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So I've been using the little jazz iii picks for a couple of years or so, thinking this would help my accuracy when playing speedy/more notey riffs/leads etc. I forgot my pick tin the other day and my lead singer lent me an orange Tortex. The difference was very apparent straight away. Tremolo picking was easier and quicker, as was alternate picking. I've lighten up on my strings too back to 10-46.

So should I stick with oranges or stick with jazz iii?

What are your thoughts on pick choice.

Progrockabuse wrote:So I've been using the little jazz iii picks for a couple of years or so, thinking this would help my accuracy when playing speedy/more notey riffs/leads etc. I forgot my pick tin the other day and my lead singer lent me an orange Tortex. The difference was very apparent straight away. Tremolo picking was easier and quicker, as was alternate picking. I've lighten up on my strings too back to 10-46.

So should I stick with oranges or stick with jazz iii?

What are your thoughts on pick choice.

i use different pick sizes and materials for different sounds/music types & guitars/set ups as I think it can have not only an affect on the sound but also my playing technique

I swear by purple tortex, I feel they give much more control than anything else, oh and I use 10s too. I find those smaller ones a bit awkward to use. Perhaps I'm just used to the purple tortex 8 years of switching to them permanently, but anything else I find to be inferior in shape, feel, and thickness.

I've always used the same picks, Jim Dunlop USA Nylon 0.73.

Weird - i find the opposite with tortex in that i find all of them clunky and clumsy to use and they are absolutely the last in my order of go-to picks. I can't get on with the flat edges around the circumference - needs to come to an edge for me and be generally a pit pointy. Effectively I can't think of a worse pick (for me) for tremolo or strumming or any kind of accurate picking than tortex. Curious!

I found jazz iiis really dull sounding for what i play but overall they are better for accuracy and stuff

And I don't like tortex much either especially as they wear away very quickly. At the moment I use fender mediums which I often scratch up to get a better grip but apart from that I mostly play with my fingers

A change is as good as a rest which might be why you got on with the tortex

Progrockabuse wrote:my lead singer lent me an orange Tortex.

TRULY HIS GENEROSITY KNOWS NO BOUNDS.

I like to experiment with picks a bit, as a change is as good as a rest. Shortscalers with keen memories may remember me having a fling with those ridiculously thick heavy metal/jazz picks a few years ago. Weirdly, I think my playing is at its best, or at least sounds most interesting, when I'm not using a pick, but I prefer to play using one. Which makes no sense.

I used to swear by Dava control picks (dots's plectrum of choice, I seem to remember):



But lately favour Snarling Dogs Brain Picks (they're grippy):



... and my ultimate favourite are some old black Match Picks, which they don't make in my favourite guage any more. So when they're gone (I'm down to my last two, from a pack I bought in 1996), they're gone:



Those Tortexs that you young people like: I can't stand them. I just drop them all over the shop.

I'm a massive geek when it comes to guitar picks. I have a massive collection of different shapes and gauges. If you like tortex picks and also the jazz iii shape, try the Planet Waves Black Ice picks, they're a really nice middle ground and are slightly bigger than jazz iii's so are a bit more comfortable to hold.

Recently I've been using D'andrea Pro Plecs, they're a really nice plectrum. They're similar to Celluloid but a bit darker and grippier, they sound more or less identical to the sound of my fingers when I play fingerstyle which makes my hybrid picking much more consistent.

But as I like slightly smaller picks than the standard 351 shape, I've got a pack of Sharktooth Celluloid picks being sent to me to try out, I'm hoping they'll be a nice middle ground - they've also got some pretty heavy weight jazz guitarists that use them so I'm expecting good things.

I use Dunlop Big Stubby 3mm and Dunlop 1mm black nylon. I also play quite often without a pick. If there are no lead lines involved I often ditch the pick.

Benecol - what guage do you need? I have some of those match picks from 1990 something that I don't use - they are yours if they are the right guage (and I can find them...)

I use purple Dunlop shortscale picks, after Rob kindly gave me a load a few years back.

NickD wrote:Benecol - what guage do you need? I have some of those match picks from 1990 something that I don't use - they are yours if they are the right guage (and I can find them...)

Black ones. And all you can get nowadays are new-fangled grey ones. Which are thinner (.88, I think - mine must be 1.0s).

ZenJenga wrote:Dunlop 1mm black nylon.

I like these. I like orange tortex aswell.

Also Tim, looook at these...

I was using Orange Tortex for a few years, the one with grip on them. As much to do with work as anything, i found smooth picks were slipping out of my fingers because the skin on my hands was so rough. They are about the right thickness and size for me as well.

But recently, i started finding Black Jagermeister picks around the house. They are what Kathie had accidently brought home from teaching music in school. They are quite nice picks, a bit more flexible than the Tort ones.

Sharkfins have taken a back seat...

These are relatively new and are the bestest ever....

Tortex III's


I use 11s Dadds.... & these do everything I want in a pick and has improved my lead playing no end.

Like a regular dunlop but with a stubby / Jazz pick style point. I recommend them to anyone who uses standard Dunlops !!

As the're thinnish, the point does wear down fairly quickly, so consequently tried yellows, but they're too chunky for me. Wish they'd make an in between.

Worth an email perhaps ? haaa...

i always go for 2mm or bigger if i can find em. it has to be heavy heavy heavy! I use the same size for playing pretty much every style on every guitar, metalZ PUNKZ experiemtalz in different tuningz, especially with my new resonator,
i rarely use a pick for bass, i used to when i was playing for a thrash punk band, but that would just becuz speed and accuracey were a must and fingering that fast will wear you out!(thats what she said)

othomas2 wrote:Sharkfins have taken a back seat...

These are relatively new and are the bestest ever....

Tortex III's


I use 11s Dadds.... & these do everything I want in a pick and has improved my lead playing no end.

Like a regular dunlop but with a stubby / Jazz pick style point. I recommend them to anyone who uses standard Dunlops !!

As the're thinnish, the point does wear down fairly quickly, so consequently tried yellows, but they're too chunky for me. Wish they'd make an in between.

Worth an email perhaps ? haaa...

They might be just the hybrid I'm looking for.

Worth a try for sure.... loads of folk I know, and those I've served in the shop have turned to them.

I'll send you some if you like ? ... don't know how close you are to a shop at all ?

ive been using the large jazz picks. just now trying to switch back to thinner picks - the 'give' is almost necessary for tremolo picking and strumming. i find the jazz picks don't have enough give and tend to knock the strings a little too sharp.

I'm partial to the Dunlops, the thin white ones for 12 string, the light grey for 6. I also like the classic fender celluloid mediums.

If you found that the tortex made it easier to play... you should switch. Picks are cheap, get a handful of different ones and see which you like.

I've just started using Sharktooth picks, they're really really good. They're made from a choice of either Celluloid or Delrin (I prefer Celluloid), and they're just a bit wider at the top than a Jazz III pick. They sound awesome and they're super heavy duty, I've been using the same pick for a week now and after several rehearsals it's still like new.