DunlopJohn Petrucci Jazz III, 6/Player's Pack

A little bit of my pick history and reasoning:I've used the orange Dunlop Tortex (.60mm i think?) for the past 10 years. I've been happy with them and I thought I had settled with the best possible pick to suit my needs. I like a medium flex. I feel like I can play dynamically softer but still get some good chunk & chug with a medium thickness pick. I play everything from soft blues, to classic rock, to modern rock, to metal, to progressive rock/metal, so I've always felt my pick needed to have a versatile feel, therefore having a medium pick that felt good seemed to be the best option.Like most guitarists, I've tried hundreds of picks over the years and none of them felt as good as my Dunlop Tortex .60mm to me. I've also used other Jazz III picks and didn't like them enough to switch and pay the money for them. I felt like they were a bit insensitive for some of my needs.Well, that all changed IMMEDIATELY after I struck the string with the JP Jazz III pick. I finally gave in a tried one after hearing JP talk about his work & development with Dunlop for years, and I've gotta say these are great. They're my new favorite pick. They are a bit on the thick/firm side, but since it has such GREAT glide across the string I feel that it makes up for the stiffness. That little shiney black V section of the pick is all glide. It's slick. The coolest thing I've ever felt on a pick.John talks about how it's very important for the pick to glide off the string effortlessly and have low friction, light weight, certain shape, etc, etc. I thought it was just a bit over-the-top and just something that wouldn't make a difference to me......because I'm not a god like JP and nowhere near his skill level. Well, he's totally right and knows what he's talking about of course....and this pick definitely improves my playing. I noticed it as soon as I started playing. I've been using this pick heavily for about a week now. I've probably put about 20+ hours into playing with it.****PLEASE READ THIS SECTION****I know lots of people will already know this but for folks that were like me and wanted to try something new again or take a chance on seeing what else is out there, read this. It might remind you of the small/simple things that make a huge difference with guitar playing.-Think about it...when using thin/flimsly picks, it requires more drag, effort, and time for the pick to strike the string. I believe they're great when playing dynamically softer licks. I feel like it allows you to "get more out of the note" and manipulate it better.-Now let's talk about thick/firm picks. They do not budge nor give when you strike the string. That means these picks are ideal for hard chugging and fast picking. With thick picks...it doesn't matter if you're playing a fast passage and you barely hit the string or not, that pick will strike it for you. They're great for that. If your picking is a bit inconsistant or weak, then a thick pick will make up for your slack. The thicker picks let you strike the string with less effort because there is less friction and way less "give" when the pick strikes.So with those points being made, I've found that the glide the JP picks provide is phenomenal and it kind of substitutes of makes-up for the lack of flex in the pick. I feel that it allows me to play softer in a slightly different way while still making a %100 strike even though my hand might have a sloppy moment and not strike the string with %100 effectiveness as intended. The string glide mixed with the thickness/firmness of the pick really complement themselves and make thick pick very unique.The BIGGEST difference in this pick compared to the Tortex picks is the glide and when you strike the string it makes it "click" or "tick" noise. The JP pick is very lightweight too and I've found it makes a difference in my picking hand. I tend to hold the pick tighter the more intense my playing gets (frown face lol. I really need to work on not tensing up when playing full throttle) so my thumb muscles will get really tight and tired after a while of constant intense playing. The JP pick releaves a lot of that friction and drag combined with the lightweight feel, therefore taking less of a toll on my picking hand and getting less tired and allowing me to stay consistant longer :) The Tortex feels like it gets more of a grip on the string and makes more of a dull thud striking noise.I realize that my points of view or way of thinking for picking might be wrong, but that's how I feel it works and that is the logic I've made from my experience. I hope this review helps everyone and I strongly encourage you to try this pick, even if you're a softer player.

I started playing with the red/black Jazz III XL's, then found the regular III's a few years later, switched to the Ultex III's, and now I'm on the JP Jazz III's. I feel like I've got a good bit of experience with the Jazz III's to write an unbiased review.Size/Width: 1.5mm is a good thickness, although coming from the regular III's at 1.38mm might take a little getting used to if you've been using them for a good while. For a size comparison, it's literally the step between the regular and XL III's, so it's a great compromise on size. While the red nylon III's bend quite a bit and the black stiffo III's bend ever so slightly, these bend even less. The ultimate stiffo quality yet made from ultex.Tip: It reminds me the most of the black III's, both regular and XL (more like the XL), except for it's slightly sharper. This thing *glides* and makes sweep picking almost too easy compared to the other Jazz III's.Grip: It's made of Ultex, but it honestly feels like a midpoint between the black stiffo and ultex. To me, the black stiffo was too slippery when my hands were sweaty which is when the ultex became *extremely* "grippy" (I swear it's impossible to drop those things). The JP III's don't have quite that same ultex grip, but they aren't slick like the black stiffo material either.Tone: The JP Jazz III tone seems to be a combination of the warm ultex tone and the presence/brightness of the black XL's (the regular black's don't seem to be as bright, probably due to less mass in the pick). In comparison to the regular reds, the JP III is a huge step up as the regular reds seem to have a very flimsy or weak sound, especially on the upper frets. Petrucci himself likes this small presence boost (which is also heard in his signature pickups), so I can see why he made these picks the way he did. Long story short, it's a great tone, which surprised me since I thought it would sound exactly like a normal ultex, warm with no brightness.Durability: I'm using 10-46's and playing mostly metal, just to clarify. If you're playing country, obviously your picks are going to last longer. The durability seems most like the regular black and XL's (which last a good while, maybe a month before most people would hear or feel a difference, depending on how much they play) which again surprised me, as I was expecting the durability of an ultex pick, which seems to have less durability to me than the black III's. I compared one to a new one after playing two hours a day for a full week and I could only tell the difference, although very slight, by running my finger across the edge.Appearance: Less critical, but the JP emblem looks a lot cooler than looking at "Jim Dunlop USA" and "Jazz III" all day (I know what pick I'm using, Dunlop, but thanks for trying to show me constantly). The only issue with appearance I have is that I like to always play with the same edge of the pick as I think some picks play better after they've worn down a little. However, the pick is identical on both sides, so I have to make a little scratch on one side to make sure I always use the correct edge (don't have this problem with the original III's since they're different on each side). If you use picks like I do, this is the only real flaw you'll find with these picks. Otherwise, continue thinking I'm OCD.TL:DRThese picks are a great combination between the black Jazz III's and ultex picks and are a great alternative to any Jazz III pick. If you use any Jazz III series pick, order a pack of these and try them. Worst case scenario, you'll be down $5 and have six more picks sitting around, but more than likely you'll have a new pick of choice.