Born on the Bayou? The Jim Dunlop Blue Gator Grip 1.14mm thick guitar pick: A Masterpiece of Musical Expression!
Welp, a convergence of cool things that were unplanned to be together, but I feel like I am back in Bayou Country (I used to live in parts of Texas Bayou Country and know it well). I just set up one of my guitars to be a slide guitar and put the perfect strings for that on it, it was a neglected guitar until now.
So, slide guitar, blues strings of nickel round core, and an alligator-themed plectrum? I definitely feel like I’m back down home with the crayfish and Cypress Trees.
The Jim Dunlop Gator Grip is a good-looking pick and is made of what they call Delrex, a grippy Delrin/Acetal.
So the grip is like a gator’s teeth, you ask?
Well, not so much, but the Jim Dunlop Glue Gator Grip 1.14 (a 351-shaped plectrum) does have a somewhat grippy matt finish. And that is an important thing to me because I still don’t always grip well…
Some of us players still struggle with pick grip.
It can be difficult keeping a pick in place, especially with alternate picking and/or hard fast strumming. I have friends that have hand sweat, underdeveloped grip strength, or whatever. We all need materials that help us keep control of our plectra. The Jim Dunlop Blue Gator Grip 1.14 helps with this, but just a little bit.
Oh, it definitely grips alright, but can the Jim Dunlop Gator Grip 1.14 really match up to its competitors when it comes to that satisfying tactile experience? Let’s dive deeper into the overall feel and truly put it to the test. Let the battle of the guitar picks commence!
Well, with a 4 out of 5 for grip, it’s one a good bit better than celluloid and a touch better than the Tortex plain Acetal picks, you’d think it would feel a bit softer. Well, it’s a soft-surfaced hard pick and a thin gripped thick pick.
It does the middling thing pretty good, not too much, not too little. And yet, that might not be what you seek unless you are playing blues slide like me, or Rocka-billy.
We talk about this and the two other related materials here in this part of our site.
No, it’s not quite a strummer’s pick, though some hybrid strumming will do just fine.
It produces a mellow responsive attack on the strings when striking, almost a cushioned effect. And the feel is softened as I’ve mentioned. But it is still a pretty firm pick and no real flex, maybe just a tiny implied flex if you will.
Being a middle-of-the-road plectrum, not hard or bright like an acrylic, or soft and clacky like nylon, it IS a good attribute of this musical device, so if you are going to play Creedence or The Dead, this will work, but death metal, maybe not, though someone will prove me wrong here.
Stuck in the middle with you?
It’s a good middle-of-things pick with no real special attribute other than the cute (ahem, they are cute???) alligator on the logo. It’s a good all-purpose pick, but some of you with serious gripping troubles may not find it solves your problems, it depends upon how much you sweat or how weak your grip is, or even how hard to strum alternately.
There is no reason to go a long time about this.
Here is the manufacturer’s site where you can read about them: https://www.jimdunlop.com/products/guitar-picks/gator-grip/
You can purchase these all over, one advantage. Some stores will have some of them, that is where I first tried this, in a small guitar store. They are orderable all over, such as here and here.
They are all over the place, even on the Bezos site…
I think the color is really appetizing, the feel, other than just the grip aspect, is quite nice, and the tone is generally good but darker. Here are the specs, see what’s what and if you want them:
| Material | Attack Tone | Decay Tone |
Delrex: a Textured Delrin | Mellow and warm | Softened but Strong |
| Durability/ Wear | Comments/ Dimensions | Shape |
| Durable yes Will eventually wear down | Shore D 78H Hardness | General #351 Style |
| Grip and Feel | Flexibility | Likely Use |
| Sure grip but can slip decent feel | Just a hint of flex | Jazz Soft Metal Folk |
| Thickness | Width and Height | Resonance |
| 1.14mm | 24.79 x 29.70mm | as if a nickel were plastic |
| Tip Style | Bevel? | Approx. Cost |
| fine rounded | V-Rounded | ~$6.00 for and handful |
- Holds/Grips ****
- Plays (action) ****
- Sounds/Tones ****
- Looks/Appearance ****
- Collect-ability ***
- Difficulty ***
- Durability ***
- Cost ****
- Availability ****
- Likability ****
- Over-All Rating 3.7 Stars
- Novices: May help you, a possible buy
- Performers: A Got to for pros since easily found
- Intermediates: A good all-around choice
