Winspear stealth shiv pick

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KnightBrolaire

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This is probably the first time I'll speak ill of winspear's picks if only because the material that the Stealth series is made of is nowhere near as durable as his UHMPWE picks (ie bloodline/purity).
Pros:
+it's a very smooth and quick playing material
+minimal pick noise
cons:
-durability is terrible compared to Winspear's UHMPWE picks. I managed to wear my stealth shiv down into a very beveled nub after only about a week or two, whereas my UHMPWE shivs are still going strong after more than a few months with almost no wear other than some minor rounding of the pointed tip.
-The material (PEEK) covers my hands and guitar in a black dust as it wears down, similar to say the carbon fiber jazz iiis that dunlop makes. Not a huge deal but it's not something that I enjoy having to clean up after playing.
Overall I'd say avoid the stealth series if you want a pick that will last you a long time.

For my personal tastes I prefer extremely durable materials that warm up my picking sound, which UHMPWE does with ease, while PEEK disintegrates at a rate not much better than some far softer materials like acrylic/nylon,etc . No other material that I've used holds up to abuse quite as well as UHMPWE (besides whatever proprietary thermoplastic blue chip uses).
 

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KnightBrolaire

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How is it for reducing pick chirp? Also with the Icegrip Shivs, for someone who plays less than 12 hours a week, how would the wear compare there?
there's basically no pick chirp, uhmpwe is a mellower/warmer sounding material. it's extremely durable, you likely won't see any serious wear for a long time
 

PunkBillCarson

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So when I'm tremolo picking, there's none of that metallic response I'm getting? Because that shit is annoying. I have angled my picks every which way and I've got a James Hetfield Blackfang that reduces that, but I want it nearly gone. I've been directed to Winspear.
 

KnightBrolaire

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So when I'm tremolo picking, there's none of that metallic response I'm getting? Because that shit is annoying. I have angled my picks every which way and I've got a James Hetfield Blackfang that reduces that, but I want it nearly gone. I've been directed to Winspear.
nope, i trem pick with my jazz iii sized shiv all the time and there's no metallic overtones.
 

PunkBillCarson

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My Dunlop Jazz III is the worst offender I have, plus the tortex picks I use. There's this type of icepicky sound I get from those even when just hitting the same string (tends to be the A string I hear this the most). These Winspear picks eliminate that?
 

KnightBrolaire

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My Dunlop Jazz III is the worst offender I have, plus the tortex picks I use. There's this type of icepicky sound I get from those even when just hitting the same string (tends to be the A string I hear this the most). These Winspear picks eliminate that?
what type of dunlop jazz iii? regular nylons and primetones/ oxblood JPs are the quietest ime.The dunlop 205 is also pretty good at minimizing pick noise since it's a mellower material/rounded bevels and it's more teardrop shaped.
pick shape and material are a big part of string noise, but also how you pick/amp settings. general rule of thumb is the harder a material is, the brighter it tends to sound. The way a pick interacts with the string is a big part too. The quietest picks I've used tend to be pointier with narrow shoulders (ie winspear shiv/blue chip jazz) or have dedicated asymmetrical bevels on them like the wegen gypsy pick. The common factor is that all of them minimize overall contact with the string and utilize warmer sounding materials.
 

sezna

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What is the product line name of the UHMPWE picks? Is it the Icegrip ones? His site is blocked on my work internet, lol
 

PunkBillCarson

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It's the red nylon pick. It has some chirp but not as much as the tortex ones. The thin Dunlop yellows give me the most pick chirp.
 

KnightBrolaire

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What is the product line name of the UHMPWE picks? Is it the Icegrip ones? His site is blocked on my work internet, lol
Bloodline is UHMPWE (highly recommend)
Icegrip is UHMPWE (highly recommend)
 

KnightBrolaire

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It's the red nylon pick. It has some chirp but not as much as the tortex ones. The thin Dunlop yellows give me the most pick chirp.
In my experience from most to least pick noise:
stone jazz iii
silica sound (glass) jazz
chicken picks jazz
camel bone jazz iii
gravity picks sunrise mini (acrylic)
pickboy cf hybrid
dunlop maxx grip cf jazziii
ultem jazz iii
tortex jazz
red nylon jazz
ej nylon jazz
d'andrea pro plec jazz iii
d'addario acrylux jazz
dunlop jazz 205 teardrop
primetone/Jp jazz iii
iron age gladius
wegen gypsy*
winspear bloodline jazz shiv
blue chip jazz 60
home made UHMPWE pick (much thicker tip/different shape from winspear, so it sounds way warmer/mellower)

I've spent the better part of the last few years obsessing over jazz picks, so I've tried a lot of the stuff out there.
*The wegen isn't really jazz shaped, but due to the bevels/material it's a very mellow, quiet and fast pick.
 

KnightBrolaire

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So you're basically saying I could be doing FUCKLOADS better in terms of pick chirp and such.
just try a bunch of different picks and see what works for you dude. You might pick differently than I do, so what works for me shape wise might not work for you. It's only a couple bucks for a winspear, and they're well worth it.
 

sezna

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Just pre ordered the shiv sampler pack based on this conversation. I'm excited but it won't ship until March :(
 
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