Been playing guitar around 20 years, STILL can't choose a guitar pick.

[pyramids]

This perfectly describes what a Tortex Flow 0.88 is - a Tortex III that is a touch sharper.

Yes sharper in the sense that the tip is less rounded, but I'm after the overall sharper shape in the sense a narrower angle further up the sides of the pick.

 

[abstractSettings]

However bold and dry the statement would be for this thread, I started with Dunlop 500 or Gator Grip since day 1 and I stick with them. I just am unable to find an objective reason for trying something else.

 

[ErockRPh]

I like a standard-shape, pointy pick, preferably with a textured grip. I have fat fingers and small picks like Jazz III don't work for me. Right now I'm using the Stringjoy Jumbo Jazz in 1.14 most often. They are very similar to Black Fangs, but a little bit bigger (without being a full triangle, which is a bit much for me). I haven't tried the Flow picks, but I do have a pack of White Fangs on order now to try out.

I do like to experiment with different shapes and sizes for different tones. I really like the Ibanez JTC for arpeggiated riffs, but the grip is a bit thick and the edge is a bit too slick for fast picked stuff and power chords, at least for my liking.

 

[Robslalaina]

The older I get, the thinner I go. Ibanez Paul Gilbert picks are the thickest/hardest I'll use now and my go to is the Ultex Sharp, in either .73 or .90. I need the picks to have some give, especially for the high e, b and g strings. Thinner picks also help discipline myself to stop using ridiculous gauges like 12-54 in E standard, which turns into a never ending race when you start downtuning...

 

[ErockRPh]

This thread convinced me to try a few new picks, so I thought I'd report back:

White Fang - This is definitely like an improved Black Fang to me. I llove that it's tapered to a point from front to back, and the contour is perfect for me. It's a bit shorter than I like, but the grippiness makes that less of an issue. Unfortunately, the grip is just too much for me. It's like velcro, to the point that I can't easily adjust my grip or attack. I might try to file it down to see if it loosens up a bit, because I really want to love this pick, it's just not useable for me out of the box.

Dunlop Fredrik Thordendal - great grip, but that's about it. I'm not gnerally a nylon pick fan - they feel too soft and light for their size. Bendy, slick on the edges, and a rounded tip means it's a no for me dog.

Dunlop Jim Root - This is the most I've liked a nylon pick. It's still light-feeling, but it has enough girth (1.38mm) to keep it from being too bendy (it still flexes more than ultex/tortex). It has a nice point, and is beveled across the thickness as well. I wish it had more grip (like the Thordendal does), but otherwise it's pretty good for my needs. It won't be my everyday pick, but it will find a spot in my rotation from time to time.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

I've been using the same 50-pack of Tortex Jazz III's since like 2011 but maybe I should try some more stuff

 

[Drew]

Am I alone on not being able to pick one and settle? Sometimes I get a little envious of people who have settled, get a bunch of the same and you know what to expect each time...

This is normal. I've settled on a single pick for up to a couple years at a time, but I've been playing close to 30 years, and the surest sign I'm about to settle on a new preferred pick is when I'm so sure I like something after two years I go out and buy a gross or a bag of 72 or something, which is a sure tell for the fact I'm going to pick something else up in the next week or two and say, "hey, I love this!"

Every once in a while I get lucky - after buying a whole bunch of Dunlop Jazz-sized Pitch Black 1.0s that promptly gathered dust, a few years went by and I gravitated back to them, and was able to use a bunch of them for another year or so.

These days I'm on Dunlop Flow Ultex 1.0s. It's been maybe a year, time will tell how long that lasts.

 

[bassisace]

@Drew What string gauge are you using?

 

[Nag]

I don't settle for a single type of guitar pick, for same reason why I don't settle for a single guitar, pickup, string gauge, tuning, amp tone or whatever. Different tools are better suited for a different job.
Most of the time I use Dunlop Tortex picks (usually the blue 1mm or the purple 1.14mm ones) but for specific things, I like having something else around. I have discovered that I really like those weird Big Stubby picks for tremolo picked black metal lines with lots of string changes, just to give one example. Or thin bendy picks for more strummy stuff like acoustic guitar. It always all depends. Hell why wouldn't you choose a pick for every specific song? Just play your stuff, and if you notice "hm, this pick feels weird for this song", just change pick for that song. What matters is that you're comfy playing and able to have fun.

 

[littlebadboy]

I was in the same boat. I found out about Dragon's heart picks, and I've been stuck with it eversince.

 

[Drew]

@Drew What string gauge are you using?

10s - whatever the normal 10 set is from Elixir, 6 and 7 string. For a while I was building custom 7 string sets with a, I think, 58 bass string rather than the I guess 54 or 56 they ship with in a set, but honestly, it wasn't really worth the extra hassle so I just got used to the slightly lighter low B.

