V-Picks, Question About Chirping

I used jazz iii's for twenty years, but now I mostly use these because of stiffness in my fingers from work (larger are easier to hold on to), sometimes the regular jazz iii size ultex.
The 3m primetones are pretty amazing & glide so easily on the strings and also have an indention and texture that's very comfortable.
The ultex jazz xl feel great but have a brighter attack that I don't always like

I hated the max grip jazz picks - the tip of the petrucci pick is awesome but I dislike the shape and feel.

I have a real tortoise pick a friend gave me but the buffalo horn picks on ebay are very similar

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I'm on ChickenPicks here. I tried them because the guy is a fellow Netherlander, of course, but I love them. I also like the Gravity Picks, the normal, not the gold ones, don't have those. I've taken to thicker picks lately.

I'm going to drill a couple of holes through my ChickenPicks, though. I used to do that all the time with my ordinary heavy picks. The pattern on the CPs is not enough for me to feel safe with the grip.
 
pima1234 said:
I want to try that Gravity Sunrise Big Mini. That sounds like it could also become my go-to pick. I might even go for the 4mm (yellow).
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The Sunrise Big Mini is still my go-to pick after receiving the Chicken Picks. I got the 2.0 mm Shredder and the 3.5 Classic from Gravity about two weeks after ordering. The Chicken Picks are nice, and I have no doubt that if I worked at it I could use them; they really are nice. The 2.0 Shredder it turns out is too thin and a virtual duplicate of the shape of the Sunrise Big Mini - But the sunrise is made from that material that sticks to the fingers and is much brighter sounding.

The Sunrise, in the two weeks of play, has worn just slightly but still has a pretty good point. I will probably buy another Chicken Pick Shredder, cuz they are more durable and the shape is pretty identical. I just don't know if I want to separate my Axe Fx presets into versions for different picks at this point; the grip of the Gravity Sunrise (with holes) is better (but the Chicken Picks grip is not really bad or slippery at all, its just not on the level of V-picks or Gravity non-gold).

Another good thing about the Sunrise; its orange, and its very easy to locate on a counter or MIDI keyboard because of its bright neon orange color.

Most importantly, for now, I find the brightness of the Sunrise Big Mini 3.0 Gravity pick to be more familiar to the way I work with my 3 pick up settings on my guitar.

In other words, I already have a habit of dialing in tones and expecting the pick to naturally be pretty bright. I rarely think in terms of dulling the overall tone - I think in terms of maybe bringing down certain specific frequencies incl the extreme high end, but prefer to have some brightness to play with up front. (The V-pick chirp was just too much of a certain range of treble; whereas I really think the Gravity is a nice smooth curve).

Having extra brightness to play with right now = good in my opinion. (But buying picks so often is also not a good move economically so I plan to use the more durable picks some of the time).

In the end I am very pleased with all purchases. And I will be re-ordering from both companies. I will get 5 of the Sunrise Big Mini 3.0 Picks (Or may consider getting a slightly thicker one if they offer 3.5.) I will also consider getting the version of the Sunrise that is made from that more expensive, duller sounding, less grippable material to see how I like it and how long it will last. And I will probably get a Chicken Picks Shredder that is thicker, like 3 or 3.5 mm.

I'm glad that these more boutique picks exist and that I have some more options as I struggle to learn technical guitar playing.

And I am still sane. I haven't fully jumped off the Cliff into Red Bear or Blue Chip territory. (joking - please understand).
 
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Yup. My recommendation is, if you're happy with the Gravity and CP, no reason to try Red Bear and Blue Chip. But don't discount those US Blues bone and horn picks (there are other sellers on Amazon, in addition to Timber Tones). I really like them.

My Red Bears were bought 2nd hand, thankfully, but still pricey. They are interesting picks, really, unique unto themselves. But, the Blue Chips are incredibly expensive. Hard to justify, in fact. Then again, if they last for years, it makes them more worthwhile.

I'm set on those Gravity picks next time around. Sometimes he offers good sales, and I plan to jump in on the next good one.

I need to start selling off the picks I don't plan to use...
 
pima1234 said:
Yup. My recommendation is, if you're happy with the Gravity and CP, no reason to try Red Bear and Blue Chip. But don't discount those US Blues bone and horn picks (there are other sellers on Amazon, in addition to Timber Tones). I really like them.

My Red Bears were bought 2nd hand, thankfully, but still pricey. They are interesting picks, really, unique unto themselves. But, the Blue Chips are incredibly expensive. Hard to justify, in fact. Then again, if they last for years, it makes them more worthwhile.

I'm set on those Gravity picks next time around. Sometimes he offers good sales, and I plan to jump in on the next good one.

I need to start selling off the picks I don't plan to use...
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(Update: Thanks Pima1234, I will certainly want to try some other materials as you suggest. I did try one wood pick and one made of some sort of material - but I don't think it was specifically the horn or bone material you are referring to - I wish I could remember specifically what it was called - I bought it at a boutique guitar store - so I suppose revisiting the store is the only way I'll know.

