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Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:33 pm
by Blackened Soul
Picks!
I'm 94.87% sure we had a thread on this but meh, it's time for more
We tend to spill this into other threads all the time..
What do we all like? Hate? Want? How do you save them from evil couches and washing machines?

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Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:20 pm
by Blackened Soul
My personal faves for general stuff is Dunlop Ultex and Tortex 1.14mm, been using them for years and years.. why? they don't break

Before them I'd use fEnder or giBson heavy but I broke so many of them.. and extra heavy was out because you couldn't find them in tri shape..
For recording and playing acoustic instruments I tend to try odd stuff like bone, horn, wood, different kinds of metal, stone, plexi, graphite, felt, nylon and such.. I kind'a go with whatever "feels" right or inspires something...
Just got a Bluechip in the mail today [TAD50 rounded edges] and after testing... it's sort of as good as they say.. has more beef and less attach noise for some reason.. I tried it now against about 15 different picks and you can tell when you hear the thing

Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:26 pm
by MechaGodzilla
i like fairly thin, stiff plectrums that don't disintegrate into foul powder (fucking gator grips!)
the sound of celluloid is nice but it's usually too soft and floppy. i also think faux-tortoiseshell are the coolest plectrums, so the current favs are dunlop extra heavy tort celluloid. they are maybe a little thicker than 1mm but they feel more like 1mm tortex than the regular-heavy celluloids.
honorable mentions to ultex which is quite nice and the daddario cortex which has a very nice matte texture but does not crumble into nothingness, coating your guitar in a layer of minute plastic flakes (gator grips!!!

)
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 12:31 am
by Blackened Soul
Well.. I guess that kills the little interest in those gator grips that I had

Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:24 am
by qersty
Gator grips are cool. I've been liking some random claytons I found in my stuff. They are huge so I call them playmobil picks.
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:11 am
by coldbrightsunlight
I used Jazz III XLs for the longest time, love those. But last year I got a stoneworks Jazz III XL sized 1.6mm stone pick and it is the bees knees. Also got some Gravity picks "Arpeggio Demon" I really like. I just like any decent sized stiff pick with a good edge.
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:00 am
by greyscales
I've used Gator Grips for years now, particularly the 1mm. They do wear down quite a bit at the tip but I mostly played them on bass or bass VI so that makes sense to me. They just feel natural to me.
Used to use the standard Tortex, the red ones, back in my earlier guitar playing days. They were super thin so they wore out quickly but they are easy to replace.
Ultex are cool too although I've never actually bought them. Used to find them randomly after shows. They do seem to last forever. I'd like to try thinner ones and see how they hold up.
Long ago I would use some textured picks (I wanna say Snarling Dogs?) and eventually grew to hate them. Didn't like the texture or the feeling on the strings. It felt like cheap plastic.
Super thick picks aren't for me. 1.14mm is about as thick as I feel comfortable with. I love .50mm for aggressive strumming on guitar, it doesn't get caught up in the strings as much.
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:29 am
by goroth
coldbrightsunlight wrote:I used Jazz III XLs for the longest time, love those. But last year I got a stoneworks Jazz III XL sized 1.6mm stone pick and it is the bees knees. Also got some Gravity picks "Arpeggio Demon" I really like. I just like any decent sized stiff pick with a good edge.
She gets it!

Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:38 am
by Chankgeez
Blackened Soul wrote:
Look at all that purple.
… but I prefer plectrums produced from pickles.

Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:50 am
by dubkitty
Fender 751 Heavy. only in the tortoiseshell color...the other colors sound different. in the past i've used Fender Extra Heavy (which BTW do come in 751 size) and David Grisman signature mandolin picks. as you can see, i like very stiff picks. lighter ones are too floppy and make me imprecise. i've tried just about everything reasonably priced available during the years. don't like Tortex or stone.
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:22 am
by MechaGodzilla
dubkitty wrote:only in the tortoiseshell color...the other colors sound different.
this sounds insane but is 100% true
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:32 pm
by qersty
coldbrightsunlight wrote:I used Jazz III XLs for the longest time, love those. But last year I got a stoneworks Jazz III XL sized 1.6mm stone pick and it is the bees knees. Also got some Gravity picks "Arpeggio Demon" I really like. I just like any decent sized stiff pick with a good edge.
just gonna be an asshole and say i hate that shape, it sucks. The only ones worse are the big triangle ones
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:32 pm
by dubkitty
the Fender pick color thing seemed so counter-intuitive that i carefully compared and also asked a couple of player acquaintances who confirmed it. i'd always used the tortoiseshell ones till i bought a couple of other colors for variety and was all WTF.
Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:35 pm
by coldbrightsunlight
qersty wrote:coldbrightsunlight wrote:I used Jazz III XLs for the longest time, love those. But last year I got a stoneworks Jazz III XL sized 1.6mm stone pick and it is the bees knees. Also got some Gravity picks "Arpeggio Demon" I really like. I just like any decent sized stiff pick with a good edge.
just gonna be an asshole and say i hate that shape, it sucks. The only ones worse are the big triangle ones
OH NO YOU DIDN'T. YOU ASSHOLE.

Re: Picks Picking Plectrums For the Love Of Plucking
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:46 pm
by qersty
Oh yes I did! I guess it's my fault tho for being too clumsy to play with a pick...