I found it in a pick.
Not just any pick. Simply the best pick I've ever used. It instantly turned all my other picks into just pieces of plastic, or potential shims. Things to use to fix the wobble in the kitchen table. Certainly not to play guitar with, because I'll never use another kind of pick again.
What is it?
A Dunlop Jazz III.
My old phlegmy guitar teacher introduced me to the Dunlop Jazz series of picks, but he preferred and pushed the Jazz I. There are three levels of Jazz picks, cleverly called Jazz I, Jazz II, and Jazz III. They differ only in pointiness. Jazz I picks are the least pointy. In fact, they're downright rounded. I have a pack of these that I bought all those years ago. I still have the first one I ever bought. I liked them and used them on and off, but I really didn't like how non-pointy they were, especially for fast picking. I used other picks during this time, too, but for some reason never tried the other levels of Jazz picks, even though I always wanted to.This past weekend I took the plunge.
I stopped into Guitar Center when the wife and I were shopping in Fort Collins and got myself a pack of Jazz III's. They didn't have red ones, which I prefer (my Jazz I's are red) so I got a black pack. I couldn't wait to get home and try them out. As soon as I put pick to string I knew I found The Pick. The one pick to rule them all. It had all the goodness of the Jazz I with more control and precision. It was the perfect pick.
I have a pack of six, which should last me until I die unless I lose them. As I said before I still have the first Jazz I that I ever purchased, and that was about 25 years ago. These picks don't die. They may be a little expensive, but considering they'll outlive you, they're worth the extra few bucks.
I'm sure they aren't for everybody. They take a little bit of getting used to, especially if you've used standard picks for years. But once that adjustment period is over, I guarantee you'll love 'em. Try them out, you won't regret it.
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