Tusq picks. Blind test!

[kevbo82]

So I've been obsessed with picks lately (get a life) saw some tusq picks at sam ash today and decided to give em a try against my go to Dunlop tortex. Here's a clip of the two side by side on my J50. Can you hear a difference? Which one do you like better? I'll let some people respond before I post which one is which.

 

 

 

[j45nick]

I have to admit I can't detect any real tonal difference in these two, even though the second segment definitely starts out a bit louder than the first.

 

Like most players, I've got boxes full of various picks, including really specialist ones like Red Bear and Blue Chip. I don't think any one pick is best for every guitar, but I think the .8mm (green) and 1.0mm (blue) Tortex picks are perhaps the best values and among the best all-around picks you can use, at least for flat tops. To my chagrin, I use them as reference picks when comparing guitars, even though I've gone mostly to fingerpicking these days.

[kevbo82]

I have to admit I can't detect any real tonal difference in these two, even though the second segment definitely starts out a bit louder than the first.

 

Like most players, I've got boxes full of various picks, including really specialist ones like Red Bear and Blue Chip. I don't think any one pick is best for every guitar, but I think the .8mm (green) and 1.0mm (blue) Tortex picks are perhaps the best values and among the best all-around picks you can use, at least for flat tops. To my chagrin, I use them as reference picks when comparing guitars, even though I've gone mostly to fingerpicking these days.

Yeah I was consentraiting so hard when I switched picks on keeping how I played the same that of course I got louder lol I hear a bigger difference in person than the recording. The tusq picks also seem to wear down QUICKLY

[retrorod]

I hate to admit, but I cannot tell a difference tonally!

[plexi]

I'm gonna say #1 is the Tusq, #2 is the Tortex. I think #1 sounds a tiny bit brighter.

[kevbo82]

I think in person the tone is fractionally different, this is the white tusq which is suppose to give the brightest tone of their 3 picks. To me in the recording and in real life, what I dig about the tusq is the way it sounds against the strings, not so much the tone it "produces" to me the tusq is a smoother strum that is less harsh to the ear, and goes away more and lets the notes stand out. My whole life I've been obsessed with the right hand rather than left as a guitar player. The left hand shows what you've learned but the right is what you KNOW. So I've always listed to recordings and paid as much or more attention to just the sound of the pick on the strings as the notes being played. Really lets you learn what guys are doing with the right hand (Townshend is still probably my favorite right hand, and Mark Knopfler is the right hand that makes me want to give up trying )

[fortyearspickn]

Funny - I just went from that exact Tortex to that exact Tusq a couple of weeks ago. I got it at SA also - along with a Dunlop Ultex.

I really love the Tusq over the Tortex - which had been my favorite for a couple of years now. The grip is superior with the raised lettering and logo. The responsiveness/feel is better and the sound seems clearer.

But, the Dunlop Ultex is a slight favorite. While it doesn't have anything etched or raised to improve grip - the material is mysteriously non-slippery. It is comfortable and seems a natural extension of your hand. And the sound off the strings seems to me to give the most clear, natural, representative sound of any pick I've tried. It seems closest to the tortoise picks I've ever seen. At $3 for 6 - it is a great pick.

[Phelonious Ponk]

I can't really tell which is which, but I switched to Tusq picks awhile back because they sound a bit crisper to me when I'm playing, and I like the feel of them. They grip well, and I use the triangles which have one rounded corner that I find useful sometimes. They do require more maintenance than the Clayton Ultems I used to use, though. A bit of smoothing with and emery board from time to time. I've still got a bunch of well-worn Claytons lying around. They wear very well, last forever, require nothing and actually get a bit better if you carry them around in your pocket full of change until they're smoothed out. I may switch back someday, but I'm enjoying the Tusqs right now.

 

P

[kevbo82]

Funny - I just went from that exact Tortex to that exact Tusq a couple of weeks ago. I got it at SA also - along with a Dunlop Ultex.

I really love the Tusq over the Tortex - which had been my favorite for a couple of years now. The grip is superior with the raised lettering and logo. The responsiveness/feel is better and the sound seems clearer.

But, the Dunlop Ultex is a slight favorite. While it doesn't have anything etched or raised to improve grip - the material is mysteriously non-slippery. It is comfortable and seems a natural extension of your hand. And the sound off the strings seems to me to give the most clear, natural, representative sound of any pick I've tried. It seems closest to the tortoise picks I've ever seen. At $3 for 6 - it is a great pick.

I actually don't think I like the raised lettering on the tusq's. Maybe it just takes getting used to. I was going to take one and sand that down flush and see if I liked it. I've never really had a problem with picks and grip. I just bought a handful of random picks the other day to try and had a ultex in there. Haven't tried it on acoustic, a little thicker than i like for acoustic, but i dug it on electric. The one i was most impressed with on the electric was a clayton, and kinda can't believe i never tried one before. It had a very strange feeling of being thick yet not feeling like i was holding something thick. Gonna try a lot more of their stuff.

[kevbo82]

I bought the black tusq picks. To me they are too stiff.

Opps, kinda forgot to post which was which on this. The first pick was the Tusq, second Dunlop. The other day i played with a heavy handed guitarist, and a cello, and quickly found out how quiet the tusq seemed to be. I was getting lost and had to switch back to the dunlops