Boutique pick Roundup II-confessions of a pick nerd.

[Huggy Love]

Well………. I think I might be coming close to hitting a wall on this boutique pick thing. It has been fun, enlightening, and not overly expensive, but with as many disappointments as there have been revelations. (Biggest revelation: acrylic picks, although not the best tone material, it is by far the fastest I have found, so if you're looking to improve your speed and articulation I would suggest looking into them.)

For this installment I'm going to provide a slightly more in-depth review of my recent pick acquisitions.

Dragon picks - This is a very unique pick design that supposedly provides three different sonic and playability features from the three different tips (although I found the very sharp tip to be almost useless). The best thing about this pick is its tone, which is rich in mids and sounds great for clean tones and in high gain, the worst thing is the awkward design that I could not get used to. I ordered the original material (as they have three different types) that has graphite in the mix which turned my fingers gray and made it hard to hold. Also, I was under the impression that graphite was going to make this a very fast pick when the playability seemed about average for me.

V picks-diamond - this is easily the fastest pick I have ever played, it's slightly smaller than I'm used to and it's very thick (4 mm), but it makes me play with a more relaxed right-hand technique. The tone is slightly mid-scooped but still very solid, the one drawback, as with all very thick picks of hard material you get a bit of a chirping sound especially if you have the lazy habit of touching the tip of the pick against the strings in between the notes. (Like me) Still, it's extremely fast and I may look into the next size up to better fit my fingers.

Chicken picks - this pick looked to be designed a very well, and the bevels on it were really nice, but tone wise it was a real disappointment. I should've known better by the name because it was extremely bright and made both my PRSi sound like a Tele on the bridge pickup with the tone turned all the way up to high (definitely not where I'm going with my tone), but it might be good for country or bluegrass. The plastic material it was made out of was somewhat slippery to my fingers so that was a frustration.

Gravity - I wanted to give them a shot because I was happy with a lot of the acrylic picks I've tried so I ordered a 4 mm. It feels good in my hand and the tone is pretty good, with a fair amount of mids for an acrylic pick. I was disappointed with its playability as the bevel was not as nicely designed as these other picks I've reviewed and it suffered from a lot of chirp sounds especially when doing fast runs up high on the neck.


As I said earlier I think I hit the wall on this although I have one more pick on order to check out. After I do, I will post a review on it along with my top three picks……….. of picks. (no pun intended)

I hope this information is useful to you, my PRS family.

 

[kes7u]

I'm a bit pick obsessed myself. I just ran into the Winspear picks earlier today, and I'm thinking about ordering a few. Any experience with those?
Thanks!

Kevin

 

[Huggy Love]

I'm a bit pick obsessed myself. I just ran into the Winspear picks earlier today, and I'm thinking about ordering a few. Any experience with those?
Thanks!

Kevin

Funny you mention, that's the last one on order. I'll post up results after I get it & access it's virtues...........or weaknesses.

 

[Lee B.]

I've been tempted to try the Primetone picks Dunlop recently came out with, but lately I've been using some (literally) golden oldies... Herco Flex 50s.

I know Jerry Garcia always said a thin pick will lie to you (these are @0.65 mm), but good grief are these picks versatile. You can chucka-chucka-ducka-ducka like it was the 70s all over again, and you just give it a little squeeze whenever you wanna really dig in... plus the texture bumps help them stay put and do pretty awesome pick scratches besides. No wonder everybody used these back in the day. I'm going to have to try out the silver Flex 75 ones next.

 

[Big Eric Bee]

Thanks for the write-up. Been using the V-Pick Medium Round quite a bit. Doesn't seem to have the grip of the other models. Seems to help my acoustic guitars project better. Just not sure I won't keep searching. Also grabbed a Screamer at the same time. It could work, but the points are too sharp for my taste.

 

[Huggy Love]

Thanks for the write-up. Been using the V-Pick Medium Round quite a bit. Doesn't seem to have the grip of the other models. Seems to help my acoustic guitars project better. Just not sure I won't keep searching. Also grabbed a Screamer at the same time. It could work, but the points are too sharp for my taste.

That's actually my main go to right now, it fits my fingers pretty well although if it were a millimeter or two bigger it would be perfect. The tip shape gives me the flexibility of playing jazz and bluesy rock but it's not as articulate as I would like so if I have to get a more precise sound I'll have to reach for something with more of a point. Haven't tried the screamer because I don't like pointy pics in general and I think a tip in between their round and pointed would probably be a good thing. Maybe I'll take one of my large acrylic picks and fabricate a semi-pointed medium.

 

[László]

I like these pick threads. I'm totally open to trying different picks, but I find that the really thick picks, while great for playing solos, tend to hit the strings too hard for a good strumming feel and tone.

However, I haven't tried all the picks on the market, so...

How do you guys feel about the question of strumming using thick picks vs thin ones?

 

[Huggy Love]

I like these pick threads. I'm totally open to trying different picks, but I find that the really thick picks, while great for playing solos, tend to hit the strings too hard for a good strumming feel and tone.

However, I haven't tried all the picks on the market, so...

How do you guys feel about the question of strumming using thick picks vs thin ones?

I'll do a quick strum thru my collection and let you know what gives.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I was in the store the other day, and I saw something I've never seen before -- felt picks. What's up with that?

 

[alantig]

I was in the store the other day, and I saw something I've ever seen before -- felt picks. What's up with that?

