The Ultimate pick

[Huggy Love]

I bet you thought I was going to post a thread telling you that I found "the ultimate pick", .................. not a chance.

There have been threads in this forum about high-end picks with a lot of great info, I went back and read over them again, but I have a more precise question. Hopefully the PRS family can give some input to help me achieve my target goal.

Here's where it's at: I've been using Dunlop 208's for years, perfect to get a dark, thick, jazz tone, but recently I pulled out some of my pre-70s real tortoise picks and fell back in love with how smoothly they flow off the strings. Have been playing with the T-picks on my HB for about a week acoustically, but when I plugged up this afternoon and played along with one of my Pat Matheny CDs, I noticed how plucky and thin it sounded regardless of how I tweaked the tone knobs. Went straight back to the 208's and that beautiful tone, so dark and rich,..................................... but they dragged. I felt a significant resistance change as they didn't glide over the strings like the t-shell.

So my question to you fellow members, especially those familiar with high-end picks: Of all the high-end pics that you tried with the so-called "self lubricating" selling point, which one sounds the darkest? Thickness, shape, material, and size all play a role in this equation so please share your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks

 

[mad monk]

V-Pick-Lite (small). It's tri-corner, dark green. Larger than a Jazz III, smaller than a standard. Although it says Lite, it's as stiff as a Jazz III. Use any of the 3 points, they're all the same. I'm still using the first one I bought 4 years ago.

 

[goof1073]

V-Picks for sure...the exact version is kind of a personal choice. I've tried a number of them and have settled on the Mummy as my every day pick of choice...but Vinny's ghosted rim picks aren't for everyone, however I REALLY like what it does to my tone / feel and the 2.75mm thickness is perfect for me.

 

[Huggy Love]

Hmm....V-picks, I'll look into them.
THX

 

[goof1073]

Circle back and let us know if you go with them, what you think, etc.

 

[Big Eric Bee]

For the tones you're describing, I'd suggest Wegen picks or possibly Blue Chip. Both are silly expensive. Both work, IMO.

That said, am using a V-Pick now as my go to pick on both acoustic and electric. Think it's a Tradition Lite. Not sure as it's smoke colored and has the shop I frequent's name on it. Good pick but this model may be too bright for getting that Matheny tone.

 

[CatStrangler]

I use both the v-picks and blue chips depending on what i want. The v-pick definitely provides a brightwr sound with more pronounced attack.

 

[Huggy Love]

Thanks for the input fam.
This is where I've gotten so far :
-Wood picks are super dark but playability is doodoo.
-V-pick -Acrylic is on the bright side of the spectrum, might not work for me. They are a pretty successful thing right now so props to Vinni.
-Blue Chip- Best playability I've found so far but that material is very dense and is mid/bright to my ears. Amp tweaking could not compensate.
-Red Bear - Going to order one to test out.

Wegen & JB are on my radar, haven't tracked them down locally & I think JB can only be ordered.

 

[jcha008]

I remember before I tried these high end picks I used to think that it wouldn't make much of a difference. But I was so wrong. While I'm not a good player or anything, however these improved my playing 10 fold. Gliding over the strings with ease is no issue. Only thing is many of these acrylic based picks have a "chirpy" sound that can be a bit cumbersome to some people. It doesn't bother me, but I can see how it will bother others.

I use the traditional shape from the following 4 brands. Blue chip picks- TD, Gravity Picks-Gold Series, V pick- Tradition, and Winspear picks-Broadsword in every material. I do recommend winspear for their choices of material so you have a variety. The material differ in feel and weight so they also impart a different sound. All these companies make great picks though, so it's hard to go wrong.

 

[xjbebop]

Picks are a very personal thing.
Vpicks medium pointed for me. Been using these for a few years now and every time I try something else it just confirms that these are all I like.
My fav is the pink swirly "chick picks" color that they discontinued a while back. Glad I stocked up on them...

 

[bodia]

Add these to your list to check out.

https://plexstrum.com/

 

[kes7u]

Add these to your list to check out.

https://plexstrum.com/

Wow. I'm just not sure how anyone makes do with a 1.4cm (14mm) pick. Must feel like a wet noodle in your hands. I require mine to be at LEAST 3cm. Sarcasm off.

