Gravity Picks is a US-based guitar picks company launched in 2011 by Chris Fahey. Since then, the company established itself as one of the most successful high-end guitar pick companies in the world. They are among the first brands many players go to when they explore performance-focused picks, and for a good reason.
Thousands of guitar players, including world-class artists such as Rob Chapman, Steve Stevens, and more, use Gravity Picks.
I reached out to Chris to ask if he’ll send a few picks for a review, and I’m glad he agreed. I didn’t know what he sent until the package arrived.
In today’s review, we’ll review eight Gravity Picks of different gauges, shapes, finishes, and materials, as well as cover other options available.
Table of Contents
The Gravity Picks I’m Reviewing
For this review, Chris sent me seven picks:
- Classic Standard: 1.5mm, 2mm, and 3mm.
- Tripp Standard 2mm with the Master finish
- Stealth Standard 1.5mm
- Sunrise Standard 2mm
- Thin Classic 1.1mm
- Colored Gold 1.5mm
First Impression
The first thing I noticed about the Classic model is that they’re not as sharp as I expected them to be. Not their tip and not their bevel. It allows them to release the string rather softly to counteract the more aggressive nature of Acrylic picks.
The shape of Sunrise’s shoulders locks it into your grip, and its sharp tip gives it a lot of accuracy. Although it has a similar bevel to the Classic model, its tip is sharper, making it a tad brighter. I’d say that even though there’s a clear difference in their sound, the main difference between Classic and Sunrise is the level of control and accuracy.
Tripp is an early favorite of mine. I love the three different tips and the master finish gives it an extra oomph that sets it apart. It’s a real daemon, but one that can behave nicely on command.
Stealth is a combination of the things I loved the most from Sunrise and Tripp. Its tips are similar to Tripp’s main tip, and the other two are holding it in place similarly to Sunrise’s shoulders.
Colored Gold is a standard-shaped pick made of PEEK. PEEK is a material many high-end pick makers use because of its durability and distinguished sound characteristics. This is the material the gold series is made of, by the way, just in pretty colors, standard shape, and a third of the price.
What are They Made of?
Everything Gravity Picks offers is made of Acrylic, except for their Gold and Colored Gold series, which, as stated earlier, are made from PEEK.
Acrylic is a widely used material in high-end picks because it is more durable than most used plastics, such as Delrin, Nylon, or Celluloid, it’s brighter in sound, and yet, cheaper than other, more exotic materials. It’s definitely a personal favorite of mine. Some players say that it drags the strings after a few minutes of play, but I’ve never felt it myself.
PEEK is a whole other beast. It’s very durable, lightweight, and balanced in tone. It became very popular in the last year or two in the plectrums space, but I believe that Gravity was among the first ones to use it regularly.
Key Characteristics
Classic
Classic is a standard-shaped pick, with a slightly sharper tip. I’m surprised by how the different gauges behave differently. The 1.5mm’s attack is brighter, while the 3mm sounds full, retained, yet full of power. In the lack of a better description, I’d describe the Classic 3mm as a self-controlled thug.
Tripp
Even after the few months I spent with these picks, Tripp remained my favorite.
First of all, it has three different tips, which is a significant advantage it has, in my opinion. I spend about 75% of the time playing its main tip, but having the other two makes the change between strumming and picks much smoother.
The other thing is the master finish, which adds so much character to the sound. It adds bite even to the roundest tip while not overwhelming the sharpest.
Stealth
The standard-sized Stealth is just a tad larger than JP’s Trinity. I used to really dislike triangle picks for reasons I’m having a real time remembering now, but in the past year or two, small triangle picks have become among my favorite shapes.
Stealth in an appropriately named pick. It looks ordinary and innocent, but don’t let it fool you. It’s quite powerful and very easy to control.
Sunrise
Sunrise is one of Gravity Picks’ takes in the Jazz III shape. It has sharper shoulders that are great at holding the pick in place. If you venture to try to play one of these shoulders, you’ll notice a big difference between upstrokes and downstrokes. This is caused by the different angle in which they hit the string. You shpould give it a shot if you want to really distinguish your downstrokes from your upstrokes.
I’d say that the Standard size is exactly the size of a Jazz XL, even though it feels a tiny bit smaller. I’d suggest you get a smaller size if you’re after the Jazz III experience.
Thin Classic
Thin Classic is a new experience for me, as it’s the thinnest Acrylic pick I’ve ever tried. Generally, It’s rare to see Acrylic picks go below 1.5mm, and Gravity makes them even at .6mm.
I rarely get to test a pick with my acoustic guitar, but I must say that it added a lot of brightness that made it sound more lively.
