I've also found that string gauge matters to me. I tend to go with a heavier pick when I go with lighter strings. I always thought of it as trying to maintain a constant feel of tension or resistance.
I wish this information was available when I first started playing (40+ years ago). I've rode this roller coaster over and over trying to discover what pick and strings are the best combination for my playing. Troy is the first person I've seen that explains the science behind picking technique and pick design. For years I've been trying to design and make my own custom guitar picks to suite me and this solved the mystery for me. Thank you Troy for doing the research and answering all my questions!
I got a Jazz III from Andy Timmons at a concert and had never seen one as a kid. Burned through that pick in a week but found some more in a store (late 80s) and never looked back.
then there is the evolving pick, like the one I use. It starts pointy then quickly rounds off. then after a week or two you really cant tell which is the true edge of the three angles. SUPER CHEAP
I use to Tortex Flow pick - nice combo of Jazz III point, 351 grip, and with the .73 gauge I prefer, is perf Still like a Jazz III from time to time, but these are Perf for me
It's also worth mentioning that if you like the Jazz III size, but want less point, the Jazz II is more in-between, and the Jazz I is pretty much rounded.
I have a few packs of the II and the I. It's a weird little family. It was really the III that hit that magical balance the maybe hadn't quite existed prior.
You didn’t talk about pick rotation. I actually like to rotate the pick and avoid the pointy end when I want a darker tone instead of using a different pick.
I gotta rep the FLOW picks here though. I've become a convert after being a Jazz 3 guy for years. Also now I have to look at my edge picking and try some rounder edged picks.
Flow are the shit! They take the best of two worlds! Love me the 88. mm Greenie! I can finally go fast like a jazz 3 but don't have to sacrifice my rhythm playing.
I thought I was the only one who liked guitar picks and was interested in understanding them more, every time I tried to talk to other people I knew who played the guitar, they looked at me like "It's a guitar pick, man, either choose a thin one or a thicker one, duh"
Need an episode on the 351, but rounded corner. Robben Ford, SRV, Larry Carlton, Reggie Young, Guthrie Trapp, and many other famous players. Why is this always overlooked?
Here's a technique that you didn't mention and one that I almost exclusively use - I use a 351 style pick (Dunlop Tortex .53) and play the rounded edge, not the pointy edge. I love both the feel and the tone. It's great for strumming, but I also use it for lead work. I've not run into anyone else who plays this way. There is way more contact with the pick against the string and has a great rich sound, especially with my Martin DC16 GTE and heavier gauged strings.
I've said it before a few times but man, Troy, the free content you've uploaded alone is outstanding and you've vastly changed the guitar-playing landscape. You've demystified so many concepts, thanks for your analytical approach and being willing to put it together in such a digestible manner. What's terribly underrated is your ridiculous ability to switch between every technique, picking style and equipment style with a degree of relaxation I've never witnessed before. PS: Pick chirp is such a curse when you hear it in a song. You'll never unhear it.
I am definitely an edge picker. I have experimented with various shapes and thicknesses. I generally prefer fairly thick and pointy picks, but no matter what kind of pick I use I get a massive amount of chirp.
when I was getting into metal I changed lots of picks and realized the pointy ones are the ones I was most comfortable, and now with this video I realize I play with an edge out of habit, it just feel natural for my wrist, thanks for the realization!
(1) String gauge, (2) tuning, (3) guitar scale length, (4) if you hold the pick in a more fisted position or with extended thumb and index finger ["circular picking"] and/or other mechanics and techniques beyond the wrist, (5) how you anchor/or if you anchor also contribute to the equation. A master play can use practically anything and accommodate, then you enter the realm of Placebo. Pick material also affects tonal qualities and response, of course in conjunction and reliant on the 5 things listed.
This is so cool and insightful! I have always used a regular Fender heavy 351 pick and it works perfect for my picking technique and I do not use much edge picking at all when I play….it is pretty flat against the string….just liked you described in this video.I wondered why the Jazz three never felt as good and you laid it all out in this video why that is….because I do not use much edge picking It is super cool and awesome that you figure this stuff out and share it with all us players. Great work, Troy!
I've yet to find a pick that works better for me than the Dunlop Ultex and tortex Jazz III XL. The red jazz iiis are too small and slip around in my fingers if I sweat and makes me grip the pick too tightly and causes my hand to cramp. I play with an about 30° edge picking technique.
I want a hybrid pick , a 346 crossed with a jazz 3. In ultex as it has a nice grip to it. The 346 has a great secure feel in the hand but too rounded on the tip for high speed Jazz 3 and Jazz 3 XL are fantastic but I want more pick to hold onto . I’ve emailed jim Dunlop and requested they consider making a jazz3 XXL , XXXL and XXXXL ! You can only sow the seed
@@YaleCrane actually that did just recently catch my eye , but now you mention it again that sounds very similar to what I want to try. Only problem is sometimes you can’t get thinner ones.
Just want to thank you for improve my technique a thousand fold. I didn't know about pickslanting until i watched your video on it. Thank you soo much!
TROY GRADY is truly trying to educate & properly inform the guitar community; I don't know anyone else who recommends skipping their own videos for the sake of being unimpeded with too much info. This channel has all my commendation.
Frankly we could stand to use it more than we do - but we're always swamped with improving the instructional stuff, and those videos just aren't often that exciting from an edu-tainment perspective. But helping people / instruction is really the business we're in, so it is what it is!
Hi, Troy and Team! I have a tendency to play with picks that are highly likely to be way past their prime - I can never find any information about when a pick "is done" and should be tossed... I typically use a .73mm and only now discovering what your training could accomplish for me, so I am excited about moving forward with your training system. Hope you can provide some direction here, and thanks in advance!
I love sharp picks but i have a huge issue with fast strumming chords... always getting stuck between strings (listen to songs of primordial - there riffs are mostly strumming 2-3 strings but really fast- after 2,5 years i still can't get the speed)
After using a Jazz III pick for centuries I've decided that they are crap. These days I prefer a Dunlop Stubby. They glide across the strings and have no shitty plossives to deal with. They are superb for economy picking.
Cool, I found Jazz 3's way too tiny for me, I loved the Tortex for a long time then tried a Tortex Sharp, sanded sharper when needed as they dull over time, I prefer the way a super sharp tip almost hooks the string in a way and allows me to feel where my pick is better than a normal pick. I use the 1.14mm as its thick enough to not bend, but thin enough to not really chirp at all which gets very loud when using higher gain and a loud amplifier. The Tortex sharp is perfect, and the purple colour with the cute little tortoise on it is pretty iconic to me.
Wish there was one pick for all. For electric, a hard pointy pick like a jazz III and its larger versions are great for speed but kinda suck for strumming. For acoustic though, hard thick picks , rounded or pointy, really dampen the acoustic volume, especially single note playing. Thin picks on acoustic make it sound louder and brighter, but suck for single note playing being they're too floppy. I've tried so many different picks over my life. I've tried pointy picks in the past numerous times but never could get on with them and , no matter how many pick styles I tried, I'd always wind up back with tha standard rounded edge style Dunlops , 1.5 - 2mm. But back earlier last year, I had this dream where I was using a jazzII! and I was flying all over the place! So I then figured, maybe the dream's telling me something and tried them again for real. Amazingly it worked and have been sticking with the Dunlop jazzIII and its larger sized variants and type of materials. Still kinda suck for strumming though, heh.
round - all day long probably due to habit Also -I dont think anyone would dispute speed is possible with round if you consider Yngwie , Paul Gilbert and many others .
also, you can sharpen your picks and even give then a bevel if you want. just rub them on carpet. i actually prefer buying rounded picks and sharpening them myself lol
Hi Troy, you are an Amazingly Innovative player. I’d be Humbled if you’d allow me to send you a few packs of the Revolutionary new V9 Golden Ratio Guitar Picks I recently patented, & began marketing? I would Appreciate your Valuable Opinion on their Performance. Thank You for all the great videos, Tom Martell from Vital Essence😎
I shave down the points of Tortex picks, usually Blue or Purple; with 100 grit sandpaper or an emory board. The ones they sell with a sharp point are way too long, so to get the exact aspect I want, I gotta make em myself. I also use the orange one for fluid strumming, though that one dosen't need any shaving
Hey Troy! Have you tested Wegen picks? I play both classical and electric guitar, and because of years of playing with nails, I happen to be very picky (pun intended) about which pick sounds most fingernail-like when playing on a concert nylon. Nothing as of yet comes close to the Wegen Big City 1.8mm pick. Made from special effects material, wide range of colors and tonal palette. The Bluegrass 1.4mm is also nice, but doesn't provide as much meatiness. Greetings from Finland
I used to swear by Dunlop Tortex Sharps, either the white or black, the two thickest. But if you like a beveled edge - the Dunlops dont have them - Ernie Ball Prodigys have a sharp shape very similar to the Dunlops just slightly slightly smaller. Seriously, I never thought how much a beveled edge would feel so much better. I cant get how folks think the Jazz 3s are comfy. If you already lose picks It would drive me more nuts
I've been using the TIII (Tortex 3s) for about a year or so, and had difficulties changing strings through economy picking (especially upwards. I'm learning two-way pickslanting + economy) I thought going thicker would help me solve the problem, so i went from .73 to .88, but it didn't help. I've been trying going thinner and i'm getting decent results, so i'm gonna practice with the .60 for some time to see if it works
I have no idea what I am doing but I feel my picking ability increased when I went with very thick picks. 3mm Jazz 3's and 4 mm Dunlops. They slip less in my fingers..
