What picks do you use?

[ZombieLloyd]

I was able to start seeing wear when I demoed one in a store. Also, I believe it was CSGuitars on YouTube who said they can tend to chip (as in pieces coming off) because of how brittle the material is. I can confirm this. The material is definitely brittle and I wasn't impressed.

I have a huge pick box, a smaller one with stock of what I recently bought, and a large dish full of what I'm currently using. I should post a picture later but the ones I'm currently rotating through are Winspear picks, Purple Plectrums, Wegen picks, and then some Tortex/Duraplex picks from Dunlop/Clayton respectively. The Clayton Acetal triangles in 1.90mm are sweet for a cheap pick.

I meant to respond to this ages ago, sorry about that haha. So yeah, after almost a month, the pick has worn down more but it still plays just as good for me. I definitely can't see it lasting the "year+" they claim, but again, I'm playing death metal and I'm quite aggressive with my picking. My Gravity picks have lasted the longest with very minimal wear from the 2 months of use compared to the heavy wearing of the Chicken Pick. It is quite brittle, I agree.

I'd like to try Winspear picks out, how are they? The bone/horn jazz 3 shape is out of stock right now though.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Winspear you should definitely last you longer especially if you get the UHMWPE ones. I have other materials from Winspear though because sometimes the UHMWPE just has this squishy feel to it (it's feels a bit like a hard bar of soap actually, really odd but not in a bad way usually) so I'll use the Sandstorm one for a more clicky/snappy tactile feel. I'd get an Icegrip/Bloodline (UHMWPE) and then get a Sandstorm (Peek 1000) if I were you. The Stealth series is beastly but it's made with a lot of carbon so it'll wear faster. Winspear said he uses those as more of a "studio pick". The Purity (Ertalyte) isn't bad and neither is the normal Ultem. I prefer the Purity over the Ultem since all picks made from Ultem always have this slight drag on the strings which I believe is due to the way it wears (unevenly) which results in small "ruts" that catch. That is just my observation of Ultem/Ultex though.

 

[ZombieLloyd]

Winspear you should definitely last you longer especially if you get the UHMWPE ones. I have other materials from Winspear though because sometimes the UHMWPE just has this squishy feel to it (it's feels a bit like a hard bar of soap actually, really odd but not in a bad way usually) so I'll use the Sandstorm one for a more clicky/snappy tactile feel. I'd get an Icegrip/Bloodline (UHMWPE) and then get a Sandstorm (Peek 1000) if I were you. The Stealth series is beastly but it's made with a lot of carbon so it'll wear faster. Winspear said he uses those as more of a "studio pick". The Purity (Ertalyte) isn't bad and neither is the normal Ultem. I prefer the Purity over the Ultem since all picks made from Ultem always have this slight drag on the strings which I believe is due to the way it wears (unevenly) which results in small "ruts" that catch. That is just my observation of Ultem/Ultex though.

Alright, I'll get the Bloodline and the Sandstorm then. I'll probably go with the Shiv variant.

*EDIT* I actually ended up going for 3 of the Bloodline picks. The Shiv, Broadsword and Shuriken. Looking forward to getting those.

 

[Metropolis]

I ran myself into a pick dilemma... been using Jazz III type picks since the start of playing guitar, but something doesn't click with Ultex Jazz III XL and JP Jazz III anymore, which have been my go-to picks couple of years now. Their thickness leads to smoother sound than I really prefer, for example Dunlop Ultex Sharp 1.4mm gives really nice crunchy attack and control because of it's sharp tip, but on the downside those are a bit too big for my fingers and playing style. Going for thinner pick also helps playing in tune better.

What kind of pick would have snappy attack of Ultex, sharp tip of Ultex Sharp/Jazz III and size of XL series Jazz III's? Maybe more thin than Petrucci or Ultex Jazz III, for crunchier dynamics and notes staying in tune better. Would Planet Waves Black Ice 1.10mm be the answer? Or something similar in the market?

 

[Santuzzo]

I ran myself into a pick dilemma... been using Jazz III type picks since the start of playing guitar, but something doesn't click with Ultex Jazz III XL and JP Jazz III anymore, which have been my go-to picks couple of years now. Their thickness leads to smoother sound than I really prefer, for example Dunlop Ultex Sharp 1.4mm gives really nice crunchy attack and control because of it's sharp tip, but on the downside those are a bit too big for my fingers and playing style. Going for thinner pick also helps playing in tune better.

What kind of pick would have snappy attack of Ultex, sharp tip of Ultex Sharp/Jazz III and size of XL series Jazz III's? Maybe more thin than Petrucci or Ultex Jazz III, for crunchier dynamics and notes staying in tune better. Would Planet Waves Black Ice 1.10mm be the answer? Or something similar in the market?

