Hey guys, I'm constantly between picks looking for the right sound and I just can't seem to find a perfect fit for all around playing. Right now I'm currently between the Dunlop Tortex Sharp 1.5mm (I'm pretty sure this is the one Loomis uses) and the Dunlop Tortex Wedge 1.08mm. The Wedge sounds excellent for th e low end and mid stuff...definitely best chunk, but are lacking a bit clarity when attacking high pitched notes. On the other hand, The Sharp is extremely precise and clear for the highs, but sounds a bit lacking for the lows. Now, keep in mind I'm playing on a very old Crate GFX30 with only gain and shap knobs (both very weak, and yes, I know crates suck) and a C-7 Hellraiser. Basically, I was just wondering if the sharp edge kinda kills the low end and the flatter, wedge end doesn't yield enough high end, or if it's all a matter of the amp.
Picks for Lead/Rhythm Tones
- Thread starter Jeebo
- Start date
Seedawakener
aka Ophidian
Yes, Jeff uses tortex sharp 1.5mm (I know cause I caught his pick moahahahaha, and I caught Steves at the concert before that MOAHAHAHA). I use tortex black gold jazz .88. I cant play with any other pick because it just feels wrong... but dont listen to what I say cuz Im just a n00b.
guitarguru777
Member
Try the Tortex .88mm The green ones, I find they are a great all around pick. while you do sacrifice some pick attack they keep the lows in check while keeping the highs crisp.
Remember the thinkness of the pick contributes to the tone aswell. The thicker the pick the more lows and less attack, the thinner the pick the more attack
Remember the thinkness of the pick contributes to the tone aswell. The thicker the pick the more lows and less attack, the thinner the pick the more attack
Seedawakener said:
Congrats man...I can play both fine, but judging from the tone they yield through my amp, I much prefer the wedge for rhythm and the sharp for lead...I really hope it's just a matter of the amp
guitarguru777 said:
Oh I've been down the green tortex route guru, and I'm not a huge fan. The Sharp is thicker than the Wedge but the Wedge sounds better for lows, so I think that the extreme angle of the tip takes away some of the low end, but provides a greater attack for leads...just my two cents, maybe I'm crazy, but either way, I fucking need a tube amp!!!
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
Jazz III has worked fine for me over the years. For all sorts of metal and both rhythm and lead playing. I like the tone I get out of it, it's basically suited to my hand and picking style.
Moonlapse said:
I used to use Jaz IIIs too, but again I found them lacking in the rhythm department...I guess the different material in the Jazz III picks do something to the rhythm tone imo.
still prefer my jim dunlop big stuby 3.0mm picks. good attack, great feel and they allow me to go fast without much effort...
Steve Smyth
Lead Axe
I use the .88 Dunlop Tortex, have since the Testament days....on advice from Eric Peterson....before he switched to those "Sharpies", as we used to call them. Rhythm guitar to me just wouldn't be the same without them. I have tried those Sharpies ( one of Eric's, a 1.0mm, and Jeff's, a 1.5.mm), but just couldn't get into it. Seemed the only thing I was driven to do was pick tremelo style on everything! (lol)
Noumenon
Obsidian Productions
eaeolian
Division Guitarist
I've been using the Dunlop Ultex 1.14s for a couple of years now. I like the tone better than the Tortex - it's got the same bite without the "raggedness" on the top - and they last longer, too.
Cool guys, nice to hear some input about the different picks. For now I'll stick with the wedge and keep looking for that zen-like balance! 
Souls of Black
Thrashing Tempest
Hmmm, guess I'm the only thin pick user here.... Tortex .50 the red ones. Used these for a long time and just love em'.
I've heard a number of times that thin picks gave more attack but I haven't figured out why - I would think that with a stiff pick more of the force you actually put on the pick goes to the string, and sharper tips put more pressure on a smaller part of the string, allowing for more of your effort to translate to attack (only going by physics equations on elastic collisions and imparted pressure). I can never tell the difference between a moderate and a hard hit with a flexible pick because so much is lost to the pick bending.