 

[BlueTrident]

This thread convinced me to try a few new picks, so I thought I'd report back:

White Fang - This is definitely like an improved Black Fang to me. I llove that it's tapered to a point from front to back, and the contour is perfect for me. It's a bit shorter than I like, but the grippiness makes that less of an issue. Unfortunately, the grip is just too much for me. It's like velcro, to the point that I can't easily adjust my grip or attack. I might try to file it down to see if it loosens up a bit, because I really want to love this pick, it's just not useable for me out of the box.

Dunlop Fredrik Thordendal - great grip, but that's about it. I'm not gnerally a nylon pick fan - they feel too soft and light for their size. Bendy, slick on the edges, and a rounded tip means it's a no for me dog.

Dunlop Jim Root - This is the most I've liked a nylon pick. It's still light-feeling, but it has enough girth (1.38mm) to keep it from being too bendy (it still flexes more than ultex/tortex). It has a nice point, and is beveled across the thickness as well. I wish it had more grip (like the Thordendal does), but otherwise it's pretty good for my needs. It won't be my everyday pick, but it will find a spot in my rotation from time to time.

I feel like if the Thordendal and the Root picks had a baby, it’d be the ideal pick: a nylon 1.14mm pick that had fantastic grip in the shape of a Tortex III

 

[Marked Man]

I used Dunlop Gator Grip 1.17s for 10+ years. Great feel and tone, but almost visibly wear as you play a song!!

Ain't nobody got time fo' that.

It was all over when I discovered the Dunlop TIII 1.35 about 6-7 years ago. Hands down the best tone and feel I've experienced to date, and very durable also for heavy-handed alt-pick Cave Men such as myself.

Also like to use Jeff Loomis picks at times when I need ultra precision for certain styles, but they are are obscenely expensive compared to my std TIIIs.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

I've been using the same 50-pack of Tortex Jazz III's since like 2011 but maybe I should try some more stuff

Update: I have now switched from 1.14mm black to 1.35mm white. I did try 1.5's and Ultex, along with the entire pack of signature Jazz-shapes they had at GC last time I was in but in the end 1.14 or 1.35mm tortex Jazz III is where I'm comfy. Mainly switched to the 1.35 because they are white and it matches one of my guitars. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

I have some boutique polymer ones coming from BHL sometime in the next few weeks so maybe I'll switch to those. I mean, I know I won't because I don't like thick picks but hey you never know.

 

[Stiman]

Update: been loving these lately. The pointy tip combined with the wider shoulders make it amazing for fast alternate picking. Pointier picks like Jazz III picks always get hung up on the strings for me. The Flow shape solves that.

 

[crushingpetal]

Update: been loving these lately. The pointy tip combined with the wider shoulders make it amazing for fast alternate picking. Pointier picks like Jazz III picks always get hung up on the strings for me. The Flow shape solves that.

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Yup! I discovered flow picks a few years ago (previously using ultex sharp) and I can't go back.

I'm into the flow .73 btw, yellow. I also dig the misha flow .73, but it doesn't last very long and is expensive. The misha is a bit smoother and has less mids (did I actually just write that?), and the tortex yellow seems more balanced and defined. I track with the yellow tortex.

 

[Stiman]

The misha is a bit smoother and has less mids (did I actually just write that?)

Yeah, I have the Misha picks and the yellow tortex Flow picks as well, I know what you mean. The misha one feels different. Although from what I've read, Tortex is Delrin, but for some reason the Misha pick is said to be made of Delrin instead of Tortex. So I don't know what the difference is, but they do seem different.

 

[crushingpetal]

Yeah, I have the Misha picks and the yellow tortex Flow picks as well, I know what you mean. The misha one feels different. Although from what I've read, Tortex is Delrin, but for some reason the Misha pick is said to be made of Delrin instead of Tortex. So I don't know what the difference is, but they do seem different.

Word. Good catch about the tortex = delrin. I have no idea either, but they wear differently!

I like the Mishas, but at $1 a pick, and the fact that they only last a day or two, I don't grab it regularly.

 

[c7spheres]

Yeah, I have the Misha picks and the yellow tortex Flow picks as well, I know what you mean. The misha one feels different. Although from what I've read, Tortex is Delrin, but for some reason the Misha pick is said to be made of Delrin instead of Tortex. So I don't know what the difference is, but they do seem different.

Word. Good catch about the tortex = delrin. I have no idea either, but they wear differently!

I like the Mishas, but at $1 a pick, and the fact that they only last a day or two, I don't grab it regularly.

From what I understand Tortex is Dunlops formula that contains some Delrin. Delrin is a product name of a specific plastic made by Dupont company. It's a higher grade than normal Delrin plastic of the same type. All Delrin wears super fast and is softer physically and in tone. Things like the white Clayton Acetal sound the same as a Dunlop Gator or Dunlop Delrin 500, Tortex has an itch scratchy attack and celluliod is bassy and thumpy in comparison, to give a generic description. I love the Clayton Acetals but they wear so fast. If you play a hour of Metallica songs a new pick is done/ toast.

 

[ItWillDo]

Still my favorites to date. Dava Master Control Nickel Silvers. Super flexible, amazing grip and the attack you get from the nickel tip is unparalleled.