After a couple of weeks with the Sunrise Big Mini 3.0, I used my superfine baby file, and filed down the tip. It takes to filing well, and the point is back to perfection. My technique has progressed in the past couple of weeks, which means I will credit the pick whether it deserves it or not. The tone I'm using to practice, with bridge pickup, is a little bright directly in front of the tweeter, but I suppose I shouldn't worry too much, I can dial it back down anytime. And always enter myself into therapy if needed.

So happily today I ordered 3 more of the same acrylic Sunrise picks, plus one of the standard size acrylic Sunrise picks, since I know i will be able to get some lasting use out of them - and probably only go through 1 every 1-2 months if that even.

Gold Sunrise picks come in 2.5 and 5 mm, but not in sizes between these. 5 mm is too thick, and although 2.5 is not terribly thin, I don't think I'll like it quite as much as the 3 mm that I have gotten used to. So I am holding off on getting another Gold.)
 
Placed another order from Gravity picks. I like both the Big Mini Sunrise, and the Standard Sunrise. (Gravity was kind enough to include a gift of one Sunrise Standard picks with my first order, and I was surprised; I like it very much and have nearly worn it down).

As I mentioned previously I was not happy with the very triangular "Gold Series" Razor 1.5. Mainly it was not thick enough. (although I use a fender teardrop and its rather thin, less than 1.5, when I'm messing around, and it is one pick that remains very easy for me to play with; until the very high speed phrases are met up with.). The 1.5 Razor Gold was a little dull sounding compared to what I'm used to (V-picks and now Gravity Sunrise Acrylic). But on reconsidering, I decided that a Gold Series Sunrise (perhaps also Stealth) may have more high end and character.because it may actually taper to a point a bit differently. Hopefully I can use it some of the time and it won't wear down very fast.

Meanwhile I ordered 5 more Sunrise Standards as well.

I'll keep everyone tuned in after I've received and played the Gold Series Stealth Sunrise Standard.
 
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I'm liking the Gravity Sunrise 2.5 Gold. It isn't dull sounding. Sounds fine. (I like it better than the chicken picks I got - which aren't that pointy - I'm wondering if I got Chicken Picks to make me a sharper pick, would it sound as good as this...)

To compensate for the slight tonal difference I just made a slightly brighter preset for it and that works pretty well. The point is very much like that of the Acrylic version. The question will be, how long will the nice, well sculpted "sharp pick connoisseur" point last?

It turns out I got Stealth Standards 3.0 instead of my Gravity Standards. Ah well, they have 3 sharp points instead of 1 sharp point. I never really need a rounded point for rhythm playing these says; I pretty much just tilt the pick - (or if I'm recording I can use a fender teardrop for rhythm, its pointed but not that hard, so it works great for fast syncopated rhythm as well as fast lead playing).
 
I experimented with different materials (Blue Chip, V pick, Red Bear, stone pick, Petrucci picks, etc. even a mammoth ivory pick) and I've always returned to Eric Johnson Jazz III. The tone balance and grip work well for me. Sometimes I yearn for a little more zing on the top end like surf guitar. Otherwise I've been very happy with EJ J3 ever since I first tried them a few years ago. Useful, toneful pick (for me) that you can get in volume for a decent price.

Dpoirier said:
I tried a bunch of V-Picks, coul dnever get used to them, way too noisy for me. That was a lot of money wasted!

I then tried Gravity, same principle, a little less chirpy, but still too much noise for me.

I tried one Redbear, but the darned thing is as big as a playing card. No way I'm gonna play guitar with something that big. Another bunch of $$ down the Internet drain...

I should just stop reading all this crap about "such and such a pick is a great addition to your gear", and just play guitar. I used to play using the little plastic closures on bread bags, I should be more than happy with Jazz IIIs,
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I haven't tried the Eric Johnson Jazz III's yet. I want to try them.

A couple of months ago I got the Gravity Gold Stealth Pick 5.0 mm. It is great, not as bright as I'm used to, but really helps the technique. I switched momentarily to some fender teardrops that I really like, that are less than 1.0 I think, and my confidence is much higher in terms of controlling the pick after working so much on technique with the 5.0 Gravity's.

The reason I got the Gold was to see how long it would last, in addition to testing its sound. Its lasted fairly well. After about 8 weeks I'm just now sharpening the 3 tips (they went just slightly dull, barely noticeable really, but I find it so much easier to play with a good point. Well, using my baby file it was incredibly easy to sharpen this Gravity Gold material. I was not worried that I would shave too much off, and it still looks like I'll get over a year out of them at this rate (maybe two or more...)
 
I like them because I lost my forefinger in a work accident (crushed in a 3 ton mold) and these are the only ones I can play without constantly dropping. I like the 3mm Dimensions.
 
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