Change of Guitar Pick question/poll

Triaxis75

Inspired
Hey folks,

Anyone with a fair amount of time in ever drastically change their guitar pick types? It's a silly question, but it's kind of bugging me. I've always played Dunlop Jazz III type picks because of my upbringing and influences, but I see guys like Marshall Harrison, Nuno, and others that make me wonder what if I used a traditional style pick.

The anxiety issue comes in that when I use a traditional pick, everything seems much easier and I get worried that I'll lose the physical motor skills that I've developed using a smaller pick. It's silly, I know (and thank you for reading this far) but has anyone transitioned from that smaller pick type that offers that type of control to a larger, traditional type of pick and had great results that made them not regret turning back?
 
i've been using the Jazz III XL black for 10+ years, tried this and that new pick, but always come back. it's the one for me.

maybe try the XL version of what you already use.
 
Short answer to your question: Yes, went from using an .88mm standard size for years, to a 3.5mm slightly smaller than standard pick.

Essay answer:
I used Dunlop Tortex .88mm for eons (well, 10+ years). After hearing some of the praises and benefits of using thicker picks, I tried a few and landed on the Dunlop John Petrucci 1.5mm and Planet Waves Black Ice (1.5mm) as I seemed to prefer their larger size vs the standard Jazz III and found I had much more control and dynamics with them. I used them for a couple of years but found I didn't like the 'click' when contacting the strings with both of these. I was bored one day so I started looking at 'boutique' picks and discovered a whole other world of thicker guitar picks.

I found a Dunlop Stubby 3.0 in my pick stash, not sure where it came from, but I tried it and was surprised at how much I liked the feel of such a thick pick so the search was on again. I finally narrowed it down to a the Dunlop Primetone 308 and Chickenpicks Badazz III (2.5mm) and Shredder (3.5mm). The 308s weren't bad, they were just too big for me.

The Badazz III and Shredder had the tone I wanted but eventually I fell in love with the feel of the Shredder, it's been all I use for electric for the last 6 months and it just seems to get better. I honestly never thought a guitar pick would make me want to play but the Shredder just does it for me.

Size wise, the Shredder is said to be only 13% smaller than the standard size pick but while it doesn't feel like a Jazz III or Jazz XL, it does feel substantially smaller to me which I attribute to the bevel that goes all the way around the pick.
 
I started using the Tortex 1mm large picks for tracking rhythm guitar and acoustic and they're greater. For lead stuff Jazz III's (I use the Tortex 1.35mm now) still feel like home. Different picks for different situations makes a lot of sense to me.
 
For a few years I’ve been using Eric Johnson Jazz III for electric and Cool Picks thin .60 for acoustic, so I’m changing up mid-gig, even mid-song on Sublime “what I got”

Decided to experiment and try to split the difference with a small medium gauge pick so I grabbed Fender 451 and 551 mediums. I think Steely Dan Jon Herington used similar. For heck of it I grabbed a couple protein picks - Clayton Nutone medium, and Fender 551 tru-tone medium.

I’ll probably end up going back to current picks, but would be nice to not be swapping picks all night.
 
No need to limit yourself to one kind of pick! I have a huge pick collection. Even the different jazz 3 colours sound different haha - I typically like the black ones the most, and EJs on strats.

Also, wegen twins are amazing. Gravity Golds are good too. These aren't as fast as jazz 3s though and are slightly larger.
 
I have tried a lot of different picks and like the jazz shape and choices from Dunlop. My current favorite is 2.0mm, has an icon of dragon on it and is made out of material that makes it less slippery. I also like their Prime Tone sculpted pletcra and Ultex line.

About 8 years ago my wife gave a Blue Chip pick that must have been $50 or so. It's a stupid price, but that pick improved my picking speed by quite a bit, which I found transferred to other picks after I wore it out after 3 or 4 years.

My problem is that picks get slippery in the middle of set, which is why I like the Dunlops as they are grippy.
 
Tried a bunch of different picks - always go back to jazz III's - the Eric Johnsons are my favorite. The Kirk Hammet ones work for me as well.
I don't know how people use the non pointy picks like Tortex and the super flimsy ones. Plus I like the tone the Jazz III's have - much more definition to my ears. Guess just what feels/sounds best to you !
 
I've been using Jazz IIIs for some time, especially the Petrucci signature ones. Recently I started playing with a Gravity pick I got from their booth at NAMM and really liked it apart from it being a bit too round. I ordered a sample pack of their thicker pointier picks and have been switching between those the last couple of weeks. I think I like having a variety because you can get different types of tones from different picks, I can switch it up for different styles of playing. For my regular stuff I like their Razor 3mm. I actually also like the 6mm, which seemed insane to me at first but it's not really awkward to play with at all.
 