I would give the Ibanez Paul Gilbert picks a try. They are just slightly bigger than a jazz III and smaller than the jazz III XL .
I myself keep switching back and forth between the Tortex Jazz III and the Paul Gilbert picks. I prefer the slightly bigger size of the Gilbert picks, however I don't like how they wear. Apart from wearing really fast with me they also wear in a way that they start feeling scratchy after only very little use.

 

[Metropolis]

I would give the Ibanez Paul Gilbert picks a try. They are just slightly bigger than a jazz III and smaller than the jazz III XL .
I myself keep switching back and forth between the Tortex Jazz III and the Paul Gilbert picks. I prefer the slightly bigger size of the Gilbert picks, however I don't like how they wear. Apart from wearing really fast with me they also wear in a way that they start feeling scratchy after only very little use.

I've had those in the past, and plastic in them is too soft to have that snappier attack what I prefer. Also I thinked about Tortex Jazz III's or XL versions of them, but they might be too soft in material and XL's are almost impossible to find nowadays.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I ran myself into a pick dilemma... been using Jazz III type picks since the start of playing guitar, but something doesn't click with Ultex Jazz III XL and JP Jazz III anymore, which have been my go-to picks couple of years now. Their thickness leads to smoother sound than I really prefer, for example Dunlop Ultex Sharp 1.4mm gives really nice crunchy attack and control because of it's sharp tip, but on the downside those are a bit too big for my fingers and playing style. Going for thinner pick also helps playing in tune better.

What kind of pick would have snappy attack of Ultex, sharp tip of Ultex Sharp/Jazz III and size of XL series Jazz III's? Maybe more thin than Petrucci or Ultex Jazz III, for crunchier dynamics and notes staying in tune better. Would Planet Waves Black Ice 1.10mm be the answer? Or something similar in the market?

A Winspear Broadsword (larger) or Shiv (smaller) in Sandstorm material might be what you are looking for. Love that material for snappy stuff. Still they might be too thick for your tastes though.
www.winspearpicks.com

You need to use more control with thicker picks. That's just the learning curve unfortunately.

 

[Axiom451]

Dunlop Ultex Jazz III Standard

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Sometime a year ago, I decided to go back to using regular ol' Tortexes. And yeah, I've stuck with them since.

Right now, I flip between the standard Tortex 1mm or Everly Star Pick 1mm

 

[Metropolis]

A Winspear Broadsword (larger) or Shiv (smaller) in Sandstorm material might be what you are looking for. Love that material for snappy stuff. Still they might be too thick for your tastes though.
www.winspearpicks.com

You need to use more control with thicker picks. That's just the learning curve unfortunately.

Might be way too thick, but they look great tho. Thicker picks also give more control in certain situations, but I noticed that if pick gives up a little after hitting string, it kind of bounces effortlessly to the next string, note or what ever. What I try to find is balance between little giving up and having enough control and durability with crunchy attack, with little bit of chirping snappiness. It has to fit in first joint of my index finger at every situation. So, Dunlop Jazz III XL's are ideal for size, but for other qualities not so. Could they just make those thinner and black

 

[DISTORT6]

Tortex .88 Green for anything tuned above D Standard
Tortex 1.14 Purple for anything tuned below D Standard.

Basically, thicker strings, thicker picks.

 

[Thrashman]

Dunlop .60mm tortex, even and snappy sound with natural 'compression' due to the flex in the pick. I've never sounded better and will prbably stick to thin picks from now on.

 

[FitRocker33]

I usually alternate between Dunlop Ultex Sharp in either .90 or 1mm and Jazz III's in 1.14mm.

My jazz III is getting a lot more play time lately, makes for easy speed riffs and pinch harmonics

 

[High Plains Drifter]

Nothing but V-Pick Blackholes lately... so aggressive and bright.

 

[Shoeless_jose]

Tortex yellow green and blue depending on my mood

 

[Metropolis]

Bought D'addario/Planet Waves Black Ice 1.10mm and Dunlop Ultex Sharp 1.0 picks. Black Ice is very similar to Tortex Jazz III, but bigger in size. Both give up a little, have snappy and crunchy attack without being too thick, or getting in to your way when playing. I'll be sticking with these for now It was really an eyeopener to pick up Ultex Sharp from bottom draver, and just realize what was wrong in my tone. Lighter and less "slick" moving picks were the solution.

 

[stevexc]

Nothing but Winspears. Amber Broadswords in 2-1mm taper. Custom engraved

 

[Bandersnatch]

I use Dava Jazz in Delrin and Jackson .73mm

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I basically only use my blue chip jazz 60 anymore. I have some winspear shivs for backup if I ever lose the blue chip though.

 

[Triple7]

Tortex greens all day