Saw those a ton when I was a kid. If I recall, the idea was to cut way down on the attack. Hated the feel of them on the strings - totally fingernails on chalkboard for me.

 

[Michael_DK]

I like these pick threads. I'm totally open to trying different picks, but I find that the really thick picks, while great for playing solos, tend to hit the strings too hard for a good strumming feel and tone.

However, I haven't tried all the picks on the market, so...

How do you guys feel about the question of strumming using thick picks vs thin ones?

I like it! I use fairly thick (or at least inflexible) picks, but of course you have to adjust the playing style (grip strength etc). Mind you, I play mostly riff-ortiented rock stuff.

I was in the store the other day, and I saw something I've ever seen before -- felt picks. What's up with that?

I think felt picks are especially for bass, where they give you more of the muted sound mostly associated with using the fingers.

 

[davegixer]

Great post thanks for sharing.

I'm a couple of months into trying Gravity Picks, I bought a couple of types.
I love them, I too like the acrylic construction and it really is excellent for speed, the size is nice and I prefer a thicker pick such as these. But they come with a 'but'.....when I play for any length of time, or play live in a hot venue, they become really slippy in my fingers, which isn't good.
So, I guess for me anyway, the search continues. So close and yet so far with Gravity.

 

[Big Eric Bee]

For thick picks - I seem to be liking the V Pick medium red for rhythm. Slightly small, but if I concentrate I get a good deep tone with it. At least on acoustic guitar. The V-Pick Screamer also is good, but with the point on it gives more treble. Again, this is mainly on acoustic guitar. Spent 2 hours playing rhythm at an old-time acoustic jam and the V pick red does give enough tone to be heard even in a medium sized group.

On felt picks - from what I know they were designed for ukulele but then other musicians started using them. I've used them on uke and electric bass. Really good for a muffled vintage tone on bass.

 

[Huggy Love]

I like these pick threads. I'm totally open to trying different picks, but I find that the really thick picks, while great for playing solos, tend to hit the strings too hard for a good strumming feel and tone.

However, I haven't tried all the picks on the market, so...

How do you guys feel about the question of strumming using thick picks vs thin ones?

Okay, here is what I found:

-firstly it depends on what you consider "really thick". Right now I bounce between 2.75 mm and 4 mm thickness picks and every day I am leaning more towards 4 mm.

-The shape of the pick and its bevel seems to have more impact on string strumming than the thickness. My 4 mm diamond V pick plays fast but is not very good for strumming but I have another 4 mm model called B flat that is shaped like a mandolin pick and glides so smoothly over the strings. The picks made by Wegen are very thick yet they cater to the bluegrass guitar and mandolin players who play mostly rhythm. The shapes and bevels in the design are what make them suited for this.

-Michael D K mentions grip which I think is another huge factor because thicker pics require you to adjust your grip technique to a more relaxed method of holding the pick and using it.

One thing that stood out to me, and you can test it for yourself if you have a thick pick. Just do an A/B between a thin pick and a thick pick (if you have one that is shaped well) and switch between the two on varying strumming techniques, I'm very confident that the first thing you will notice is how much more difficult it is to pinch a thin pick between your thumb and finger than it is to hold a thicker pick and the fatigue will probably affect your strumming and performance.

 

[bluefade]

premier Guitar has a nice write up on the pick-pigery habit. Check it out in the March issue . They also recommend a book on them.

 

[Big Eric Bee]

My own experience on thickness and fatigue on strumming is different. I've had better luck with thinner (ie 1.2 to 1.4mm) BlueChip picks than thicker picks for longer periods of strumming. Now, I haven't gone more than a couple of hours playing backup guitar with the V Pick red. But I've been known to keep going for 4 to 6 hours in a good jam session with a BlueChip. Again, this is on acoustic guitar. Not electric.

Now it's possible with more modification of my technique I might be able to keep going with thicker picks longer. Hard to say. Am still experimenting and learning.

 

[gush]

I ordered some of these pics after reading this. Should get them in a couple of days.

 

[Geddon]

These have been my favorite for decades now. The thickness is perfect and the grip is good. I like them on electric and acoustic. Whatever I try I always end up coming back to them. I think they changed something in the past few years though. Maybe the plastic is a bit different but I prefer the old ones I have. Luckily I bought a ton of them.

I've been tempted to try the Primetone picks Dunlop recently came out with, but lately I've been using some (literally) golden oldies... Herco Flex 50s.

I know Jerry Garcia always said a thin pick will lie to you (these are @0.65 mm), but good grief are these picks versatile. You can chucka-chucka-ducka-ducka like it was the 70s all over again, and you just give it a little squeeze whenever you wanna really dig in... plus the texture bumps help them stay put and do pretty awesome pick scratches besides. No wonder everybody used these back in the day. I'm going to have to try out the silver Flex 75 ones next.

 

[Huggy Love]

I ordered some of these pics after reading this. Should get them in a couple of days.

Uh-Oh, now I'm contributing to the delinquency of a forum member.

What did you order? and after you do an evaluation, reply back with your results.

 

[bodia]

Uh-Oh, now I'm contributing to the delinquency of a forum member.

NOW?!?!?! I've ordered V, Gravity, Red Bear, Plexstrum, and Winspear since you started this little adventure. Apparently, I have money to burn a hole in my pocket, and time on my hands to not play my guitar enough . Besides, I was perfectly content with my Dunlop Ultex .73 and Jazz III's. I'm such a lemming . Anyone know where there's a cliff I can jump off of?