Dunlop "Flow" picks

Gear
#1

I just got a 1.5mm Dunlop Flow pick, and I like the design a lot. The sizes are 0.73mm, 0.88mm, 1.0mm, 1.5mm (what I have), 2.0mm, and 3.0mm.

I find the 1.5mm to be totally rigid (if I try to bend it with my hands), so why do John Petrucci and Andy James both endorse 2.0mm? Why does Dunlop even offer 3.0mm? (Or, rather, what leads a customer to want a 3.0mm thick pick when the 1.5mm seems to be totally rigid?)

And if somebody has the 1.0mm version, do you think it is “totally rigid,” or somewhat flexible?

https://www.jimdunlop.com/category/products/guitar+picks/flow.do

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Tortex TIII vs. Flow
#2

I have all the Flow picks in all sizes. The 1.0mm has the slightest amount of give if you bend it with your fingers, but you don’t notice it when you’re playing.

The only difference is when you go up in gauges is the amount of mass hitting the strings and how that feels when you hit the strings. There is also the tonal considerations too. For instance the 3.0mm has a smoother attack than the .73mm as the 3.0mm doesn’t grab onto the windings of the wound strings whereas the .73mm will because it’s thinner and you will get a different tone from that.

#3

Difference in sound and feel.

#4

Thanks! So the pick mass is very small compared to the mass of my hand, so we can probably neglect that term. Your point about grabbing the windings is very interesting, and I never thought about that… when the radius of the pick edge is much larger than the spacing between windings there will indeed be a much smoother motion… Now you’ve got me excited to count how many twists of wire there are in an inch! :grinning:

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#5

@aliendough and another interesting consequence of your point about edges is that a 2mm pick that has sharp edges will sound totally different than a 2mm pick with a uniform radius! Thanks again!

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#6

Cant put my finger on it but i feel once the picks reach 2.mm they occupy more space and it changes the distance required to get from string to string.

I like the feel of it.

#7

I never even thought of that… and another factor is the curve of the edge, where the broader the edge, the sooner it first hits the string. Interesting, I’ll think about it some more. Thanks!

#8

I use a 5 mm v pick infinity.

#9

I have all of them from 1.0mm and up. As mentioned earlier, the 1.0mm has some give, but it’s mostly rigid. I do notice its give when I’m playing however. I’m partial to sweep/economy picking, and thicker picks glide over the string more but have less bite in their attack. It’s not just rigidity indeed. Also, the aggressiveness of your attack will result in different outcomes: I find that for sweep picking, you have to be a bit more delicate when playing with a thinner and/or more flexible pick, while with a thicker pick you can afford to be a bit more heavy handed.

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#10

Thanks for all of the above input, I have tried the 2.0mm and will just use that from now on.

I wanted to standardize on a cheap but robust rigid pick with a great grip that is really fast (and unlikely to go out of production), and this checks all of the boxes.

#11

Just ordered 1.0s and 1.5s. Looking forward to trying them :slight_smile:

#12

Odd timing - after going back and forth between the 1.0s and the Petrucci 2.0s for a while I got a pack of the 1.5s in the mail last night.

I think I pick fairly hard, so for me I can definitely feel flex in the 1.0s and even a tiny amount in the 1.5s, while the 2.0s are entirely rigid. I’m just trying to sort out which I actually prefer now. It may come down to color - I like how the 1.5s look more than the 1.0s. :smile:

They’re great picks, though - very smooth across the strings, and the fact they’re a hair larger than jazz-sized picks is actually growing on me.

#13

By the way, Dunlop announced Tortex versions of the Flow picks, with even more gauges like 1.14mm or 1.35 (instead of going straight from 1.0mm to 1.5mm). They kinda want your money guys! :kissing:

https://www.jimdunlop.com/images/jimdunlop/products/en_us/detail/23558114012.MAIN.jpg

They’ve also announced a 4.2mm Jumbo pick… For blazing (heh) smoothness in a very appropriate green colourway.

https://www.jimdunlop.com/images/jimdunlop/products/en_us/detail/24547420002.MAIN.jpg

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#14

The Tortex pick seems to be missing the bumps… I really like the bumps.

I was looking at that massive green pick, and thinking, “wow, I could stack two 2.0mm picks together and they’d be shorter, or three 1.5mm picks and they’d barely be taller!” Now that’s impressive.

I’m glad that they seem to be happy with the Flow and creating lots of variants, I’m betting on them to keep it going for a long time.

#15

This is a large pitcher of KoolAid:

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#16

I think I’m gonna have to drink that KoolAid at some point. They sold me.

#17

I’m going to order them all to add to my collection! If they had of brought out the 4.20mm on April 1st I would have sworn it was a joke. Hopefully it’s not.

#18

Ben Eller pimped these on his Instagram and I bit. I think they’re great. I switch between 1.5 and 2.0

#19

That 1.14 mm looks pointier with less bevel.

#20

It looks like a variety pack of eight Dunlop Flow picks will be out soon, one of each type other then the new 420 jumbo.

Dunlop flow pvp114 is what to search for; it’s listed on their website and I can see one American seller has them ready for pre-ordering but without a release date.

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