A Pre-1965 Washington quarter-dollar coin (which is 90% silver) or a current silver proof quarter (which is 99.5% silver). Positive and unwimpy feel, soft enough to not damage strings, hard enough to be crisp, and you can angle your attack and use the reeded perimeter to created a rubbing effect. As you say in the video this is not an original idea: Brian May has played with a 1947 sixpence (which, like the American 5-cent piece, is made of cupronickel) for years.
I use a variety of picks, but my go to is the Tortex 1.14 I started with medium & light but didn’t have good pick control and not so great touch Once I went to heavy picks my picking improved quickly And once I tried the Tortex 1.14, I knew I had found “the” pick Still fun to experiment
Jazz III purple (forgot the thickness), after years of blue then green then black tortex. Still love them, but most of the time these days I prefer the smaller and sharper jazz3, it's not thick but I prefer the give to be in my fingertips rather than the pick itself. I even tried some bone, horn, even stone picks, but I'm not fond of the pingy sound, it's almost like a bottleneck sound whenever you're strumming, I need a soffter pick. Wood is fun, if you find the right wood and can get it for free/do it yourself, as tools they're not worth what they cost imo, especially about durability.
Dunlop Delrin 1.14. The smooth surface, and firmness create the best tone and feel for me. I noticed you can kind of hear the texture of that dust on the tortex picks. Now I can’t un-hear it.
I went down the pick rabbit hole a couple of years ago, when I realized that my slightly unorthodox pick style was hindering my overall progress and speed, even after many decades of playing. I tried many, many different ones, including some where you just order a bunch to see from boutique makers. I have a drawerful of ones I tried to show for it, so that was fun! I was also having a pick “ping” or “quack” issue when playing at church, using reverbs and delays, I’m sure from certain frequency responses. I ended up using the heavier, small Jazz size picks, and in a different material. Graphtech Tusq, 1.4’s. I like the Gravity Jazz style made by the same folks he mentioned here, and they are great, but VERY hard, and VERY expensive, and they still get sliced by pick scratches! So they are not a great value if you play like me. Overall, smaller, heavier definitely gets more speed and accuracy, but you have to adjust your strumming technique a bit, because they have a lot less give. Downside for many picks, as casually referred to in the video, is that pick scratches need heavier picks and heavier material. I LOVE to do pick scratches, but they can slice a pick faster than, well, insert your own analogy here! I will probably order some of the Stringjoy pics to try though, just to see!
I really like the Stringjoy 1mm Jumbo Jazz picks but I've been using the Dunlop Flow 1mms too and they're great. Right amount of grip space but the sharper tip really helps me keep up precision on faster runs since it has less resistance and surface area
Great video. I’d recommend a follow up focusing on pick material. I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years and just realized what a profound effect the pick has on tone. I just finished a month-long pick experiment. I settled on Dunlop Delrin 1.14. Nylon and Celluloid were contenders. I surprisingly found that the very popular tortex I’d been using was my least favorite.
I have used stone, wood, and felt as well for tonal differences. The tone varies greater with acoustic. There is also the metal pics if you record your practices try all of them. Mostly use the tortex 73
I use Dunlop nylon .88s and the Dunlop Maxgrip (nylon) 88s. The one thing I look for is something that wasn't mentioned, recoil. Lower than 88s are too flimsy (A.K.A too much recoil and not enough guts.) 1.0's , for me are too stif and little or no recoil. For me, the Dunlop .88s are great for both playing lead and rhythm. Good flexibility, yet firm enough for both types of playing. What pick do you have that would work for me?
what is that guitar? that finish is gorgeous 😳 i primarily play modern metal. after trying a broad variety of picks, i settled on the sort of translucent Dunlop flows - usually .73, .88, or 1.0
Exclusively a rhythm acoustic player, but I use Dunlop Nylon Max Grips, .60 and .73. A lot of it has to do with not dropping them and a lot of it has to do with me being cheap and hating that other picks break.
Really surprised that Medium was the starting point. I can't be the only person who using Thins (celluloid). I like Fenders, but those break pretty easy. I have been really happy with the Stringjoy thins. Also, because they are pink it's easy to find them laying around because they don't blend into the background.
Wegen 1.4 dipper or a tr 40 bluechip, or a 1.4 tortoise or a 1.4 brown sunlit prime tone. I usually modify the point radius and bevel. I like three different profiles on a pick.
The Taylor Ultra Thermex. It's a pick that I currently use at various times. Essentially nothing less than a 1mm thickness for me for everything whether it's acoustic and/or electric playing. Personally, I'll use 'custom' made picks for my go-to's in my every day playing. But that's another can of worms...
What's your go-to pick? Why?
A Pre-1965 Washington quarter-dollar coin (which is 90% silver) or a current silver proof quarter (which is 99.5% silver). Positive and unwimpy feel, soft enough to not damage strings, hard enough to be crisp, and you can angle your attack and use the reeded perimeter to created a rubbing effect. As you say in the video this is not an original idea: Brian May has played with a 1947 sixpence (which, like the American 5-cent piece, is made of cupronickel) for years.
