rfcii wrote:

What I settled on preferring, and note that I am not one to brag about my playing despite being chipping away at it for ~30 years, is the Prime-Grip/Prime-Tone line from Dunlop. I am still rotating through thicknesses, but I think I most enjoy the .8 - 1.0 range. I really like the grip texture on them, and they might be the picks which most improve my tremolo picking.

When I started playing I rotated through a few picks and found I usually use a Dunlop Tortex 0.73 mm. They can get a little slippery in my fingers, though.

Based on rfcii's review, I bought some Max-Grips (0.73 and 0.88 mm) and some 0.71 Prime-Grips. The 0.73 and 0.71 picks are more flexible than the Tortex 0.73, with Max-Grip 0.88 being about equally stiff as the Tortex.

All in all, I like the new picks--nice grippiness. I'm not sure which of the 0.73 or 0.88 I'll gravitate toward.

If I'd stop buying old guitars to fix, I might actually learn to play.
Bringing instruments back to life since 2013.

Last edited: Aug 29, 2021 15:44:42

desert_surfer wrote:

Always played Dunlop Tortex (various thickness) and love their feel, not slippery and just feel quality.

However… I recently started using classic Fender Medium tortoise shell style picks, and I’m torn. The Fender have more “plink” and are brighter, and give me more reverb drip and overall jangle. They are more slippery that the Dunlops however. So I like the tone of the Fender, but the feel of the Dunlop. Overall, tone wins in the end (for now) and everything else I try sounds dull. Always thought pick “tone” was BS and snake oil, but I really hear a difference in high end and such. In a band setting, I’m sure picks with grips are more realistic when sweating and concerned about dropping picks, and you’d likely never hear the tone difference. But at home, the Fenders really give me the sound I want to hear.

They won’t break the bank, but aren’t cheap either:

Monster Grips. $10 for a pack of 16. They are little silicon stickers that stick right on the pick. They are one-use, but one is enough for one pick. They work incredibly well!

https://www.monstergrips.com/

Maybe use them only for shows or recording? Alternatively, you can go super DIY and cut grips in each side with a box cutter. That actually kind of almost sometimes possibly works!

Dan

Daniel Deathtide

I’ve also known people to just punch a hole through the celluloid picks for grip.

-Eric

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For grip, my preference is a V-Pick, which adheres to your skin.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Couldn’t someone just buy adhesive backed sandpaper to whatever grade they want, cut a little piece, and then apply it to their preferred pick?

-Eric

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Here’s a dick pick —

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To follow up from my earlier post (Jun 13 2007 - and my first and only post on this forum thus far), I no longer use the 3.0-mm Dunlop Stubby Triangles that I did back then (I still have a ton of them that I probably will never use again).

Currently, for guitar, I mostly use Dunlop Primetone Standard Grip picks in 0.73 mm. For bass, I occasionally use the those too (when I want a bright attack for specific songs), but most of the time I use Dunlop Tortex or Ultex Triangle picks in 1.0 mm.

-Dire

I cut picks from the two saparable layers of DVD-R and DVD+R discs. First I separate the two layers then I trace pick outlines on the plastic discs, cut them to shape and snip the sharp points. I trace Ultex large triangular picks.

For finger adhesion I cut and apply duct tape to these picks. I formerly applied silicone glue and let it harden but applying duct tape is faster and simpler. Friction/slipperiness varies widely among duct tapes so I bought a variety from the Dollar Tree to compare.

These picks are both thin and stiff. They are not extremely stiff, but they snap back to original shape very quickly. DVD plastic layers very widely in stiffness and breakability. So I have a wide range of stiffnesses and breakabilities for the picks I cut.

I used commercial picks for many many years before switching to these. I still use Ultex picks on bass guitar and for a few leads. Within a few days I should submit a recording for the 2021 SG101 annual compilation and you will be able to hear the speeds I achieve with picks cut from DVD layers.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Feb 20, 2022 10:25:01

I’ve always got a handful of picks - ultex Jazz III, Wegens, V-Picks, assorted shapes and sizes of Fenders. However, I find that good ol’ Fender thin and medium 351s sound best on my Jazzmaster and Bass VI

Last edited: May 13, 2022 11:33:36

Tortex III 1.14 for guitar and Fender 355 Heavy for bass