Using a metal pick made my III sound way better

rrhoads17

Inspired
For years I used the 1mm EVH picks with the grip on them mainly cause I could hold onto them and they were comfortable. I noticed my tone was always kinda dull sounding to where I almost sold my AxeFx. I watched a video with Phil Collen talking up metal picks so I thought I'd give it a try and bought some brass Dunlop Tetrapicks. I can't believe what a difference it made for me personally. Using those picks opened up my tone so much and the unit sounds so much better. It makes it sound more present and punchy. I have come to the conclusion that your picking hand is just as, if not more, important as your fretting hand.
 
I've never played with a metal pick, but I'll absolutely agree with you that the pick construction and materials has a huge effect on tone. I remember one audition I played at a church where the guy stopped me half way through the first song and asked me what I was doing to get the sound I had- I was using the old backwards pick thing that the Edge does- he had been looking for that chimey, scrapey attack for ages, and never knew it just came down to the pick.
 
Well, that is where the tone starts! Strings & Picks. I've been amazed at how much difference pickups can make as well. Split coil on a humbucker let's the pitch definition come thru, etc. Using a 10ft instrument cable instead of a 25ft... etc.

I really like the Dunlop Petrucci picks - very thick & stiff. I'll have to try the Tetrapicks!
 
Tried metal in the past. Dunlop ultex jazz III XL is as bright as I want to be.
Glides nicely on the strings too.
 
Breaking a string is almost certainly not caused by the pick... However metal picks (at least stainless steel, which is what I used for a while back I the day) will eat the wound strings for lunch!
I used copper and stainless back in the day. They both had the same effect on the strings except the copper would turn your fingers green. It eats the windings where you pick which is somewhere around where the middle pickup would be and that’s where they will break. The D was always first. I did love the way they sound though.
 
I can't settle on one pick. I use .73 or .88 Nylon picks for blues to classic rock type stuff, Dunlop Flow (or JP sig) for more technically ambitious Metal and I do like the Dava Control Picks for groovier Metal.
The Nylon picks give a nice chirpy attack and support a loose feel for shuffles and laid back grooves. The 2mm Flow or JP picks glide 'through' the strings while still remaining accurate, but they do lack a bit of attack. That's where the Dava Control come in for me: stiff and hard enough for a good, bright attack, but still a bit flexible so you don't fight the strings too much.

I tried the Ultex picks and although I liked the tone, they wear off way too quickly and lose their sharp point. You can get it back by rubbing them over the carpet a few times, but still

Metal picks I just don't like. It feels to me like they get caught on the strings and I hate that feeling. I don't have any right hand discipline, I tend to dig in pretty hard, and I believe that's the reason metal picks don't work for me.
 
I used copper and stainless back in the day. They both had the same effect on the strings except the copper would turn your fingers green. It eats the windings where you pick which is somewhere around where the middle pickup would be and that’s where they will break. The D was always first. I did love the way they sound though.
I am using brass picks which are supposed to be less aggressive on strings and the edges are smooth and don't become sharp, at least not yet.
 
Back
Top Bottom