I've played 'em all. I nominate D'Andrea Pro Plec model 351. Yes, they make a difference. No, I have no vested interest. Beautiful tone!
World's Best Guitar Picks
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- Rated: 19 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 9:15 p.m. Jet-Head:
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- Rated: 115 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 9:19 p.m. wenzel:
I am going to have to vote snarling dog's brain picks or George Dennis picks, which they don't make anymore. The new snarling dogs are almost the same exact picks as the George Dennis ones, so it's an obvious replacement.
I like grippy picks so that when I switch to finger style guitar I don't drop them!
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- Rated: 19 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 9:26 p.m. Jet-Head:
Well, the Pro Plecs ARE a little slippery and at 1.5mm when they hit a bare toe, they leave a bruise.
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- Rated: 22 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 9:31 p.m. Boyko:
I also like the brain picks, I think the ones I use are by Dunlop. Only cause thats what in my local shop. Also, I like the Dunlop picks with the turtle on them, they have a powdery feel which grips well and kinda absorb the sweat. Flat plastic picks are too slippy for me. I actually went out the other day and spent about $5 on picks to try types and sizes, and found that certain ones suite me better for certain styles.
Will be sure to check out those pics Jet-Head, thanks for the heads up.
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- Rated: 15 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 9:35 p.m. chrisbo:
Planet Waves .024 are the tits.
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- Rated: 56 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 9:38 p.m. otterbean:
Jim Dunlop NYLON .73 mm
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 10:20 p.m. dubkitty:
for years, i was into the David Grisman signature mandolin picks, i had a really attack-heavy, bluegrass-oid picking style a la Jerry Garcia. since i started playing again, i'm afraid it's the most boring choice in the world: Fender Mediums, tortoise-shell only, please...the other colors sound different. i was also thrilled recently to discover that Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz stocks the transparent blue Wabash picks that i used to use back in the 70s in Chicago, and which i hadn't seen for at least 25 years.
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- Rated: 16 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 10:48 p.m. Flaco:
I like the Dunlop Ultex pics a lot, the ones with the rhino on them. I've played around a little bit with different gauges, but I finally settled on the 1.0 mm. The last forever and they have just the right amount of brightness and attack.
For flatpicking acoustic guitar I like to use the Red Bear Tortis picks, which are kind of a lab created/simulated tortoise shell. They're kind of steep at about $20 each, but it's cheaper than real tortoise shell at about $80 each!
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- Rated: 52 ↑
Jul 31, 2007 11:01 p.m. Zuma:
Another vote for Cool Brain.
Vintage Mosrite picks were great, too. The NEVER broke, only wore down.
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- Rated: 21 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 12:18 a.m. Gretschmaster:
Gotta give a big shout out to the Dunlop Jazz III. It is the perfect pick.
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- Rated: 10 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 1:08 a.m. kovachian:
That's THREE millimeters for you girly men!
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 2:32 a.m. dubkitty:
I should have also said that i never use the tip of the pick...i always turn them around and use the upper corner. probably force of habit from the Grisman picks, which had no pointy tip at all.
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- Rated: 22 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 8:52 a.m. Boyko:
3 mm? Thats not a pick, thats a shovel!
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 10:22 a.m. dubkitty:
heh.
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- Rated: 8 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 11:57 a.m. Cip:
John Pearse flat picks are my first pick!
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- Rated: 19 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 12:07 p.m. Jet-Head:
One thing is certain; I have NOT played 'em all. I'm pretty sold on the Pro Plecs but it looks like I have some options.
I like thick, rounded edges that are virtually "noiseless" on the string. Like dubkitty, I used to use Grismans and prior to that Golden Gates. (same thing)
From there, I moved on to polished steer horn picks. Not that expensive and good for bluegrass flatpicking.
Pro Plecs are quieter than all of these and are just as indestructable. They're hard to find, though. I get them from a web dealer in 2 dozen quantities.
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- Rated: 53 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 12:58 p.m. Ratrod:
Dunlop nylon .88.
I used to have thinner ones but sometimes I need more attack or dig harder. Whenever I do some fast single note/string picking, I'll go for a thick tortoise shell pick.
