Switched picks - not!

[spiral]

Originally Posted by SamBooka

I cant find them on the GC page oddly enough.
When I try to order them through Amazon.com..

Items: $2.95 Shipping & Handling: $23.97

Strings & Beyond: Guitar Picks / Plectrums ships to Canada (free shipping over $35). I have always been happy with their service.

[keith]

I really like the Dunlop carbon fiber picks also, especially with the sandpaper like grip on it.

I've gotten them from a place called Strings and Beyond.com that you may want to check out for prices.

[keith]

That's unusual that we posted the same site within 3 minutes of one another!! They have good deals on strings also.

[SamBooka]

I have strings enough for the next couple of years. They did have a multitool that I decided to get . Will let you know what I think of the picks.

Thanks for all the help.

[Rustic]

Thanks for the sharing about pick choices. I'm using a Dunlop III because I love the tone. But, I find a Dunlop 0.7 Tortex is much easier to use: because there is more flex it is easier to use for strummed passages, has some "bounce" so is faster for playing lines, and is more relaxing on the arm and hand. The problem is that it sounds "pingy". It's probably a futile search but I'd love to find something with some flex that can approximate the warm tone of a Dunlop III.

Rustic

[larry graves]

What's wrong with the good old thumb? Good enough for Wes!

[Tom Karol]

Well, I did make the switch from the red nylon Jazz III's to the Ultex Jazz III's ... for the time being. They seem to be thinner but stiffer, and the attack is a bit brighter - which I like with my particular guitars.

A couple of things I like about the Ultex version are that they're grippier (more pronounced raised lettering) and the tips seem to be more precisely beveled. Both are extremely durable. The red ones are easier to find when you drop them though! (I used to use 1mm 'Stubbies' - the clear ones - with my Tele: not as durable, and if you dropped 'em you lost 'em!)

As far as the Carbon Fiber version is concerned, they sound intruguing but I just didn't like the 'sandpaper' gripping surface when I tried the 'Max Grip' Jazz III's, so I won't bother checking them out (yet).

[SamBooka]

so I have had the carbon fibre pics for about a week. First thoughts were:

Pro: great grip
Con: really light (weight)

Stuck with them and now I like them. Being thinner I find they sound a little brighter than the 205s so they sit in the pile with the others and I grab the one I feel like on that day. I only bought 3 so I might have to do another order

EDIT: And for Strings and Beyond the service was fine. About twice as long for my shipment to get here compared to juststrings.com They dont carry exactly the same stock so I imagine I will still deal with both. Thanks for the tip.

[oldane]

I have used Dunlop Jazztone 205 for years, but I started to experiment a bit when I took up acoustic rhythm strumming. For that I have ended with Dunlop Ultex 1.14mm big triangular. The big size helps me, since I tend to drop the pick when strumming vigorously. Lately I have also begun to use Dunlup Ultex Jazz (1.34mm thick, I think) for electric playing, and I like it, especially for chording. The Dunlop Jazz red and carbon are a bit too muffled for my taste (some find the Ultex too bright, though). I have tried a few of the very expensive picks in various exotic materials but have not found them to be any better sounding than the much cheaper Dunlops.

[nado64]

I play with Jazztone 205 and 207.
But I dream to try, one day, D'andrea ProPlec.
It's unavailable in France...

[Retroman1969]

I keep going back to the 3.0mm Stubbies and Big Stubbies. They are the darkest and quietest I've tried so far, and readily available.
I have some red Jazz IIIs but they are a bit too bright sounding for my taste and click on the strings pretty loudly compared to the Stubbies.
I'd like to try the Jazztones, but I can't find them anywhere. Don't really want to go to the trouble to order picks online and pay shipping for them unless I'm ordering something else with them.

[JohnBlood10]

I've been using Planet Waves .84's for about a year (either that, or Dunlop .88's). I bought a pack of 20 and it took less than a month for every single one to end up in the lint filter of my dryer.

[Dad3353]

Originally Posted by JohnBlood10

I've been using Planet Waves .84's for about a year (either that, or Dunlop .88's). I bought a pack of 20 and it took less than a month for every single one to end up in the lint filter of my dryer.

Good evening, John...
Try 20 of these, perhaps...
Giant Guitar Picks...
...you may need to change your tumble dryer...

[JohnBlood10]

Ha! You never know when you need a pick that can double as an armored breastplate.

[mangotango]

Originally Posted by JohnBlood10

Ha! You never know when you need a pick that can double as an armored breastplate.

Buy two, you can get in a game of ping-pong inbetween sets......

[merlinshepherd]

Has anyone tried V-Picks?

V-Picks Guitar Pick, Electric & Acoustic Guitar Picks

[EinarG]

I've been using the Dunlop jazztone 207 for a couple of months now, and I'm loving it. It sounds fat without losing the attack. I've tried to use my old jazz IIIs a couple of times, but they sound to bright and thin. I don't know how I managed to use them for all those years.

