Guitar Picks/Plectrums

I recently received my Hufschmid picks and wanted to play them for a few weeks so that I could get some good hands on experience before writting a review. These are by far the very best I've ever played in the past 30 years of guitar playing in terms of playability and durability! I can't believe the attention to details, I mean I've been playing 'custom picks' for a long time but I can honnestly say that the other brands I've been playing do not even compare to Patrick's work. My favourite picks would be the red huftron and orange fluo anvil xl, not only do they offer incredible attack but you get used to playing them in seconds, it actually becomes second nature which is something I was far from expecting when ordering them and I have to agree that playing seams effortless, now I can really concentrate on those fast riffs and my hand feels much more relaxed! Thank you for your incredible work and customers service Patrick! My experience was fantastic and I can't recommend them enough! Rob photos of picks from the store...

Dunlop's Jazz III picks have become my preference after using my buddy's a couple years ago. It took me a little while to get used to the small size, pointed tip and clarified attack in my tone, but once I got used to having that precision and control, I couldn't go back to the standard sized picks I had been using. As I stated in my review of the standard Dunlop Jazz IIIs, these picks have drastically improved my playing! It seems silly that such a small part of the signal chain and gear arsenal can have such a big impact on my playing, but it's true. I had hit a wall in my playing and the scalar runs and sweep picking patterns I was attempting with my standard Tortex picks were coming out a mess! Enter the Jazz III. Smaller for less travel while alternate picking, and harder plastic that doesn't get hung up on the strings, along with a very pointy tip add up to give you fast, precision picking. The Ultex takes this one step further. This is an extra hard and "glassy" feeling pick that has even less grab than the standard red/black Jazz IIIs. The pick seems to just slide right off of the strings resulting in a very fast release. This makes shred very accurate and the extra hard and glassy material offers a bright and glassy tone. Notes seem to be more crisp and detailed than they do with standard picks. There are times when I still reach for my standard Red Jazz IIIs, like when I want the pick to have a little more stick and grab. If I'm playing chunky rhythms or layered chords, I usually grab the regular III. If I'm attempting to do some more involved speed playing, or if I just want that bright glassy tone, I use the Ultex! I bought a few of the Ultex IIIs just try out, and I'm still using the first one 6 months later! It has literally no wear at all. These things are very tough and durable! (or I play like a wimp;) I love the Ultex picks and can't see paying insane prices for some of the other high endurance picks out there. These are about the best I've used!

I found out about Hufschmid picks through two players that I really like (Fred Brum and Aaron Marshall). I saw some videos of them playing with these huge picks in their hands. The biggest thing that caught my attention was what people were saying about how the thickness of the picks allow you to relax your hand more and I have been having some pain issues in my thumb. My first order was the PHD Anvil because the website mentioned that it was a great pick for people with hand issues. It is strange at first to play these picks but after about 15 or 20 minutes they felt at home in my hands. I have the following: PHD Anvil, Huftech Anvil, Green Drop, Green Attack Drop, Green Drop Jazz III XL, Acrylic Attack Drop, PHD Choco Drop, and some of his 2mm Jazz III styles. I try to have a variety in my picks that I have ordered from Patrick because each shape and material really gives me something different. I've ended up with 3 that are made with UHMWPE. For some reason I keep coming back to this material. It sounds really awesome to me. When I saw he was making a Jazz III XL style I definitely wanted one. I have bought a lot of Jazz III style picks from multiple companies. The Jazz III XL shape is very comfortable in my fingers. The shape of the pick fits snug into the natural curve of my finger. It doesn't not slip at all even though it feels very smooth, almost powdery. The tip of this pick is really what I like! It seems slightly less sharp than the regular drops. A really sharp pick gives you the best articulation but a rounder tip glides better. This pick for me is a great balance of the two. It is extremely fast. It glides with ease. Speed picking and sweeping feel great. If you have a different picking technique I think these picks can work well for anyone. If you look closely at the tip you can see that you can hold it at any angle and the pick will still slice across the strings smoothly. Even though it is a very thick pick the material is very light. The tone of the pick is mellower than the hard materials like the PHD or Acrylic. Those can be very bright on clean sounds and very aggressive with distortion. The UHMWPE is warmer on cleans and with gain chords blend together in the best way possible. On single notes it sounds very full and doesn't chirp like hard materials. I think this pick definitely excels for clean jazz sounds. If you are looking for twang you might want to look at one of his thinner pick made out of acrylic. One thing I have really learned with these picks is that each pick serves a purpose for different tones. I had come to these opinions on my own and then just recently I read Aaron Marshall's in depth review coming to the same conclusion. I think the material and quality of your pick has more impact on your tone than what preamp tubes you have in your amp. Instead of changing tubes or EQ settings if you want a mellower sound, use a Green Drop. If you want bright, use an Acrylic Drop. You will be surprised at the difference you hear. Patrick is really great with communicating with his customers and if you aren't sure which pick is best for you he definitely can steer you in the right direction. He makes a wide variety and your tastes may not be like mine. I really don’t know of any other “custom” pick company that answers emails so fast. I say custom because I really think of these as custom picks. It’s really interesting to watch Patrick make them. You can find videos of it on Youtube. After owning a few of them it’s remarkable how consistent they are. Turn around time is really fast once you order too. I know these picks aren’t easy for him to make. Most of them take more than an hour and he’s told me that some designs are actually very difficult to make without putting his fingers in danger. As for the price, I think it's a solid investment buying a pick that will last as long as I want it to. Cheap picks grind down or break and get thrown away and end up in a landfill somewhere. A lot of people complain about the prices but these materials aren't cheap and the skill it takes to make them is something I definitely don't have. I feel like this pick will get used and abused a lot and from what I have seen with the other picks I have from Patrick, it can handle it.

For Christmas of 2008 my wife and I decided to buy my daughter what she wanted more than anything in the world, a guitar. She had just started playing violin that school year and wanted to learn to play what Daddy played as well. I loved the idea and went with it. The only concern I had was what to do to help her picking technique. That was always a sore spot I remember when starting out and to the lessons I gave friends in highschool. I looked through the racks and ran across the Dava controll picks. I knew just by looking at them they would fit the bill. The store only had the nylon variety to choose from. As I suspected the pick was a blessing for learning the proper way to hold a pick. The picks designed to offer a proper area to hold the pick so there is no question to where to hold it. Unlike other picks the child's hand stays put instead of wandering around. It is far easier to learn things right the first time then to unlearn a bad habit. When another of my younger children tried learning to learn guitar this summer I did not have any of these picks around for her. It was a nightmare, so much time was lost dropping the pick and there were countless questions about how to hold it right shortly followed up by the pick being held wrong. I quickly ordered another set of these for her and the problem of the pick quickly went away. I personally would not use these for myself for anything other than a training tool. For that they are unbeatable. I do not know anyone who uses them personally but I will be buying another set of these when my next child wants to learn to play guitar. I believe every Instructor could benefit by keeping a pack around for their new students.

Before discovering the jazztone 208 this was my main go-to-pick for acoustic guitar. I was so sick of hearing guitar players using such thin picks on acoustic for strumming and picking etc and thick metal guitar player shredder picks never sounded right either. And then I discovered these black beauties, the jazztone series picks. It doesn't say what thickness these are but they are definitely on the thicker side, they seem to be even thicker than 3mm. Anyway the tone I was looking for was something similar to how I would play an acoustic with my thumb when finger picking or light strumming but I wanted to be able to project that and only the jazztones so far have been able to properly project that thick woody tone that I love in a pick! Keeps me happy and keeps my martin played! The one beef I had with the 207s and thus moved on to the 208s was the tip, the rounded tip sounds like a good idea and keeps the tone round and warm however, it just kept slipping between my fingers if i tried to strike with anything more than a slightly medium attack, there's no grip and after it strikes it just kind of gets everything off balance and the pick moves. I tried the 208 with the sharp tip I get a bit more presence and the pick is stationery.