The main reason for my use of Jazz IIIs and filed-down (sharpened) 1.5mm nylons is that they let me beat all fuck out of my strings. My tone in a lot of ways revolves around how much more 'metal' a hard-hit thick string sounds; it seems more full and chunky than a little poke with a potato chip (for some general idea of how hard I play rhythm, on my 7-string, tuned down to Bb, I was stuck with 10-56 strings for a while and if I wasn't careful to limit my attack the low Bb would go up a whole tone - I sounded like a fucking pogo stick! - and now even with a .68 I can hit a little too hard and make some riffs sound out of tune) and when I switched from Tortex 88s (which I used for the first year and a half of my playing) to Jazz IIIs and 1.5mm nylons I was able to hit much harder and with better timing.
Steve (and all other thinner-pick users), how much force can you actually put on a string before you lose additional thwack to the pick's flex? I've used thinner picks for clean strummed passages and tried to give them another chance for some Nevermore stuff after I found that you used tortex 88s, but I couldn't keep them from bending and throwing off my attack and timing (I have one that's still a bit bent from down-picking thrash stuff). I also notice that, at least in the Psalm of Lydia where you and Loomis went at it one after the other, your solos seemed a bit more legato-oriented in the faster runs and Loomis machine-gunned the fuck out of his stuff - how do the picks' attack compare with your legato (do they 'fit', as far as dynamics, with the volume of your hammered and pulled-off notes?) and when you switched did you need to readjust your pick attack in the solos to keep the legato notes from seeming too quiet?
Hmm, too many questions, not enough time. Oh well.
Jeff
The main reason for my use of Jazz IIIs and filed-down (sharpened) 1.5mm nylons is that they let me beat all fuck out of my strings. My tone in a lot of ways revolves around how much more 'metal' a hard-hit thick string sounds; it seems more full and chunky than a little poke with a potato chip (for some general idea of how hard I play rhythm, on my 7-string, tuned down to Bb, I was stuck with 10-56 strings for a while and if I wasn't careful to limit my attack the low Bb would go up a whole tone - I sounded like a fucking pogo stick! - and now even with a .68 I can hit a little too hard and make some riffs sound out of tune) and when I switched from Tortex 88s (which I used for the first year and a half of my playing) to Jazz IIIs and 1.5mm nylons I was able to hit much harder and with better timing.
Steve (and all other thinner-pick users), how much force can you actually put on a string before you lose additional thwack to the pick's flex? I've used thinner picks for clean strummed passages and tried to give them another chance for some Nevermore stuff after I found that you used tortex 88s, but I couldn't keep them from bending and throwing off my attack and timing (I have one that's still a bit bent from down-picking thrash stuff). I also notice that, at least in the Psalm of Lydia where you and Loomis went at it one after the other, your solos seemed a bit more legato-oriented in the faster runs and Loomis machine-gunned the fuck out of his stuff - how do the picks' attack compare with your legato (do they 'fit', as far as dynamics, with the volume of your hammered and pulled-off notes?) and when you switched did you need to readjust your pick attack in the solos to keep the legato notes from seeming too quiet?
Hmm, too many questions, not enough time. Oh well.
Jeff
Seedawakener
aka Ophidian
I used the normal red jazz ones for some time, but I like the ones I use now because of the "flatness".
BTW steve, I have your pick
. Youll have to come and get it as soon as you recover.
BTW steve, I have your pick
. Youll have to come and get it as soon as you recover. I like the Jazz III XL cause they're bigger hehe...on top of what JBroll said, watching over some of the guitarworld vids, Steve, your tone seems a bit weaker (doesn't sound as bright) compared to Jeff's...I highly doubt it was the pick though; different channel, settings, amp?
Before I forget to ask, am I the only one here who hits part of his index finger on the low strings when doing heavy downstrokes? Originally it was annoying and tore all hell out of my fingernail but now I've found a little more chunk when I do it right, and the lows seem a little more consistent and there's never any of that 'plucky' sound that I notice in some players when they're not fully together (Steve Howe of Yes probably has that sound most consistently, sounding halfway between a guitar and a chicken having its intestines pulled out from behind and on key) and that drives me completely nuts. The only mention I've seen of this was in a GW column with the ever-popular Shadows Fall, and their old digital-distortion-through-Mode-Four tone was pretty icky so I didn't pay attention to what they had to say about anything tone-related.
Jeff
Jeff
