What kind of Pick is everyone using?

  • I just use the standard Dunlop nylon Jazz III (black). I didn't like them when I first tried but at some point couldn't find any of my picks and a friend left a Jazz III so I started using it. After a short time it really helped me play cleaner and more precise so I've stuck with it. Less material in the way.


    If you go the Jazz III route, I suggest still using regular picks every now and again. That way if you find yourself in a pinch and have to use someone else's picks, it's a bit less jarring (because it's quite different).


    I've always been a meat and potatoes guy when it comes to most gear. I just want to plug in, twist a few knobs, and let my fingers do the talking. Picks are actually one of the very few things I'm particular about.

  • Lots of Jazz III XL users around here, it's also my #1 pick choice (the red ones). I discovered Dava picks a couple of months ago and I really like the Red one with control grip, actually I think I'm hooked and I that should order spares...

  • Lots of Jazz III XL users around here, it's also my #1 pick choice (the red ones). I discovered Dava picks a couple of months ago and I really like the Red one with control grip, actually I think I'm hooked and I that should order spares...

    Exactly what happened to me. I ordered the yellow/green ones too, before settling for the gels. They're so slick! Wear out quicker than the red delrins, though.

  • I started using wood picks and found them to give a better sound (no 'clicking') and easier to hold. So I started making my own from different types of wood. Each wood sounded slightly different. I ended up mainly using Bamboo. They are soft but tough due to the fibers running through them. If I cut the bamboo on a cross cut the fiber ends are like dots on the pick give a rough 'strike' against the string like a Herco pick. I started making them asymmetrical shape to give 3 different radius corners. Each corner has a slightly different sound. Here is a pick of some hardwood picks and another of Bamboo Picks where you can see the straight grain (smooth) and cross cut grain (rough like a Herco). Hard to see here that they are slightly curved to follow the contour of you thumb

  • I need to thank all the folks who mention the Jazz III picks in this thread. Based on the sheer number of responses, I decided to give them another try (last try was about 15 years ago). This time I forced myself to adapt to them.


    You guys changed my life. :thumbup:

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

  • Lately I've been trying the John Petrucci picks. I like them with electric guitars more than with acoustics. Red Bear better for acoustics.

    Never too old for rock'n'roll

  • I'm intrigued to experiment but before I pull the Amazon Prime trigger..... For years I've been happy with gold Hercos (50's) but as life is a constant learning curve I guess I should try a few to see if I can find something that I prefer. You never know :). I did get a Diamond pick thing a couple of years ago and hated it - it was the one thing that made the Kemper sound like a modelling amp!! It gave a really weird 'plink' sound that just didn't make my ears happy.


    I can get a Jazz III variety pack so that should be easy but the .73 that has been pictured a couple of times appears not to be in there.....


    As to the Dava picks.... I can get a variety pack of these too but I'm keen to understand something. I've been on the Dava website and clicked on the FAQ where I stupidly assumed that my question of 'what's the difference between nylon, delrin and poly gel' would be answered but isn't.....


    Can anyone enlighten me please?

  • I can get a Jazz III variety pack so that should be easy but the .73 that has been pictured a couple of times appears not to be in there.....

    I grabbed the variety pack myself. As a Jazz III newbie, I find the thicker ones easier to use. The thickness compensates for the smaller size and helps ground them in my fingers. I don't miss the 0.73's, at least not initially.

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

  • Jim Dunlop USA Nylon .88mm.


    Matthias Jabs recommended them to me as being the closest thing to a fingernail. If you finger and plectrum pick at the same time - like on la Grange (ZZ), they just rock the top...


    Nice ta see ya all again!! ^^

  • I grabbed the variety pack myself. As a Jazz III newbie, I find the thicker ones easier to use. The thickness compensates for the smaller size and helps ground them in my fingers. I don't miss the 0.73's, at least not initially.

    The new Jazz iii v2 ultex and the Petrucci v2 ultex are a tad larger and more comfortable. They are thick, but you get used to them and the stiffness gives you control.

    Never too old for rock'n'roll

    Edited 2 times, last by CJGOMEZ ().

  • I tired Chicken picks a while back and they were really good, Eric Johnston jazz111 as well. For acoustic, it's Dunlop red and orange which are much lighter

    You're damned if you do and damned if you don't

  • As to the Dava picks.... I can get a variety pack of these too but I'm keen to understand something. I've been on the Dava website and clicked on the FAQ where I stupidly assumed that my question of 'what's the difference between nylon, delrin and poly gel' would be answered but isn't.....


    Can anyone enlighten me please?

    Nylon are the puke yellow/green ones and are the most flexible, making them feel thinner than the others. They also wear out the quickest. Delrin are the red ones and are also the stiffest and most durable. The gels are the see-through pinkish/purplish ones and are the slickest off the strings. I find them to be fastest. They sit somewhere between the delrins and the nylons in terms of durability and flexibility.
    HTH!

  • This thread is changing my "pick-life".....


    I've never tried V-Picks before, but because of Bert's recommendation I tried them and I LOVE them !!! Right now I'm playing the blue "Tradition Lite" (1.5 mm), which comes very close to my favourite Dunlop Delrin 1.5 mm, but:


    - it's easier and better to play (fast runs....)
    - the guitar-sound is getting warmer and thicker


    Of course it's plastic, too ("acrylics"), but there seems to be a major difference. I have to say that I tried Chicken Picks before, but I didn't like them that much.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    first name: Guenter / family name: Haas / www.guenterhaas.de

  • it's interesting.... the pick I bought and really didn't like was a V Pick so I wrote them off as a manufacturer. Which is bad on my part. A bit like writing off a band because you don't like one song.....


    The one I struggled with was the Diamond. I think I bought it due to reviews and it's like 4mm thick and makes the Kemper sound like a weird plastic piano :). Maybe I could have dialled this out but with the Hercos and the right profile my ears are happy with no tweaking. I think it shows how much difference this subject makes to us and it's pretty much the last thing anyone thinks of when they say they cannot find 'their sound'.


    If, instead of being thought of as an insignificant bit of plastic, some marketing guy described them as 'the interface between your soul and the strings' then us guitarists would be all over it :)