Plectrums

[JDC]

They have a big effect on style and sound, for sure. Material, thickness, shape and pointiness all play their part.

Current favourites - Ibanez sandgrips, heavy.

Having just re-read that, I wanted to echo the fact that the pick can ( for me ) alter the style of playing - and not just the tone :  a much overlooked factor of changing the seemingly little things.

speaking of picks changing style

a pick completely changed my technique last year, I got some jazz III ultex but because they are so small I held them slightly different, which some how translated into angling my hand differently which in turn made me lower the guitar while standing and so looking more cool :D

I also managed to find a pick that was "too hard" 1.5mm tortex sharp, very pointed, combined with no flex, have to play absolute completely perfect, if it slips or moves from being pushed by the string, you hear it

[gwEm]

I think I'm too set in my ways and anything else sounds and feels weird.

+1 using tortex 0.88mm in the standard shape for a long time now

[Fourth Feline]

Probably a strange question ( Oh what a surprise ! ) - but how do you chaps 'polish ' the edges off of your new Plectrums ?    I have just received a pack of Dunlop Jazz 204s to try along side my 205s , and the edges are still at that 'just cast' stage on both. I once tried fine emery cloth soaked in WD40, but just made matters worse.  Cheers !

(Oh, and where is the nearest Chemist open, so I can collect my medication ?  :mrgreen: )

[shobet]

For old pics and because I'm a tight ####!!, once they're blunt I'll rescue them by rubbing then on the carpet so they turn back into pointies. It turns worn normal tortex pics into more of a Jazz XL kind of shape.

Paul Gilbert taught me that from a magazine article many, many years ago.

[Fourth Feline]

For old pics and because I'm a tight ####!!, once they're blunt I'll rescue them by rubbing then on the carpet so they turn back into pointies. It turns worn normal tortex pics into more of a Jazz XL kind of shape.

Paul Gilbert taught me that from a magazine article many, many years ago.

Thanks Shobet ; I'll try the carpet method.  :)

[maverickf1jockey]

Have you tried the nylon ones; they are much warmer.

[MDV]

I cut myself a little while ago sharpening a prectrum. With the plectrum.

Doh!

[Fourth Feline]

Have you tried the nylon ones; they are much warmer.

I find the Dunlop Jazz IIIs very bright and 'clicky' compared to the ( rounded Bakelite-ish ) Jazz 205, 204s e.tc.  I tried the Eric Johnsons, and standard reds and blacks.  Even those old 'Eros' picks I had left over from the 70s. The reasonably sure bet for a warmer and more rounded attack / less pick noise, is a nice B.K.P heavy celluloid or similar ;  but even they are not 'soft' by default. I enjoy the feel of a much smaller but heavy pick, so I keep searching ( and polishing ! )   Bear in mind, that I am playing absolutely clean, with very detailed pickups - so every nuance of the pick gets magnified, without sag ,  tone control rolling, or mild overdrive to sweeten things up.  More the 'boring middle aged man discovers Nat King Cole ' style .  :lol:

Are the nylon ones to which you refer - the 'Classic' Jazz IIIs , or another new item in the range ?  

Cheers !  :)

[JDC]

hey forth feline, what do you think to the 208, I got one my mate gave me years ago

[Fourth Feline]

hey forth feline, what do you think to the 208, I got one my mate gave me years ago

I like the look of them, but I was thinking small, and just pointed enough to retain their characteristic accuracy ; not the full on size / point.  As a series /design of picks,  I really like them ;  hence the seemingly eccentric mission to smooth and polish them all to a 'warm nose' . I was tempted to get a few of each, but realised that 205s are nigh on perfect for me , with only an experiment with the slighlty more rounded 204s at the same feel and weight.  What style of playing do you use the 208s for - and how do you find them ?  :)

[cerpintaxt]

Wicked thread!

I've been using Tortex 0.73mm (yellow ones) for years now, 'cos I seem to have settled on them, but everyone who's replied so far seems to use 1mm+ for electric guitars. Weirdly I've always found the green 0.88 too thick!

[Fourth Feline]

Wicked thread!

I've been using Tortex 0.73mm (yellow ones) for years now, 'cos I seem to have settled on them, but everyone who's replied so far seems to use 1mm+ for electric guitars. Weirdly I've always found the green 0.88 too thick!

Back in the 70s, I knew an excellent Rock guitarist in a  Thin Lizzy / UFO covers band, who used 0.48 nylon picks,   and 7 - 37 gauge ( Rotosound ) strings !   Incredible tone ...  :o

[cerpintaxt]

Back in the 70s, I knew an excellent Rock guitarist in a  Thin Lizzy / UFO covers band, who used 0.48 nylon picks,   and 7 - 37 gauge ( Rotosound ) strings !   Incredible tone ...  :o

Crumbs! Maybe they had small, girly hands like me too then!! (although I play on 9's mostly). Interested to try these Dunlop Jazz III's as well, expecially the Eric Johnson ones for a bit of a change.

I've often thought of thinner picks having less attack and therefore imparting a smoother tone. Is this the case?

[JDC]

What style of playing do you use the 208s for - and how do you find them ?  :)

don't really use it, for me it's more one of those interesting picks to have around, even though it's a pointy pick the edges themselves are a bit too rounded for my taste, aka playing metal too fast for my own good

the 208 is quite similar to my ex fav pick the 3mm big stubby the main difference being a pointed edge on the pointy tip of the stubby rather than rounded edge pointy tip of the 208

[Fourth Feline]

Back in the 70s, I knew an excellent Rock guitarist in a  Thin Lizzy / UFO covers band, who used 0.48 nylon picks,   and 7 - 37 gauge ( Rotosound ) strings !   Incredible tone ...  :o

Crumbs! Maybe they had small, girly hands like me too then!! (although I play on 9's mostly). Interested to try these Dunlop Jazz III's as well, expecially the Eric Johnson ones for a bit of a change.

I've often thought of thinner picks having less attack and therefore imparting a smoother tone. Is this the case?

Perhaps surprisingly, the reverse is usually true ( at least for me ).  If I use a thin - medium pick, it gives a brighter, thinner, clappy / slappy sound on the strings. If pushing a sweaty old valve amp, the clappy / slappy doesn't really get heard ; but the difference was enough, that when I was last playing in a band, a Fender heavy 'California clear' pick - made me blend somewhat darkly behind the Keyboard player, and if I switched to a medium, I just sliced through the mix. I also noticed when playing through my Tasco  Phrase trainer gismo, that thin - medium picks gave clear harmonics and dynamics at low volumes, but the good old heavies, gave me strong fundementals , with little or no harmonic detail.

The Jazz IIIs that Twinfan uses for his " YC/DC" band, bite like hell, for although they are ( relatively ) heavy, they have a somewhat brash presentation - and a biting edge. It is more about pick composition above  a certain weight though - as I bought a very thick 'Dugain' carved agate to try, and guess what ? - click, click , click ... :(

However, I gather some smooth players like Matt Otten and George Benson get away with medium gauge, by ( I gather ) simply gripping the pick right near the point.   My hero Joe Pass, used to snap his standard shaped celluloid pick in half, and just use the bit that still had the point on.