I'm really surprised that nobody has mentioned much about the Jazz III, (although the Ultex is a Jazz III, right?). I heard it's one of the most popular picks.
Personally, I started out with the medium fender cellulloids, and then as I got better, and played harder and faster, I noticed that they were slipping more and more in between my fingers. That's when I went into the local GC and purchased a pack of the Dunlop Tortex's. I like that fact that even if your fingers get a little sweaty, there's no slippage of the grippage, if you know what I mean. :lol:
I still keep the old cellulloids around though, I've found that they don't melt NEARLY as much as other types of picks.
Life is my friend
Rake it up to take it in
Wrap me in your cinnamon
Especially in Michigan
...well I could be your friend- RHCP
(although the Ultex is a Jazz III, right?).
The new one Demo mentioned is; I'm pretty sure the black Jazz III is just nylon with maybe a hardener for added stiffness. Not sure about the red ones; they are a little slicker than the blacks.
But yes, the Jazz III is the "ultimate player's pick of destiny" or something like that, according to the latest issue of Guitar One. :wink:
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
I have one that's thick and pretty hard and one that's soft and flimsy, the soft one makes every sound sing separately when i try to strum while the thick one makes a swish-sound when strumming upwards. I sort of just... thought i'd try and use my fingers first and then move on to the infinitely more difficult pick-thing afterwards.
I started with a pack of Fender "MEDIUM".
Then about six months ago I got a pack of "HEAVY" by mistake but oh what a good mistake. I love the HEAVY's with my electric and the MEDIUMS for my accoustic.
D-
This was my finding as well... :)
Music is the universal language.
I read a post on the Petrucci site (dated 3/17/07) that Dunlop might start shipping the Ultex Jazz IIIs in a couple of weeks, so that's cool. I'm gonna try 'em - at least a 6-pack - but I dunno if I can handle that shape and size after all these years of using the 351 shape.
Fun to try though :)
I just got a nice email from Matt McDevitt over at the Dunlop site. He said these will be available in about 30 days, so that's making it May.
Can't wait!
After years of fingerpicking, I had to relearn how to use a pick. I've gone the route from small and thin to big and thick. I really don't pay too much attention to brands or specific thicknesses, only that they don't give when I play. I play with a fairly light touch and a heavy pick gives me a better sound. Right now, I'm actually using a rolled out penny. Ther are attractions around here that have machines that you insert a penny into and it rolls out a flattened out penny with an embossed design on them, I found one and it struck me that it kinda reminded me of a pick shape and I tried it. I think that it works well for how I play. They also don't slip in my hand as much like some of the plastic ones.
I will use a thinner one on a twelve, the give of a thinner one seems to bring out the courses better for me. A stiff one means that I have to pay attention to my attack more to get the sound of both strings. I can live with the "slap".
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming......
like the passengers in his car.
To each his own . Long ago I decided that I didn't like the idea of how much a thinner pick gives while picking single notes . The picking stroke tends to be longer and therefore less precise in my opinion ( everybody has one ) . I've always had a heavy touch playing guitar . To play lighter it's a matter of angling the pick and using less pick depth . A Fender heavy is what I became accustomed to . I would suggest that the only way to find what's right for you is playing with several and choosing the one that fits your own style of playing . There is no right or wrong . You might find you like different picks for different instruments or string gauges . Time will tell .
If I claim to be a wise man , it surely means that I don't know .
I have some mediums and they're ok. I'm finding I'm using my fingers a lot, I don't even go for the pick right now. Is that a habit I should get out of? I'm playing electric right now and something in the back of my head tells me I will need to learn to use a pick at some point... :wink:
Matt McDevitt from Dunlop was kind enough to send me a sample.
Can't wait to get home to try it. :)
Matt McDevitt from Dunlop was kind enough to send me a sample.
Can't wait to get home to try it. :)
Nice.
I'd be especially interested in hearing your thoughts on the pick noise and attack when using it in higher gain situations. And your general comments as well. :)
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Matt McDevitt from Dunlop was kind enough to send me a sample.
Can't wait to get home to try it. :)
Nice.
I'd be especially interested in hearing your thoughts on the pick noise and attack when using it in higher gain situations. And your general comments as well. :)
I had a pretty good chance to try it out last night because the high winds we've been having here in L.A. knocked the power out in our area. Still out this morning. So I got to just sit there with the candles in the living room, playing the Tele unplugged, listening and playing quietly, and basically it's exactly like one of those black Jazz III picks. Same mould, different material.
And I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I should have known, looking at the original picture, that it was going to be an exact replica of the Jazz III (which I like to a certain point), but...I dunno, I guess I was thinking more of what I wanted rather than actually looking at the pick itself. I assumed Dunlop was going to do a whole line of Ultex Jazz III shaped picks - you know, like the flat-stamped Tortex versions. Seems it would be simpler to manufacture since they're just like normal picks - except in Ultex, which I really like.
So, nothing wrong with the pick actually; it's just that I wanted a regular, stamped and polished flatpick - like their 351 shape Ultex, except with the Jazz III shape. I'm kinda hoping they will come out with that after they roll this one out in May, but I dunno what their marketing team has in mind. It's pretty much a Petrucci model as far as I can gather, and I guess they're going with that as a selling point.
For me, since these Ultex Jazz IIIs are so similar to the black nylon Jazz IIIs, I won't be getting any when they come out. I mean I like thicker picks, but more in the neighborhood of .88 to sorta match the 'Heavy' or 'Medium' of regular picks. The Tortex is okay, but I don't like the squared edges; the Ultex is great but it doesn't come in the J III shape.
I'm in a way still looking for a replacement for the Jazz III shaped celluloid picks they had in the 70s-90s, which have since been discontinued for whatever reason. For me that was the perfect shape, with the smooth edges like regular picks, and in easy-to-understand H, M, L gauges, lol. I mean they've said I can make a special order of like 14,000 picks or something, so I know they still have the dies to punch them out, but....
Why not just throw a sheet of Ultex in there?
So there you go; quite a letdown, though I have to say it's my fault for assuming what Dunlop would be putting out. These two picks will go in the box with all the others, and I think I'll just go back to the Ultex 351 shape for now.
Ah, then it's not the ultimate pick of destiny ...
Think I'll stick with Wedgies, though I did try a 1mm nylon "Big Stubby" from Dunlop and I really like it. Hardly any pick-click, good snap from tapered edges, and has a thumb indentation similar to the Wedgies for good grip. Sounded really smooth and warm on acoustic guitar too. Very different from the lexan Big Stubbies.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Dang, these nylon Big Stubbies wear down quickly! The pointy tip on the one I've been using the past few days - on my Elixir-stringed acoustic - is now very round. Disappointing.
Hey Demo, have you seen the Fender 551 JZ celluloid picks? Looks like they're the size and shape of the Jazz IIIs but in celluloid material. I just ordered a bunch in heavy gauge, but there's also extra heavy and of course the normal thin and medium.
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0980551300
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Yes actually, the 551s just about fit the bill. I was looking at them awhile back but I couldn't get them in anything other than a 72 pack - from JustStrings of all places. Musician's Friend, zZounds, and Music123 didn't stock them either. And you go to Guitar Center and ask and they go "Huh? Lemme look that up...."
I wrote another email to the Dunlop rep asking if they'd ever come out with H3 style Ultex but he's yet to get back to me on it.
But as far as the Fenders, I also might just go with the 358. I hear Howe uses something similar:
