Being used to a thicker plectrum, I was surprised how tough these picks are. They're by no means solid, but feel more like a pick with a gauge over 1mm. Having a larger surface area, the regular shaped carbon fibre pick has a bit more give to it, which seems to produce a bit of a scratchy feel on the strings when playing lead, but this doesn't happen on the J3 pick, which is good as that's the pick I'm more likely to use when playing fast lead runs.
Both of these plectrums have a bright tone with a clear attack which works very well for solos and articulating rhythmic chord parts, but is sometimes a bit harsh strumming chords. Much like the Iron Age stone picks, the carbon fibre material means the brightness is retained when playing dynamically, enabling expressive playing without losing clarity in a full band mix.
Due to the tightly woven graphite fibres, Iron Age warn on their website that aggressive use may cause dust to come from these picks, and I have too noticed this feature - on both picks there is visible wear on the playing tips after just a short while of playing, but not so much that would alter the tone of the pick. These things are really tough, and no matter how hard I tried I could not break these picks (a pleasant surprise after last weeks pick review, one of which I snapped by accident!).
I have been really impressed by the Iron Age carbon fibre plectrums. Despite being considerably thinner than I like in my plectrums (my custom pick being 5mm thick!), I enjoyed the clarity and brightness that came with these picks. I think that these would word great for guitarists who play heavy rock and metal and perhaps extended range players as they play really fast an will help in cutting your guitar tone through a full rock band mix.
Remember to check out the Iron Age Guitar Accessories website, follow my social medias, and let me know what you think in the comments!
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