Plectrums, plectrums, and more plectrums!

have a bit of an obsession with plectrums, it seems there's a plectrum for every occasion but one for all uses seems to elude me...

I use mainly Jim Dunlop plectrums, theres a wide range of different thicknesses and materials, I seem to have at least one of each!  I prefer thicker plectrums made of Tortex or Delrin with a thickness around 1 mm, I have used them down to 0.60 mm and as thick as 3mm :o

For grungy rhythms and even fast alternate picking a Tortex 0.60 is a good choice, it feels a bit flimsy for fast lead work although Paul Gilbert seems to get by just fine!  The thicker Tortex ones seem to feel like they catch or scratch the strings more and I don't like the tone as much

For general lead work and metal rhythm a Delrin 1.16mm is a good choice, the tone seems to sound better than the thicker tortex ones.

For sweep picking and fast palm muting you cant beat a Jazztone, they have a kind of ceramic feel to them and seem to improve the tone, they take a bit of getting used to as they are about 2mm thick and have a smooth chamfered edge, the only problem is that the grip isn't as good as Tortext and Delrin and I usually score them with a knife.

Recently I have started using 1.16mm Ultex they seem to have a good grip but I'm not sure if I like the edge they have they seem to suffer the same tone loss as the ticker Tortex ones...
Hmm if only they made jazz tones with more grip or Ultex with a more chamfered edge, maybe when the Ultex beds in a bit they will grow on me...

Some of my stash of plectrums