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- Rated: 6 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 1:41 p.m. teryeah:
What otterbean said. I used to play heavier pics but got tired of all the broken strings whizzing by...
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 1:43 p.m. dubkitty:
I've actually been trying to de-emphasize the pick attack now that i'm playing again...i guess i'm just hearing things differently now. and yes, i used to be deadly at breaking strings...i probably have broken more acoustic guitar "A" strings due to the Pick Attack of Death than anyone else on earth other than Richie Havens or Pete Townshend. you should see the divots around the rosette on my old Epiphone acoustic, which are about 1/16 of an inch from Willie Nelson status...through three layers of the plywood.
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- Rated: 44 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 5:29 p.m. Jeff O(h, Look Me In The Eye):
JAZZ III BLACK
Small, pointy, hard as rocks
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- Rated: 22 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 9:48 p.m. jazzbo:
Another vote for Dunlop Ultex, either .60 or .73 depending on my mood.
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- Rated: 15 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 10:21 p.m. reverb11:
Clayton's faux tortoise shell, 1.20 mm. They don't chip wear easily. Nice and bright, with no flex.
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- Rated: 19 ↑
Aug 1, 2007 10:34 p.m. TyPierce:
Dunlop Tortex 0.73mm - the yellow ones. I love the grippage, and the thickness/flex is just right.
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- Rated: 212 ↑
Aug 2, 2007 12:11 a.m. Proteus:
Oooh picks.
Haven't tried Pro Plecs or the new synthetic tortoise, though I mean to.
What I have tried: all manner of plastic, nylon, and celluloid; agate & various other glassy minerals (top left group in first photo); acrylic (bottom of last photo); stainless steel, anodized aluminum (lower right in top photo); real tortoise (upper right group in first photo); mastodon tusk, buffalo horn, ivory (not elephant), abalone shell, another shell that looks pearlescent, somethingbone, and some other kind of dead animal hardpart whose identities I don't recall (lower left of top photo, middle photo).
(Most of these organic ones came from an eBay dealer in New Orleans. I suppose they're legal. I kept waiting for him to come up with human bone, but if he has them at least he doesn't mention it on Ebay. I would try it...)
The thickest of these range up to 3mm, yep. But not tapered in section like kovachian's wiggly diddler. No sir, these are a full manly 3mm right out to the rounded over edges.
Like dk, I play ridiculously hard. Stupid hard. Rake it with a brick hard. Dynamics? Hah! That's what amps are for!
Rake it with a brick, that's what I say.
I rarely break strings, however, because I choke the pick up so close to the end that much of the time the back of my right index finger, below the nail, rakes the string before the pick has a chance to get there. I have a callous on the back of that finger from the nail to the first knuckle.
I've never noticed blood though.
I AM trying to ease up.
Despite this extended menagerie of picks, what I use most often by default is Dunlop Tortex blue 1mm. It's pretty much inflexible, but not so thick I have to adjust for it in timing!
They do wear though. They wear a LOT. I rotate through about 10 of them, lying around everywhere I might be with a guitar, and none have any kind of point left.
I'm kinda over the very thick agate/mineral picks, though I used them extensively in the late 70s and early 80s. Don't recall why. I don't like the hardest organic ones – abalone and ivory – nor the actual stainless steel or anodized aluminum. Most of the horn picks are excellent – it's just that they wear more than plastic, so it's an endless commitment to keep the edges polished smooth. And eventually the picks lose their useful shape.
My VERY favorite is the longish oval real tortoise in the top pick pic, with the pointedly pointy point. It's about 1.25 mm, maybe a little more. Smuggled a couple of them in from Nassau, I did, in me very own pocket. It's the last I have left, so I don't even use it.
What sense does that make?
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- Rated: 40 ↑
Aug 2, 2007 4:16 a.m. Hobie:
DavaMasterControl give a beautiful thick tone when picking, but can be noisy on some strumming. The also have a great grip.
And the Planet Waves SurePick which is half way down the page, gives a very easy grip and smooth tone..
The only ones I dislike are the flat, featureless cheapies and freebies.
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