Guitar Picks - What are you using? Why?

[jfb]

EJ's haircut makes me cringe. His playing makes me cower.

I rocked Jazz III's for about a decade I think.

 

[veinbuster]

I cared for a while. I tried all kinds of things and was quite fond of a pick with different thicknesses on each corner and one serrated edge. I kept it for old times sake but don't have a photo of it.

Now I use my fingers a lot. I like the dynamic control if gives. Otherwise I use whatever is sitting on the window sill.

 

[Adamt]

Looks like i'm an odd man out, here. I use almost paper like tortex .50. I'm an aggressive rythem player and like the feel of 40% of my pick blasting across all of the strings. I also like to feel the pick bend when I strum. I will sometimes use a Tortex orange, but i've attempted to use thicker picks numerous times, and always come back to the Tortex red .50

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Dunlop Tortex III 1.14mm

Used the standard purple Tortex ones for a while (As well as the blue ones) and tried them on a whim. I like them!

 

[dogrocketp]

I use Dunlop .91 speedpicks. I can't stand the scraping sound some picks make going across the strings. I use them for Jazz, rock, blues, or whatever. They also sound good in combinations with my fingers. When beating the snot out of an archtop with the big band, they help the guitar bark like mad.

 

[Sage]

Dunlop Ultex 1.0 mm. The only thing I've tried that lasts longer is Red Bear Trading Co. And those are $20 apiece and have to be ordered online. I can get the Ultex standards at my local GC in a pinch.

 

[László]

When beating the snot out of an archtop with the big band, they help the guitar bark like mad.

I've never had a guitar with snot in it.

Barking is another story.

 

[László]

The Ultex IIIs came, and I may never use another pick with electric guitar again. As good as my other Jazz IIIs sound (to me), these are as fast and make a more midrange-y sound. Perfect with a humbucker guitar. Not as good as the larger Ultex 1.14 Point on the acoustic, though. I think the acoustic needs a pick to be large enough to flex a little.

 

[watelessness]

I picked up a pack of Davas to try them out. Interesting, but i can't perceive the difference between the colors, possibly because i'm still trying to determine how to hold them.

 

[CoreyT]

I just have the red Dava like in the picture above, but I am holding it pretty much low just off of the tip like I do other picks.

 

[Woundtight]

I prefer a heavier, pointy pick that wears like iron. Can't go wrong with the Dunlop Ultex stuff.
I bought a guitar from Brent last year and requested some swag, picks in particular, and he sent me quite a surprising assortment. I like the Big Stubby 3.0.
One of the things I do at NAMM is try picks from just about everyone. Some noteworthy picks-
Graphtech, they use that nut material, traditional shape.
Kemper had some good picks as a giveaway, they are alot like the dunlop green tortex ( .88). I got handfuls of those. Profiling picks, anyone?
I ran into the guy that makes the Swiss Picks. They are surprising good!

Since I go home from NAMM with over a 100 picks I can use, you would think I don't really need to buy anything, and then replenish at next years show...
However, the guys that really take care of me are the folks from Clayton. They outfitted me with the Spike Picks made with Ultem. I use both Standard Spike and Teardrop Spike shapes in .80mm. I buy enough at the show to last a year. They also turned me on to the Nu Stone Standard X-Heavy. It is a standard shape with a bit of a point. Made from protein, supposed to mimic original tortoiseshell. Awesome for playing acoustic, too. Great feel, but expensive @ $7 per.

 

[alantig]

Just got an array of V-picks to play around with - Onyx, Screamer, Switchblade, Medium Pointed (chick pick!). A few extra flavors to add to the arsenal.

 

[JustRob]

I've never been too particular as long as what I use is thick enough. These are what I have around now that are most comfortable.

 

[cosmic_ape]

I played Jazz III's in all their different versions for years. One day, I was jamming with Carl Verheyen and we exchanged picks. He plays the small teardrop shaped Fender Jazz Heavy picks. It was a revelation.

If anything, the Fender picks are smaller, thinner and harder to use. But the attack and the sound they produce is incredible. I remember Carl saying he could play faster with the Jazz III, but the sound was duller. We went back and forth and I agreed. Since then, I have only played those tiny Fender picks and I couldn't be happier! Great tone, worth adjusting to!

 

[TGSCAN]

this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002GJELS

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I've never had a guitar with snot in it.

What about that guitar you had with inlays made out of toothpaste and snot?

 

[alantig]

What about that guitar you had with inlays made out of toothpaste and snot?

It wasn't real snot - it was snot laminate. Not real snot, even if it looked and tasted like it.

 

[alantig]

It wasn't real snot - it was snot laminate. Not real snot, even if it looked and tasted like it.

No wait, that' snot what I meant. Uh, I mean...well....ah, never mind.

 

[Raven17]

As I get older i like a heavier gauge pick or even metal picks. I feel like I have more control and the sound I can get with the metal picks is sick.



Big Stubby 3mm is my primary

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Joe Satriani's Chrome Dome

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Sinister picks

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[Phil76]

I use a pick from a company called v picks,it's called venom. It's about the size of a jazzIII but very sharp.
I find it moves across the strings very fast,plus you can really do some killer pinches with it.