Are guitar picks overlooked?

[c7spheres]

try the ernie ball prodigy minis and dunlop primetones, those are excellent j3 type picks.

i like the prodigy as well but they wear down way too quickly for the price. Get like one hour of picking until the point is already done.

The prodigy's are what I've been wondering about and how fast they wear. Thanks for this.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Do other people find that Ultex wears quicker than other materials, despite being marketed as having "maximum durability"?

I use Jazz III picks and like how rigid Ultex is, but the edge seems to wear down to an undesirable bevel within a few weeks, whereas the standard red nylon version lasts me for many months. It often takes a few consecutive days of me getting frustrated at myself for playing below par to realise an Ultex pick is too worn, so I'm close to giving up with them.

I recently tried a Primetone Jazz III and prefer the tone/attack to the yellow Ultex version, but am concerned it will wear just as badly. At 4x the cost of Ultex/nylon, I can't justify the price unless they last better.

 

[odibrom]

If one wants "Maximum durability", one has to find a material HARDER than the strings... like STEEL, or better yet, Stainless Steel... My picks are made of steel... 4mm steel bar the I ground to shape with rounded edges... my strings look flatwounds on the picking area...

Dunlop had Stainless Steel picks of about 0.5mm thick. They are/were hard and durable, but their edges felt a bit harsh, some how...

 

[Neon_Knight_]

If one wants "Maximum durability", one has to find a material HARDER than the strings... like STEEL, or better yet, Stainless Steel... My picks are made of steel... 4mm steel bar the I ground to shape with rounded edges... my strings look flatwounds on the picking area...

Dunlop had Stainless Steel picks of about 0.5mm thick. They are/were hard and durable, but their edges felt a bit harsh, some how...

I'm after at least moderate durability + great tone/attack, rather than maximum durability. Dunlop's marketing of Ultex seems to be very misleading though. I've never had any complaints about the durability of nylon.

I can't say I like the idea of metal picks, but even if they felt nice, surely using a material harder than the strings would trade off string life for pick life? (strings being the more expensive to replace)

 

[Stiman]

I'm after at least moderate durability + great tone/attack, rather than maximum durability. Dunlop's marketing of Ultex seems to be very misleading though. I've never had any complaints about the durability of nylon.

Have you tried the Tortex Jazz III? And how do they compare to the Ultex Jazz III?

I find the Ultex Jazz III (the yellow one) sticks to the strings too much. I like the Tortex ones though.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Have you tried the Tortex Jazz III? And how do they compare to the Ultex Jazz III?

I find the Ultex Jazz III (the yellow one) sticks to the strings too much. I like the Tortex ones though.

I've tried the green Tortex Jazz III, but found that too thin (unsurprisingly) and prefer the bevelled edge of the Ultex, Primetone & nylon versions. Perhaps the thickest Tortex Jazz III has more of a bevel on it though?

FWIW my initial preference for Ultex over nylon was that it's less flexible. I previously used the red nylon max grip for a long time.

 

[odibrom]

I'm after at least moderate durability + great tone/attack, rather than maximum durability. Dunlop's marketing of Ultex seems to be very misleading though. I've never had any complaints about the durability of nylon.

I can't say I like the idea of metal picks, but even if they felt nice, surely using a material harder than the strings would trade off string life for pick life? (strings being the more expensive to replace)

I understand your point of view. Although I have never felt that the string life has diminished when I started using these picks. I've rounded and polished their edges, so they basically have no grip on the strings, there are no sharp zones, they just slip through the strings.

Tone wise, they're maybe a bit brighter, super fast attack, but they can as well play smooth. I was kind of tired of chasing the "ideal picks", so made some of my own. Strings aren't really roundwound in the pick area, a little more worn over, but nothing serious. Maybe it's because I have more guitars and play less with each one of them, but I change strings every 4 to 6 months, maybe it's my fingers that don't sweat the much or maybe because I clean the strings after each play...? String life hasn't been a concern of me...

 

[Bomanav]

I use Jazz III picks and like how rigid Ultex is, but the edge seems to wear down to an undesirable bevel within a few weeks, whereas the standard red nylon version lasts me for many months. It often takes a few consecutive days of me getting frustrated at myself for playing below par to realise an Ultex pick is too worn, so I'm close to giving up with them.

Complete agree with you.
I can use red nylon Jazz III (or KH versions of it) for 6 months, but Ultex (yellow one or 2.0 version of it) starts to be almost unplayable after month or so.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Do other people find that Ultex wears quicker than other materials, despite being marketed as having "maximum durability"?

I use Jazz III picks and like how rigid Ultex is, but the edge seems to wear down to an undesirable bevel within a few weeks, whereas the standard red nylon version lasts me for many months. It often takes a few consecutive days of me getting frustrated at myself for playing below par to realise an Ultex pick is too worn, so I'm close to giving up with them.

I recently tried a Primetone Jazz III and prefer the tone/attack to the yellow Ultex version, but am concerned it will wear just as badly. At 4x the cost of Ultex/nylon, I can't justify the price unless they last better.

Yes, especially the thinner gauges of Ultex seem to 'chip' in my experience, and then you literally have a 'sharp' (broken/cracked) edge. This isn't normal 'wear' you get with most picks, it is cracking/breaking leaving sharp edges on the pick, which is not desirable.

I find the Tortex material to be more durable and significantly less prone to cracking/breaking/chipping.

 

[IwantTacos]

If one wants "Maximum durability", one has to find a material HARDER than the strings... like STEEL, or better yet, Stainless Steel... My picks are made of steel... 4mm steel bar the I ground to shape with rounded edges... my strings look flatwounds on the picking area...

Dunlop had Stainless Steel picks of about 0.5mm thick. They are/were hard and durable, but their edges felt a bit harsh, some how...

UHMWPE is significantly harder than steel in some applications

 

[odibrom]

UHMWPE is significantly harder than steel in some applications

You lost me here, what is that?

 

[IwantTacos]

You lost me here, what is that?

engineered plastic like what winspear and the Ibanez jtc picks use.

 

[odibrom]

engineered plastic like what winspear and the Ibanez jtc picks use.

Thank you for that info, I was really lost there...