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Looking for the perfect pick... does it exist?

SunByrne

SunByrne

trained monkey
Supporting Member
Aug 29, 2019
2,277
6,296
Pearland, TX
#1
It's not that I don't know what I want; I know exactly what I want, but as far as I can tell, nobody makes it. I want a combination of two other picks that are easy to find.

So, I really love the size and shape of the Ernie Ball Prodigy shield-style pick. They look like this:

15767.jpg


But they're a just a little too thick and stiff, and more slippery than I'd like. In terms of thickness, stiffness, and feel, I really like the Dunlop Gator 1.14. But the problem with the Gator is the size/shape. Yes, they come in a triangular shape but they're enormous. I don't like that, either. (They come in a more standard teardrop shape, too, but I like the rounded triangle.)

Basically I want Dunlop to make the Gator 1.14 in the EB Prodigy size and shape, or EB to make the Prodigy with the Gator 1.14 material. I haven't found anything quite like that yet.

I was commenting on this to my son the other day, and he looked at me and said "And you haven't asked TalkBass? Why not?"

My son is completely right.

What say you, TB?
 
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#7
HelpImaRock said:
Dunlop Flow. Comes in a variety of thicknesses and materials
Click to expand...

Thanks, but nope, not the shape I'm looking for. I want a triangular pick that is the same triangle no matter how you hold it. To be nerdy for a moment, an equilateral triangle.

Microbass said:
Dunlop Tortex 3? 1 or 1.14mm ?
Click to expand...

I appreciate the suggestion, but see above. I don't want a teardrop with a triangle on it, I want fully triangular, three equal points. Dunlop makes the right shape in both tortex and gator, but they're huge.

mmbongo said:
Try Gravity Picks or Chicken Picks.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much!

The Chicken Picks are too thick (I want thinner than 1.5mm) but it looks like the Gravity thin picks come in the triangular shape I want, which they call the "stealth," and they have a 1.1mm, which is close to the 1.14 of the Gators I like. I just ordered some so we'll see how it goes, but I'm optimistic.
:thumbsup:
 
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#8
SunByrne said:
Thanks, but nope, not the shape I'm looking for. I want a triangular pick that is the same triangle no matter how you hold it. To be nerdy for a moment, an equilateral triangle.



I appreciate the suggestion, but see above. I don't want a teardrop with a triangle on it, I want fully triangular, three equal points. Dunlop makes the right shape in both tortex and gator, but they're huge.



Thank you so much!

The Chicken Picks are too thick (I want thinner than 1.5mm) but it looks like the Gravity thin picks come in the triangular shape I want, which they call the "stealth," and they have a 1.1mm, which is close to the 1.14 of the Gators I like. I just ordered some so we'll see how it goes, but I'm optimistic.
:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Awesome, I love my Gravity picks. I use the 2mm Striker for guitar.
 
#10
Microbass said:
Dunlop Tortex 3? 1 or 1.14mm ?

Got the triangular pointy bit, great tone of tortex, can't say I find them slippery... And they're not huge!
Click to expand...
Purple Tortex SHARP 1.14 picks. I'm still using the same two picks after several years - never had picks last so long! I lost one and was mad even though I bought a pack of 12 and still have like 9-10 sitting in my gear bag brand new - haven't had to pull one out yet. Love them! And, finally found the perfect pick after many years!
SunByrne said:
Thanks, but nope, not the shape I'm looking for. I want a triangular pick that is the same triangle no matter how you hold it. To be nerdy for a moment, an equilateral triangle.

I appreciate the suggestion, but see above. I don't want a teardrop with a triangle on it, I want fully triangular, three equal points. Dunlop makes the right shape in both tortex and gator, but they're huge.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Sorry mate, can't help you here. Someone beat me to my suggestion and it isn't what you are looking for exactly (but, have you tried one?) If I see something I'll post again.

Raz
 
#13
This is my favorite pic, I have a friend that worked for Dunlop( I think)for a while and they made a bunch of these but then stoped. I tried one and loved it, he had a bunch of them so I grabbed 10 or so and I guard them with my life. What I like about them is they don’t pop or scratch like most pics. If I could find a smaller triangle made with the same material and edges I would like to try it.
 

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#15
I notice Clayton and Dunlop both have a custom order process. (Neither of which seemed very useful on the web but maybe if you could talk to a person...)
Might be laborious and take a bit of practice, but if all else failed I might try grinding down some of the oversized Dunlops to spec. Maybe snip or use a coarser grit, then go a little finer to finesse the shape, then go at an angle to add a slight bevel.
I guess I'm lucky to have settled on a few different makes & shapes that are readily available. (Clayton .8, Martin .96 and not least of all Fender Heavy - rounded triangle or standard teardrop.)
 
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#17
I know you said you don't want a teardrop, but something you should try sometime if you've never done so is picking with one of the rounded "corners" of a teardrop instead of the point. I learned that little trick from Julie Slick, but I understand Bobby Vega does the same. It changed everything for me.
 
#18
Lobster11 said:
I know you said you don't want a teardrop, but something you should try sometime if you've never done so is picking with one of the rounded "corners" of a teardrop instead of the point. I learned that little trick from Julie Slick, but I understand Bobby Vega does the same. It changed everything for me.
Click to expand...

Yep, I've done that. It dulls the sound in a way vaguely similar to having flats. There are times when I want this, and it's a good trick when that's the case. The good news is it's easy to find picks in that shape!
 
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#19
SunByrne said:
Yep, I've done that. It dulls the sound in a way vaguely similar to having flats. There are times when I want this, and it's a good trick when that's the case. The good news is it's easy to find picks in that shape!
Click to expand...
Interesting -- I never thought about that. The reason I like the rounded edge is that I found that I was just more accurate and more consistent in my attack. When I use a sharper point I found that I sometimes grabbed a little too much string or not quite enough. The rounded corner seems to be more forgiving in that regard.

BTW, when I was struggling to learn to use a pick (I've never played guitar so had no previous experience), I collected a wide variety of picks of all shapes, sizes, and materials. I tried practicing with all of them, and used a couple dozen different ones for a couple of months. Once I learned the rounded-corner trick I was able to choose a favorite (the ones Julie uses, actually), but the long-term advantage of having gone through this is that I can now play comfortably with pretty much anything. This turns out to be handy if you need to borrow a pick and have to settle for whatever one of your guitarists happens to use!
 

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