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  #16  
Old 08-15-2017, 03:42 PM
brancher brancher is offline
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I've been using Fender Medium 346 shape, love 'em, and I drill a hole in 'em to help my grip.

But last week, on a whim, I picked up a V-Picks Jalapeno, a slightly smaller and much thicker (I think it is about 1.6 or so).

Been using it for only a few hours, with less tip exposed. And it seems to be no big deal.

What I like is the ability to pick faster and more accurately, because I no longer have a huge pick that can easily wander across my fingers and cause me to try and 'estimate' my attack. Also, my stroke does more work and the pick is a more responsive 'extension' of my arm/wrist. I'm liking it.

Give it an honest try - I think you'll be surprised.

Another note: Who's got the best picks out there? Heck I don't eve know who makes those thick picks....
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  #17  
Old 08-15-2017, 03:46 PM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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I must be careful, as I may be close to my limit of words on picks ... but ...

apart from the obvious variables : shape, material, bevelling, there is also a matter of your style, instrument, skill etc.

Once , when I was younger, and mostly simply strummed (or scrubbed as I think of it now) I used light picks - Martin Naturaltone .073-.088 etc.

As my flat picking style evolved, I found that triangular shapes,and 1.25- 1.5 m/m suited me better.

In BlueChip picks on my dreads with medium strings, I find TAD 40s ( 1 m/m) too light, TAD60 (1.5 mm) too heavy, and TAD50 (1.25 m/m) just right.
With Wegens - TF140s (1.4) suit me better than 1.2 m/m.

This shows a variance in materials. Subtle- but it's there.

Very heavy picks (over 2 m/m) tend to be preferred by jazz players on jazz guitars.

To each his/her own journey.
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  #18  
Old 08-15-2017, 03:53 PM
HHP HHP is offline
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My standard pick is a 4mm thick made of casein, albeit slightly re-worked. I use it because it produces by far the most volume, a clean tone that reflects the guitar itself rather than the strings and pick, and when using this pick it becomes more a part of my hand and arm as opposed to something I am holding. I can play measurably faster, cleaner, louder, and with more control than with any of the hundreds of other picks I have used.
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  #19  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:06 PM
AHill AHill is offline
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So what qualifies as a "thick" pick? I was experimenting last night with various picks, and found a 1.14mm Tortex had a really great sound. It was bright enough at the high end, and still maintained some rich low end tones. Ironically, the 1.0 mm Tortex to me had a dull tone. I have picks up to 1.25 mm, but nothing even approaching a 2.0 or 3.0 mm pick. Maybe time to experiment again.
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  #20  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:10 PM
HHP HHP is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AHill View Post
So what qualifies as a "thick" pick? I was experimenting last night with various picks, and found a 1.14mm Tortex had a really great sound. It was bright enough at the high end, and still maintained some rich low end tones. Ironically, the 1.0 mm Tortex to me had a dull tone. I have picks up to 1.25 mm, but nothing even approaching a 2.0 or 3.0 mm pick. Maybe time to experiment again.
The thicker the pick, the more the edge profile matters. Once you pass 1mm, a rounded over edge is a crapshoot soundwise. Some will be OK and some will be plain bad. Most will transform with a proper edge bevel added.
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  #21  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:17 PM
Mr.Bill101 Mr.Bill101 is offline
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I went from .73mm picks to 1.5mm several years ago.

For strumming I found I had to hold the pick looser in my fingers and also loosen my wrist a little and put a little more arm motion into it. I used to strum with a lot of wrist and now I think of it as more of a brushing motion across the strings and changing the pick angle between downstrokes and upstrokes.

I really like the sound you can get much more with a thicker pick. I don't like the sound of thinner picks at all anymore.
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  #22  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:26 PM
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Some great suggestions here. To the OP: Since you mentioned you already play Dunlop Ultexes, the best thing would be to step up gradually from thickness to thickness. Ultex is a very rigid material. Even for thicker picks, the market is centered around roughly 1.0-1.15 mm, and of course some play thicker, but it really becomes sparse past 1.50 mm.

Note: With practice and improved technique, it is much easier to make a thicker pick play and feel much thinner, but close to impossible to make a thinner pick play thicker.

