and why...

VetGat

i decided to stick to a pick i can get used to and find in any store especially when i am touring small towns where gear and choice of strings and picks are limited. so the winner for me is the jazz 3

MikeM

Red Jazz III. The one and only ?

singemonkey

I recently changed to small picks to make hybrid picking/fingers easier. I bought a range of them and decided to stick with the little purple tortex picks from dunlop. The green ones and the red jazz pickup have rounded ends (no love for that I've discovered) - and I hate the flabby feel of the jazz - although it's a very comfortable and fast pick. The other one was one of those sharp little transparent red jobbies. Not enough grip.

The purple tortex - sorry for not using the official name - is sharp ended, easy to grip, small, and stiff without being thick.

PeteM

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a Philistine when it comes to plectrums. I like a medium to stiff plectrum but will use anything if I have to and adjust my playing to suit. If the plectrum is too soft, I revert to fingers.

MikeM

Warren

In my own Plectrum QuestTM I have tended to gravitate towards smaller jazz-type picks.

I originally liked the Dunlop Stubby jazz picks, but found I lost my grip on them when my hands got sweaty. I tried some Ibanez picks with a sand-paper grip surface, but I wasn't too fond of the way the plastic wore on the picking edge...

So...I now use JD Tortex picks, the small purple jazz picks, and also sometimes the slightly thinner (but same shaped) green version. Really, really like these.

When playing pick strummy stuff on the acoustic, I sometimes use a very thin sharkfin pick, but I'm trying to just stick to one kind of pick and adapt my technique rather than having to have a specific pick for every playing situation.

Funny enough, it has been difficult to get used to playing my new strat with the jazz picks...suddenly they feel "smaller"? Persisting though: one thing I've learned about picks - you can grow accustomed to almost anything!

@SM
You get poiny and rounded versions of both the green and purple jobbies!

Jack-Flash-Jr

Jim Dunlop 1mm. All you'll ever need ?

Squonk

Jim Dunlop 1mm if I need to strum on my steel string

Jazz II for electric

chris77

Bought a set of Fender plecs a while back (some thin, med and heavy) and have been using the mediums quite a bit. For acc. strumming, the infamous red sharkfins? Then I have a white plec with only the word Blindside on it. Might be a branded band plec, but for the life of me I have no idea where it came from. Its stiff-ish and almost tortex like in texture with a nice pointy shape. I use it with my ajd91 semi-hollow and really really like it. So when the fender tin starts running empty I will look at something similar to fill it up with again.

Jack-Flash-Jr

Squonk wrote: Jim Dunlop 1mm if I need to strum on my steel string

Jazz II for electric

No no, the 1mm is ALL YOU'LL EVER NEEDtm

?

mity88

Thanks for the posts so far guys,
It seems the jazz III are a favorite...
Ill go get some and see why you are all raving about them.
@jack flash and squonk, what is the dunlop 1mm you are talking about?

Warren

haha, reached into my pocket and found one of my green picks.

It's a Dunlop Tortex U.S.A. M3

Looks like this:

I use the H3 as well, which is the purple one. There are L, M, and H type picks (light, medium, heavy) and the number on the end seems to denote the curve of the picking edge. The M2, for example, is more rounded.

Should take a squizz at these too, they're great picks. Seem to last really well too.

mity88

chris77 wrote: Then I have a white plec with only the word Blindside on it. Might be a branded band plec, but for the life of me I have no idea where it came from.

Lol,i have a pick thats blank,its like a treasure coz it was my first ever plectrum, i hardly use it, and i doubt ill ever find one like it

vic

I use a match or one of those plastic shirt collar stiffeners.... ? That was back in the ol' days .

mity88

Thanks warren, ill check them out too

Jacquesg4j

2mm El-Thicko dunlop tortoise picks... Or the crock ones... Nice Tone, easy to do fast picking, ALL YOU"LL EVER NEED!!!! hahahaha :?

Warren

Jacquesg4j wrote: 2mm El-Thicko dunlop tortoise picks... Or the crock ones... Nice Tone, easy to do fast picking, ALL YOU"LL EVER NEED!!!! hahahaha :?

Don't you find the croc ones a little too far on the rough side? I found they grated a bit on my strings, like unannounced in-laws...

Jack-Flash-Jr

mity88 wrote: Thanks for the posts so far guys,
It seems the jazz III are a favorite...
Ill go get some and see why you are all raving about them.
@jack flash and squonk, what is the dunlop 1mm you are talking about?

There ya go:

raithza

Surprised to see how many people like 'normal' shaped picks! I only use sharkfins...

The orange one is even better - slightly softer, but hard enough for picking. Thicker than the white sharkfin.