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The picks I've used extensively (left to right)
I've also tried Dunlop Gator/Big Stubby/Jazz 3 (red & black)/Ultex/tortex, steve clayton and V picks... didn't really like any of them off the bat for Gypsy Jazz, so they got very little play time.
TONE: I prefer a clear/bright (6khz frequency) and warm tone (300hz), but HATE click (pick scrape sound, around 10khz+), so here is my take on each pick's tone:
PLAYABILITY: Gypsy gigs/jams mostly playing rhythm, cocktail jazz gigs w/ GJ guitar I'm playing a lot of solos. I have gigged with all these types of picks at one point. My take on playing 2-4 hour gigs:
OVERALL: **** G pick is my go-to for everything now (though I'll admit I prefer the **** Christiaan Van Hemert Model for fast soloing only). The main reason is I prefer the tone and it's consistency, my hand is more relaxed while playing, pick slips/spins don't happen often, and it forces me to be more consistent with my technique when playing fast.
Honestly, I don't want to be thinking about what my pick is doing, or being distracted by it's tone when I should be listening and enjoying the music during gigs. Hope this helps!
Christophe, that was the clearest evaluation of picks that I've ever seen. Thanks!
Two questions:
"Muscles more relaxed" -- which muscles were more worn out? Hand from gripping pick? Having to use more force? Etc.
Upstrokes -- which picks seemed to be less prone to hanging up on upstrokes, more adaptable to changes in string tension?
That's an awesome post, Christophe. I've got 5 of the Jokko picks, and like them all. I use the Nous'che or Rominoo picks mostly, the Giovanni pick as well, though I'll screw around with the Feigelie and finally Esmee picks from time to time. All mine are 4mm. Also have a Wegen as above, but prefer the material and Bevel Jokko makes. The click bugs me on the Wegen. I play rhythm only, so there's that.
I get spinning but prefer the non-dimpled picks for some reason. The Feigelie has both holes and a "channel," can't recall the name, which is great if using point but I like the side for almost all playing.
On the Model G, that's interesting because on Michael's store, the G has dimpling. Did you get the pick here, or from Europe?
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
When you say the CVH pick spins a lot, is this during soloing or rhythm playing? Does it spin a lot more than the big city 1.8? Is the sound a lot better than the big city 1.8 when soloing? By the way, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge! ps, i cant figure out how to use the quote thing
Thanks! Sore forearms. My rhythm playing is almost all wrist turning, with very little elbow movement. So I rely on my forearm muscles. The switch from electric was especially painful as I was sore all the time. I also game, and use a computer a lot - so I'm more prone to sore forearms in general and actively stretch and massage them.
String tension and upstrokes: Thicker picks require less force for similar volume, so felt better when I had .011's on, though I mostly play .010s. Upstrokes I don't have a problem with, but my pick attack is close to 45° angle from the top of the strings, so that my pick "escapes" the strings with every upstroke. However, when string skipping on a down stroke (e.g. descending triplet lines with three notes per string, all picked), the thinner picks would get caught less. Hence my comment about "consistently of technique when playing fast."
I bought them directly from ****. The pictured one is my back-up with no wear 'n tear.
@matthewkanis - it spun on me during both, more than big city. You may have a different time, since you said the big city doesn't soon on you at all. Spin is simply due to the materials that they are made of. Tone was definitely better for both lead and rhythm - clearer, warmer, louder.
Again, i couldn't help myself, and i just ordered a CVH pick!
Dang that was a thorough post! I was actually just pulling out my different picks to play them one after another to see what the differences were. I definitely noticed that the 3.5 Wegen is brighter and way clickier than the big cities, which are much warmer without a discernable click. The annoying thing with a pick that does click is that you get multiple clicks when you use rest stops... I wouldn't say the 3.5 is too unwieldy and I can play with similar ease, but the extra noise is a rather distracting.
@matthewkanis I haven't had any issues with the 1.8 cities spinning around while playing. While I'm not a gigging musician I can comfortably play for a few hours without issue.
Over the years I've used lots of different picks. Lately I have been using Gravity Picks at 3mm. Not too bright / not too dark. They last a very long time and resist wearing out while keeping pick noise minimal.
I like to hear a click. I think of it as part of the sound.