I use a variety of picks, but my go to is the Tortex 1.14
I started with medium & light but didn’t have good pick control and not so great touch
Once I went to heavy picks my picking improved quickly
And once I tried the Tortex 1.14, I knew I had found “the” pick
Still fun to experiment
Go to is the John Petrucci Jazz III, but I am enjoying the Stringjoy small Jazz III style picks lately as well.
Jazz III purple (forgot the thickness), after years of blue then green then black tortex.
Still love them, but most of the time these days I prefer the smaller and sharper jazz3, it's not thick but I prefer the give to be in my fingertips rather than the pick itself.
I even tried some bone, horn, even stone picks, but I'm not fond of the pingy sound, it's almost like a bottleneck sound whenever you're strumming, I need a soffter pick.
Wood is fun, if you find the right wood and can get it for free/do it yourself, as tools they're not worth what they cost imo, especially about durability.
Dunlop Delrin 1.14. The smooth surface, and firmness create the best tone and feel for me. I noticed you can kind of hear the texture of that dust on the tortex picks. Now I can’t un-hear it.
I went down the pick rabbit hole a couple of years ago, when I realized that my slightly unorthodox pick style was hindering my overall progress and speed, even after many decades of playing. I tried many, many different ones, including some where you just order a bunch to see from boutique makers. I have a drawerful of ones I tried to show for it, so that was fun! I was also having a pick “ping” or “quack” issue when playing at church, using reverbs and delays, I’m sure from certain frequency responses. I ended up using the heavier, small Jazz size picks, and in a different material. Graphtech Tusq, 1.4’s. I like the Gravity Jazz style made by the same folks he mentioned here, and they are great, but VERY hard, and VERY expensive, and they still get sliced by pick scratches! So they are not a great value if you play like me. Overall, smaller, heavier definitely gets more speed and accuracy, but you have to adjust your strumming technique a bit, because they have a lot less give. Downside for many picks, as casually referred to in the video, is that pick scratches need heavier picks and heavier material. I LOVE to do pick scratches, but they can slice a pick faster than, well, insert your own analogy here! I will probably order some of the Stringjoy pics to try though, just to see!
I really like the Stringjoy 1mm Jumbo Jazz picks but I've been using the Dunlop Flow 1mms too and they're great. Right amount of grip space but the sharper tip really helps me keep up precision on faster runs since it has less resistance and surface area
Great video. I’d recommend a follow up focusing on pick material. I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years and just realized what a profound effect the pick has on tone. I just finished a month-long pick experiment. I settled on Dunlop Delrin 1.14. Nylon and Celluloid were contenders. I surprisingly found that the very popular tortex I’d been using was my least favorite.
I have used stone, wood, and felt as well for tonal differences. The tone varies greater with acoustic. There is also the metal pics if you record your practices try all of them. Mostly use the tortex 73
A 1.14mm Dunlop Gator Grip is currently my go to pick but I also have a Jazz III XL I reach for when I want to play fast.
I use Dunlop nylon .88s and the Dunlop Maxgrip (nylon) 88s. The one thing I look for is something that wasn't mentioned, recoil. Lower than 88s are too flimsy (A.K.A too much recoil and not enough guts.) 1.0's , for me are too stif and little or no recoil. For me, the Dunlop .88s are great for both playing lead and rhythm. Good flexibility, yet firm enough for both types of playing. What pick do you have that would work for me?
what is that guitar? that finish is gorgeous 😳
i primarily play modern metal. after trying a broad variety of picks, i settled on the sort of translucent Dunlop flows - usually .73, .88, or 1.0
It’s a Seüf OH-10. It’s one of my favorites. Check them out!
Exclusively a rhythm acoustic player, but I use Dunlop Nylon Max Grips, .60 and .73. A lot of it has to do with not dropping them and a lot of it has to do with me being cheap and hating that other picks break.
Nylon .73 for life 😂
Finding Stringjoy orbiters and gravity classic big mini picks has been a tone revelation for me recently.
Really surprised that Medium was the starting point. I can't be the only person who using Thins (celluloid). I like Fenders, but those break pretty easy. I have been really happy with the Stringjoy thins. Also, because they are pink it's easy to find them laying around because they don't blend into the background.
Wegen 1.4 dipper or a tr 40 bluechip, or a 1.4 tortoise or a 1.4 brown sunlit prime tone. I usually modify the point radius and bevel. I like three different profiles on a pick.
Thicker picks = More bass and more dynamic control. Thinner picks = More treble and a more compressed sound.
Tortex .60. I like floppy picks and I cannot lie.
Dunlop 1mm max-grip, just feels good
The Taylor Ultra Thermex. It's a pick that I currently use at various times. Essentially nothing less than a 1mm thickness for me for everything whether it's acoustic and/or electric playing. Personally, I'll use 'custom' made picks for my go-to's in my every day playing. But that's another can of worms...
Gravity 2mm edge
Blue Dunlop standard grip Ultex Flows .73 are the fastest picks and sound killer for Metal.
Would have been a better demonstration by using an acoustic guitar.