Plectrum Field Guide

[ruger9]

Soft materials like celluloid are darker and hard ones like polycarbonate or ultem are brighter. This effect can be adjusted by polishing or roughing up the surface/edge.

t.

I have found celluloid to be brighter than ultem/ultex on every guitar I own, including acoustics. But it's not a huge difference.

My picks, from brightest to darkest:

polycarbonate (pickboy)
celluloid
Dunlop ultex
Red Bear
Clayton Acetal
Blue Chip
Wegen

Personally, I seem to use the Ultex if I want a snappier tone, the Acetal is I want a more rounded tone, and the Blue Chip for the darkest tone (I don't like the wegens at all, too muffled to my ears). I find the pick difference matter more on acoustic guitars, a little lesser on archtops, and even lesser on solidbodies. The Red Bear is primarily an acoustic pick for me, as are the Blue Chips.

After spending $$$ on some of these "boutique" picks, I find the acetal gets you 95% of what the blue chip does, and the ultex is probably closest to the Red Bear... maybe 85% of what the RB does. I don't think I'll be buying any more BCs, but I can definitely see a couple more RBs in my future... for my acoustics.

[Tom Karol]

Well, I've posted a bunch of stuff about picks previously on the board, but I'll summarize my current state for this thread:

1) I've tried many of the picks mentioned so far.
2) Basically, anything approximating Dunlop's Jazz III shape that's 1-2mm thick will feel comfortable to me.
3) I have many Dunlop Amber 1.14mm Ultex Jazz III's that I use with my Tele-type and my 335 clone.
4) I have many Dunlop Black 2.0mm Ultex Jazz III's that I use with my acoustics.
5) I have 3 Blue Chip Jazz60's (1.5mm) that I use with my archtop.

So, I'll never ever need to acquire any more picks, but of course that doesn't mean I'll never get the urge to do so!

[mark105]

I like the Dunlop 205's, I tried an orange and black, jazz, Dava pick a while back, loved the grip but it sounded too bright.

[Norman931]

Let's not forget the humble Fender Medium. It's a safe bet that we've all used them from time to time and that it was quite likely the first pick you ever played a note with.

I've used the Fender 351 Heavy for years. Just feels right to me.

[FrankyNoTone]

I have found celluloid to be brighter than ultem/ultex on every guitar I own, including acoustics. But it's not a huge difference.
...

That is very possible as the specific material formula, thickness, point/edge profile and playing technique(s) can draw out the differences in different ways. Dunlop, D'Andrea, Planet Waves describe celluloid's tone as "warm, fat, round" but that seems to describe pregnant women better than picks. I think the English language is lacking in describing tone.

Here's some more generalities:
- Picks with round beveled edges like "D" sound darker than those with square "]" edges. The greatest difference I've yet encountered for this is between Dunlop's JazzTones and Ultex 2.0 Jazz III.

- Picks that have a firm flex, usually in the .7mm to 1.0mm thickness range but varies with material, sound brighter because the point whips back into shape on the release and brushes strongly against the string. Much thinner picks don't have the potential energy stored in the flex to do this while thicker picks don't flex enough to cause this effect. Celluloid picks tend to have a "snap" while Dunlop Tortex picks have a distinct "click" on the release. Also, I believe this is the difference in tone between the red and black Dunlop Jazz III's since the red flexes more than the black.

For a brightness shootout, here's three picks that I've sharpened to my preference with real thickness:
Fender Celluloid X-H: 1.07mm
Dunlop Ultex 1.14mm: 1.27mm
Planet Waves Celluloid 1.25mm: 1.25mm



In this grouping, and given my angled picking technique, the Fender is just a bit brighter than the Dunlop and I attribute that to it being thinner which outweighs the material difference. On the other hand, the Planet Waves is notably darker. Since the Dunlop and PW are very close in thickness and shape, the difference lies in the material.

Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this as I'm sidelined for a while with strained tendons in my fretting hand due to over enthusiastic stretching exercises so I'm posting instead of playing.

[balthazar]

Hi,

Just discovered this very interesting thread so I will show you some picks I use. They are all in standard shape (351), my preferred shape.
I sorted them from "bright" to "mellow" (from left to right, first row then second row on pic). Some are well-known, this will lead to set the others.



I recently received Nelson Cordeiro's pick and already love it. I essentially use Fender's pick (medium or heavy), this is maybe the reason. My favorites picks are at both ends of that list: Cordeiro, Fender, Dugain and d'Andrea. Depends on my mood.



