Here is our review of the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III Pick. A pick many actually pick in the picking world of guitar picks. Ok, I’m feeling silly today!
I’m a little late getting this on here, with music and life, come other distractions. I just started a new job and I’ve had so much going on. Hopefully, the next review will come sooner! so let’s discuss the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III Pick…
But what is NOT distracting is an Ultex Pick. With the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III Pick Ultem, or, rather, PEI-Polyetherlmide is the material:
https://www.boedeker.com/family/ultem
So why use it in a pick?
My answer is that It is very durable and hard plastic. It withstands heat very well and has a high dielectric value. It’s very sturdy and will survive heavy gigging. It sounds pretty good too, there is almost a jazz tone to it, but the tone will allow for rock also.
In my section discussing plastic materials, this Utlex material is discussed.
First off, almost every plastic made is being used in some sort of plectrum. This Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III Pick is not the only unique plastic used. If you are looking for selection, Dunlop AND the market have a ton!
Some materials are better than others in various ways. Some are not as durable, but they play well or feel nice to play. Others impart a tone someone wants. Others can be shaped in a very precise manner while others not so much. And another reason different plastics are used for picks is simply, well, because they are ‘There’.
Players are downright particular about their plectrums sometimes. With the Jim Dunlop XL Series, Ultex Jazz III Pick some particulars are checked off so much so, it is very popular with pros. Some players bond with a particular material and shape and may go years before ‘graduating’ to something else. Players have likes and dislikes, and this is not to mention the fact that there is also a mythos or superstitious feeling about music gear, picks included.
So what of the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III, why would a person want it?
First off, it’s not at all like Celluloid or Nylon. It is also different from Acetal, another popular Dunlop material. It is special in that it is harder and stiffer and imparts a deeper, softer tone. The Ultex will work with some types of Jazz, some types of Country, and some types of Rock. It can even be used on a flat top or arch top (the latter more likely) for melodic passages.
It’s not a strummer’s pick necessarily, but neither is it a shredder’s pick, likely players of the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III will find it useful in leads and rhythms, but not in a manner alike to strumming with nylon or speed picking with a coin. They are, in a word, in-between, and then again, not so much so.
The resonance when dropped on my table is a bit like glass and a bit clacky, it has a ring to it. That resonance will translate in subtle ways to tone qualities.
So what about the author of Pickfetish.com, does he like the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III, does it suit him?
The answer is complicated, like young love, it’s both enthralling and painful. In a way, I find it akin to glass without the squeal. It is also a bit like Acrylic, and yet, warmer. I find it ‘OK” and would use it for recording and perhaps cafe gigs where mellow tones and leads that include harmonic elements would be called for.
But I also find the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III a bit unforgiving. It doesn’t stay in the hands as well as Acetal, and, as indicated, it does feel and sound different. As a player who doesn’t perform 40 hours a week, nor even practice nearly enough (yup, guilty!) This Ultem pick is of less value to me.
Still, I’d use it in some recordings, to be sure. There are other materials I like better. It is nice in that it isn’t clicky like some thin flexible picks. There is less bright zippyness to it.
So how about the specs on the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III?
Here we see that it’s a moderately thick pick, very durable, and unique:
| Material | Attack Tone | Decay Tone |
Utlex/ Ultem | firm but somewhat softened | mellow with a ring |
| Durability/Wear | Comments/Dimensions | Shape |
| very durable | Hardness Shore D of 78.5 H | Jazz III |
| Grip and Feel | Flexibility | Likely Use |
| in between slippery and grippy | Not flexible | Jazz Some rock Some Country |
| Thickness | Width and Height | Resonance |
| 1.33 mm @ tip | 24.92 x 28.92 mm | Bright plasticy with some glassyness |
| Tip Style | Bevel? | Approx. Cost |
| rounded fine tip | rounded | USD 5.87 for 6 pack |
I do know from the forums that there are lots of guys loving this pick or its brother (the non-XL size). Nevertheless, the Jim Dunlop XL Series Ultex Jazz III Pick is, like glass/stone or nylon, or even what Chicken Picks are made of, an acquired taste from experience.
I could see a cover of Comfortably Numb being played with these things, they are a very high-quality instruments. But even if they are, having tried so many different picks, these are not my #1 or even #5 go-to, because I don’t play well enough to rank for their use.
So I rate these 3 out of 5 stars, FOR ME.