A Guitar Pick Primer -- Please Participate.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by LadysSolo

I find it interesting that people who do not hesitate to spend several thousand dollars on a guitar balk at spending $30 for a pick to play it, especially a pick that won't wear out.

While I understand your point, its much harder for my guitar to get lost in the couch cushions.

[RussL30]

Originally Posted by LadysSolo

I find it interesting that people who do not hesitate to spend several thousand dollars on a guitar balk at spending $30 for a pick to play it, especially a pick that won't wear out.

I see picks as disposable and things that are easily lost. I have a designated pick bowl I use now and do a better job of not losing them, but losing a pick that costs a $1 or less is much easier to stomach than $30.

I’m also an average living room player and do not think my skill level justifies a $35 pick. My guitars sound pretty good with Dunlop picks. I have nothing against these picks as their are some players here on are exceptionally skilled at flatpicking and those little details may make a bigger difference than me flatpicking Wildwood Flower or Foggy Mountain in my living room.

I’m not a really a boutique type of guy so I probably won’t buy expensive capos,
Fancy expensive cables or things like that. If I ever do decide to try one of these
picks I would give Scott my business because I respect the way he runs his company and talks good about other companies.

[Johnny K]

Originally Posted by LadysSolo

I find it interesting that people who do not hesitate to spend several thousand dollars on a guitar balk at spending $30 for a pick to play it, especially a pick that won't wear out.

I dont easily lose $3000 guitars. I've only been playing Primetones for 2 months now an out of the 12-15 or so that i bought I can only find about 5 of them right now, and one is in my pocket and I wiill probably lose that before the end of the week. I stopped buying expensive sunglasses years ago for same reason. Ironically, the Oakleys I currently have and have had for a record 3 years now were free.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Goat Whiskey Picks

I also have a question. I'm definitely not an advocate of using animals for guitar pick material, but can anyone tell me why it's only the Hawksbill Turtle that has a shell that is a desirable pick material??? It just seems odd that of all the turtles in the world it would be the only one with those attributes to it's shell material.

Yes, some time ago I bought a large, old broken "mantilla" made of "tortoiseshell"
I took it home, did the lhot needle test - definitely "organic" and not celluloid or any other composite.
I spent ages cutting it into picks and polished them etc. All fine. Started playing with them and the "flaked" - yup- they came apart in flakes.

Maybe that critter hadn't been well, or maybe only one species provides the densest shell.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksbill_sea_turtle

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Yes, some time ago I bought a large, old broken "mantilla" made of "tortoiseshell"
I took it home, did the lhot needle test - definitely "organic" and not celluloid or any other composite.
I spent ages cutting it into picks and polished them etc. All fine. Started playing with them and the "flaked" - yup- they came apart in flakes.

Maybe that critter hadn't been well, or maybe only one species provides the densest shell.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksbill_sea_turtle

Interesting read Silly. I've never actually played with a genuine turtle pick. I always figured as tough as I am on picks there is no reason to try something that I'd destroy and not be able to replace. And on top of that, I just don't like the idea of killing something so I can pick a guitar and sing out of tune. Which brings me back to my point about premium picks in production today, yeah they're expensive and not everyone can hear a significant improvement in tone but the suckers just don't wear out. That means a lot to me because I can destroy a ordinary flatpick (even Primetones) in one or two shows at most. I'd much rather pay roughly $30 once and be done than $10.00 every week or two.

[StillStephen]

Looking forward to this thread - thanks for starting it Scott!

Like strings, picks are a great, inexpensive (even at $35) way to enjoy the varying tones of guitars. I enjoy using several different picks during practice sessions - I've even noticed that some songs sound better with certain picks.

In addition to the the Pearse Turtles, I'll add Hanse to the recommendations - same/similar material, but I like the shape and thickness of the Hanse better.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

The wild card in all this is probably a big company like Dunlop. They’ve got the weight, resources and muscle to be a game-changer. I expect in the next five to ten years you’ll see them grow into the upscale pick market, either through acquisition or in-house development. However, this creates a marketing problem for them. Their most expensive picks, the Primetones, run about $5.00 to $7.50 each. You cannot make a marketing step from $7.50 to $30.00 without something in between. They could make it work, but they’d really need a middle step at $19.95. So they’re the ones to watch, in my view.
scott

Scott,
Dunlop already has covered the "market" for guitar picks both with competitive products and upscale offerings. I know of which I speak as we did this in my company with a different product but the pricing and marketing approach was very similar...$1 for generic, $5 for upscale with value added. It worked because we were able to prove to the end user there was a significant advantage to the $5 product. This took an enormous amount of work at the street level and we were able to prove there indeed was a benefit.
Martin is trying to sell Titanium Guitar strings at $40 a pop. If you examine that market you will see that acoustic guitar strings follow the same pattern pricewise as guitar picks. We can buy decent strings in bulk as low $2-3 a pop. Then we have the $10-20 "upscale" stuff and then Titaniums.
I wonder how well Martin is doing with these strings. I know for a fact the dealer cost on these allows for a HUGE margin.
My belief is that Martin overestimated the acceptable retail price point by at least 40%. Had they come in at $25, they might have had something, but then the dealer's margins would have taken a huge hit. I don't believe the Titaniums are selling well and they are truly just a niche' product. Maybe that's what Martin envisioned all along...who knows.
Getting back to Dunlop, the real question is "why would they choose to go into the $20 pick market or even higher?" Profits? Ego?
Insofar as they haven't yet, I conclude it's been considered and tabled.

[Roseland67]

Struggling mightily since surgery to find picks.

C6/C7 disc rupture has left no feeling in right
3 middle fingertips, I cannot hold a pick anymore,
As it simply falls out of my hand and I don’t even know it until
I hit a string and it’s not there.

Multiple fingerpicks have failed, so I am trying
to make my own with plastic, socket wrench,
spoon, ball peen hammer etc.

Would love be to see some alternatives and
suggestions from the forum.

Thanks

[HHP]

Originally Posted by StillStephen

Looking forward to this thread - thanks for starting it Scott!

Like strings, picks are a great, inexpensive (even at $35) way to enjoy the varying tones of guitars. I enjoy using several different picks during practice sessions - I've even noticed that some songs sound better with certain picks.

In addition to the the Pearse Turtles, I'll add Hanse to the recommendations - same/similar material, but I like the shape and thickness of the Hanse better.

Where do you get the Hanse picks? Only place I've seen them is Artisan Guitars and they seldom have much selection.

[packmule]

If I lost picks a lot then I could see how I might not be motivated to pay a lot for a pick, but I still have the first Blue Chip I ever bought back in 2009 or 2010 and it's still going strong. I use Blue Chips with guitar, mandolin and tenor guitar - only instrument I still use a nylon pick with is my tenor banjo because I like really thin picks when playing it.

[N+1]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Well, let us start with the history. Every culture, it would seem, has developed some sort of plucked string instrument, and most have had some sort of plectrum associated with it.

Somehow I doubt that all cultures obtained hawksbill turtle was sought out be every culture. animal parts, bone, bird feathers, beaks, horn, almost anything that contained keratin of some sort, yes, but not "only" turtle shell.

Latterly many relied on celluloid as the most common material for plectra (personally I dislike it).

Nylon came into play for a long time, then we got a bit cuter with casein, and delrin and such other stuffs not normally seen in in nature.

I watched your video about your pick collection again - and enjoyed it as much as the first time. Informative AND pleasantly entertaining. Thank you.

It may well be these 71-year old ears, I don't know - but although I can hear some differences, they do seem very very small mostly. I hear the slicker sound of the bevelled picks sure enough, but I wonder if that's because you're a far better guitar player than I am, with a more delicate touch. I suspect all those picks would sound the same if I were playing the demo.

What I'm wondering though is this: if the pick is properly bevelled, does it make it easier on the right hand? My chief problem is that it's so much more hard work using a thick pick (I'm a 0.5mm Dunlop Tortex player) that all the fun disappears after a few minutes of playing. It becomes a slog - and the sound is so clunky with my protesting right hand that there's no reward for the effort.

After all these years I've become a very lazy player, but I'm probably past saving I should think.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by packmule

If I lost picks a lot then I could see how I might not be motivated to pay a lot for a pick, but I still have the first Blue Chip I ever bought back in 2009 or 2010 and it's still going strong. I use Blue Chips with guitar, mandolin and tenor guitar - only instrument I still use a nylon pick with is my tenor banjo because I like really thin picks when playing it.

Yep, another advantage of the Blue Chip material is it is one of most durable plastics on the planet. Just incredible stuff. And even after five years shows very little wear.

Play On!
Scott Memmer

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by HHP

Lots of guitar styles don't get a big benefit from the premium picks. The one that does is playing complex single note leads and runs and crosspicking. Surprisingly few do that. Many can play their whole lives with a .73 celluloid and be perfectly happy.

Excellent point. I only became interested in "premium" picks (anything that isn't found in the $0.25 cent bin at the local music store) once I began to learn flatpicking and doing exactly the styles of playing you mention. If I strummed songs or did only the occasional walk-up or walk-down from chord to chord, something like a BlueChip pick would offer no advantage in my opinion.

[DesertTwang]

I'm not sure how many here are familiar with Hense picks. They are made in Germany, and I recently acquired a sample pack. I'm planning to test-drive them extensively and compare them to my American-made premium picks. Upon first picking and listen, their products are something to watch. Impeccable craftsmanship, super-clean speed bevels and amazing tone for 20 Euros a piece. Especially one of their styles, called the "Hense Cream Speedy" has me mightily intrigued. I haven't had a chance to A/B it against my BlueChips yet, but my first impression is that this pick just might push the BlueChip off its pedestal. The tone and volume are impressive, and the material (whatever it is) glides across the strings extremely effortlessly.

I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with the Hense pick line, which includes casein picks, in the hopefully not-too-far future. (Our new baby is only semi-conducive to my guitar exploits these days, although he does like to fall asleep to me crosspicking "Wildwood Flower."

[HHP]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

I'm not sure how many here are familiar with Hense picks. They are made in Germany, and I recently acquired a sample pack. I'm planning to test-drive them extensively and compare them to my American-made premium picks. Upon first picking and listen, their products are something to watch. Impeccable craftsmanship, super-clean speed bevels and amazing tone for 20 Euros a piece. Especially one of their styles, called the "Hense Cream Speedy" has me mightily intrigued. I haven't had a chance to A/B it against my BlueChips yet, but my first impression is that this pick just might push the BlueChip off its pedestal. The tone and volume are impressive, and the material (whatever it is) glides across the strings extremely effortlessly.

I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with the Hense pick line, which includes casein picks, in the hopefully not-too-far future. (Our new baby is only semi-conducive to my guitar exploits these days, although he does like to fall asleep to me crosspicking "Wildwood Flower."

Most Hense picks I've seen are casein, AKA Alladinite.