the 208! Finally a pick that I feel comfortable playing acoustic with and getting the proper sound out of. With acoustics, the tone is completely dependent on which type of pick you use and I've always hated using thin picks like some strummers, it just thins out the great bold and thickness of the acoustic guitar! There are many different picks out there, and I’ve tried nearly every pick under the sun for electrics and acoustics and although one day dream of a pick that would suit nearly every instrument, for now, I’ll have to settle for using the 208 for acoustics and other picks for electric etc. I've tried many different picks trying to get the most accurate sounding pick I could, something like if my thumb were striking the guitar but, with more volume then my thumb and maybe more clarity. I then discovered this 'jazz' pick which of course as by the the title it was given, gives of a really thick and warm soothing tone but with the sharp edge on it, brings enough presence to keep the note clear. I’m not sure what type of material is used, it looks like plastic like a tortex but seems much thicker and stronger. One beef with these picks is they’re advertised as super grippy, they are not, they’re quite the opposite, and it took me some time to get used to the feel to find a sweet spot for them to settle in the right position so they don’t go whaling around everywhere if I strum or pick hard. There's also the 207 which is similar but has a rounded tip. More on that later.....I'm very happy with the 208 for acoustics, it keeps the thick sound my Martin is supposed to have and projects!! What more does anybody need?

This has become my ultimate go to pick for fast riffing and heavy tones. Thick sounding, no flapping and takes forever to wear out! Way better than the original tortex standards that have been around for generations. These are a much better improvement in terms of how long they last. I think some people can notice tone differences between the ultex and the standards but to me the feel and tone are both the same, except the ultex lasts longer, so why not go for the ultex??? Great picks! Try'em out! They're the cheapest investments to changing the sound of your guitar without needing much!!

For the longest time I have tried to get use to the popular Jazz III pick. All my buddies use them and are always telling me is the best pick out there. I have used them on and off and always come away not liking them much. My biggest problem with them was the size. With the small size of the Jazz III I always felt them turning around in my hand and dropping them. I am use to bigger picks like the Dunlop Gator Grip 2mm. The Gator Grip also has a non slip surface which is similar to sand paper. The Jazz III”s are pretty smooth with just raised lettering to give traction. My friend told me if you do not like the Jazz III's because of their size you should try the Jazz III XL picks. I spent some time searching for them and was finally able to get my hands on some. There are some immediate differences with the XL and the Jazz III. With the larger size they seem to be slightly floppier. They are the same thickness as the small Jazz 3 so with the same thickness and around a larger size there is less hardness. They are obviously bigger. The raised text on them is different so it provides more grip on my fingers. The raised lettering is of a different style than on the normal Jazz III picks and they give more grip than the normal small Jazz III's raised lettering does. They are still super sharp like normal Jazz III's so you get that crisp bite on the strings with them. If you are like me and the Jazz III pick was too small for you Dunlop has made a larger version which will fit you perfectly. This pick is very good and I would recommend it to people who like large picks but want a sharp small pick sound.

The 2mm Gator Grip pick has been my preferred pick for many years. I was able to quickly find what kind of pick I liked. I first started with the Green 88mm Tortex picks that many people love. I liked the size of the pick but they were not stiff enough for me. The Tortex picks had a bit too much flex for me. If I was a mainly acoustic player I probably would still be using them. I could not get enough definition when using these picks. I then tried out some Jazz 3's which a lot of my friends use. I loved the stiffness of the pick and the sharpness of the top. With the Jazz 3 I got a really sharp attack and nice clarity with the sound but the pick was so small that I would drop them easily or they would turn around in my hand. With the Gator Grip 2mm picks I guess everything I like with the Tortex picks and everything I like with the Jazz 3. The 2mm is very stiff and is coated with this strange non slip surface. It is like sandpaper but it will wear off after a few days of playing. The picks are as big as the Tortex picks so I do not drop them either. They are moderately sharp but could be sharper. This pick gives a unique feeling as it goes across the string because it is so thick. It does not really bite into the string like a Jazz 3 does it kinda glides across it once it is broken in. When it still has the sandy surface on it the pick kinda rubs against the string like if you are using a coin. So if you are into really heavy picking and want a pick that will stand up to the toughest riffs I recommend the Gator Grip 2mm.

