Picks. How important are they to you?

[KnightBrolaire]

What is UHMPWE exactly? How does it affect the tone?

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. It's a very tough thermoplastic that is highly resistant to abrasion (so the picks last a looooong time). It generally has a warmer mellower tone compared to say ultem, tortex, carbon fiber etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethylene

 

[PunkBillCarson]

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. It's a very tough thermoplastic that is highly resistant to abrasion (so the picks last a looooong time). It generally has a warmer mellower tone compared to say ultem, tortex, carbon fiber etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethylene

So would this reduce the sound of pick attack? I get this very metallic clanging sound when tremolo picking that goes away when I use softer picks like nylon picks. It's not fret buzz, because I already tried trem picking unplugged and there's no buzz whatsoever.

 

[BrutalRob]

To me, picks make a hell lot of difference. I remember back in the days, when i was a beginner, i used to play those green 0,88mm tortex. Maybe evwn the blue at times. Then discovered the nylons in 1mm ....years later i got stuck on jazz xl shapes. Regular jazz are just a tad too small. Tried sharpes but they are just a bit too long and at times felt a bit too pointy for lead stuff.
As for material, tortex and ultex are my favorites as i prefer a bright attacky sound.
Stiffos are still ok, too. Tried the ernie ball prodigies but they were too warm. Had to file down the edges a bit, too, to make it a bit more stiff.
As for thickess, 1,35 or 1,5 are my preferences. Lately i have been beveling the tortex pleks myself which makes them perfect for me.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

So would this reduce the sound of pick attack? I get this very metallic clanging sound when tremolo picking that goes away when I use softer picks like nylon picks. It's not fret buzz, because I already tried trem picking unplugged and there's no buzz whatsoever.

yup, depending on your technique it should help reduce pick noise. I find uhmpwe and whatever blue chip uses to be mellower than nylon in their attack but far more durable.

 

[Metropolis]

Moving to the jazz iii from the standard size/shape picks was a total awakening. On the scale of gaining a year of practice and upgrading all my gear.

As far as the SPECIFIC Jazz III pick, I prefer the red ones because they're easier to find when I drop them.

It really depends how a pick fits to your picking mechanics or style, because I did the opposite. Went from Jazz size picks to standard sized Ultex Sharp, and there is no going back. Smaller picks feel now like having too short limb or something.

 

[NickLAudio]

Man you guys use some heavy picks! I use the red Tortex .50mm. I like the pick noise and think it's a big part of the tone I get. Anything thicker and my picking style and tone goes out the window. I also hold picks weird (so I'm told) as I choke up close to the tip to make pinch harmonics easier, essentially losing any flex the pick has and tend to pick only on the edges. Basically slight forward angle when palm muting and doing pinch harmonics but turn it sideways 90 degrees when alternate picking which turns the tip into a nipple after a while.

 

[Seabeast2000]

Man you guys use some heavy picks! I use the red Tortex .50mm. Anything thicker and my picking style goes out the window. I also hold picks weird (so I'm told) as I choke up close to the tip to make pinch harmonics easier, essentially losing any flex the pick has and tend to pick only on the edges. Basically slight forward angle when palm muting and doing pinch harmonics but turn it sideways 90 degrees when alternate picking which turns the tip into a nipple after a while.

You are describing what I think is my style. I went with thicko's last year and have adapted well. If anything its greatly improved my control (but I'm no Marty Friedman). Whatever the reason, choking up/angling forward on big thick triangles is my deal right now.

 

[Ulvhedin]

JazzIII XL .88 all day.

For acoustic I like celluloid picks at .40-.60 gauge, but I can't say I've done much research on that part.
Also I use Dunlop Medium thumb picks for Emmanuel stuff. Although I feel I should try more thumb picks as they're a bit long for my liking, and it's kinda lame to sand new picks to shape. Any suggestions?

 

[Splenetic]

Planet Waves Black Ice 1.5mm

I feel weird using anything else these days. I have a bunch of others, but I bought a bag of like ....100+ black ice picks and never looked back.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I have tons of different picks and regularly use a handful of them (one at a time of course). They each do things a little differently than others. Super important to me overall.

 

[Darchetype]

.88 sharps all day