I play the red Jazz III's exclusively now. I started out with traditional picks, big ones, thick ones, flimsy ones, but I prefer a stiff pick. When I first got a Jazz III at first I had to get used to them, now I can't go back to bigger picks, they just feel way to clumsy and clunky. The only time I used something else was when I broke my right hand's pinky, so it was in a cast. With my thumb my only free finger I had to play with a thumb pick for a while.
 
I settled on Dunlop Tortex Jazz 1mm about 15 years or more ago.

Had tried many options, actually also used the Dunlop Stubby 3mm mentioned above for a few years but obtaining them became hard. I actually got hooked on them before they were publicly released as I had a friend that worked for Dunlop (they located about 30 miles from where I live).

I had tried the red and black Dunlop Jazz picks as well, but ultimately the Tortex won the day...

Until about a year ago when the other guitarist in my band gave me a Dunlop Petrucci Jazz 1.5mm. I went back and forth between the two for a couple months but kept going back to the Petrucci.

Now that's all I use. From a useability perspective, both are about the same but I like the tone from the Petrucci better.

Too bad I've got a couple hundred unused Tortex Jazz picks;)

Need to buy more Petrucci picks!
 
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I used the pink or (after I found out they existed) black tortex jazz III's exclusively for the better part of 10 years. Went through a few 'am I using the right pick?' crises over the years but always came back to those. Then, last year I started a project with an old friend of mine, borrowed one of his green tortex jazz XL's and haven't really looked back since. I use the black ones now, but thats just a thickness thing...I still pick up the greens now & again. Today I picked up a sampler pack of the Ultex picks; I used them in the JazzIII size for a while so now I'm trying the more standard shaped picks to see.

I hate it the most when I pick up something else to use for a little bit and am on the fence...because then I get into this hazy area where my go-to standards don't feel quite right anymore, but the new ones I'm trying also aren't hitting it for me, so then I'm stuck wandering in this wasteland of picks that are almost right.
 
I played Jazz III's for years.. Reds, Black, Ultex, Petrucci, EJ, etc. One day I run across and old tin of picks in an old box of guitar stuff from like 20 yrs ago. Go through the picks and grab a big tortex triangle pick. Give it a try and I haven't touched a Jazz III since. It's crazy to me that I like the big pick with more rounder tip and thinner (1.0 mm) after years of the small, thick, pointy picks. Can't figure it out, but it is what it is. I like having 3 tips though! I gotta say that for me, I feel like I have much more control with the big pick.
 
Long story I won’t tell but I’ve been using the discontinued Dunlop Hot Licks Copper gauge 10 pick. I can’t use anything else. I have what I hope is a lifetime supply.
 
Jazz III Ultex XL and normal. I've tried everything and for years it was the red jazz IIIs, now been using these ultex for years. I've tried using other variations of ultex that Dunlop offers and some of those are great also. The grip seems better than other pick materials also.

Only negative is the attack can be really bright. Some of the other ultex variations besides the jazz IIIs have smoothed edges which help but none feel as good as the ultex xl IIIs or normal.
 
I used the Dunlop Tortex green and blue picks for the first few years, then I switched to Jazz III's, and have stayed on some variation of that for the last 16 or 17 years. My current favorites are the Max Grip red for guitar, and the Ultex XL size for bass.
 
I've tried various picks over the years, but I always come back to standard Fender mediums, or other varieties of the same (PRS mediums for example). Once in a while I'll use thins if I'm really doing a lot of strumming and want that thinner sound. Otherwise, Fender mediums just feel right to me - size, thickness... Gotta be in the middle of the bell curve somewhere in my life! ;-)
 
I've used the green tortex..88 from 1995 to 2017 because I never felt better with another one and the jazz iii was too small for me...
And one day I try the jazz xl and feel stupid, it's like I play way better and dynamically!
Some months ago I bought the jp black jazz and am in heaven.
I just feel stupid I sticked so many years to a pick that wasn't the good one just because it's the first I bought with my first electric lol
 
I just feel stupid I sticked so many years to a pick that wasn't the good one just because it's the first I bought with my first electric lol

Well, that's how most people coast through life, stick with the first thing they know, or were taught. So no need to feel embarrassed.
 
I play the red Jazz III max grips exclusively now.

The bigger picks feel like doing neurosurgery with oven mitts on IMHO; there is a waste of a lot of motion and force when I use the bigger picks. I find playing with bigger, more traditional picks a rather disconnecting experience once I was turned onto the Jazz III max grip.

For finger picking, I enjoy using sitar picks as they mount right on your hand, don't destroy my hands or strings, and aren't as awkward as country style slip on picks.
 
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