Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:13 pm Post subject:
Just got a note from Dave Skowron - the main dude at Red Bear. It seems they'll offer a new model called - the Big Jazzer! Basically, it'd be the Jazz XL size. He said it'd be somewhere in between the Classic II and the Lil' Jazzer. I've been having the guys over here at the Suhr shop try 'em and they love it as well. I think there's a good chance that we'll work with Red Bear and do some promotional stuff together. _________________ Ed Yoon
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The Lil' Jazzer heavy I have is a little thicker than the Jazz III. I'd say it's right around 1.5mm. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
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Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 4:12 am Post subject:
It really is that good, for me - at least, in that it's making me play and I'm really enjoying the tone that I'm hearing from the guitar. I've got Guthrie's #1 Root Beer Standard with me and I've been playing it for almost the whole day - unplugged and plugged in. My fingers are sore right now and I still want to keep playing.
It's kind of funny how that #1 Root Beer Std ended up back in my hands. I just ended up holding it here in LA for Guthrie because he couldn't take it back with him after an Asia tour and he could only travel around with one guitar at a time. I still consider it Guthrie's guitar, but it's just sitting at my house and I'm now playing it all the time.
I mentioned the increased dynamics of this pick, but I have to mention it again and say that it's one of the many great characteristics of this pick. You can get a lot more range in the volume with just the way you vary the pressure in your attack compared to other picks. I'm really surprised by the variety of improvements you hear and feel with this pick. It practically makes it feel like you received a brand new instrument.
A lot of other esoteric picks these days seem focused on improving speed for single-note lines and, personally, I've never cared for those big fat and super stiff picks with big bevels. I want to play a traditional flatpick and also be able to strum jangly-sounding open chords like an acoustic or funk rhythm kinds of stuff as well. It's always been a trade-off when finding a pick that's good for one type of playing because it won't be as good for another type of playing.
The Red Bear seems to excel at virtually any type of playing - well, for me, anyways. And Guthrie, too, it seems, as he's looking forward to trying out the new Big Jazzer and feels that this could be the basis of a custom signature pick. It sounds big, fat, defined, warm, organic, balanced and clear. It feels like a traditional flatpick and has a lively response while being smooth for speedy runs with wide dynamics. It could do 'em all and do so exceptionally well. Hmmm... kinda like Guthrie! _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Last edited by alexkhan on Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:27 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 40 Location: Peterborough, UK
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:51 am Post subject:
I'm sold - now when I stop failing at life and get a rig sorted I can at least get one based on a good recommendation
I've tried dozens of picks and I've always ended up coming back to the Jazz III (I even have one now - its the sum total of my gear!) so if this provides all the advantages of that with superior tone and attack its a no-brainer.
Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 112 Location: Huddersfield U.K
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:33 pm Post subject:
alexkhan wrote:
It really is that good, for me - at least, in that it's making me play and I'm really enjoying the tone that I'm hearing from the guitar. I've got Guthrie's #1 Root Beer Standard with me and I've been playing it for almost the whole day - unplugged and plugged in. My fingers are sore right now and I still want to keep playing.
..It's kind of funny how that #1 Root Beer Std ended up back in my hands.
Parting will be such sweet sorrow.
Good to hear your findings on the picks, I don't know if i can justify geting one at that price yet but your review goes some way to at least show you get something that may improve your playing experience.
They sound awesome, but I don't really think my fingers could adjust to a different pick.. I've used jazz III XL series for ages, every other pick just feels so alien to me.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:00 pm Post subject:
greenfingers wrote:
alexkhan wrote:
It really is that good, for me - at least, in that it's making me play and I'm really enjoying the tone that I'm hearing from the guitar. I've got Guthrie's #1 Root Beer Standard with me and I've been playing it for almost the whole day - unplugged and plugged in. My fingers are sore right now and I still want to keep playing.
..It's kind of funny how that #1 Root Beer Std ended up back in my hands.