Kevin

 

[tip]

Pay the big price and get a Blue Chip TAD -IR50.
Charmed Life.90's are good .....same DuPont material.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I suspect the problem is exactly the pick. I'd recommend one of two things: stick with the Dunlop 208s, or dial in all your affects anew. I'm serious -- I use stone picks when I play acoustically at home, and they have a wonderful pluckiness and attack acoustically and clean, but the excess of high overtones run through a distortion is going to completely change the effect the distortion has on your tone, resulting in exactly what you describe. I would play clean (amplified) with your 208s, and sit there and really listen to what your tone is doing. Then change picks, and continue to play clean through your amps and try things like dialing down the tone knob on your guitar, raise the volume, and then use the amp's tone controls to try to put some life back into the clean tone (but mostly the guitar, because "before the distortion" affects the distortion more than "after the distortion", which is where the amp typically is. Then try the distortion again.

 

[shinksma]

I have tried a variety of what you might call traditional modern picks - the tortex and fender and whatnot "plastic" picks from .44 to 1.xx. I started out playing on thin picks, moved up to medium for electric and "thick-ish" for acoustic. I honestly couldn't see paying more than approx 50 cents a pick, I mean the Tortex Yellow are 12 for under $4!

But I just ordered a single V-picks Ruby 2.75mm for $5 plus shipping just to see what it does. At that price, it better make me coffee with a leaf! (Green Hornet reference, sorry. Just watched that tonight. Recommended if you want to turn your brain off for a couple of hours.)

 

[László]

I use the Blue Chip picks in a few shapes, but that's irrelevant, 'cause we all have different ideas and tastes.

When I want a slightly darker sound, I use nickel (not nickel plated) strings, like the ones available from several sources, including D'Addario and Pyramid.

You might already be doing this.

I also roll down the treble on guitar and amp. You might already be doing this, too.

 

[Huggy Love]

Thanks family for all the input, by the time I'm done with this pick adventure I'm going to post up a comprehensive evaluation of my travels through the world of plectrums.
Bodia-Wow man!!! where'd U find those?, I'd be scared to put those near my new charcoal burst finish, I think my mouse is smaller than they are.
Dusty- Believe me I have put my mesa through the paces, no amount of tweaking will change the character of a pick, and I'm determined to improve on the 208, trust me I will.
Les- I like pure nickel too, a little more $$ & don't last very long, still it's a pick thing. Now the shape isn't irrelevant because the larger, thicker, blue-chip pics will sound warmer than the small jazz one that I tried out. I'm sure of this, material/size/mass/thickness/tip shape is the math on it, along with technique.(I'm doing my research)

Tomorrow I'm stopping by a shop that has 25 different versions of the v-pick, I am ordering a red bear, and I found the shop that stocks Wegen, Clayton, and others, so with that and the research I've already done I should have a pretty good grasp of it and be able to post up a fairly comprehensive review of most of the boutique and high-end picks on the market. ( Not just for my target, but all around.)

 

[alantig]

I bought my first Red Bear pick from jfb after he'd tried a bunch. I bought a couple of the Guthrie Govan models as well. Pretty cool, and the rounded edge has ridges so you can do some neat things with that. I have a handful of V-Picks as well. Also the Wegen - but not a very pointed model, so it's not something I use for single-note stuff.

 

[Huggy Love]

I bought my first Red Bear pick from jfb after he'd tried a bunch. I bought a couple of the Guthrie Govan models as well. Pretty cool, and the rounded edge has ridges so you can do some neat things with that. I have a handful of V-Picks as well. Also the Wegen - but not a very pointed model, so it's not something I use for single-note stuff.

Which is the darkest sounding of the 3 to your ears?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I have tried a variety of what you might call traditional modern picks - the tortex and fender and whatnot "plastic" picks from .44 to 1.xx. I started out playing on thin picks, moved up to medium for electric and "thick-ish" for acoustic. I honestly couldn't see paying more than approx 50 cents a pick, I mean the Tortex Yellow are 12 for under $4!

But I just ordered a single V-picks Ruby 2.75mm for $5 plus shipping just to see what it does. At that price, it better make me coffee with a leaf! (Green Hornet reference, sorry. Just watched that tonight. Recommended if you want to turn your brain off for a couple of hours.)

Aaaah! You didn't go full insanity?

...I mean, you're almost using a marble at that point. Almost. I just got a "Freakishly Large" (as well as something a little bit more normal-sized) "just to see what it does".