DUNLOP JAZZ III 1.68mm STIFFO VS DUNLOP TORTEX .88mm

It's time to discuss about some picks that I used and compare them. Pick/plectrum is the most underrated tool in tone chasing and they can alter your tone significantly when you use the right pick. I'm going to review two of my longest serving picks: Dunlop Jazz III Stiffo and Dunlop Tortex .88mm.

Jazz III

This is by far the most shred-friendly pick that I ever used. So easy to play fast with, so stiff that it transfers your picking energy to the string with lots of dynamics. When used on alternate picking licks, it will create short picking noise so this is very great to get the notes to ring clearly.

This one is used by many professionals especially shredders and jazz players. John Petrucci and Eric Johnson even had their own signature Jazz III picks. I personally used this pick most of the time because it's the most versatile one; you can play anything with this pick. It's thick so don't expect to get easy rhythm playing from this pick. It's also small and a bit slippery so do your best to grip it carefully.

Tortex .88mm

For you who don't really need a shred-based pick, this is a good choice. It's good for rhythm playing because it isn't too thick and too small, it has good grip, it's comfortable on your fingers and it has unique tone.

I watched Paul Gilbert used the orange Tortex which is not too different from this one and he can get a very good tone out of it. It's kind of mushy un-traditional pick sound. It's very good for strat because you can get more top end using this pick.

Beware, you can't really shred with this pick. I gave up on this pick because it's hard to alternate picking using this pick. It's also big so it requires harder string pluck to get a pinch harmonic using thumb; that's why I invented the method of getting a pinch harmonic using my middle finger haha! However, I get back to this pick frequently just to get something different out of my playing and this pick delivers a fresh unique tone very well.

Now let the fight begins!

Here's a sound clip of Jazz III vs Tortex on clean rhythm playing: click HERE --> Jazz III first followed by Tortex.

Here's a sound clip of Jazz III vs Tortex on crunch lead playing: click HERE --> Jazz III first followed by Tortex.

I must say that I love the sound of the Tortex when I scratch it on my muted strings! It really has a very defined attack that I am looking for. It's also good for rhythm. However, it's not easy to tame that green monster especially when I need to play fast lead solos. That's the time when I need to switch back to the Jazz III.

In conclusion, both are great but they really depend on what you want and how you play. The choice is yours!

Cheers and God bless :)