Do thich picks (1.5mm+) suck?

[Rubbishplayer]

I feel like they are really slowing me down and I'm hearing some pros say that they do even for metal and its better to just have .88s. Whats the consensus

So sorry to be late to my fave subject, or for repeating what others may already have said.

For me, the perfect pick is:

1. Rigid. Precision in picking attack only comes with complete rigidity. That starts at 2.0mm for me.
2. Correctly shaped. A very personal thing, but having tried every shape put there, the graduated point profile of the Jazz pick gives predictable tension-release and, therefore, more precision.
3. Easy to keep hold to. A pick slipping out of orientation between the fingers is the bane of most guitarists, as witnessed by the craft-knife slashes John Mclaughlin puts in his Jazz picks.
4. Low stress to hold. This is a recent revelation to me, ever since (for grins and giggles) I tried an 8.3mm thick pick. What started as a joke became an education for me in ergonomics. Put simply, a thicker pick is easier to grip. Less stress means easier playing.

For the reasons above, I don't think it gets any better than the Dunlop Flow 4.2mm pick. The graduate point shape is perfect, its microdots make for magnetic hold, the material is light and with perfect tone, and its 4.2mm thickness strikes a beautiful balance between thickness for ease of grip, versus thinness for use with normal string spacing.

All that and it comes in a beautiful forest green with the number "420" at the centre of the pick.

 

[Chrome Dinette]

Everyone is different, and looking at the picks (when known) that great players use, there is more variety than one might expect.

I personally got into thicker picks over time, settling on the Dunlop Flow Gloss 2.0 for a while.

After a few months of that, I reversed course, ending up with the regular Dunlop Tortex Flow 1.35.

I need a pick to be rigid, not be too big (length/width, not thickness) or too small (most Jazz iii types are too small for me), and for the point to not be too sharp, and I personally feel that I don't need anything thicker than the 1.35 to play with precision. 1.14 would probably be ok, too.

Again, everyone is different, though. There aren't many whose picking is more precise than Robert Fripp, and he uses ginormous triangular picks that aren't very thick. If I tried to use one of those, it would be a hot mess.

 

[Briz]

I've tried basically every jazz iii variant and material under the sun and the Prodigy stuff has the right balance of price point/durability and functionality for me 99% of the time. If price was no issue I would only use Blue Chip and BHL stuff, but they're insanely expensive for one pick (like 40-65 usd). I really like Winspear's mini Shivs as well but find myself using them less than the Blue chip or BHL.

Here I am thinking $8 is expensive for a single gravity pick. As much as my picks disappear, there's no way I'm paying $40 for a single pick.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Here I am thinking $8 is expensive for a single gravity pick. As much as my picks disappear, there's no way I'm paying $40 for a single pick.

To be fair, the BHL and Blue Chip stuff will last you significantly longer than other picks due to the materials they use. Gravity pick's acrylic is pretty soft comparatively. I think they also have a thermoplastic that is supposed to emulate Blue Chip's material, but it's still not as durable from what I remember.