A new take on pick materials - and Pickboy GP-KOTO

[HogsNRoses]

Hi all, has anyone tried the Pickboy GP-KOTO picks? They are in a big triangle shape, and there is a medallion on one side and bumps on the other. The medallion adds a bit of weight and helps with grip and positioning of the pick. I really like these picks, and I noticed improvement in my right hand technique that transferred to other picks.

The GP-KOTO is a celluloid pick, the old-fashioned nitrate version instead of acetate like most celluloid. My wife said it was brighter, and I thought I’d try to measure the brightness.

My favorite pick maker on this forum said, I think, that shape and thickness are the most important factors in a pick’s brightness. I think material is just as important, partly because certain materials are only available with a certain shape or thickness. For instance, Wegan triangles range from 1mm to 1.4mm. Pickboy’s celluloid goes from 0.5mm to 1.2mm. With that in mind, here are three picks, Blue Chip, Pickboy, and Wegen. I was pleased to find that the iPhone DecibelX app has a slow line on its spectrum analyzer, so one can simply play a song and take a screenshot. DecibelX shows the frequencies during play, and it’s easy to capture the spectrum of the guitar on the orange line. The Wegen was the loudest, and it had a peak at 4kHz. No wonder it cuts through a mix! The celluloid Pickboy had the flattest EQ. The Blue Chip was the quietest, and it had a drop-off in the treble frequencies.

Blue Chip TAD-40:



Pickboy GP-KOTO:



Wegen Blue Grass 1.0: