Are You SURE You're Using the Right Pick Gauge?
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- Опубліковано 28 гру 2020
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I wasn't for many years. Hope this helps a lot of people instantly improve both their practice and their tone. :)
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Thanks!!!
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I'm thinking by the comments that his has officially become an ad for Jazz III picks. haha
They are fantastic though, so no surprise there
IMO Jazz III are too tiny to hold onto. I prefer bigger dunlop Tortex which has a jazz III edge but the normal pick size. U get the sharpness and attack of the sharp jazz tip but still big so you can hold it comfortably (for me)
Lol
Jazz lll picks changed my playing x 100....speed , accuracy and tone for metal increased. I still prefer a light pick for acoustic. If I'm playing really fast, I use Ernie Ball prodigy picks. They are awesome ..
I use basically only jazz III picks
Before I watched this I said, “he better talk about how much better acoustic guitar sounds with thin picks.”
Did not disappoint.
I use a 1.5 on acoustic. It is harder to make sound good while strumming, but can be done. I can really dig in for single string, or double stop stuff and it sounds way better palm muted.
I find .73 to be sweet spot for acoustic. Everything less has this clacky sound I don't like. You can go a litlle bit thicker from there but you risk losing some of the richness in your tone. But it also depends on guitar, I imagine you can attack dreadnought more than concert.
Not sure what style you play, but my experience is that most good acoustic players play with thicker picks. It may be harder at first, but if you stick with it you have much better control and much much less sound from the pick itself.
Much more open sounding..but honestly I would go a notch higher if not for carpal tunnel/ tendonitis ya know.
I really wish I knew this. I've been playing electric for four years, but acoustic for like 7 months. I wondered why I always sounded so choppy and like bad. Guess it's never too late to learn.
Jazz III’s are where it’s at, in my opinion.
Not bad, but try Chicken Picks. They are amazing.
Jazz IIIs are great but I love the new JD Flow Picks even better. Really smooth pick. Well worth a try.
I like the Jazz iii XLs 1.14s. I find the stanard jazz iii a bit too small for my hand. The John Petrucci picks are nice too but a little too thick for me
The Dunlop XL 1.35 Tortex Jazz III is currently my favorite pick.
Ultex jazz III for me. The regular ones are too slippery.
The thing about thick vs thin picks for me is that with thicker picks, you can always just hold it more loosely if you want that flop. With thinner picks, it doesn't matter how hard you grip the pick, it will always flop around.
great point
you dont get that flop even when you hold it looser
Exactly. Thicker picks sound better to me, even on acoustics. It's a matter of lightening your touch.
Tell that to Eddie Van Halen and Paul Gilbert.
@@JohnVieto If you use a thin pick that's pointy then if you hold it at the right angle it's pretty close to a thick pick. I'm not a fan of thin picks but I've heard some good players make the most of em by adjusting the angle between strumming and lead playing. 45 degrees with a pointy thin pick will still give a decent attack. If the pick isn't pointy then you lose all the benefits of the angle.
My first pick was an Ernie Ball glow-in-the-dark God-knows-what gauge. Then my dog chewed it up, then my oldest brother tried fixing it but he split it in half so he gave me a pick of his as ''compensation'' but now my other dog chewed up that one as well.
Nice
Sell the dogs to buy more picks. Simple.
Get yourself 5$ and convince someone to take you to guitar center. You can get a bag of 10 or so for 3-4$
Your talking like picks aren't like 5 bucks for 15 of em.
It's a pick, not a car.
Paul Gilbert uses a .60 pick (Dunlop orange). He said his shredder friends were horrified when he told them but now he can't get enough of that slappy feeling. Whatever works for you is the best pick. Don't let other people tell you what's right or wrong.
Heck yeah. Nice picks, i love them they are just great for either blues / rock, funk, acoustic... et cetera, very versatile if you actually hold them in a way they don't bend that much or simply accept the slappy feel.
Gilbert also uses his teeth and plays better than most
Dunlop Orange 60s. Since 1988.
Exactly! To each his own. I think I've tried just about every pick out there on the market from Dunlop nylons, tortex, celluloid. Fender shell, and black celluloid picks. Discovered by a happy accident dynamic response who are usually known for their strings also makes a decent shell pick. So I'm torn between that one and the Gibson black celluloid picks. In medium gauge though.
I found for playing a strat trying to capture those '80s strat quack tones that a medium pick works best. But still can cover a nice buttery lead tone.
Even Neil Schon from journey uses medium picks. He gets a fantastic tone.
Not long ago in an interview he said that he uses medium because he likes The buttery sound. "Dunlop mediums the pretty blue ones."
If you want an extreme example of the "heavier as you get more experience", evidently Pat Metheney plays Fender Extra Light picks but he uses the round end!
Tosin Abasi plays a .73mm Ultex pick.
Once I tried Jazz 3 and I’d never look back. Jazz 3 2.0 ❤️
Same here.
Those 2.0's have something to them I can't figure out. They sound a lot different than other similar picks.
Hell yeah with you bro still playing with jazz 3😂
Same.
I did. But I went to the Tortex Jazz instead of the nylon one.
I use a fairly thin pick , but what i find better is the fact that there is a grip texture to it and its much easier to hold on to in light or heavy picking.
Um there are textured hard picks
3mm 'Big Stubby' is my go-to for electric leads. Amazing pick
Stubby gives you ULTIMATE control. NO GIVE whatsoever.
the stubby is the pick of kings. they’re amazing for jazz leads and chop style comping
These are my go to, when I play bass.
Thinner picks are great for rhythm. I’d always use a thin pick if I’m playing funk, the floppiness of the pick actually makes it easier to achieve certain rhythms
funk and ska/reggae backbeat goes well with lighter picks! to get that waka waka
I find I can’t use anything except thin picks for faster strumming songs, especially lead
Nile Rodgers uses the red Dunlop picks for his rhythm, and may be all he uses since he doesn't play much lead.
I was just reminded that back in college I used to play with a worn down quarter.
Are you Brian May?
We've all been there
Sometimes I just pinch my fingernails together and use my index for downstrokes and thumb for upstrokes. But thats last option tho.
@@ValiantNoob I’m learning how to play finger style and when I want to play some open chords I do that technique too, out of laziness of course
@@Dankster-yo8xv wait wasn't that zztop that would play with a quarter?
I've been playing those green guys for 20 years. I just today realized that these picks are in rainbow/ROYGBIV order.
Good catch!
When I first started playing at 14, I thought those Fender confetti picks were the coolest thing ever. I remember taking the bus out to some music shop that mainly sold grand pianos, just to get those stupid picks, because that was the only place I knew of that had them. Little things like that, that get you stoked on playing your guitar are important. It makes it fun and helps you reconnect with the things that inspired you to pick up the guitar in the first place. That’s why I do stuff like always play using coiled amp cords, because they remind me of Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival, and how amazing it was the first time I saw that footage.
I like to use a thick pick when I want to use it like a hammer, and a thin one when I want to use it like a brush.
I use a thick pick for everything but the dynamics come from the hand the pick just responds. That why I like thick ones.
Me, a fingerstyle player: *interesting*
I'm same way, I feel more comfortable playing with my fingers and with a pick I might as well throw guitar in the trash. I wonder what causes that
Are your finger the right size?
one time i fard pant
I cannot finger pick to save my soul.. help me 🤣
Have you tried filing your fingers down to get a different feel?
Wow... this is one of the most important videos I have came across yet! Honestly. I been struggling to get my speed up while learning lead, I been using a softer pick thinking it would give me speed... because if the flexibility..I went to a harder pick, my speed increased 2x in 5 minutes... what a difference... it was then that I noticed it’s like running on a sponge with a soft pick and like running on hard ground with a hard pick.... the soft pick slowed me down because I wasn’t making contact that I could actually feel in my picking hand... absolutely astounding.. what a very overlooked piece of guitar playing information. Keep up the great work... new sub here!
Dude, I get it exactly. I'm 60 and I recently bought an acoustic guitar. I didn't know anything about which pick to choose. I knew it was going to be a big decision just like choosing the right string guage.
I knew this because I played drums for 30 years or so and it took a long time to settle on the right drumsticks and drum heads.
After much trial and error I finally landed on Vic Firth 5A's and Remo Pinstripe heads for my drums choice.
So when I bought my acoustic guitar it had medium guage strings on it. I bought several packs of different guage strings and 1 of every type of pick they had!
After much trial and changing of strings I have decided on Elixir Extra Light strings and the pick you used for your acoustic. The red Tortex Dunlop 0.5mm.
I feel oddly justified. Your videos are great. Thanks.
It's weird because ever since the beginning I always wanted a smaller and thicker pick. When I discovered Jazz 3 everything changed, even more when I discovered the Max Grip version.
I lost my max grip pick and I've been devastated ever since honestly 😅😂
Same story but i ended up with a jazz stuby 3mm. sadly they don't seem to make a gripier version of it.
jazz III is great, I was using .88 and when tried Jazz III once I have never looked back since then. it is far more better than tortex that it is just insane
Maxgrip jazz's are basically all I play nowadays
As a Shen main and a guitarist, I am truly happy to see a River Shen out in the wild
"Are You SURE You're Using the Right Pick Gauge?" absolutely fuccking not lmao :(
I was waaay into the orange Dunlop pick as I was learning. I also used the green one a bit, but I always felt like I was getting a nice blend of both strumming and picking as opposed to super heavy or super light picks. I'll have to experiment around some more since I never questioned it again after that (20+ years ago). Learn something new every day!
Thank you for this video. I saw your video last week, and I changed my pick to a heavier gauge, and it help my picking and the way my songs sound. I was under the impression too, liter gauge picks were for guitars and heavier gauge picks were for bass. And just before I saw your video I saw a Netflix movie about a high school Metal music band, and they too said to use a heavier gauge pick. So I did, and I am very grateful. Blows my mind. Thank you sincerely. John.
4:26 "verses the heaviest pick I have, listen to this"
Me "oh that's so much nicer"
"see it gets dull sounding"
Me :(
All opinion :)
If you like that sound better play like that.
A thicker pick provides more attack and less resistance which means less scratching from the pick sliding as you stroke the note. His opinion on heavier picks is. The best pick on the market right now is the 1mm James hetfield whitefang. But Dunlop flows of any size are great. I think the normal dull point picks the guy in the video use all sound like shit. A pointy pick tip is crucial. And most pointy picks are thicker. That extra pick attack not only sounds good to me which is just opinion. But a fact about the sound is you will cut through the mix so much better with a sharp thick pick then you would a light dull pick
Those translucent brown Fender picks used to be my go-to picks when I was taking guitar lessons in the 70's and 80's, just because they were so readily available. I just used whatever my teacher provided for me. I didn't know about other brands and gauges until the about the early 90's, when I discovered the Dunlop Tortex picks, did a bit of experimentation, and realized the purple 1.14 mm picks suited me best for most styles of rhythm and lead playing.
It’s definitely a personal feeling thing. I think you described the feelings perfectly. I used only .60 forever just because that’s what I started with. Wasn’t until I was given some custom picks that look and felt incredible. They were way thicker than I used but it was neat to try. Now I am experimenting with a bunch of different textures and thicknesses.
Totally agree with this. I used .60 and .73 picks all the time when I first started bc it just felt better but when I got into hard rock and metal I tried the stubby jazz 3.0mm and it was like a gateway opened up lol.
Green Tortex .88’s 🥰
+1 Can't go wrong with those!
Red Tortex .50mm
I've tried so many picks over the years of various shapes, sizes, thicknesses, and gimmicks. Landed on the godsend 1.38 mm ultex jazz 3. I'm in love! Fast, controlled, great grip for me and now the one time elusive pinch harmonics are a breeze!
Change picks to condoms
Right on! I didn’t like normal jazz 3s since i found them to slippery, so i used tortex 1,14 mil with edges that i had sanded to kinda simulate a jazz 3. But then i found ultex jazz 3s.
Well that helps a lot actually. I've been playing with a .53 and I really had to fight to play anything heavy (How I learned Disposable Heroes I have no idea) but with a 1.0 everything's way better. Thanks again man!
Great topic! Been using different picks for varied tones, technique etc.... since the late 1970's. Different materials can also change the tone drastically. I've been mostly sticking with thicker picks by V-Picks (their Diamond, Dimension, Psycho & Small Pointed -which is a great alternative to Jazz 3), as well as picks by Hufschmid (their Anvil etc). Still using a couple of picks a friend made for me from a semi-precious stone called Brazilian Agate. First tried stone picks that were called M'ind Picks back in the 70's, also made of agate. There are too many pick manufacturers to mention, but they're worth exploring. I also like the Jim Dunlop Jazztone 205 and 250 picks. It's an inexpensive way to change your tone and improve your technique at the same time. Cheers.
Points to consider:
*Gauge of the strings
*Electric/ acoustic/ ukulele
*How hard you normally strum
*Pic angle when strumming
*Holding pick technique
* Type of music played
*Different shapes can be a help.
*Pick materials
I like heavy for all ( excluding ukulele)
Size of the pick too, I love purple Dunloops and tried the triangle version of it, but I'd like to hide my pick between index and middle finger for fingerstyle sections and that didn't work with them.
Im more of a jazz 3 guy myself
I just played with a jazz 3 randomly one day and never looked back.
I picked up one of those in my music class once and i've heard so much hype about it, so I gave it a shot, and from the instant I picked it up and had it in my fingers, I was absolutely appalled at how uncomfortable and disgusting it felt and played. Just not for me.
