The first time I’ve heard about Dragon’s Heart Picks was back in 2015 when Rob Scallon published a video about the picks he’s using. They were mentioned together with Purple Plectrums, as his 2nd favorite pick. The shape got me curious and I went for it and bought one. In a way, you can say that this purchase opened my eyes to the boutique picks world.
Founded in 2014 by Corey Whitney, an Ex-Marine that served for 13 years. He makes all Dragon Heart’s Picks in the USA. When I find myself talking about them, I tend to focus on their shape, but the material used to produce them is playing a huge role in their success. Generally, I think that their iconic shape is what made people aware of them, but the extreme quality and durability are what make people keep buying them. In this article, I’ll cover their 4 premium picks, as well as the Faux Dragon’s Heart Pick, which is much cheaper.
Table of Contents
The four premium models
Dragon’s Heart picks are available in four premium models named Dragon’s Heart Pure, Dragon’s Heart Original, Dragon’s Heart GT, and Dragon’s Heart Hardened. All of these picks’ base material is polyamide-imide, although, it’s mixed with different substances every time. So even though these picks vary in terms of the material, they share some characteristics.
Dragon’s Heart Original
Dragon’s Heart Original is made of polyamide-imide with 12% graphite. This pick is designed for shredding and fast riffs and can withstand about 1000 hours of play.
Dragon’s Heart Pure
The Dragon’s Heart Pure is a good option when you look for a soft or warm tone as it is made of 100% polyamide-imide. And if you thought that the original’s 1000 hours of play was impressive, this pick can last even more: 1200 hours of play.
Dragon’s Heart GT
The GT model is is another popular pick made of polyamide-imide mixed with 30% carbon fiber and is designed to last for 1400 hours of all-around play.
Dragon’s Heart Hardened
Dragon’s Heart Hardened is made of polyamide-imide with 30% glass fiber. This product is designed for a bright tone and is the most durable of their line. It can last up to 1500 hours of play.
GT Model Hardened Model Original Model Pure Model
The cheaper option: Faux Dragon’s Heart
The cheapest and least durable of them all. But even at “just” 300 playing hours, It will last longer than most picks in the market. I find it a bit brighter than the rest, and it has great mid range presence. It’s made out of thermoplastic, which is less expensive (and less effective) than plyamide-imide, and gives the highest value for money out of them all. But at the end, the biggest value of a pick is comfort and sound, and that is a matter of taste.
Design
Dragon’s Heart picks are made in America and their dimensions are 24.9mm x 24.9mm x 2.5mm. Polyamide-imide is used as an alternative to metal alloys In aerospace applications due to its high durability. In addition to these “dry” specs, playing with a pick that’s made out of an aerospace material is freaking awesome. These picks are only available in 2.5mm, but I think this is the perfect thickness for this shape.
It’s important to say that the strength of the material does not compromise the picks’ flexibility. Another advantage of polyamide-imide is that it eliminates the picks noises when you pluck a string. The beveled edge makes them feel a lot thinner than they are. It gives you all the benefits of a thin pick, together with the control typical of thick ones.
One small thing to consider is the graphite’s tendency to stain the fingers in the first couple of days, especially if you’re playing for a long time.
Three optimized edges
Having 3 different playable edges on a guitar pick is essentially like having 3 different picks. Most players (and me among them) are mainly using the bottom edge. This is because it’s the most balanced of them all, neither sharp nor blunt. That being said, some pieces will benefit from alternating between 2 or even all three edges. If you are skilled enough (which is just a matter of a bit of practicing), you’ll be able to turn your pick around while playing, to switch a picking edge seamlessly.
The sharp edge shines when it comes to aggressive or very fast riffs. Even though I felt like the round edge was faster, it lacked some of the punch. It shines when strumming and produces some great-sounding harmonics.
Feel
It may take you some time to get used to the asymmetrical shape of the Dragon’s Heart picks. But once you do, You’ll enjoy a super versatile pick that can do pretty much anything. Another thing I found a bit surprising, is that they have some sort of flexibility you don’t expect. Don’t expect them to go fully celluloid in your hands, it’s very subtle – but it makes the playing experience much more enjoyable.
Performance
Performance is another important thing to know about the Dragon’s Heart picks. There is a distinct attack in the sharpest edge of the Dragon’s Heart picks to make it pleasing and easy to play any solo with a heavy right-handed method.
By playing with these picks you get a great speed, attack, and consistency between the three edges. Keep in mind that the sharpest edge is suitable for fast solos and aggressive riffling and the round edge is good for harmonics. They switch the edges on the fly to vary the tone, volume, and attack and get the ability to mess around with various dynamics. They add suitable strength and method to the mix for improving the right-hand control.
If you are a rock, punk, metal, and jazz player, then you can use the Dragon’s Heart picks and experience at home with this pick. Acoustic guitarists can use the Dragon’s Heart pure picks, especially for strumming. However, Dragon’s Heart Hardened is recommended as it adds a notable zing to the guitar tone.
Pricing
Every one of the four premium picks will cost about $15. If you’ll get a bigger pack, you’ll pay less per pick. I’d go for a pack of all 4 premium picks, as it costs $54 and saves you $6 compared to buying them individually. The Faux line goes for $18 for 6 picks, and it would be my recommendation if it was in stock, but I haven’t seen it available in the past few months.
Where to buy them from?
I always like to buy guitar picks straight from the maker. But due to limited availability on their site, I think that Amazon is a better option for these. You can buy any of their premium picks from here, or check out the variety pack by clicking the button below. Unfortunately, It’s extremely hard to find the Faux ones. If that’s the pick you want, I’d recommend you to check out their sire every now and then to see if they’re in stock.
Disclaimer
This is NOT a paid review. It was written based on my own experience playing the picks I purchased and based on that only. I didn’t get these picks for free, and they had no say on what goes in it.
Pick Makers, if you want your picks reviewed, or have anything cool you made and want to share – send me a message, I’d love to hear from you!
A solid score for a solid pick. It sounds great, is extremely durable, grips very well, and is appropriately priced. The one thing that I'm not a huge fan of is the lubricant used to make the pick a bit faster in some of the models. But it's not enough for me to not love them.
-
Sound
-
Feel
-
Durability
-
Grip
-
Price
Personally, as someone who plays mostly melodies with finger plucking mixed with picking to make the most of the fretboard, the dragon’s heart pick has been the best discovery I’ve made.
The ease of switching the rotation of the pick from sharp to blunt for single note use versus chord use is pleasing to say the least.
However, what captures me the most about this pick is its life span. It easily stays sharp and doesn’t file down nearly as rapidly as standard dunlop sharp picks. or turtle sharp picks.
Also it’s aesthetically pleasing to hold and use.