I often play with the rounded side of my picks for rhythm playing... Slides off strings faster but slightly more surface area of contact... Save the pointy for meedleys.
I have poor picking technique in 2 different ways , the angle of my pick constantly changes as I play, sometimes it’s completely flat, sometimes it’s angled, and all of this in varying degrees, also my control of picking depth isn’t there either, I haven’t mastered consistent picking depth, so what kind of pick do you recommend for me
I was using the Petrucci J3 for years, but when I started playing Mandolin the I was catching a little too much, the same point with a rounded edge works perfect. Dunlop Flow shape is where I've landed, but then had Blue Chip make one with that shape but their material. Perfection.
For most guitar players this is one of those things you just never examine. A bit of discovering your own “sound”. That said, I admire Troy for dissecting pick attack and attempting to bring mechanics to the masses.
You can totally still do that discovery, it’s just a little easier when you know sort of what to expect. And of course the material choice, there’s a lifetime of that for those who want to experiment.
Really interesting and thought provoking! I’ve been using Chicken Picks Shredder 3, which is 3.5mm thick and maybe a little bigger than a jazz3… all edges are beveled and the point is a bit more rebated than a jazz3. It seems to have a nice compromise between tone, chirp reduction and ease of flow.
If I can add to the equation and this is such a deep rabbit hole but string lubrication may help in the cooperation of any pick and any player style- Just a thought
A third factor that is very important is how fast the pick wares down and is subject to getting nicks. Great video Troy - accurate and concise, just like picking should be. 😎
I play with a lot of edge and mostly downward pick slanting, the John Pertucci signature is the best pick for me (it's a slighly larger and harder jazz 3)
This has been my main shower thought for the past few months, wondering if I could find something to help me alternate pick single-note-per-string-chords more comfortably. Go figure Troy brings me yet another fantastic and thoroughly explained answer so even I can understand it. Keep up the great work, guys!
Don't sleep on those Dunlop FLOW picks. White 1.5 flow picks are god tier for me. Has the same through-the-string feeling of a red jazz 3 but with a normal matte dunlop texture.
I wasted a tonne trying heaps of picks lately and settled on the slightly thinner 1.14 purple flow..perfection to me in terms of tone, feel and attack. I have to give those white 1.5s a go
Yeah ! It’s much better in my opinion and has a better grip too. The red XL is to slippy for me and the material seems to wear easy. I like the black better , but can play faster with the red , I think it’s coz it has a nice bit of flex to it. But the ultex is better than both for me
The first guitar pick marketed to the masses in the 60’s instructed the user that the round part was for playing rhythm and the opposite side for playing lead. These are the only rules! The plectrum or guitar pick has been around for many generations going back to Ancient Greece. What you are not aware of is that the material the pick is composed of, whether it is wooden, plastic, meteoritic, etc., affects the tone of your guitar substantially. I use a rosewood pick to match the rosewood sides and back. Plastic picks are the worst tone generators. Try this. Buy a wooden pick and compare the sound to the cheap plastic picks he uses and and you will be amazed how bad a plastic sounds! Your personal rules ignores this key factor. The bottom line is that what ever works for you stick with it. Do not alter your playing technique because of someone else’s personal rules that work for them. You are your own island. There are no rules!
You're making a lot of assumptions about we do and don't know! We have conducted *extensive* testing on pick materials, and you can view some of those results right here on our channel ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IdQ-Yn6k-To.html ). However for a beginner, if we have to simplify the most important basic characteristics, I stand by the recommendations in this video. The geometry is what most players seem to get wrong, based on how it interacts with the player's form (approach angle and edge picking). This is not really my opinion, it's simply an observation based on thousands of examples of players who come to us for personalized instruction - noting what problems they have and what we have to do to fix them.
Somehow, the algorithm sent me down a “guitar pic” rabbit hole the other day… But this is the best one I’ve seen out of probably 15 or so. Really appreciate the in-depth explanations. New subscriber also
