Guitar pick consultation


  • New (colourful) batch of picks arrived ^^

    Dunlop Prime Grip Delrin 500 2.00, Jazz III XL Ultex and Stiffo, Dunlop Gels Standard X-Heavy, Ibanez Kaleido Copolyester / Tritan (same material as the 2,5 mm Ibanez JTC picks), my Jazz III carbon (as reference), Dunlop Flow / Flow Jumbo variety pack.


    Not tried yet. But the material of the yellow Dunlop gels right away feels very nice (to me) And similar to acrylic picks they stick to clean and warm fingers. Considering the very low price, I'm really excited how this cheapo will sound.

    Edited once, last by Ibot39 ().

  • Short (and somewhat boring ?) update: The winner is Jazz III XL Ultex. Like adviced in post #2 ?


    The Jazz Xl Ultex seems to be the best "compromise" for me, that doesn't feel like a compromise at all (if this makes sense). Most other picks excel in one category, but also have disadvantages, that cloud the overall picture = limiting the usage for me.


    The Stiffo Jazz Xl is close. The nylon material has a bit more snappy attack - which has its own charm.


    The ChickenPick is still great for fast and technical stuff, but does not "feel" right for me with cleaner parts, bluesy stuff... not completely connected yet.


    Experimenting with acrylic picks and various thicknesses was very interesting (again).


    The Flow variety pack was helpful too. For example a 2mm standard Flow pick immediately felt perfect (like an extension of my fingers). Wow! The same 2mm Jumbo was not as comfortable, but the added mass is surprisibgly noticeable. You need way less strength. But attack on both sounded a bit too mellow / damped in comparison to the 1.5mm Flow.

    The 1.5 Flow on the other hand had more bite, but felt completely (!) different between the fingers than the nice fitting 2mm... and I prefered the Jazz Xl in the end again.


    I now also appriciate the options that thinner picks can give - for some really snappy tone for example. Will grab some more .73 in the future for sure!


    Sometimes you just need a pair of garden shears to trim the rose bush. But sometimes a chainsaw to cut a tree ?


    So I am happy to have some new (and cheap) tools in my repertoir. But my main set of picks will be the versatile Jazz III XL Ultex.

  • @lbot39
    did you try the Jazz III Primetones XLs also?

    will check out the Ultex Jazz III picks soon :)

    Honestly I had some "panic", after I realized that my pick for many years didn't fit me anymore (Jazz III and Jazz III carbon). Now that I have found a comfortable follow-up, I can take things easy again and will surely try out some more in the future. Just for fun - and maybe I find something better or interesting, but there is no pressure anymore ^^ Maybe there will be a carbon Jazz III XL someday :)


    I have not tried the Primetones yet, but I think I will loose to much attack with that beveled edges they have?!


  • Tried a few more picks ^^

    And I have a new favourite: The Dunlop Delrin 500 1,5 (violet, row 10, pick 4). Glides very smooth through the strings, but in 1,5 mm thickness can have very nice bright attack too. With different pick angle there are many variations of tones. I have also tested with prime grip (row 5, last pick), but like the plain pick better.


    So top 3 at the moment: Ultex Jazz III XL, Delrin 500 1,5 and Ibanez JTC. Very different picks, but I really like them all :S


    Funny thing is, that I like different sizes for similar picks. For example I like 1,5 Delrin 500, but 1,14 Gator Grip (which is some kind of Delrin pick too) and 1,0 Tortex Standard...


    Also tested some Titanium picks - first row, pick 7 and 8. Plus an agate stone pick from Stone Age Picks (row 4, second pick).

    Especially the smaller Jazz Titanium pick is very nice. And all of them more useful than I thought tbh.


    I still like Gravity picks, (used the 003 XL a lot), but I wear the acryl down very fast. Not as durable as they want me to believe ;)

    Edited 2 times, last by Ibot39 ().

  • I got very inspired by this thread and bought some chicken picks the other day. Comfortwise they are great and I guess I could get up to speed using them if I gave it a couple of weeks. However, they sound awful on my high e. I don't know if I'm using too thin strings (9s) but their is an awful plastic sound when I pick. It is most noticeable when playing my tele acoustically but it was a bit of a buzzkill for me. Back to the dunlop 1.14s, I just got another 20 pack!

  • Jason Becker used to use the Delrin 500 1.5,(anyone else who new that, you're a nerd too!)

    I too assumed it would be good for super fast picking, but I just couldn't get used to the asymmetrical taper on that pick

  • ...

    I too assumed it would be good for super fast picking, but I just couldn't get used to the asymmetrical taper on that pick

    What do you mean with "asymmetrical taper"? The bevel of the pick or different thickness? The Delrin 500 seems to be completely flat (not tapered at all) and the bevel is equally on both sides.

  • stratdude Yeah, that looks pretty bad ?


    Seems to be a production error.


    A bit hard to make a picture, but my picks are fortunately flawless. The seam / center line is in the middle and the bevel is the same on each side.


    But thanks for mentioning it! I will have a closer look when buying a big pack.


    Here is a picture of my Delrin 500 - tip is on top of the picture

    Edited once, last by Ibot39 ().