Ultra night pick

 

Was out & about last night - Merlion Park. You'd have thought there's serenity after sunset in the city but, heck no. Half of the time, I was avoiding bicycles. Cyclists were enjoying the scenic route & yes, it was quite a sight, the city at night. There were tourists & I would say they made up more than half of the population at this time of the day. The airport is privy to some people from some part of the world so no surprises there.

I was accompanying a friend taking shots of Ultraman to commemorate the 55th anniversary which was supposed to happen last year but there were more stringent social distancing measures then. That plus the fact that the Ultraman figurine here did not arrive till late 2021. Consolation shot - Ultraman securing my pick from potential monsters. 

Blue eve

Had been playing the blue one this New Year's Eve - wet weather since morning. Indoors & feeling blue. The simple genius of Kiesel is manifested in this Type X; it's more manageable in terms of handling. Make it smaller & headless - simple formula. 

That's right, blue selector tip & volume knob for this one. That see-through blue pick is a Northern Ghost Cloud model. Notice it has lots of grip space which tapers to a pointed tip. Darn good for super fast riffing as it helps you move quickly across strings. I have a thing for picks because they contribute to playing efficiency. I urge you to explore the different picks available out there, especially those not offered by the stores here. These are relatively affordable investments to fine tune your playing finesse. 

To those celebrating & counting down to the new year - stay safe. Cheers, everyone!

Ghostly

Nothing much folks,  just spending the Sunday with my new picks - the Uno (l) & Planchette (r). I can no longer play thin picks; these are 3mm. Any thinner & it would make me flop. OK so I use thinner picks for acoustic stuff. That's something else. If you are interested in these picks, do check them out here: Northern Ghost picks

3P

It's pick-hopping day featuring the trio seen above (L-R):

• DAW Man - Shred Line glitter edition (limited run) 2.5mm
• Gravity - 003 Custom 2mm
• V-Picks - Mummy special edition 3mm 

When I play guitar, it's my ritual to have more than one pick out. I'd switch between picks during play out of necessity; some playing styles are better done with a certain pick & that's a fact, yes? You can't do grinding black metal with a 0.5mm nylon pick. It's madness. Anyway, these 3 have been giving me the best results based on the intentions. The DW is my most efficient shredder. It's not acrylic & gives off the least clicking sound making individual notes sound true. However it's the least effective when it comes to grip & won't be ideal for fast & intense riffing. The Gravity 003 is the in between-er. I usually have it done in 3mm but this time it's a 2mm. Gravity uses acrylic & the picking tones are sharp & to my ears, riffs could sound super crunchy at times instead of being deep & doom-laden. Despite this quirky response, I love it for single coil tones. Finally, the V-Picks Mummy is a special edition 3mm version (factory default - 2.75mm) & has 2 grip lines as opposed to the usual 3. This is my preferred pick form, outline & feature. I'm too used to this one after quitting the Dunlop Stubby. Despite being equally acrylic, the Mummy has a less sharp response & it gives off a balanced tone for both solos & riffs. It's my go-to pick. 

Folks, if you think guitar picks do not contribute to tone then you need to re-think this belief. A simple but extreme reference is to hear your guitar tones using a rubber & acrylic pick; it's a day & night difference. It's about the material more than the thickness but the latter does play a part as I have discovered after customizing different pick thickness of the same model (thank you, Gavity custom shop). My take on this is to try as many different picks as possible & note the ones you like.

CONGRATS: Ibanez JTC pick giveaway

Congrats to the following blog readers:

• TK Hoo
• M. R
• Shane Helms

Your pick is on the way (if it's not in the mail box already). Thanks to the rest for participating & keeping this blog alive.

No return

Paul Gilbert recently returned to thin picks. Sub-1mm to be precise. The reason- for a more authentic feel. I had been with 3mm picks (or thicker) so in view of this philosophy, I was game to try.

To adverse effects. I simply couldn't return to anything thinner than 2mm because it just feels 'wrong' in so many ways pertaining to my playing style. Psychologically, I need a thicker feel to exert less picking pressure. If it's too thin, my brain tells my to grip harder because the force of strings during play might throw the pick out of control.

I somehow could make do with 1.5mm as seen above but the pick material matters. But after a few minutes of play, that 'wrong' feeling would kick in once more. Moral of the story- others' playing philosophy might just not be yours. 

Iron picking

The Iron Age label deals with guitar accessories, guitar picks are just a fraction of their offerings. The model you see here is the Bellona from their Imperial series.

This, by far, is my preferred pick specs; shorter but wider. Also, 4mm thickness is the way to go for angry riffs & furious solos. The material here, according to the manufacturer, is a durable plastic designated for pistol grip & it's easy to the touch, not prone to slippage. This is further fortified with a grooved center design with glow-in-the-dark outer rim. Unlike other manufacturers, the pointed tip here remains true to claim without any subtle rounding off so it's precision picking from start to end. The Bellona is definitely a worthy discovery for me for a simple reason- it was spec'd to my liking to begin with. 👍

Two things before we end off: 1. It's pricey (USD22 each- ouch!) 2. The material isn't as durable as I'd like it to be. If you look carefully at the pick, it's already a little worn & that's only after a day's worth of black metal meddling which was under an hour. Do not despair my friends, Iron Age has other intriguing picks featuring wood, stone & metal for your considerations & this is definitely not my final Iron Age adventure (being a pick nut & all).

Rating: 89%

Visit the Iron Age web page for more picks & other cool accessories: CLICK HERE

Neil picking

Neil Zaza has a signature pick going & he trusted the V-Picks camp to do the bidding. This is indeed signs of heading into the right direction for both parties; for Neil Zaza acquiring his preferred implement to further articulate his playing & for V-Picks as an affirmation of genuine conviction. On my to-get list, definitely. 👍

Rubber-ed

Interesting- while boutique picks are moving towards the plastic end, Ibanez moves the other way by exploring rubber. Hmm...

Horror picking

More picking adventure- Friday the 13th theme. You'd be surprised with the number of players who actually buy picks for novelty's sake instead of functionality. My personal reason for buying this- whether the functionality considerations exceed the novelty factors.

Ceramic picking

This is another adventure in trying out those not-of-this-earth pick material- ceramic. Of course, it's perfectly familiar to the rest of you dealing in pottery, art & stuff. Just received it in the mail, update to come :-)