Every pick company says their picks "improve your tone." We wanted to know if that was actually true — and if so, how.
So we did something nobody in this industry has done before: we set up a controlled recording environment, played the same riff with the same guitar through the same signal chain with all 19 of our picks and a standard flat pick, and measured exactly what each pick does to the audio signal.
A slice of our 2,000+ controlled recordings. One guitar (PRS Custom 24, bridge humbucker). One interface (PreSonus AudioBox USB 96, 44.1kHz). Clean DI — no amp, no effects, no processing. Just the raw signal coming off the strings, shaped by nothing but the pick.
The results surprised us. Some of our own product descriptions were wrong.
What We Measured
For each pick, we compared the frequency spectrum against a flat pick baseline. A flat pick is acoustically neutral — it doesn't add or remove energy from the signal in any significant way. It's the control.
Every pick that isn't flat interacts with the string differently. The shape of the tip, the texture of the surface, the angle of the bevel, the thickness of the body — all of these create measurable differences in the audio signal. Some picks boost low frequencies. Some add presence in the upper mids. Some create entirely new harmonic content that wasn't in the flat pick signal at all.
We measured these differences in decibels across six frequency zones — from Low End (bass weight and thump) through Body, Core Tone, Bite, Attack, and up to Sparkle (the air and shimmer at the top of the spectrum).
The Stealth III: A Pick With Gears
If there's one pick that illustrates what structured surface design actually does to a guitar signal, it's the Stealth III.
Look at this chart. Each colored layer represents a different playing style — single notes, strummed chords, and full performance (dynamic playing that blends rhythm into sweeps and fast runs). The spread between those layers is the story.
On single notes, the Stealth III actually reduces energy in the upper mids. Play softly and the frequency response stays relatively neutral — clean, controlled, nothing exaggerated.
Strum chords and the chart changes. Energy jumps to +12.9 dB in the Bite and Attack zones. The pick starts pushing your signal forward in the mix.
Now play aggressively — performance style, where rhythm blends into sweeps and fast runs — and the Stealth III explodes. +21 dB in the Sparkle range. +16 dB in the Attack range. That +21 dB peak is roughly 12 times the signal energy at that frequency compared to a flat pick. Not a subtle difference.
This is what we call "gearing." The harder you dig in, the more the pick rewards you with presence, cut, and punch. It's not a fixed EQ boost — it's a dynamics-responsive effect that scales with your playing intensity. Light touch = clean and neutral. Heavy attack = massive presence and definition.
No other pick in our lineup — and we tested all 19 — has this wide a dynamic spread between playing styles. The Stealth III doesn't just shape your tone. It responds to how you play.
What the Data Corrected
Running this analysis also forced us to fix some of our own claims. A few examples:
One of our picks was described as "lightening muddiness in the lows." The spectral data showed it was actually adding significant energy in the bass frequencies — the opposite of what we claimed. Another was positioned as "cleaning up lows" but was actually boosting them. We corrected the product descriptions to match what the data showed.
We'd rather be honest about what the data says than comfortable with marketing copy that sounds good but isn't accurate. If a pick adds bass, we should say it adds bass — even if "reduces muddiness" sounds better on a product page.
Hear It Yourself
We didn't just measure the data — we built tools so you can experience it directly. The Sound Analysis page on our site includes:
A/B audio players — listen to the same riff played with a flat pick, then with an AttakPik, and toggle between them in real time. All pairs are volume-matched (RMS-normalized) so you're hearing the tonal difference, not a volume difference.
Spectral visualization — see where each pick adds or subtracts energy across the frequency range, with plain-English labels (Low End, Body, Core Tone, Bite, Attack, Sparkle) so you don't need an audio engineering degree to understand what you're looking at.
Three demo pairs are live right now: the Attak on chords, the Surge on single-note lines, and the Stealth III on performance playing. Each one demonstrates a different aspect of what structured pick design does to your tone.
The Stealth III performance demo is the one that makes people stop scrolling. The difference between the flat pick recording and the Stealth III recording is immediate. You'll hear the punch the chart is showing you.
Listen on the Sound Analysis Page →
Why This Matters
Guitar picks are the one piece of gear that almost nobody questions. You spend thousands on your guitar, your amp, your pedals — and then you grab whatever pick is lying in the bottom of your gig bag. Every other link in your signal chain gets researched, reviewed, and agonized over. The pick gets ignored.
We think that's because nobody has ever shown players what picks actually do to their signal. Not with marketing language — with data. With measurements. With recordings you can listen to yourself and decide.
That's what the Sound Analysis page is for. Go listen. If you hear a difference, we make the picks that produced it. If you don't, that's fine too. But at least now you know.
Try the Stealth III
If the data and the demo have you curious, the Stealth III is available in multiple colors starting at $5.99 for a 5-pack. Or grab the Reload Pack — 8 picks including the Stealth III, $11.99. The fastest way to hear the difference for yourself.
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