The Dunlop 9003R Guitar Thumb Pick is a simple pick that's designed for finger pickers. This can be used for instruments beyond guitar as it's useful for bass guitar and mandolin, as I've used it for both. This thumb pick comes in a few different sizes, but I've found that the medium usually does the trick. If you've never used a thumb pick like this before, it's probably going to take some time to get used to. I don't use this all the time even though I have one, as I myself am still getting used to the techniques while playing with a thumb pick. A lot of people use a thumb pick like this with other finger picks for playing guitar as well as lap steel and other picked steel string instruments, but you can of course use it on it's own as well, as that's how I play with it. No matter how you want to use it and for what instrument you want to use it for, it's a great little tool to have around as you never know when you might want to take a new approach to playing your instrument. I personally mostly use this on my mandolin as I find it easiest to play with here. I've used it a little bit for acoustic guitar as well, but I'm just not as quick with it on guitar. Obviously many players will be using this for guitar as that's probably going to be the primary use. I'd check out the Dunlop 9003R Guitar Thumb Pick no matter what instrument you're looking for a thumb pick for as it's as good as any out there. I've tried a bunch of different ones myself, but I own this one and it's the one that I use most often when compared with the other few that I have. You simply can't go wrong with a Dunlop pick!

Clayton's Acetal Pics are the flagship guitar pics made by Clayton. I believe that they come in a variety of different thicknesses, but I'm not 100% on this as I've only used the harder gauge pics that they have to offer. There isn't too much out of the ordinary about these pics, but they are definitely comfortable and get the job done. When it comes to choosing the right pics, it's really all about personal preference, as it's really hard to say that one pic is better than another for this reason. The Clayton Acetal Pics aren't the pics that I usually play with, but I have played with them a good amount both on acoustic and electric guitar. They are easy to grip and don't easily fall out of your fingers as lighter pics will. Most guitarists will have seen these pics around, as they eagle on the pic is definitely a familiar site for myself as a guitar player. The price of the pics are really cheap, as is the case with most pics out there, so price shouldn't be a major consideration when choosing pics that are comfortable for you and easy to play with. I generally like playing with smaller pics, although Clayton does have a similar line of pics like this one that I've yet to try. I will say that I think these pics are best for playing rhythm guitar rather than lead, or at least that is where I feel most comfortable playing these pics. If you're a beginning guitar player looking for the right pic for you, I'd definitely encourage you to check these pics out, in addition to as many as you can get your hands on, as all players are different and it's important to take the time to get comfortable!

I am lucky enough to own many plectrums Patrick HUFSCHMID made, in various sizes, shapes, thicknesses and materials. All of them are of the highest quality, speaking of craftsmanship, finish, and of course playing. Every model has been precisely engineered to offer peak ergonomics, comfort, attack and reduced playing effort. And it really works !! Over 13 years of research and development made Patrick a master in this field, and even surprising shapes like the angular Ergo (one of my personnal favorites) are nothing but a pleasure to play. Here I will discuss the TORLON 4203 and 5030 models. I own a few of them, in 2mm (4203), 4mm (5030) and 6mm (4203), all in Jazz III-derivated shapes, with bigger sizes, fitting better in my hands (Jazz XL and Mega Jazz). Long story short : I’m looking for a lot of specific qualities in a plectrum, and these ones have them all. First of all, TORLON is a material with a phenomenal toughness, which requires a lot of time and effort to be shaped. Its resistance to abrasion and slipperiness against the strings is outstanding. I have been playing the oldest one (6mm) for more than 2 years and it seems like it won’t even get a scratch, while never breaking a string. And believe me, I hit them hard ! Then, and here comes the Graal to me : even the 2mm version is totally unbending. Even materials usually used for plectrum making, and considered as very tough, like Ultem, are still bendable, including 2mm models. More important : it seems to me that the tougher the material is, the faster it wears. TORLON is the answer to all these issues, while maintaining the same light-weight any thermoplastic offers. This extreme stiffness increases precision a lot, and allows to use all the vibration potential of the strings, since your force won’t be part absorbed by the pick’s flexibility. It gives a sparkling, full attack and a better overall control. To me, it’s the perfect material , totally worth the investment as you will watch dozens of standard picks wear while this one lasts with a big smile !