I know this topic is individually subjective:
Until recently, I’ve never really paid any attention to pick sizes or materials. I’ve played with a ‘351’ pick for years without even knowing what it was called. Prior to a couple years back, I used Dunlop nylon .73s. Then, I attended a Road Show with my son and he won a pack of Taylor medium celluloid 351 picks. He gave me a couple and I played with those for a while to match my Taylors guitars and had no complaints.
After joining AGF and UTGF several years back, I become aware of the ‘pick variable’ conconering tone. After reading rave reviews, I now want to experience the ‘high-end’ pick hype, but honestly, I’m too cheap and never really wanted to spend a lot on a pick. Guitars?...definitely. Strings?...maybe. Picks?...definitely not, but I was curious (casein material, Blue Chip, Wegens, Charmed Life, etc…) Being ‘pick frugal’, l purchased beveled Dunlop small triangle 1.4mm Primetone picks (with grip) and large triangle (smooth). They were only $2 each. I fell in love with the grip picks…wow. Easy to hold and I appreciated the sound emanating from the guitar better than the Taylor celluloid. I played happily with the Primetone 1.4 small triangles for years, but I still had that aching feeling I was not experiencing something wonderful by not playing with an ‘expensive pick’.
And I
was happy…until I read all the recent posts on the new Taylor Thermex picks. Then ‘pick envy’ was rekindled, and I purchased Dunlop jazz-style 1.5 Ultex, Taylor 351-style 1.5 Thermex, and John Pearse Fast Turtles 1.2 casein (the most expensive pick I’ve purchased).
Guess what? The most expensive pick is the one I like least. It is not as comfortable to handle and doesn’t sound better to me than Ultex or Thermex (which both are equal). I liked the handling of the Dunlop and the sound of the Taylor…BUT…neither compared to my tried-and-true Primetone 1.4 small triangle, which I feel has it all.
So essentially, I was searching for a greener pasture when it was under my feet to begin with. Lesson learned. If you have something that makes you happy, there is no reason to search for something that might not exist. Of course, playing my first cocobolo Taylor guitar was different, as it left me wanting to sell all my other guitars and make sacrifices to own one…which I did
YMMV.