[Mojojojo]

I've been through a bunch of pics over the years, especially starting with my Gypsy Jazz obsession phase. Reading all those GJ sites will have you convinced you need this or that, so after buying a Saga Gitane oval hole, I went pick hunting. Up till then I pretty much always used a black Jazz III for precise picking styles and especially leads. Love them and buy em often cause I always end up losing them. For more pop/rock type stuff I love the 1.14 mm Ultex. I just love the material and tone. I found a bunch of pick vendors at a Gypsy Jazz festival that came to my locale and bought an assortment of John Pearse picks, ranging from rosewood, ebony, bone, and bullhorn. I also ordered a couple Wegen's and tought myself the GJ style of picking. I personally liked the rosewood pick, had a very warm tone to it, even when playing in that brassy GJ style. Because of that warmth, it didn't work well when trying to cut through the mix. I ended up destroying that pick after reading a GJ forum post regarding a supposed pick used by Django himself that was discovered in a stowed away guitar case. Everyone was going on about how the worn down shape of this pick was the secret to Django's tone and they even included plans on how to fashion a pick in the same manner. Well, I had a go of it with a file, and the outcome was purely a novelty for me. That pick quickly lost favor. The ebony pick was much like the rosewood, but a little brighter, and less "grabby". I kind of like a little grabbiness to my picks as they hit the strings giving it a satisfying plucking action as opposed to just slipping over them. It's for this reason I don't like Big Stubby's at all. The bone and the bullhorn material has a very bright, brash tone which works well with for the assertive GJ style, but I felt it was too bright and pronounced when dropping back into the rhythm. The Wegens feel excellent in my grip. It also has that string grabbiness that I like alot and works wonderful in the GJ style. However, you drop one of those, and you will likely bring the jam to sudden halt just to look for it, due to the cost and the chance it may end up in someone elses pocket!

Well, after my GJ phase began to wane, and I started spending more time on straight ahead jazz, and dare I say it, old school metal... I fooled around with those picks, but quickly went back to my old standby's. Too "nichey"... if that's a word. These picks work great for that GJ rest stroke type of picking, but not so much for extended alternate picking, upstrokes, or chicka-chicka, whacka-whacka type rhythms used in funk, blues, etc. For that I absolutely love the Ultex material and have been searching high and low for the Ultex Jazz III's or maybe the Ultex Sharps. None of the stores around here stock them in sizes over .73 mm, what's up with that? I can't bring myself to pay S&H charges for something that only costs a couple of dollars y'know? One day when I put together a big order, I may have to try them. So for contemporary styles, I favor the Ultex. For jazz and shred, I favor the black Jazz III. I pretty much always have one of or both types in my pocket at all times. My jazz duet partner favors the red Jazz III's and I gave them a go, but it has that slip over the strings type of texture that I just don't like. I also tuck the pick into my fingers for jazz comping, pretty much 95% of the time, and the Jazz III size tucks nicely away for that.

[Solo Flight]

Originally Posted by EinarG

I've been using the Dunlop jazztone 207 for a couple of months now, and I'm loving it. It sounds fat without losing the attack. I've tried to use my old jazz IIIs a couple of times, but they sound to bright and thin. I don't know how I managed to use them for all those years.

+1 on the 207's. Big enough to hold onto, doesn't slip, nice thick sound. Just bought another bag full.

[markerhodes]

Solo, when you say 'big enough to hold onto' do you mean the Jazztone 207s are *longer* than Jazz IIIs? I can't deal with anything longer than a Jazz III---including the $18 Surf Pick I foolishly bought and knew in ten seconds I'd never use again because it's too fricking big. I don't mind *thicker* but I can't stand *longer*. I wish Jazz IIIs were shorter, actually. (But then, I don't think I hold them the way most people do.)

[Solo Flight]

Longer, wider - if we're thinking of the same Jazz III's. I think they do make a larger version, though. But I like the 207's. Just a personal preference - I know lots of people prefer smaller picks but I could never use one comfortably.

[EinarG]

I used the smaller Jazz III when I first began playing, but after 5-6 years I switched to the III XLs. After that I've been hunting for a pick with the same size as the XLs, only fatter, with a fatter tone. Then I found the 207s, and they are perfect. I would love to try out some of the V-picks and stuff, but I cannot imagine they would be better suited for jazz than the jazztone series. Comfortable, not slippery at all, and I've got sweatty hands.

[amhabz]

Never thought so much about picks! How they can make a difference in tone. I tend to use the free GC picks, can't beat the price. GC did send me a pack of those red dunlap picks by mistake do like them but keep losing them. Was supposed to be an expensive pickup, did get the pickup quickly after I called. Remember many a gig when I was young using a quarter.

[barrymclark]

I was using Dunlop Jazz II's. I didn't care for the sound of III's and I's. I eventually, though, dropped those picks. I was in search again. I think I just didn't like the feel of the smaller Jazz pick shape.

I am really digging on my Dunlop 2.0 Gator Grips.

[HighSpeedSpoon]

Originally Posted by Paul Kinnear

Has anyone noticed a change in the black dunlop jazz III. I have been using them for about 20 to 25 years and they seem harder. They used to wear very quickly ( which I liked). Recently I found an old bag of them and they are different. Does annyonr know if they still sell the older version? They sound warmer do to the slightly softer material (almost like a graphite).

I've really liked Dunlop products over the years, including their 206 and 207. Then I found the Jazz III and loved what it did for my tone.

Recently I got a re-order of Dunlop Jazz IIIs, including also the easy grip surface version. They suck. Some of them don't even play the same front and back. The first time ever I've had a problem with Dunlop. I looked at the new IIIs under a jewelers loupe and compared them with the older IIIs. The new ones appear as if they were two sides sandwiched together - there is a small protruding rim running around the edge of the pick - too small to see with the naked eyes (mine anyway lol), but enough to really alter the tone.

I just ordered some Clayton Acetal STs in 100 and 152 and a pack of Planet waves Black Ice Heavy (formerly D'Addario Delrin (acetal) .039). We'll see how they do.

[Tom Karol]

Very interesting. I'm currently alternating between the Ultex Jazz III's in both the 1.14 mm and 2.0 widths. The 1.14 mm ones are very consistent, but all the 2.0 mm ones (out of 24 of them) sound different on one side than they do on the other!