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I think the pick noise that listeners, and even the players themselves, hear depends on the environment. Close up, or mic'ed close up, it can be awful, but in a larger setting it may just dissipate.
But it's probably best to get used to one pick, and one maximum picking volume, and go with that, so you can refine your playing.
Receiving the parcel with several low-priced picks, I played and compared them last weekend: Harley Benton PH 1 Horn Pick, PE 1 Ebony Pick, John Pearse Django Pick. All three of them sounded good to my ears, not only concerning the price-performance ratio.
As I had in mind doing ear training with my primary school children this week, I took my old Framus Archtop (Martin bronze, round, 12 gauge, kind of gypsy sound of the bright kind) into the classrooms and started strumming the first 8 bars of "Miro Django" with every pick, then asked the children which sound the liked most, and why, answering in terms of "warm, "cold", "dark", "light" "mellow" etc. if possible. Then I played the first 8 bars of the melody and asked again.
All of them (nearly 30 until today, 5, 6 and 7 years old) were able to perceive the difference between the three picks, even between the two HB's, which sound rather similar, the PE being a little bit louder and more "crunchy", as one of the children called it. Part of them answered "I loved all of them" (what I can sign). Many had a very clear favourite pick, mostly being able to tell the reasons why (not easy at all). About one third of them even differentiated between the picksound when strumming and when soloing. Almost all of them could describe the HB's as louder, with more punch - "this one has more momentum" was one statement - and a more clean sound, the JP as mellow, warm and not as loud. Two or three of the children described what they had heard just the other way round. At the end of this exhausting and demanding part of the lesson we got a little bit "off topic", sharing our knowledge about the different types of guitars they know (in our school we have classical guitars, archtops, different sizes of ukes, a tenor and a lap steel guitar, electric guitars and basses - and sometimes even an old french manouche guitar), some of the kids having guitars or ukes at home ("my father owns 7 guitars!" - that guy might be in this forum). Afterwards we went out to the schoolyard and performed some movement and fun songs.
The ear training lessons during this week again made it clear to me, that judging sound in general and pick sound in particular is a funny mix of very clear components with their unique properties: material, thickness, shape etc.; and highly individual and ambiguous shares with the ears and the personality of the player and his way to put this personality towards the strings being most important of all. So I am tempted to say: not much sense in trying to talk about things like what pick to use for getting what kind of sound. Just try out some and you'll know. On on side. But dealing with those little things and trifles that do make the differences is that much fun and of some importance for me on the other side. Love strolling and scrolling around in this forum. Love learning new things about a certain musical style and it's requirements and implications concerning gear and physics for example.
Oops, what an awful long post!
This is what I received from one of my 6 year old pupils after today's music lesson, titled "friday music", showing me and part of the class during the ear training (I swear the neck did not break, I don't use picks fat enough to brIng such results):
I wonder if the thing hanging from the ceiling is a big pick - in any case, our lighting fixtures look totally different.
Meant to say, thanks for sharing that story...
@Willie I just thought you were playing one of those folding neck guitars! Love the drawing. Schones wochenende!
@billyshakes: at the risk of abandoning the original subject "picks": you might like this too, it shows my old Framus archtop with freestyle varnishing added by the 5 year old artist:
You've got something there. Go immediately to your nearest luthier and make it happen! :-)
I'm not really friends with the blue finish, for me it is too extravagant. I like the simple, traditional desgin and colours (my old manouche guitar, drawn by another 5 year old child who preferred decidedly models with cutaway - mine doesn't have one):
Making this one happen really would make me happy ...
Looks like the kid went with the tenth fret marker on the guitar with the cutaway. Good choice.
Willie, you should rethink your aversion to the blue finish. Romane had one that featured on the covers of both Swing Guitare and Impair & Valse. Plus, you'd have your own theme song with this Sarane Ferret song! That's some good company to keep! (I note Romane's guitar also has the 10th fret marker) 😂