Parting will be such sweet sorrow.
Good to hear your findings on the picks, I don't know if i can justify geting one at that price yet but your review goes some way to at least show you get something that may improve your playing experience.
Well, Guthrie does have the #2 Root Beer Standard with him (the one you see on a bunch of the BluesJamTracks vids on YT including 'Fives'), so I don't think he misses the #1 that much and it will always serve as an able backup whenever he comes over to the States. Guthrie's a one guitar kind of guy and would prefer to get through an entire gig with one axe as much as possible. That's why the new GG Sig Modern was spec'd out as is - to cover all of his musical bases in one package.
I really think the Red Bear pick is worth the cost and then some. It certainly is for me. That's the best $20 I've spent in ages. It makes me pick up the guitar and start playing and, like you say, enjoy the playing experience. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:01 pm Post subject:
aveyz1 wrote:
They sound awesome, but I don't really think my fingers could adjust to a different pick.. I've used jazz III XL series for ages, every other pick just feels so alien to me.
Well, Guthrie has too, so that's why Red Bear came out with the Big Jazzer due to requests from me and a bunch of other people. Give me another week or two to try out the Big Jazzer and I'll let you know how it compares to the Jazz XL. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:05 pm Post subject:
ShadyDavey wrote:
I'm sold - now when I stop failing at life and get a rig sorted I can at least get one based on a good recommendation
I've tried dozens of picks and I've always ended up coming back to the Jazz III (I even have one now - its the sum total of my gear!) so if this provides all the advantages of that with superior tone and attack its a no-brainer.
Hey Dave, hope you get things sorted out soon and start playing! Forget the fluff of pedals and stuff like that - just get a decent axe with good pickups, a decent tube amp, a decent cable and a good pick! _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 40 Location: Peterborough, UK
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:25 am Post subject:
Need a vigier - thats about one of the only things I can play due to the action
More on topic and less about my uselessness:
Have you tried some of the heavier jazz picks that were based on Bone/Koa/Ebony and things like that that appeared in the very early 90's? Made by Sculpture Picks they're still available and tonally are perhaps the best I've heard.
Problematically the bone pick especially smelt quite....interesting...after a period of use where it started to warm up
i read all the stuff here about the pick since im a fanatic sick psycho when it comes to picks and strings and stuff like that.
i have been using the lil black jazz 3`s for years, but one day they didnt feel the same anymore.
so dunlop really changed the material?
!!!! NOONE BELIEVED ME AND THEY ALL SAID THAT IM NUTS! XD
im just curious: is it possible to get the old picks somewhere?
and after googling around, i found out that eric johnson still uses the old (red) jazz 3`s. so anyone knows if there is an actualy difference, or is it just money-making with his name?
and about the redbear picks:
are they really so good? i dont know, to me, they dont look like they have a good grip (i dont like holes in a pick), and they look a bit too fast.
the jazz XL version kinda suck although guthrie played amazing with `em.
they`re a lot easier to play with a very low action... but thats sth else to discuss i guess..
hell yeah, finally some ppl that really think about picks and little but super huge things + differences and even notice that. most guitar players dont notice differences, they dont feel the guitar at all... :/
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:53 am Post subject:
syndrone wrote:
i read all the stuff here about the pick since im a fanatic sick psycho when it comes to picks and strings and stuff like that.
i have been using the lil black jazz 3`s for years, but one day they didnt feel the same anymore.
so dunlop really changed the material?
!!!! NOONE BELIEVED ME AND THEY ALL SAID THAT IM NUTS! XD
im just curious: is it possible to get the old picks somewhere?
and after googling around, i found out that eric johnson still uses the old (red) jazz 3`s. so anyone knows if there is an actualy difference, or is it just money-making with his name?
and about the redbear picks:
are they really so good? i dont know, to me, they dont look like they have a good grip (i dont like holes in a pick), and they look a bit too fast.
the jazz XL version kinda suck although guthrie played amazing with `em.
they`re a lot easier to play with a very low action... but thats sth else to discuss i guess..
hell yeah, finally some ppl that really think about picks and little but super huge things + differences and even notice that. most guitar players dont notice differences, they dont feel the guitar at all... :/
i feel like im home here XD thanks guys!
I know what you're saying. I was a hardcore Jazz III (the red one like the one Eric Johnson made famous) user a long time ago and all of a sudden, the material changed and it didn't feel the same anymore. So I went off on a new pick quest and settled on the Dunlop Delrin 1.5mm (the lavender one) and the same thing happened to that pick as well. I still had the old Jazz III and the Delrins around, but I had to be real careful not to lose them. Eventually, I settled on the 1.14mm Dunlop Ultex but I had to shave them down to a size that was a little closer to the Jazz III's.
When the Dunlop Ultex Jazz III's finally came out, I was elated but it didn't quite live up to the expectations. It didn't feel like the original Ultex picks for some reason. It's still a fine pick and it's something I'll keep and carry around, but I always felt like there could be something better. And, yeah, I tried the Jazz XL's as well (both the reds and the blacks), but I just couldn't make them work for me. It seemed to drag on the strings and the tone was kind of sharp and unfocused. I'd sometimes pick up Guthrie's guitar with his XL pick and wonder: "How the hell does he pick that fast and get the sound that he's getting with this pick?" It just blew my mind because I felt like I couldn't get around with it at all.
Then, I find out about Guthrie trying this Red Bear and I really had no big expectations and was quite hesitant about spending $20 on a pick myself. But I decided, "Oh, why not? You only live once. Might as well get this curiosity out of the way..." Then I get it and I'm like, "Whoa... This is a lot better than I expected." I keep playing and I'm really starting to enjoy the sound and the way it plays. I kept comparing it to all my favorite picks of the past and it just beats 'em in every possible way. It has made me pick up the guitar every chance I can get and that says a lot when I've just resigned to being an occasional bedroom strummer as a very casual hobbyist.
I just received the Big Jazzer and I love it. I really don't have a problem with the small Lil' Jazzer but it'd always make you cautious when doing hard funky rhythm kind of strumming and stuff like that. The Big Jazzer has plenty of holding surface and it really isn't slippery at all. I could do fine with or without the grip holes. I just prefer having them for a little better grip but it's not really necessary. Yeah, it's a fast pick, but it's got a nice Tortex type of bounce to it as well and it has an unexplainable "organic" feel about it; it's as though your fingers have a more direct contact with the strings and the woods of the guitar. I don't know if it's the organic content of the picks, but it just feels real good. It's made a world of difference to me. It just makes everything sound better to my ears. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 25 Location: Alfred, NY
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:04 pm Post subject:
I made an order a couple weeks ago, I'm just waiting for them to arive--I plan on making a video comparing different picks, to see if you guys notice a difference
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:33 pm Post subject:
redhandedhaze wrote:
I made an order a couple weeks ago, I'm just waiting for them to arive--I plan on making a video comparing different picks, to see if you guys notice a difference
Cool. Which model and gauge did you get?
I don't think a video would really highlight the difference. I'd say more than half of it is really how it feels and plays and the tonal difference would be much more apparent with the guitar unplugged in a quiet room. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
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although guthrie played amazing with `em.
I still had the old Jazz III and the Delrins around, but I had to be real careful not to lose them. Eventually, I settled on the 1.14mm Dunlop Ultex but I had to shave them down to a size that was a little closer to the Jazz III's.
It just blew my mind because I felt like I couldn't get around with it at all.
This is a lot better than I expected." I keep playing and I'm really starting to enjoy the sound and the way it plays. I kept comparing it to all my favorite picks of the past and it just beats 'em in every possible way. It has made me pick up the guitar every chance I can get and that says a lot when I've just resigned to being an occasional bedroom strummer as a very casual hobbyist.
