Wear

Had been playing these two since last weekend: V-Pick (L) Traditional/ Gravity (R) 003 Custom.

I think I am rather merciless when it comes to pick attack. The Traditional had this much wear after only a day's worth of play. Someone told me to ease the picking hand but compromised pick attack just doesn't produce the desired note articulation, especially for angry riffs. The Gravity fared slightly better. It might be down to the materials used. 

No return

Paul Gilbert recently returned to thin picks. Sub-1mm to be precise. The reason- for a more authentic feel. I had been with 3mm picks (or thicker) so in view of this philosophy, I was game to try.

To adverse effects. I simply couldn't return to anything thinner than 2mm because it just feels 'wrong' in so many ways pertaining to my playing style. Psychologically, I need a thicker feel to exert less picking pressure. If it's too thin, my brain tells my to grip harder because the force of strings during play might throw the pick out of control.

I somehow could make do with 1.5mm as seen above but the pick material matters. But after a few minutes of play, that 'wrong' feeling would kick in once more. Moral of the story- others' playing philosophy might just not be yours. 

King vs King

These picks are pretty much in the same league. The manufacturers interpreted them differently; same thickness, same unpolished edges & even the same colour family. The Jazz King has, well, the jazzers in mind. The tip is rounded to let the player glide across strings effortlessly while maintaining command at the picking end. The Ed King, by virtue of its more pointed tip, invites the player to showcase some precision picking while propagating effortless movements as well. I don't particularly favour one over the other. On some days one of them serves me better than the other. 

Pick Friday

This was in the mail today.

A pair of 5mm picks courtesy of Bro Yustech- awesome! Thank you sir, you made my day! 

Worth picking

That's right, I'm a little picky about picks. I'm down to 2 preferred brand names when it comes to getting a preferred selection. The first is V-Picks. The Shredder & Pachelli were purchased just prior to Easter since they had a store-wide 20% discount going. As such, I took the opportunity to try something out of my comfort zone. The Shredder is a little extreme in terms of outline & it serves players picking a certain way, very much like how Al Pitrelli picks his notes. Any other way, that  rather extended pointed tip would snag strings & it's mistakes galore. Not my type, bought it to try. The Pachelli is a trimmed down Dunlop Stubby without the middle indentation. It's a 4mm monster that serves aggressive riffing as well as fast solos, especially those who pivot their wrists more than their elbows. My type of pick- like 👍

The other brand name is DAW. I recently retired my Karma pick & refrained from using my remaining 2 as they are discontinued. These picks you see here are my likeable alternatives, the Shredlines. The bigger, more triangular version of the Shredline is called the Trix. Despite disliking bulky triangular shapes, I find the Trix to be very efficient for aggressive riffs. The standard Shredline there in red is great for- you guessed it- fast picking. I've tried all the picks DAW has to offer including some discontinued models like the N4. 

Timber!

In the mail today- Timber Tones picks. I'm swallowing some pride & returning to wood. I used to find wooden picks detestable but I guess I was bothered by the size more than anything else. This time, I'm giving the jazz size a go. It's gonna be a busy weekend.

Wooden touch

In the mail today- Clayton wooden picks. I'm currently reviewing my picks' click quotient; actually referring to that 'clicking' sound when it comes into contact with strings. It isn't as obvious when one is using thinner, softer picks. However, if one deals with (at least) a 3mm pick manufactured from a hard material, this clicking sound becomes obvious. In the mean time, I'm assessing if this is indeed a psychological factor, the fact that the player is bothered by this clicking is actually due to his/her ability to hear it during play. What if his/her set up masks this clicking noise, would it be any different? Also, what are the materials causing this clicking sound? Can the string type actually help mute this clicking in some ways? Some exploration in the mean time :-)