Nelson Cordeiro Manouch' 2.5: gorgeous pick handmade from acetate, perfectly beveled (right-handed), available in "grip" version.
Picks et médiators NC

Fender Celluloid Heavy: made from celluloid, well-known and inexpensive.
Fender: The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll since 1946

Jim Dunlop Big Stubby: made from Lexan® (polycarbonate), too "clicky".
Dunlop

Jim Dunlop Guenine Celluloid XH: made from celluloid.
Dunlop

Steve Clayton NuTone Heavy: made from animal protein (casein?). Supposed to mimic real tortoise shell. I cannot compare, never played real tortoise shell picks.
Clayton USA Guitar Picks and Custom Guitar Picks

Jim Dunlop Ultex 1.14: made from Ultem® (polyetherimide).
Dunlop

Jean-Charles Dugain Dugpouce Acétate: handmade from acetate, ergonomic, beveled (right-handed).
DUGAIN MEDIATORS PLECTRIER

d'Andrea Pro Plec: made from V-Resin® (vinyl?), hard to find in Europe.
D'Andrea USA

[Eddie Lang]

Good post, Balthazar!

At the time of my original post, the Clayton small teardrop ultem was my favourite. I prefer a small jazz type pick (we used to call them mandolin picks), and I was never comfortable with the standard guitar pick shape. It's funny, because I like the Dawg which is close to that shape, but a little bigger, and with rounder tips.

A couple years ago, after experimenting some more with different picks, I settled on Traynor Jazz derlin picks 1.5mm. At about $4 CDN a dozen, I have found that they are the closest in feel and tone to the much more expensive Blue Chip Jazz. I like these BC Jazz a lot, and also Red Bear Lil' Jazzer and the older Nº9 shape (from before they modified it), but they are expensive enough that I don't dare playing them anywhere but in my house.

Lately, I have been playing more and more with the 1.5mm Pickboy Jazz (Jazz III size and shape). It's got a nice feel and I like the tone I get with them.






In order of importance, I'd say that feel comes first, then sound. I just won't sound good if the pick doesn't feel good in my fingers. Soundwise, I like a pick that's darker sounding. I also need the pick to be quite rigid - I can't play well with a flexible pick. And I need thicker strings (high E 0.012 to 0.014 - never anything smaller than 0.011). Some people will sound good with any pick and any guitar; it's really not my case... I need certain favourable conditions!

[fws6]

Started out using the jazz III s but have switched to the thick gypsy style horn picks 10 years ago. Like shown in the firstbpost, theyre pretty cheap on ebay from chinese (or Vietnamese ?) sellers, but I have to reshape the tip a bit with some sandpaper so that they have a nice bevel instead of a pointy tip. Horn wears out fast but at the low price it doesnt really matter. And they give a very nice warm thick sound.

[Dandan]

I have no idea where I got this pick, someone gave it to me years ago and I love it. I never got seriously into using it because I'm scared of falling in love and losing it or wearing it out (although something tells me it would last a long time). Some of you seem like pick scholars, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my quest.

One side is rounded, the other is flat. It sounds great. It is very hard, feels smooth and when you first pick it up it is much smoother and cooler to the touch than a 'normal' pick. It could be glass but I'm not certain. I just felt it with my teeth... my teeth think it might be glass. Agate maybe. The surface is smooth yet slightly wavy or irregular, possibly hand made. It's a bit thicker than 1.5mm in the centre, but not quite 2 mm.

I've been exclusively using JD 208s for years. I'm relatively happy with them and prefer their shape. They do wear out and get 'raspy' edges and by comparison with this thing they sound a bit dull. I don't have a huge tendency to look for gear to improve my sound (practice is free), but this pick has a noticeably more defined and clear sound and smooths out my comping. The rounded edge gives it a quick and glorious release and keeps it from being overly sharp/hard sounding and the flat edge sticks to my thumb.

It's a tad small for my taste but it sounds great, single note lines are articulate without losing warmth. I hear more of the string and more of the guitar, the attack seems to be a smaller moment in time. Chords feel more even and almost pleasantly compressed. I would start using it outside of the home if I knew where I could find more, and I'd love to find one the same shape as a 208 or 207. Ideas?

Dan

[viccortes285]

The Plectrum I used, I have many of, all 1mm or more thick, The wooden one creates a mellow tone, the Next 4 are Dunlaps and my thumb Pec from Fender.


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[blille]

Great post!

Also, anyone know what type of picks Jim Hall, George Benson, and Pat Metheny use? I know Scofield uses a 2m Derlin and Kurt Rosenwinkel uses a 3m Big Stubby. I'm especially interested as to how George Benson gets that crisp tone of his.

I've been keeping these around since a 90s concert where a sound engineer gave them to me. They are normal thin picks. I thought they were promotional but it turns out he does (or did) use them but he picks sideways, with one of the round ends.

Here's an old thread about his technique.






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[rio]

Thin, really? I thought he used mediums?


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[omphalopsychos]

My go-tos are D'Andrea pro plec and dunlop jazztone. I just got a couple of john pearse fast turtles, which sound and feel great on electric (very fat mellow attack with plenty of definition), but they make a little too much string noise for practicing quietly.

[entresz]

I have been using Wegen Fatones for the last 5+ years. They are noisy, particularly if you are using the bridge pickup on a Tele. It's easy to play fast with them, and when I am doing 4 to the bar rhythm, I get much better volume.

[joebonni]

I really like this pick even for Rock Guitar but Jazz and Gypsy Jazz this thing is loud wow. I have the white one and the black one.