Tag: pick

Categories
Bass DIY guitar

DIY Guitar Picks?

Border went bankrupt. Now what the heck am I supposed to do with this pretty red card?
Borders went bankrupt. Now what the heck am I supposed to do with this pretty red card?

Behold my latest gizmo acquisition: the mighty Pick Punch!

It may look like a humble office stapler, but it stamps out standard-sized guitar picks from any compatible material.

I made picks from an old credit card, then another old credit card, and then . . . hey, folks, I need more ideas! What else would be a good, but unconventional, material for DIY picks?

FYI, this thing is sturdy, powerful, and sharp. If you stick your hand in it, you can probably make a decent skin-and-bone pick. When working with less self-destructive plastics, the edges are a little rough and furry, but nothing that a few seconds of sanding or playing wouldn’t sort out.

I found this treasure at the wonderfully silly gift site Think Geek, a nerd-toy emporium that specializes in such life essentials as the Zombie Head Cookie Jar and Alien Chestbuster Plush Toy. You can also order it directly from creator Von Luhmann via PickPunch.com. He also sells blank sheets of plastic advertised as similar to the material used in several popular pick types, plus sanders, inks, and so forth. He also sells a version of the Pick Punch that stamps out smaller, pointer “jazz style” picks. Pricing is reasonable: $24.95 for the Pick Punch, and $3.25 for enough plastic stock to 60 or so picks.

One advantage of buying directly from Luhmann rather than Think Geek: You won’t be tempted to outfit yourself with one of these.

Anyone out there in the habit of making their own picks? Show and tell, please!

Categories
Acoustic guitar Technique

Expensive Picks, Part 2: V-Picks

Sixteen Current V-Pick Models (clockwise from upper left): 1. Ruby Red Traditon Ultra Lite; 2. Tradition Lite Sapphire Blue; 3. Chicken Picker; 4. Euro; 5. Nite-Glow Medium Rounded; 6. Pearly Gates Medium Round; 7. Medium Rounded; 8. Dimension Buffed Smokey Mountain Series; 9. Ruby Red Medium Pointed; 10. Dimension Junior Buffed; 11. Pearly Gates Small Pointed; 12. Medium Pointed; 13. Small Pointed Lite; 14. Switchblade; 15. Stiletto, 16. Nexus Unbuffed.
Sixteen Current V-Pick Models (clockwise from upper left): 1. Ruby Red Traditon Ultra Lite; 2. Tradition Lite Sapphire Blue; 3. Chicken Picker; 4. Euro; 5. Nite-Glow Medium Rounded; 6. Pearly Gates Medium Round; 7. Medium Rounded; 8. Dimension Buffed Smokey Mountain Series; 9. Ruby Red Medium Pointed; 10. Dimension Junior Buffed; 11. Pearly Gates Small Pointed; 12. Medium Pointed; 13. Small Pointed Lite; 14. Switchblade; 15. Stiletto, 16. Nexus Unbuffed.

Readers had a lot to say about a recent post on high-end guitar picks. I focused on some of those ultra-hard picks made from natural materials, such as stone, bone, wood, and horn, plus ones made from synthetics designed to mimic those materials, such as GraphTech’s Tusq series. I’d concluded that, while these picks cost a lot more than garden-variety plastic picks, they offer unique benefits, including stronger fundamentals, more low-end mass, and varying amounts of percussive treble “slice” that can help a guitar track stand out in a mix.

Anyway, several readers spoke highly of V-Picks, a small handmade pick company from Nashville run by Vinni and Nancy Smith. I bought a few, and was deeply impressed. So I got a bunch more and made the set of reference recordings included here. Have a listen!

Continue reading “Expensive Picks, Part 2: V-Picks”