Primetone Picks

LivesForever · #1 03-13-2017, 12:52 PM

I started a thread months ago about Dunlop Primetone picks. I tied a 1.5 mm big triangle (opaque, brown, no bumps) and I just didn't like it. It seemed clunky and hard to play with, it made a lot of pick noise, and the attack seemed dull and mushy. I think it was too big of a leap to that from my .88 tortex pick.

Anyway, since then I got a Primetone 1.3 mm standard teardrop (translucent with grippy bumps), and I liked it a lot more. It seems to have a sharper tone that the big triangle did, but it still sounds big, round, and warm. I also find I make less pick noise, and it was generally easier to handle. The grippy bumps make a big difference, too! I like it quite a bit. I played with it for about three months.

Finally, I got a Primetone 1.3 mm small triangle. It is now my favorite pick. It has a wonderful crisp tone and is easy to play with. The teardrop, while I liked it, rotated in my fingers even with the bumps. The small triangle, because it's shorter, stays put! I'm no longer looking for a new pick. I'll stick with this one for the time being.

Cheers!

Silly Moustache · #2 03-13-2017, 12:59 PM

whatever works for you is the right decision. I can understand that the change from the .88 m/m think pick was a bit of a lurch.

I don't know, but imagine trhat most of us start with simple strumming with a thin pick and progress in steps as we develop our style.

Large, well profiles trinagles are my preference as there is more mass than in the same thickness teardrop, AND you get two more points !

After many years with a nylon Martin 1.2 m/m I have settled on 1.4 Wegens and 1.25 m/m BC.

To each his own.

mikemo6string · #3 03-13-2017, 01:01 PM

I'm dig the Primetone picks, too. 1mm, 1.3mm, 1.5mm teardrop with grip. That's my preference, though I'm not too picky about which one. I still always carry a few Tortex 1mm, the blue ones. I find they can be a little warmer sounding when I'm in need of that.

I'm a pick and fingers player. I'll try any pick, and see if I can use technique to get the sound I want out of any particular pick.

I haven't tried the bigger money picks, mostly because I tend to lose them. I think Dunlop picks are a great product at a great price.

Play on.

Charmed Life Picks · #4 03-13-2017, 01:10 PM

Agree with everything stated here by other members. There's a reason Dunlop leads the industry. Might try the Ultexes too: same material, much cheaper.

And Wegens would make an interesting comparison, as suggested, and Blue Chip too if you wanna play the best out there.

scott

warfrat73 · #5 03-13-2017, 01:26 PM

Are you sure they are the same material?

I've played Dunlop Ultex, and more extensively the Clayton Ultems (which, as I understand it, they were modeled on), and they seem pretty different than the Primetones. Aside from the color, and the beveling, they seem smoother, stiffer, and harder to me.

Is this just a matter of finishing?

Edit: Looked it up, and it is the same material. They sure feel different though.

Goat Mick · #6 03-13-2017, 01:57 PM

Primetones are really good picks for the money. Personally I like the opaque ones better than the clear ones. I know they're supposed to be the same material but to me they just sound really different.

Ed-in-Ohio · #7 03-13-2017, 02:14 PM

I LOVE the 1.4mm big triangle with grip. ("translucent with grippy bumps" as aptly described by the OP).

I like it as much or more (depending on the guitar) as my BlueChip TAD40.

5th Element · #8 03-13-2017, 03:22 PM

The 1.3mm standard sculpted is one of my favorites. I like the .96mm Gator Grip better, though, less clicky.

rokdog49 · #9 03-13-2017, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5th Element

The 1.3mm standard sculpted is one of my favorites. I like the .96mm Gator Grip better, though, less clicky.

I like that pick too. Just seems to be a good blend of crispness and power.

Charmed Life Picks · #10 03-13-2017, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warfrat73

Are you sure they are the same material?

I've played Dunlop Ultex, and more extensively the Clayton Ultems (which, as I understand it, they were modeled on), and they seem pretty different than the Primetones. Aside from the color, and the beveling, they seem smoother, stiffer, and harder to me.

Is this just a matter of finishing?

Edit: Looked it up, and it is the same material. They sure feel different though.

Standard Ultem comes only in that opaque off-white color, but Dunlop's got more money than Fort Knox so he can have whatever color he wants. If I had to guess, I'd say he added coloration and may have also tweeked the formulation. He's got enough capital to hire a chemist or two and really dial it in.

Also, Clayton advertises that they cut their Ultem picks from solid sheets. If so, these should outperform the Dunlop Ultexes, since machining from a hard, extruded sheet will ALWAYS give you better mechanical properties, regardless of the material. I assume Dunlop is injection-molding their Primetone and Ultex lines in-house, although I don't know this as a fact.

scott memmer

Christof78 · #11 03-14-2017, 01:55 PM

I'm keen to try picks of differing thickness and material. Some of you guys have quoted using picks >1.0mm (say 1.00mm, 1.3mm and 1.5mm) are you using these thick primetone picks for strumming, picking or both?

Wolfram · #12 03-14-2017, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Also, Clayton advertises that they cut their Ultem picks from solid sheets. If so, these should outperform the Dunlop Ultexes, since machining from a hard, extruded sheet will ALWAYS give you better mechanical properties, regardless of the material. I assume Dunlop is injection-molding their Primetone and Ultex lines in-house, although I don't know this as a fact.

scott memmer

+1 to this - Scott's spot on here.

The process of thinning, shaping and polishing raw material hardens and changes the surface characteristics vs something that has been molded.

It's orders of magnitude slower than injection molding, but makes a huge difference to the performance of the pick (all our steel slides are machined from solid billets of stainless steel, rather than cut from pre-extruded tube, for the same reasons.)

Cheers,
David

will-go · #13 03-14-2017, 05:17 PM

Dunlop Primetone 510P.88 STD. I hold it so string contact is @ one of the base corners. Hand sculpted edge. About $8 for a 3 pack. Love it.

MHC · #14 03-14-2017, 08:10 PM

I'm a big fan of Primetone .88 picks (the brown, teardrop ones). BUT I just ordered some Charmed Life Natural series picks (.75 and .90) so... the honeymoon might be over. We'll see.

rokdog49 · #15 03-14-2017, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHC

I'm a big fan of Primetone .88 picks (the brown, teardrop ones). BUT I just ordered some Charmed Life Natural series picks (.75 and .90) so... the honeymoon might be over. We'll see.

The .88's are my current favorite as well. Just an all around good pick.
I like the Cool Ones 1.0, they are close. .96 Gator Grips are good as well.