Roylor: As you noted, a thinner pick of the same material will ALWAYS sound brighter. I'd be kidding if I said I understood the physics behind this, but that's a fact. Going from .60 mm to, say, 1.0 mm will increase bass response while leveling off those highs.

Hope this helps,
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  #23  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:39 PM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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I started with .6 and .7 picks, on advise from a more experienced friend I moved to a 1.5 thick pick. It took a while to get used to it, now I'm much happier with it. I have more control and strike the strings with less pick than before. It's also good for melody. Still revert to the thinner picks at times for the sound that's unique to them.
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  #24  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:51 PM
brancher brancher is offline
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So, to start experimenting with thicker picks, wow, where does one start? Everything form Mammoth Ivory to Coconut Shells, to bones, to rocks, tortex, ultex, and on and on...
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  #25  
Old 08-15-2017, 04:55 PM
HHP HHP is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brancher View Post
So, to start experimenting with thicker picks, wow, where does one start? Everything form Mammoth Ivory to Coconut Shells, to bones, to rocks, tortex, ultex, and on and on...
Best to start with Dunlop Primetones. They have many shapes and thickness can run from .73 to 3mm. They come with a modest bevel already in place and go for $6 for a bag of three. Wouldn't go down the material rabbit hole until you figure out shape and thickness you want as that may, down the road, govern your choice of material.
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  #26  
Old 08-15-2017, 05:01 PM
brancher brancher is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HHP View Post
Best to start with Dunlop Primetones. They have many shapes and thickness can run from .73 to 3mm. They come with a modest bevel already in place and go for $6 for a bag of three. Wouldn't go down the material rabbit hole until you figure out shape and thickness you want as that may, down the road, govern your choice of material.
Thanks.

I have some regular teardrop Primetones now, some .73, .88, and 1.0. I think they have a well-done bevel.

I'll look at 'em again.
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  #27  
Old 08-15-2017, 05:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brancher View Post
Thanks.

I have some regular teardrop Primetones now, some .73, .88, and 1.0. I think they have a well-done bevel.

I'll look at 'em again.
Brancher, since those you already have the Primetones, HHP's suggestion would be a good plan. HOWEVER, if you're used to playing thinner picks with more flex, you could graduate up slower through those thicknesses with progressively more rigid material. Does this make sense.

So it would go something like this: Nylon, Celluloid, Ultex, Primetone. The Ultem material used in those last two Dunlop lines is more rigid than Nylon or Cellulloid. Also, Ultexes are much less expensive than Primetones, so you're spending a lot less out of pocket for your experiment.

Good Luck!

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  #28  
Old 08-15-2017, 05:10 PM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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I would have to agree that a thicker pick will render you some really great tone possibilities and articulation. I still have to go to a .80 or something similar for very rapid strumming. It's just too much of a leap at this point.
I'm using Dunlop Primetone 1.0's with my own exaggerated bevel.
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  #29  
Old 08-15-2017, 05:19 PM
pdawg pdawg is offline
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Very interesting comments here. I've used thin picks all my life, 0.5mm Tortex. I recently tried a heavier pick at the urging of a friend. I now use a 0.75mm with my electric, but just can't warm up to the feel of it on my acoustic. I'm still using 0.5mm for acoustic, when I'm not using just my fingers. Guess I'll give the thicker pick another try. A lot of players here seem to prefer them.
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  #30  
Old 08-15-2017, 05:25 PM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdawg View Post
Very interesting comments here. I've used thin picks all my life, 0.5mm Tortex. I recently tried a heavier pick at the urging of a friend. I now use a 0.75mm with my electric, but just can't warm up to the feel of it on my acoustic. I'm still using 0.5mm for acoustic, when I'm not using just my fingers. Guess I'll give the thicker pick another try. A lot of players here seem to prefer them.
A lot depends on your ears and your playing style and technique.
If you like thin picks, don't worry about missing something. On the other hand you may find you were in fact missing something just by trying something else.
I started out with .60's and I would only use one now if it's all I had.
For the longest time, a .71 or .73 seemed like the ticket. As I said earlier, a nicely beveled 1.0 is giving me the crispness I still want with more thickness and volume on those high strings. Who knows, maybe I'll even go thicker soon. It could happen.
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