Colored Gold
Even though it’s made of PEEK, it behaves differently than other PEEK picks I have. Maybe it’s the coating that made it glide off the strings in a softer way. Anyway, it produces a cleaner and softer attack than most PEEK plectrums I’ve tried.
So Many Options
Gravity Picks come in 10 different shapes, 4 different sizes, 4 different grip options, 5 different gauges, and 2 finish options. When combining all of these, we get an astonishing number of 1360 different designs. And that doesn’t even include their thin picks, signature picks, or the Original Gold series. Buckle up, because we’re going to go over everything Gravity Picks has to offer.
Gravity Picks Shapes
As I mentioned earlier, there are ten different shapes Gravity Picks come in. I grouped them into three groups just for the sake of keeping this review readable.
This is a short brief about their shapes, and you can find more information about the nuances of their shapes here.
Also important to state that this is the way I thought of grouping them, this is not their “official” grouping.
Standards: Classic, Classic Pointed, and Razer
Not much to say about these. You’re probably familiar with the Classic shape. The Classic Pointed is almost identical to the Classic Sharp shape, and the Razer is Gravity’s take on the Pointy shape, used by Dunlop, and in Ernie Ball’s Prodigy series.
Triangles: Axis, Edge, Stealth, Striker, and Tripp
This is Gravity’s triangle picks collection. From rounder to sharpest they go: Axis, Striker, and Stealth. With Tripp having three different tip radiuses and Edge being (technically) a better fit in the Standards group, but being this close to a triangle kinda forces you to pick with its shoulders, too.
Jazz: 003 and Sunrise
003 is similar to the Jazz III we all know and love, and Sunrize is the extreme version of it. With wider and sharper shoulders, it holds its place in the hand better and more interesting played in one of its sides.
Gravity Pick Sizes
Since every one of Gravity Picks’ shapes is available in 4 different sizes, they made a size chart that I found very helpful during the writing of this review.
Grip Options
Gravity offers 3 types of grips: Elipse, Multi-Hole, and Single Round.
Elipse in an offset ellipse-shaped hole placed in the center of the pick, Single Round, as its name suggests, is a single large circle drilled in the center, and Multi-Hole is the “boutique” grip we all know and love: 6 holes evenly spaced in the middle of the pick.
Grips are an option for picks 2mm thick and above.
Available Gauges
Gravity Picks has three different “sets” of gauges.
One is used for their thin picks, and includes 0.6mm, 0.77mm, 0.9mm, and 1.1mm. The regular collections include 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, and 6mm. The last one is used for the Colored Gold series, and contains 0.75mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, and 2mm.
Finish Options
Don’t dismiss this part so fast. Their polished finish is good in helping the pick slide over the strings, but the Master Finish adds a subtle texture to the sound that very few picks can add.
My Favorite Gravity Pick
If it wasn’t obvious by now, I want to make this as clear as I can. Tripp is not only my favorite Gravity Pick, it’s among my all-time favorite picks, even though I have it in a gauge that I don’t usually go for, as I’m more of a thicker picks guy. I’m definitely going to buy more of these in thicker gauges.
It is insanely versatile, and even though the concept of the master finish is not unique to Gravity, it is made to perfection. If you like a a slight texture when you pick, I really can’t recommend it enough.
Pricing and Where to Buy Them From
You can buy Gravity Picks from many places, including Amazon, Thomann, Musician’s Friend and most other retailers. That being said, If you want to give it a shot, the best way to do that is to buy it directly from them or from your local mom-and-pop guitar store.
They start at $8 per pick, but the price depends on material, gauge, and size. That being said, if you never tried them before, I recommend you start with a variety pack.
Finishing Thoughts
I know that at the end of the day, these picks are not known for their options, but for their tone and durability. But I think that the huge amount of options allows any guitar player to find their perfect pick in a resolution that I’ve never come across.
Other than not being able to add gripping holes on a 1.5mm pick – there are really no limits on what you can do with them.
Disclosure
I didn’t pay for the picks. They were sent to me for the sake of writing this review.
This, however, didn’t change the way I wrote about them or the score I gave them.
Gravity Picks - Full Review
Most Gravity Pick would sound preety much as you'd expect from any acrylic pick of the same shape and gauge. The bevel is exceptional and consistent, as well the the shape of the tip, so once you got one, you know what you can expect oif yopu bought another one, which is not always the case with hand-shaped or polished picks.
The two most noteworthy properties Acrylic has over traditional plastics are its amazing grip and durability.
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Sound
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Feel
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Durability
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Grip
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Price