Fender Tru-Shell Picks

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Eric is exactly right. These are indeed identical to the ones Clayton sells, same vendor. I haven't played them. Unlike the Pearse and other casein picks on the market, they are not polished but left with more of a rough or matte finish.

scott memmer

or, in other words, "unfinished" harhar.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

or, in other words, "unfinished" harhar.

I'm guessing its intentional to increase grip. Casein is very slick when it is polished. John Pearse picks are finely polished but they also have a grip depression molded in. As you buy them, they have about the texture of a Tortex pick.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

or, in other words, "unfinished" harhar.

If you had any idea how hard it is to polish these things, Silly, you'd be shocked. Because of its hardness, it shows EVERY little scratch and imperfection. It hates water and heat. I often spend more than an hour polishing a single pick.

You have no idea.

Scott

[Wolfram]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

If you had any idea how hard it is to polish these things, Silly, you'd be shocked. Because of its hardness, it shows EVERY little scratch and imperfection. It hates water and heat. I often spend more than an hour polishing a single pick.

You have no idea.

Scott

I'll second that! I've recently started working with casein and yes, it's tough to work with (though it's nothing to tungsten carbide, which is almost as hard as diamond and practically impossible to work with; the acrylic I use is also a very hard material).

Most commercial plastic polishing operations require a wet polishing medium; casein will absorb moisture and distort, which pretty much rules this out. Getting it too hot is also a no-no, so to get the perfect mirror finish there's no option but to work slowly and carefully.

Cheers,
David

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by Jerry D

Just ordered one of these ($7.99 from Musician's Friend), although it pains me deeply to spend over $.50 on a pick.

Originally Posted by HHP

Sometimes you just have to kick in and put up the big bucks.

I know (sigh). Fortunately, I had some room in my homeowner's equity line of credit.

[Mr Fingers]

Leave it to a music corporation to name something "Tru Shell" that is not shell.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

If you had any idea how hard it is to polish these things, Silly, you'd be shocked. Because of its hardness, it shows EVERY little scratch and imperfection. It hates water and heat. I often spend more than an hour polishing a single pick.

You have no idea.

Scott

S'cuse me Scott, please see my other threads where I have described my recent experiments in finishing Tortex picks. I am more than aware of the challenge.

The point of the exercise was to see whether it is better to buy a cheap pick and finish it yourself, or to buy a fully finished pick such as a Wegen or Blue Chip.
After a few failures, the purple tortex picks produced a pretty nice finish, but I don't yet know how they'll wear. I also tried some Ultex picks which were even harder to work.

My left hand is still sore from the experiment so I'll not be buying unfinished picks again. My conclusion is that considering the labour involved - it makes sense to me to buy properly finished items.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

S'cuse me Scott, please see my other threads where I have described my recent experiments in finishing Tortex picks. I am more than aware of the challenge.

The point of the exercise was to see whether it is better to buy a cheap pick and finish it yourself, or to buy a fully finished pick such as a Wegen or Blue Chip.
After a few failures, the purple tortex picks produced a pretty nice finish, but I don't yet know how they'll wear. I also tried some Ultex picks which were even harder to work.

My left hand is still sore from the experiment so I'll not be buying unfinished picks again. My conclusion is that considering the labour involved - it makes sense to me to buy properly finished items.

It takes a little time but I wouldn't liken it to working a double shift in a coal mine.

Its more about improving the performance and adapting to individual needs than economics. Even Wegen and Bluechip represent a compromise in terms of design that is necessary for broader appeal.

One of the nice things about these Fenders is you can just about get them anywhere. They are good as bought and can be modified to a point that they are in the league of the Boo-teek picks.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by HHP

It takes a little time but I wouldn't liken it to working a double shift in a coal mine.

Its more about improving the performance and adapting to individual needs than economics. Even Wegen and Bluechip represent a compromise in terms of design that is necessary for broader appeal.

One of the nice things about these Fenders is you can just about get them anywhere. They are good as bought and can be modified to a point that they are in the league of the Boo-teek picks.

But you don't get the cute little wooden box to stash them in-must be worth at least £39.50

[HHP]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

But you don't get the cute little wooden box to stash them in-must be worth at least £39.50

The wooden box is extra in any case. I do have some leftover velveteen pouches my Pearse picks came in that I could let you have for $10.00 each USD.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by HHP

The wooden box is extra in any case. I do have some leftover velveteen pouches my Pearse picks came in that I could let you have for $10.00 each USD.

Ssh, now you've told everyone else the price is probably going up!

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by HHP

It takes a little time but I wouldn't liken it to working a double shift in a coal mine.

Its more about improving the performance and adapting to individual needs than economics. Even Wegen and Bluechip represent a compromise in terms of design that is necessary for broader appeal.

One of the nice things about these Fenders is you can just about get them anywhere. They are good as bought and can be modified to a point that they are in the league of the Boo-teek picks.

Well, how much would YOU charge for 30/60 minutes of labour?

My exercise tells me that either £4 for six Ultex purples, or Fender true shell for £6.50 each, plus MY labour charge to finish them make Bluer Chips (plus postage to the UK) pretty good value.

Wegens even better.

BTW - Despite my labour charge comments - I enjoyed the process and learnt quite a lot about the shape of a pick but I'm feeling antagonistic about finishing myself because my left hand still REALLY hurts!

BTW...BTW - AndrewG - A google search seems to say that there is ONE Fender Tru-shell pick available in the UK - so you go ahead and get it from Richtone.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Well, how much would YOU charge for 30/60 minutes of labour?

My exercise tells me that either £4 for six Ultex purples, or Fender true shell for £6.50 each, plus MY labour charge to finish them make Bluer Chips (plus postage to the UK) pretty good value.

Wegens even better.

BTW - Despite my labour charge comments - I enjoyed the process and learnt quite a lot about the shape of a pick but I'm feeling antagonistic about finishing myself because my left hand still REALLY hurts!

BTW...BTW - AndrewG - A google search seems to say that there is ONE Fender Tru-shell pick available in the UK - so you go ahead and get it from Richtone.

I don't "charge" anything for something I do for myself. Don't charge to walk the dog, do laundry, cook, clean house, change strings, or work out new arrangements and I spend a lot more time doing those than filing a few picks.

I'd try and 1099 myself for that stuff if I could but I doubt the IRS would buy it.

[SuperB23]

I just picked up a 346 TruShell Extra Heavy and I'm quite pleased with it. In fact I think its the best pick I've ever purchased for under $30 USD let alone under $10 USD. Time will tell how it holds up to normal use. Its still not as good as the real deal or the Blue Chip Picks I own but its a great pick. I'll likely buy a few more of these.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by SuperB23

I just picked up a 346 TruShell Extra Heavy and I'm quite pleased with it. In fact I think its the best pick I've ever purchased for under $30 USD let alone under $10 USD. Time will tell how it holds up to normal use. Its still not as good as the real deal or the Blue Chip Picks I own but its a great pick. I'll likely buy a few more of these.

More I use the two I got, more I like them.i rounded two of the tips and it is even better on mandolin than guitar. Real bargain in a casein pick.