Tone is in the hands..... or is it in the picks?

[micromegas]

Gray and rainy day here in the North of Spain.
I was playing some guitar and drinking coffee while trying to figure out the harmony on Chick Corea's "Windows" when the hipster inside me thought it would be cool to take some photos of my pick collection.

I've been a classical player since I was 7 years, and tone nuances/refinements are something we are taught since we grow our first fingernail. So, when I began to study electric guitar, although most of the time I use fingerstyle of hybrid picking, I got interested in all the different picks you could get out there.

Here's my arsenal (some others got lost or were given to friends):












The question is: are you picky about picks?

[micromegas]

window's view by the way:

[madbean]

Man what a great collection!

I am kinda picky about plectrums but I don't spend oodles of money on them. Right now I'm really liking the JAZZIII XL Ultex, the MaxXGrip 1.14, and a Gravity pick. I have a fat V-Pick which I use occasionally. All of them sound completely different. I'd like to try other new ones out.

[micromegas]

I really want to check some models from Timbertones, but they're quite expensive. The picks with a hole in the center are my most recent discovery and I'm digging them a lot, they're hand made by a guy here in Spain (JN Serret) and cost about 2 € ($2.5 aprox) each one (which I find reasonable enough).

[Shrtyska9]

I've noticed that after getting used to the smaller sized picks like the Jazz III I have a hard time using a regular sized pick. My all time favorite is Fender 451 it's the same shape as the standard 351 but the size of a Jazz III. Unfortunately they are impossible to find in stores so I have been using the Eric Johnson Jazz III which is a standard jazz III but with more grip.

Richard

[micromegas]

I've noticed that after getting used to the smaller sized picks like the Jazz III I have a hard time using a regular sized pick. My all time favorite is Fender 451 it's the same shape as the standard 351 but the size of a Jazz III. Unfortunately they are impossible to find in stores so I have been using the Eric Johnson Jazz III which is a standard jazz III but with more grip.

Richard

I highly recommend you to try the Dunlop Ultex Jazz III - same profile, more grip and warmer tone

[slimtriggers]

I like the Tortex Pitch Black Jazz III.  They can slip out of your fingers if you're not careful, though.

[Shrtyska9]

Yeah I grabbed a pack a while ago but I only can find one. They are great.

Richard

[ddog]

I highly recommend you to try the Dunlop Ultex Jazz III - same profile, more grip and warmer tone

+1 for this recommendation. These are my main picks now. Only downside is the transparent toenail-ish colour causes them to be lost quite easily. Buy more then one pick 


I always thought that tone was in the pedals

[RobA]

I used to be very picky about picks -- to the point that I'd carve my own out of plexiglass. I quit using picks for about 10 or 15 years and I still mostly play without them. When I did start playing with picks again, I went through a bunch of different types and profiles. I've pretty much settled on the Dunlop 205's, although I will try out new picks if I happen to see them somewhere and they look interesting.

[brucer]

I was REALLY hoping tone was in the picks ... or the pedals ... or something ... my novice guitar hands still aren't delivering in full.

I received some free V-picks (http://v-picks.com/) with a humbucker order from a small builder.  Not cheap picks if you're buying them (and the clear ones are hard to find when you drop them), but they're nice and grippy and the different models do seem to vary tone-wise.



 

[lars]

Tone here!

[brucer]

Damn!  You see, I looked at that pic and thought: I NEED that headband!

[GermanCdn]

I gravitate towards the Dunlop Tortex .88s for electric and 0.60 for acoustic.  I can't/don't play with the celluloid ones, cause I just end up shredding them (literally).

Picked up some of the Tusq picks the other day.  Really nice feel and grip to them, haven't played them enough to determine if the properties of the picks are as advertised (Deep, bright, warm).

Have a bin full of other picks (Jazz IIIs, stubbies, Ultex, Delrin, Nylon, felt, wood, brass, Dava, etc, etc, etc), but 90% of the time I reach for the green (0.88) Tortex.

[muddyfox]

i use maxgrip jazz iii almost exclusively. cant stand "regular" size picks anymore
regular  j3 were slipping all the time, maxgrips are great and i keep coming back to them.