What's the perfect pick for you?

I had used Tortex picks for a long time, but with the purchase of a pick punch I make my own now. No shortage at all. They don't stick to my fingers as well, they aren't as grippy, but who cares how many I lose? There's always a million more!

 

V-pick screamer 2.7mm are my favorite. Excellent control and thick like a jazz pick without the thumb tone. Good attack and smooth release.

 

Wegen when I play electric guitar....

Genuine tortoise shell for acoustic....


RJ

 

My favorite pick for years was the Jim Dunlop Delrin .88 brown pick, he stopped making them so I tried a few other picks and finally found V-Picks.

 

You're a better man than me. I quit using a pick for like 15 years. Recently, I've needed to use one again. My middle finger would do most of the plucking and it started to pull my fingernail off the skin a bit, and got to be painful.

I'm sure you're a better player than me though

I like thicker picks with minimal flex. These things are awesome. Tried a bunch.

 

Look at all the fuzz on the side of that thing!....how do you get rid of it? I got some of the Herco picks, based on the 'claim' that it would make me sound like Jimmy Page. They were fuzzy. Tried the 'rub on carpet' thing with no luck. blah.

 

Dunlop Jazz II (1.18 mm)

 

Do they hold-up? Looks cool, but for $4 a pick I would want them to last a while.

 

I'm not so picky about picks. It really depends on which guitar and what sound I'm after. I'm ear driven. I usually start with a Fender Med. Celluloid. If I find my grip on the pick loosening I go lighter , if I notice I'm gripping tight hear the point I go heavy. Playing out I just use med.

 

Fender medium the last 50 years, just don't like anything else. Actually don't need anything else.

 

long time Dunlop devotee. I ordered a Tusq XL nut directly from graph tech and they sent a sampler pack of picks. The looks had me at meh... but when I went to sample them, I was pleasantly surprised that they felt great in hand. The embossed lettering serves as a tactile grip that I have a newfound appreciation for.
The big goofy triangle one is plenty easy to grip and has a rounded end for some soft strums. The teardrop one reminds me of Dunlop stubbys I used to use for shredding so that’s an easy win as well

 

Another vote for the orange turtles.

 

0.73 Dunlop Ultex for all around playing and live use.
Herco Gold Vintage 66 (also 0.73) nylon for rhythm and Dunlop Primetone 0.73 for leads/single note playing in the studio.

 

I like the newer Fender Heavy with the grip built in. Before I'd score the grip area on both sides with a utility knife to achieve the same thing.

 

For years, I used the regular 351 shape celluloid. Fender or Dunlop, medium gauge (.73). When I got my first guitar, my dad suggested I buy a range of different picks to try -- being a huge Santana fan, he particularly recommended a large triangular one -- but there was a slightly smaller triangular one that I really liked using that I think Buddy Guy used in his early days. Sadly, I couldn't find more of them in local stores so I stuck to the regular 351 ones.

More recently, I've experimented with and used Tortex picks quite a bit. I bought a pack of the Tortex III 0.73 (Yellow) ones with the sharper point that are nice. I also got a Fender pick (the name of the series/brand escapes me) with a 0.84 gauge. I really like that one for softer jazz picking. Still and all, I'll probably stick to the regular shaped 0.73 gauge celluloids or Tortex in the long run. They work.

 

Back in the early seventies I started using Fender #358 (Jazz) picks, and I still do. They are too small for most players, but with a little gorilla snot, I'm good to go.

 

Purple Tortex or 1.13 Ultex. I tried most of the pick types on Earth and listened carefully as I played. That’s where I ended up.

And as a result of my pick experiments, I now own a huge collection of various picks. But I stick with the Tortex and Ultex.

 

These guys.

I also use it for a quick string hight adjustment/setup...
Simply slide the pick on the 12th fret under the high E string. If it doesn't fall down any more - if it's just held like that - then that's a good starting point for me. Then that's 1.3-1.4 mm.