New (at least to me) Taylor premium pick selection

[beachbum205]

Hi all!

I hadn't been to the Taylor website for a while, but when I stopped there yesterday I noticed that Taylor now sells what they call "Premium Picks". From my experience, I have found that certain picks can have a huge influence on tone- (more than strings do sometimes), so I was very interested.

I was wondering, has anyone here used any of these premium picks sold in TaylorWare? If so, were there any that you particularly liked/disliked? What tonal qualities did they offer for you?

Thanks!

[boneuphtoner]

Hi all!

I hadn't been to the Taylor website for a while, but when I stopped there yesterday I noticed that Taylor now sells what they call "Premium Picks". From my experience, I have found that certain picks can have a huge influence on tone- (more than strings do sometimes), so I was very interested.

I was wondering, has anyone here used any of these premium picks sold in TaylorWare? If so, were there any that you particularly liked/disliked? What tonal qualities did they offer for you?

Thanks!

When I first started playing, I started on what I think many people start with - Fender mediums.  I tried several thicker picks including several from Dunlop around 0.9-1.2 thickness, and at the time none of them worked well for me - I kept getting a thuddy tone.  Last year, just 3 years into the acoustic guitar hobby, I tried one of the Taylor Thermex 1.0 ultra picks on a whim, and I loved it!  It has become my gateway pick for thicker picks and all of those old Dunlop’s now play fine!  The Thermex 1.0 ultras are still my favorites, and although these are not expensive like the blue chips I’ve read about, they are not exactly inexpensive either.  I read on AGF that since it is highly unlikely that Taylor is actually making these, D’Andrea was identified as the most likely source.  And going off the descriptions, I ordered these:

https://dandreausa.com/product/guitar-picks/radex-351-shape/

I couldn’t tell any difference.  I still have another pack of the Taylor Thermex that I will use for special occasions but I don’t worry about using these D’Andreas for everyday use since they are even less expensive and I wouldn’t fret as much if I lost one.

[Ohio Tom]

My pick criteria:
Drop it on the desk. If it rings (Klink), it's good.
If it goes thud, throw it out.
Soft picks are fine for electrics, but acoustics are sensitive to pick quality.

Soft pick material kills the tonal qualities you pay alot of money for. why kill it all with a cheap pick?

[Willie_D]

Dunlop Flow has become my default pick of choice for everything but mando, for which I use the Dunlop Primetone rounded triangle mando pick.

[TrampsLikeUs]

I've tried several of the picks sold on the Taylor site.  I don't know why, but I seem to drop my (thinner) picks too often.  I've wasted a lot of cash on different types of picks.  So,  I tried a thicker pick.  Ordered off of Etsy.  A vendor called "Dragon Picks".  I feel much better control with these picks.  The guy sells a lot of them and gets great reviews.  I recommend these picks.

[Marco Polo]

Hi Beachbum,

I hope all is well.  I bought a pack of Taylor thermex ultra 1.5.  They are good picks and I would use one without any issue.

My go-to pick is still Dunlop primetone 1.4 small triangle with grip.  They feel more comfortable in my hands and sound fantastic to my ears.

Happy pick hunting!

[AVTaylor83]

Picks are fun to experiment with and can really alter tone with minimal investment! I've tried a few of the Taylor picks.

The Blue Swirl 1.0mm is my favorite so far. It adds fullness and warmth but has the most sparkle.

The Ivoroid 1.21 brought out more mid-range.

The Taylex 1.25 brought out more highs and volume.

The Ivoroid and Taylex sounded good strummed but I kept coming back to the Blur Swirl. I lose too much sparkle when picking out the high strings on thicker Ivoroid and Taylex. 1.0 is a good threshold for me because it adds enough fullness but sounds like I want it to when picking. I still feel like I've come a long way since playing .60 and .73's for many many years!

If you're ever feeling like your Taylor (particularly at GA) is lacking fullness, check out what kind of pick your using. That can make a difference.