Jazz 3 XL for me
Yessir I have the Kirk sig’s
I used to buy jazz 3 Tortex green picks. Now can't find them anywhere, up until last year I found the replacement. 0.88 Tortex jazz in white. I guess Dunlop did not prefer the colour green apart from me 🥺🥺
When I started teaching, I ended up finding a Jazz III left behind in a teaching room by another teacher. A friend of mine lives by the jazz III's so I was curious. At the time I was using the yellow tortex exclusively. Tried the Jazz III and loved it. So it was game on after that and the quest to find the perfect Jazz III as the red one was too small for when I played live. I tried the XL's, then the Max Grip, then those Dava picks, then the black Ultex. The black Ultex was the winner, until the black John Petrucci Jazz III's showed up one day. Been using those exclusively, ever since.
I’ve used the tortex 1.14 picks for the entire time I’ve been playing electric guitar, and a couple of days ago I tried playing with a light pick and it made me play better instantly. For a long time I thought thin picks weren’t any good, but to me they sound so much better, and feel so much better!
Plus, they make for a better pick scratch
Same here!
Yeah I was convinced thick was better for years until I saw Paul Gilbert talk about how he uses the orange Tortex 0.60mm picks and thinks they sound better than the thicker ones. He proceeded to demonstrate exactly what he was talking about and my eyes were opened.
thiner picks make you play better wen you are a beginne yes, later on you want to switch to heavy its way more precise and lets you play faster and cleaner
@@user-yo3cg9ev8y fuller sound as well I never use thin picks anymore. Once you learn pick control thick is best for sure especially peek made ones like blue chip and gravity golds. All kinds of shapes and gauges from blue chip
Jazz III’s are great but I really love the John Petrucci signature picks. They’re like a Jazz III but just slightly larger so you can actually hold onto them.
I found one on a pavement and tried... They are much louder than Dunlop Flows 1.5mm which was very interesting to spot.
@@timothymartin2137 it is just modify to his style
Yeah. Exactly my sentiment. The JP picks are my favourite as well.
the John Petrucci sig. picks still felt way too small for me. I'm stuck with the Jim Root picks by dunlop (1.38 mm). They're perfect for me :)
JimDunlop Jazz III almost 12 years and still love it.
Started guitar at 7 years old, in '88. I've used do many pics over the years, but always end up back with the Dunlop nylon. I'll use a .77, but .88 is my choice. I like that they're stiff, yet flexible just enough to shape itself to your finger hold - and they wear at the angle I hold them too; which means I actually prefer a slightly rounded, worn in pic, to a fresh one(I actually hate a new pic). So I try to keep a couple broken in ones around, but they are perfect for me. I also like the texture from the printing, as it works like a grip - smooth pics are too slippery feeling for my preference. Most of my friends live the Jazz III, but they just feel far too thick for me.
This was enlightenment, thank you,,I been playing just for pleasure ,for about 30yars and had problems with picks quite a few times, I play acoustic and hard body electric, hollow body, so now I know right pick right guitar,,I have learnt most music styles ,my fav music (it's all styles)was really 80s classic and soft rock,, popular music 😊
I played with the Big Stubby 3.0mm way back when, and still remember fondly the feeling of those against the string after having spent the first 2 weeks of learning guitar trying to dig into power chrods on one of those stupid fender mediums.
same boat, thick picks for life
but its 1.14 mms or .88s for me
The big stubby was always a hard one for me especially if I dig in too hard it would get stuck lol
The bottom line is, to each their own. Just like women, we all have our preference. Thick, thin, redhead, yellow, midget, stepsister, it's all good.
Bro 😂 Jesus loves u
Giggity
When ur stepsister pick gets stuck in the acoustic: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Hold up
Ha, giggity giggity
I agree completely. I've used purple Dunlop Tortex for ever. Another thing, I've found it really tough to accomplish "pinch harmonics" with a light pick.Good stuff here. Rock on brother.
Purple Dunlops are great! They last for years.
Hey Mike thanks for the info on the color picks. That will definitely make a difference in me choosing the right pick.
Whenever someone gives me a light gauge pick a bit of me dies
As a new player I already can't stand too light a gauge haha
I switch between 1.14 dunlop and 1.5 dunlop max grip. If someone gives me that wompy 0.something pick I'll kill him with that. I also have a bunch of fender heavy like the once he mentioned in the beginning of the video but they are still a lil bit to flexible (not skinny) to play power chords, gallop ana alternate picking on the E string. I use 10's btw.
I just put my guitar down and say nevermind
As a bass player, I believe in 1.5mm Dunlop Sharp supremacy. The attack feels like punching my strings.
As a bass player i disagree 0.73 mm for life
@@AM-dh2bg 0,73mm? Weak, i use paper picks to shred on bass!
LOL I'm a guitarist and I also use them.
I like the pointy tip, because it helps me hide how terrible my tremolo picking skills are.
I love your channel because you really get into things that really matter. Pick Gauges and Material should be talked more often cause it really shapes your tone
I went on a pick reevaluation journey about 3 years ago after 30+ years of playing. I just don’t like a “standard” pick shape. What sounds best and feels best (for me) is a Dunlop Flow Pick in either 1.14mm or 1.5mm. The shape is sort of like a bigger JazzIII. It has a nice point, and raised lettering which gives a nice grip. I have some in several thicknesses from aroun0.6mm to 3mm, and they all have a usefulness for specific things; though, I find the 1.14 to be the most versatile all-around thickness. I do also have a zippered ring display case of a number of other specialty picks ranging from acrylic for a chirpy attack to thick Gator Grip or 208 for dull traditional jazz tones to textured ones for various sound qualities.
jazz III is the master of them all and is not even close
Eh, i feel like the jazz III's tone isn't as good as tortex. For example, if I'm playing palm muted notes on the G, B, and E string, the notes sound very dry. Not sure how to describe it, weak, thin.
Try out the jazz III 2.0 :)
I find it too small personally
Too small
I have 6 Matt Heafy signature Jazz III picks. Too small for me
Those tortoiseshell Fender Mediums were total ass, my dude. Thank God I caught a Dunlop Yellow from Rick at an Exodus show...but Orange 60s completed me.
I play in an Americana band as a singer and lead guitar player where I’m switching between acoustic and electric depending if songs are more bluegrass or rockish. I like the green tortex because it gives me the ability to swap over guitars quickly without worrying about changing my right hand too much. Recently though I bought some .88mm primetones from Dunlop and I think those might be my new acoustic pick, but that’s more of a tone thing than a feel thing. .88 mm has just felt right for the past few years for me. Great video explaining how to use them and where to go with the pick gauges, really wish I had tried that earlier on with learning
I love the .88 for Electric Guitar and Bass, and the .73 for Acoustic Guitar and Mandolin.
It's not about just the gauge, it's about the material, density, the bevel of the edge, shape, size etc. Don't just stick to one company and don't be afraid of experimenting. The tortex dunplops used to be my go to but now I swear by the 2-3 mm Gravity sunrise shape.
You’re a freak
100%. Personally, I hate tortex. I don’t like the feel, they don’t grip well for me, and the .6 doesn’t flex much still. For acoustic I use .6mm Dunlop nylons. For electric I’m still feeling it out, but currently I’m liking Dunlop flows in thicker gauges.
James Hetfield BLACK FANG, 1.14, doesn't feel thick at all because it has tapered edges. I use it for both electric and acoustic when I'm on a Gig!
Weird because I thought James was a huge green. 88 guy
@@michaeldiamond76 No he's using sharp picks. Tortoise shell 1.14 during mop I think. Anyway, the black fang is based on the pick he had during mop era.
Ernie ball Prodigy 2.0mm picks are what I use, they have tapered edges too maybe you would want to try them
I use those too, they are really good
@@t3nshie I have those, those are good for like metal stuff, but when i do acoustics, there's a certain click from the ultex that i prefer. Black fangs to me are just extremely versatile and i need that for playing multiple genres
Great Video. Crucial addition; I find that string gauge affects pick gauge, as a rule of thumb (haha) but seriously *the thicker the strings, the thinner the pick, and visa versa. And different songs can change that too. More importantly as always go on what you personally prefer, by trying all things in different situations. I have an arsenal at my finger tips (ha / literally tho) and change accordingly
Dude this video is the best explanation I've seen on pick thickness... I always noticed right away that my acoustic sounded like crap with the thicker pick. Will definately stock up on different gauges for different styles now!!
In computer lingo, we'd call what you feel with light gauge picks "latency". Latency is the delay in something to get to where it needs to be to do its job. As with spinning hard drives: latency is the the time it takes for the spot on the turning platters to arrive under the pickup head to read the data the processor needs. The elimination of this latency is why SSDs are so much faster than mechanical hard drives. Your light picks are literally waving back and forth after each string strike and must end their oscillation to return to a position ready for the next clean strike: latency.
@@creamwobbly I'd say attack is more accurate.
Can’t beat the purple Dunlops! 🤘🏻
I like the purple for rhythm, not so much for lead personally (which I don't do that often unless I'm doing something like Iron Maiden where the rhythm is lead lines) so I've started using the blue Jazz III XL picks. Best of both worlds
Which purple dunlop picks? There are a few
gator grip is where it's at
You mean the Big Stubbys? Those things could open paint cans lol
Purple gator grips were my thing until i picked up a 1.5 jazz iii. Now other than strumming an acoustic, i can't play with them!
This is super helpful. I'm self-taught in learning guitar just today via online course, and there was a part where the teacher suggested to use a pick. Oh boi! I was confused because I don't know anything about a guitar's pick. Thank you for saving a total newbie's day by making this video.
P.S. I ended up bought all the colours. I'm planning to do acoustic, but somehow I love the sound when the purple-coloured pick attacked the acoustic guitar.
Thank you for this. I started playing over 20 years ago and was told to use a heavy pick and have been using a 1.0 mm ever since. Didn't even think that a lighter pick may sound better on acoustic. I'll try it out.
not sure why i watched a 13m video on picks... "its midnight" I guess is the only reason
I asked myself the same question.
same)
Same here lmao
4:00am for me, damn just noticed
well if you're a newer guitar player, especially self taught, this info is pretty useful
if you don't play guitar though that's another thing haha
Bought a Dunlop variety pack, and that really helped figure out what worked in certain situations. But yes I'm Jazz III Max Grip fan for most stuff. I like lighter picks for cleaner stuff and surf
After trying DOZENS of picks, I've arrived at the Dunlop Flow gloss 2.0 picks. I love them.
My man! flows are the greatest. I use the 3.0 and 2.0 picks.. By far my favorite!!!
Tried the John Petrucci flow picks recently and I'm pretty convinced they're the best out of the whole range. I'm not even a Dream Theatre fan, but I'm not surprised JP knows what makes a great pick.
After 10 years these are finally "my" picks. Love them.
Used to play the orange tortex pick too, liked it enough, but I love the gator grip 0.58 ones, especially when they're brand new and have that graininess, always play better when they still have the grip, like a baseball player pitching with pine tar.
I ended up on the blue Dunlops. I'm a lead guitarist in a band that plays classic rock and country. I find they work well for those genres.
Green Tortex Sharp picks changed my playing
I like the purple sharps
i like the ultex sharps 1.14
Same with me. I started with the yellow sharps and now use the green sharps. They wear like iron.
Thats my go to pick
I have always used the Dunlop tortex picks.
I use the .60mm for acoustic guitar, and tend to use the 1mm for electric guitar and acoustic bass. For electric bass I will use both the 1mm and 1.14 mm.
When I started playing the electric guitar I only had the 1mm Dunlop Nylon, the 2mm Dunlop Gator and the absolute UNIT that was the 3mm Dunlop Big Stubby.
After collecting picks from a few shows I setteled on the red and green Dunlops for most of my playing. For picking I use lighter, for strumming I use the more heavy picks. I find that with lighter picks I can "connect" better with the string in the sense that I can feel the string through the pick. With heavier picks I found that I was less consistent, picked the wrong strings more often and was slower.
But I still am a beginner who doesn't play lead all that often so maybe my preferences will change when I get better.
This was a great breakdown for something that a lot of people do subconsciously I bet. Watching this was great, thanks!
John Petrucci's Jazz III's, beautiful. Was decent for bass too.
For bass players though, I can't recommend Dunlop's Big Stubby picks, 2mm for me. 2mm is thicker and heavier than any regular guitar pick, and it sounds nice too.
Great video once again!
I don't like the plastic they used for the Petrucci Jazz III. Too noisy.
@@JimVincent it's ultex
Thats my fav for guitar. Find it hard to use a flat pick these days...
You covered every dunlop except the one I have used for years, the PINK pick (.46). Most people write it off because it is paper thin, but it takes very little effort to bend/fold it slightly with thumb pressure, making more stiff and solid enough for shredding. The slightly curved tip facilitates hybrid picking more easily. Experimenting with holding it on different parts of the pick (closer/further from the tip) yields more control over its flexibility. I have found it useful for classical, blues, jazz, rock, and beyond. If you don't like the pink color, they make close sizes in grey and white, but I love the pink because nobody ever steals (or borrows) my pick. I have sold a number of guitarists on it over the years who were not too closed minded to even try out the pick because it is pink and flimsy. You just need to know how to use it!
Amazing! Extremely helpful and very well presented.
when you go to comment on the jazz 3 being good but 844 people already have.
It seems I'm a bit early for once. But I've always been a thin pick kinda guy myself, about .6 or so usually suits me
So, I'd like to give my input on this.
I've played for over 15 years, and have used many pick materials, metal, wood, plastic, nylon, and synthetic tortoise shell (tortex, or just a different plastic)
I have used all the thicknesses from 0.53mm to 1.3mm, and different shapes and grip textures.
The main pick I keep buying is the orange tortex .60mm.
Why? As you demonstrated in this video, on acoustic guitar, the click of the pick on the strings and the brighter sound it produces helps you stand out in a mix, and if you need more body, a dark reverb will fill out the rest.
I use it on my electric guitars though, though, my second favorite is a .73 nylon which is about the same amount of flex.
