OK, this thread got me on a tear trying new picks. Went out and got a bunch over the past few days. Cheap thrills, right?
But you know, it's all about precision and tone that works, and everyone (and every guitar) is different. Over the years, I've been a pretty consistent guy using celluloid standard size picks, and occasionally, celluloid mandolin picks on acoustic guitar. I've also been an occasional Jazz I and II guy.
The past week or so, I've been working with the Red, Black and Pitch Black Jazz IIIs, and the Tortex Sharp, from Dunlop. Haven't been able to find the Ultex Jazz IIIs yet, however (I'll probably just order some to try).
Both of my current PRSes have ebony fingerboards. One thing about ebony is that it tends to make the differences in the attack of a note pretty obvious, and that means picks matter with these guitars. So here are a few pickin' thoughts:
The celluloid picks produce a "clack" at note attack. Great for twangy stuff. And they slide off the strings really well for rhythm playing. The red Jazz IIIs produce the cleanest note attack without clack, sound the best of all the picks to my ears with clean tones, slide off the strings nicely, but the material tends to slip just a little in my fingers. The black Jazz IIIs have a different material and gripping surface, and they're a good compromise doing what the red ones do well. I like these a lot on rock material, and they don't slip much.
The Tortex Sharps and the Pitch Black Jazz IIIs are made of the same stuff. This may seem obvious, given the look of the material, but the note attack is definitely more velvety and textured when the strings are struck with these picks. It's almost like listening to a sax player ramp up into a note, as opposed to a person doing a "yakkety sax" thing, if you know what I mean. Nice smooth attack. Great for jazz, blues, or when that's what you want in a rock solo. The standard size sharp and the pitch black Jazz III sound alike to me, it's just a matter of what fits your style best. Now that I'm used to the Jazz III size, going back to a regular size pick feels unwieldy, so I'm sticking with the IIIs.
I plan to use 'em all. No reason to limit yourself when you can buy a whole bag o' picks for 3-4 bucks!