What is your main pick ...gauge /brand... Important stuff!

cary chilton · Post by **cary chilton** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:20 pm

I use 1.5 Derin by dunlop ( same as Malmsteen uses) and 1.3 cat tongues.
Both last foreva, both sound the best!

Pick choice makes a huge difference, not only on your playing but your tone...IMO.

I used to like Fender med or heavies, picks long ago, they played nice, but they sounded like plastic, but killer for pick scapes. The downside is that they never lasted long.

Then it was Tortex by dunlop for a long time. I never liked them for pick scrapes and artificial harmonics and while they took time getting used to, the tone was nice.

Then I moved on to Jazz III's, nice but too damn small.

Then I moved down to mediums in the Cat Tongues, lasted forever despite pick scrape-hell, great tone, but something was not right. I seemed to over shooting while picking or something. Then I realized they were too light, unless possbly with an 8 guage, which I don't use.

So I bought all the heaviest, Cat tongues, the tone was different, a little more like a tortex, artificial harm. were a little better than the tortexs but not too much. But all in all, they were the best thus far....

Then after seeing malmsteen in Taipei and getting his pick from a tech?
I tried it out and freakin loved it. It was a Delrin 1.5mm. This pick is heavier than a Cat Tongue, but more in the middle. The outer edges are beveled and pick scrapes, were like a Fender Medium and they last forever like the Cat Tongues!

I found the heavey Cat Tongues and the Delrin 1.5mm totally killer for alt. picking and dynamics. Also, after comparing many picks using an acoustic guitar, they were also the best. That is, nice dynamic that isn't sharp followed by a long warm, natural sounding ring out. Many other picks, didn't come close. For example, pingy sounding or bright from the first dynamic then a hollow or bright ring that ended quite quickly in comparison.

chad · Post by **chad** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:29 pm

Hey man your best bet is to use what is best feelin for you.Don't let comercial value dictate what may be best for you. I myself use Dunlop .71's but I also use 11-49's 250 Fender bullet's. So many options so many diff. thing's to consider.Like I said go for what ever feel's good.My thought's only maybe someone has more info.... Chad

cary chilton · Post by **cary chilton** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:33 pm

Chad, with all due respect... I don't let commercial value dictate anything. I just laid out 20 years of my observations on picks and why it is important to me and probably to a lot of ppl.... I think my post certainly explains clearly that I am not seeking answers or a better pick rather my sharing of my experiences. I hope that helps....

Gainiac · Post by **Gainiac** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:39 pm

Thanks for posting. I pretty much only use Dunlop .88 and .75 Tortex, and always have. Never really occurred to me to try something else. My pick scrapes sound like crap...hmmm...now I can blame the pick.

chad · Post by **chad** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:54 pm

I'm sorry cary chilton,You more than likely know more than me about pick's and I never intended too think you did not know about them I just thought

I may share a little of what I have learned (W/only16 years)I'm more than interested In info also and probly should keep my mouth(Or fingers for this matter) quite.Again I'm sorry for anything I may have said.Hopefully I can learn something from this also

Chad

Guitar Adjuster · Post by **Guitar Adjuster** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:14 pm

Has anyone tried the New ULTEX from Dunlap? I picked up a few and they seem to sound very good.

IloveMyMarshall · Post by **IloveMyMarshall** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:15 pm

Did Ed use a .47 I do believe I read that somehwere?? Man thats thin as hell!! I use Dunlop Green .88 I think? perfecto, and yes I agree I went through a huge ordel finding the right pic.This took dont (LOL) over a year, but I found the right one to let me fly!!
Very Important to ones playing and tonage
Good post!

TONAGE

cary chilton · Post by **cary chilton** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:16 pm

chad wrote:I'm sorry cary chilton,You more than likely know more than me about pick's and I never intended too think you did not know about them I just thought I may share a little of what I have learned (W/only16 years)I'm more than interested In info also and probly should keep my mouth(Or fingers for this matter) quite.Again I'm sorry for anything I may have said.Hopefully I can learn something from this also Chad

That's ok son. Chad, using whatever pick feels good was great for me was all I cared about at first. Then I started questioning what about the pick actually made it ideal for performance, specifically, alternate picking and rhythmic stuff.... Then I realized that the damn material of the plektrum made a huge difference in tone as well. The shizzle, for me, was The Delrin 1.5 mm and runner up, the Cat Tongues. Tortex and Fender pick are still not bad picks, if I had nothing else, I would use them.

Tone Slinger · Post by **Tone Slinger** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 11:37 am

Well the material will change the tone a little more than the guage. PLayers who 'rake' alot, with those up and down 'rhythm' type riffs (like hendrix or Halen) tend to use a thinner pick. Both those guy's used a standard Fender 'medium' celluloid pick, although by 1984 or so Ed went to a lighter guage, .047 I think. I like a celluloid, regular shape, medium guage pick the best. Fender and Dunlop make these. They wear out fairly quickly, but I HAVE to use them. I find that I cant get a 'smooth' rhythm tone out of a thick pick, as I play alot of Funk type stuff. When I was younger, and first heard Malmsteen, I went to a Fender Heavy, and extra heavy pick, in the attempt to try and 'pick every note' real fast like him, cause he used the Fender extra heavy back then.That is another example of how material greatly affects tone. The Fender extra heavy is celluloid and around 1.5 thick, the delrin ones he's using now are also 1.5 thick, along with a 'beveled' edge. He sounded better back in the 80's using the celluloid picks. More clarity. I compare it to the celluloid being in sound like a 'Bone' nut (more brightness and clarity), as compared to the delrin, being in sound more like a plastic or graphite nut (darker, duller, less clarity). This is my findings anyway's.

cary chilton · Post by **cary chilton** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 3:22 pm

Slinger, I agree that the celluloid picks by Fender are great, definitely brighter, too.... perfect for Les Paul's or PRS's...imo.

The Delrin is GREAT for raking, sweeping, alt. picking.... I disagree about it sounding like plastic though..... The Cat tongues and the Delrin sounded the MOST unplastic, in comparison to anything we did shootouts on, both on acoustic tests and on electrics, IMO.

edguyrocks · Post by **edguyrocks** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:22 am

I use a number of different picks....but I dig the Jim Dunlop Gels. They have this snap, that no other do....just my opinion.

Roe · Post by **Roe** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:37 am

cary chilton wrote:Slinger, I agree that the celluloid picks by Fender are great, definitely brighter, too.... perfect for Les Paul's or PRS's...imo.

...

+ 2 the extra heavy picks are great for ac/dc - that's what mal and ang used

Eargasm · Post by **Eargasm** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:42 am

I dig the classic Fender tortise shell mediums. I think they have a nice warm, smooth tone and a cool 'chirp'. Like most of you guys, I grew up playing those picks with nickel strings and it's now sort-of a classic combo. To me, they are a crucial starting point for vintage tone whether used for a Gibson or Fender...nothing else sounds the same.

Star*Guitar · Post by **Star*Guitar** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:48 pm

I use different picks depending on the type of music I am playing.

My favorite for EVH are brass picks...they eat the hell out of your strings but the note clarity and bite is unreal...I change strings once a week on my main axes.

cary chilton · Post by **cary chilton** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:05 pm

Brass huh? I will try them out!