How you hold the pick, what angle you pick at, and the tightness of your grip can all have an effect on your tone.
But in the end, it all comes down to 2 main things for me.
Does the pick I'm using make me feel confident?
And am I going to drop it because of having to hold it too loosely to get the sound I want?
Side question, how often do you replace your picks or have to reshape them because the tip wears off?
I've been using Dunlop purple on my electric since I picked it up and started playing again several years ago. I'm glad you reached the same conclusion so I know I haven't been "doing it wrong" all this time.
One of the best things you can do to find your favorite pick is to get the Dunlop assortment packs. I ordered 3 different Dunlop assortment packs from Amazon for like $5 a piece and ended up with about 30 different picks to try out. You will pretty much have every shape, size, thickness, material, and texture that Dunlop has to offer. I found out that I like the thickest Flow and Jazz III Max Grip picks most of the time, but there are a few others I like to use also depending on what I'm playing. The Ultex, Gator Grip, and Prime Grip Delrin 500 are also really nice. If you put a 2mm Ultex into a Fender Mojo Grip that makes for an awesome all around pick. Aww hell I obviously like playing around with pretty much all of them, lol!! They all have their uses, I guess that's part of the fun!
I second this, that's how I figured out that I love the ultex 2mm
@@trevorbaker7168 Yeah, the sampler packs are great. Just got one and found the 0.88mm "Tortex III."
Interesting that you never mentioned your choice of pick changing according to what string gauge you are using. And the difference in what the pick is made of makes a huge difference to me. I used these colored Dunlop picks for the first several years I played. Because they are made of Tortex instead of whatever Fender and Gibson picks were made of, they felt different to me. A Fender medium pick is roughly .72 if I'm not mistaken. The closest (yellow) Dunlop equivalent always felt stiffer to me. Also the edges aren't as beveled or as slippery. And the flex on Dunlop seams to have a longer "memory".
For electric, I always played .009 gauge strings or a hybrid set with 9's on top and 10's on the bass strings.
At those gauges, I have tried all kinds of picks and still end up returning to Fender mediums.
Unless I'm playing a lot of shredding lead work when I prefer a pick that's a little thicker, the Fender med is just about right. With a kicker. I guess I like it a shade lighter than a Fender medium, because my favorite for electric is a well used, and broken in Fender medium.
For acoustic, which I usually use 12s on, I need it a little thicker and I go for a brand new stiffer Fender medium again.
Dunlop Tortex always felt less natural and a little bit "gummy". And that sweet spot I'm looking for falls in between the yellow and orange.
Orange is too flexible and yellow too stiff. And I absolutely HATE the grey nylon picks. They are super gummy and seem to develop a lot of "burrs" that stick out from the edges and catch the string abruptly.
But pick preferences are like opinions...everyone has them and they are all different and personal.
To each his or her own!
Good point, Mike. Pick gauge does make a huge difference when all the picks are the same material. Adding different materials like acrylic or shapes makes a lot of difference too as far as tone and feel. Wish I could try them all.
I agree with the descriptions 👍🏻 overlooked conversation
100% crutch for me is floppy picks when I use my acoustic, almost as a natural compressor! I find a medium heavy offers a good natural gallop in alternate picking as I play WITH the flex and kinda piggy back off that give of lighter picks..73 max grip is my general all around pick I feel a good happy medium. I tend to struggle heavy picks with triplets as I think I'm used to working with the give of light picks and feels "stuck" for me.
Back in the 80s they used to have a steel pick called "Hot licks" that I used to like. It used to give some real good squeals when playing any kind of leads. Gave my guitar that ZZ Top sound. Haven't been able to find them in quite a while.
Tis a shame
Thank you! I always wonder about that. I have been using medium with acoustic guitar and see your point. Thank you sir for sharing.
for electric playing, i used grey, textured Jim Dunlop nylons very early on, in the early 80's (after discovering there was an alternative to celluloid picks, which i tended to break quite a bit)... can't remember the gauge, but they were very light... in my mid-teens i got into the orange (.60) Jim Dunlop Tortex picks and stuck with them for quite some time, up until the early 90's when i began using the green (.88) Tortexes, and have stuck with those ever since... this also correlated with my moving to heavier gauge strings as well (also bought a bunch of the same gauge black JD nylons, once i discovered that they existed :D )... for acoustic, for the longest time i generally used whatever picks i used for my electric playing, or simply whatever was laying around... i focused a lot more on my electric playing for a very long time... it wasn't until about 15 years ago that i finally relented, after purchasing a little metal, pick-shaped container of "Diamond Anniversary" Fender medium gauge cellulose picks on a whim... it was immediately apparent to me how much more detailed, and brighter my playing sounded... i have yet to find any others that actually feel the same (standard Fender medium cellulose picks just don't feel the same, somehow... is that even possible?)... the only downside is that due to my late-life diagnosed diabetes, my fingertips are so dry i can't seem to hold on to them very well... the closest i've come to finding a decent replacement that feel similar to me, and i can actually hold on to for a reasonable amount of time while playing, are the Jim Dunlop "Gel" picks, of the purple medium gauge variety...
Love me some white Dunlop’s .38 when I play electric. Before that I was really digging the green mad dog .53mm picks. Not a fan of picks much thicker than that, it starts to feel weird to play for me.
Have a friend who plays electric guitar with a .3mm pick. Tried to use that pick and it felt practically unplayable to me as I'm used to a 1.5mm pick. Still it's interesting to me to see people play electric with a thin pick if only because it's so alien to me as a concept.
ha! i sharpen my whites,stick about 1mm out (like a stylus pic).. use the sides too :)
Dunlop Gator Grips 2.0mm
Perfect for leads, darker tone if you’re into that. 🤘🏻
I keep a variety of different gauges on my strap with paper clips, I like the crisp sound of thinner picks (which you can hear hit the strings more so than a thicker pick) when I'm strumming so I'll use lighter gauge to medium for that.
For palm muting, I use a medium to a "light" heavy pick, the stiffer pick helps with speed for down strokes. (That sentence was super sexy)
And for speed with picking, I'll go a heavy pick. If you use 3 paperclips, you can put 2-4 picks per paperclip. Works for me.
Love the channel brotha! Great content!
DUDE… the acoustic thin pick tip changed my life, my tone just had that little bit more tone thank you so much
Your tone had just a little bit more tone..
I bet you work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I accidentally bought this variety pack of thick dunlops and one of the thicker ones makes my acoustic sound real twangy
35 years and I still only use the confetti fender picks when practicing. Heavies.
After shredding with those old pics I would get pic dust all over my strings and Pick ups. I am so glad picks have come a long way since the 80's when I started playing
Dunlop greens and yellows probably my favorite. Also the Gator ones are probably just as good.
Awesome info! I also noticed that for me, the material the picks are made out of make a difference also, not just the thickness.
I’ve been using the yellow Dunlop Tortex picks since the mid 80s. Back in the day I was a rock/metal rhythm guitar playing lead vocalist, leaving solo duties mostly to my lead players. My old band recently reformed, and I took on most of the solo duties, and for the first time in my life, really began to work hard on becoming a better soloist. We all know there are roadblocks and plateaus along the way... A few days ago I decided to order a multiple-gauge multi-pack of Tortex picks, as well as a few Jazz 3 picks, just to see if I settle in on a different gauge than the one I’ve been using for 35 years. Now this video pops up - probably because the algorithm knows I ordered guitar picks. Looking forward to experimenting.
Been using the purple dunlops for over a decade after transitioning from the blue. About 2 years ago i got a couple of dragonheart picks and loved them. Now i make my own wooden picks.
are the dragonheart's good for speed picking??
Yes. My playing improved overnight when I discovered the Jazz III pick.
Appreciate the run-through and demo.
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH. This video made a huge difference on my beginner practice.
Good summary. Matches my experience. When I started out, someone gave me a jazz III, and it elevated my playing greatly. It seemed to make me more aware of my picking. I still use them primarily on electric, but I think the benefit of practicing with it spills over to any pick I use.
Ngl, I liked the sound of the 1.14 mm pick on the acoustic.
I've just started learning to play guitar and this video was super usefull for me, cuz it literally describes the issues I've been feeling I have with the pick I use! Thx a lot! Respect from Moscow,Яussia!
I've had very particular pick preference for years now. Dunlop Orange for acoustic and Blue or Green for electric. I scuff them on the asphalt as soon as I get them for additional grip/texture so the markings are usually gone on day one, lol. So color coding is a must for me.
I am probably alone in this, but I geniuenly love the sound of real heavy acoustic
You're definitely not alone!
I personally use .73mm yellow Dunlop Tortex for higher tunings: Drop C#, Drop D, and Standard E. While I use thicker 1.0mm Blue Dunlop Tortex for lower tunings: Drop C, Drop B, and 7 string Drop A#. But that’s just me.
I recently found these picks called Ultex Sharps which is a sharpened contoured version of the standard shape and I am in LOVE with those things!
I’ve tried a variety of jazz III picks and I finally settled on the small white tortex picks (.73 mm). I mainly play rhythm and the size and thickness of the pick is PERFECT for my style of playing, since I incorporate a lot of speed picking, gallops, and down picking. Just my preference though.