I have never noticed any sound difference between picks, unless I've used a coin or something entirely different. Then there is a tiny difference. I just listened to various youtube tests with dozens of pickups made of metal to plastic to whatever, and yeah, while there's slight differences, I would not even notice if every pick was used for one riff of one song and mixed together...that's such a tiny difference it doesn't seem like a factor I'd care about in choosing picks. Way more difference comes from even very small variation of how you hold it, how much pick is exposed between your fingers, the angle of attack, etc. At least I notice that if I use a much heavier pick than usually I automatically change also the picking angle to match so they sound just the same. What I'd like is longevity combined with suitable flex and snappiness as well as hopefully some contouring for thumb and coarse grip area, and not too big or small.
So anyway, always looking for the perfect pick. I used those Jazz III's for a decade but of late much thinner ones, orange Dunlops most recently. I found this great pick brand called 'Wedge' but they aren't available any more and I can't find 'em online either. Maybe there was a name dispute with Dunlop or something. Those were great, shaped with a depression for the thumb and had a coarse grip, although maybe a millimetre or two too far from the picking edge. But that's corrected in an hour which is what it takes for me to wear a pick quite well.
That's the thing I always complain about the local music stores...the only thing they could compete with is having loads of gadgets and cool stuff, accessories and strings and picks that nobody cares to order online, you know, small stuff, but do they? No, they just have amps and guitars and the mandatory pick case they maybe replenish once in two years, so when I find a nice pic there's always like five left, and I buy them all, and after a month when I come back I have to change the brand because no way they have ordered more of those. Satan that pisses me off!
Same with single strings - they NEVER have just the gauges I want, always are out of .40's or whatever...it's like they're doing their best to send me shopping online.
Right now I must have a hundred picks lying around, all in various stages of being totally worn out, and I'm using scissors or knives to re-shape them into playable form all the time...I need to go find suitable picks again. Sigh.
