Picking Morgan

Bought these at Davis GMC today- Morgan picks. There were a few designs to choose from & I ended up with these two on grounds of being the least excessive in terms of looks/ design & preferred thickness.

These are definitely not acrylic picks; light as celluloid but tough as delrin. That left one is actually a signature model by a Danish player named Binzer. It reminded my of the Howling Monkey pistol grip feature but feels nothing like it. The right one is basically a standard selection with a fusion twist; the grip area is thick while the pointed tip sports a thinner affair. 

In use both were slippery against the strings so if you fancy this kind of reaction which inevitably manifests some speed, good for you. The pointed tip is also a popular spec for speed freaks. The grip factor here is nothing less than excellent. For those of us who dislike grip-inducing indentations, be assured that these textured surfaces are doing their job very well.

However, they are not my kind of picks. Acrylic pick surfaces rubbing against metal has that wicked friction only metal/ angry players could appreciate so there lies my loyalty. Riffing with these slippery picks don't really manifest definition. Nothing too repulsive here, just personal preference. 

Boutique picking

Nothing like spending the holiday with personal engagements (especially when nobody's home); nothing extensive, just evaluating the 'boutique' picks I have lying around here: Chicken Pick, Gravity & V-Pick. All 3 picks aren't for the sentimental, especially the strummers among us. They have a certain degree of retaliation that inevitably singles them out for specialist applications- speed & precision.

As mentioned above, these picks are distasteful when it comes to strumming; there is no flexibility whatsoever so be warned. Due to their rigid pedigree, there is an element of absorption here so they're not too kind to acoustic applications because they make themselves heard. The clicking/clunking contact noises might drive some of us nuts. 

The Gravity & V-Pick are cold-hearted assassins; they are similar in such a way that they make their inorganic presence felt all the time. In use, we can hardly tell them apart in terms of tone. Feel-wise, that's where the difference sinks in, the Gravity has a harsh, very abrasive contact against your strings, while the V-Pick manifests a more gliding performance. The Chicken Pick did well in differentiating itself in this aspect. There is a certain degree of contact pleasure to such an extent that you need to convince yourselves it's not plastic. In fact, it feels & sounds like a bone composite but the manufacturer specified it to be plastic with a dash of personal formula & I must say it's definitely a winning one. It's also the smoothest amongst the trio with a very exclusive presence to boot.

Where I come from, wimpy picks are out of the question. I hit my notes hard (as opposed to fretting them hard) & need my picks to stay put with every attack. Majority of the picks which are less than 1mm thick have a high tendency to die a quick & terrible death as they break & snap under pressure. Investing in the trio you see here is a matter of personal embrace, simply put, I can't play anything else. If you are new to such thick picks, it is definitely an immediate put off because it takes a different handling approach to get one going unlike your preferred thinner picks. Do keep an open mind, we need different tools to get the different jobs done & these picks require you to embrace them objectively. If you don't have the urge to speed up or pulverize every single note you play, you probably won't need them. Despite treading on the hard pick turf, I still have thinner picks within reach just to give some perspective to my playing every now & then. 

Seen above:

• Chicken Pick: Tritone III
• Gravity: Stealth Standard
• V-Pick: Pearly Gates

Hard picking

It's human nature to associate understanding with familiarity. This is even the case to address unfamiliarity; one tries to reason by drawing on fathomable practices but that's dangerous. The validity of this reasoning remains confined within one's personal understanding & reasoning, it may well not be the correct reasoning. This retort is my knee jerk reaction to some people who dismiss others who prefer thick, hard picks as bass players. It's not too long ago that I was testing a guitar at the stores when a fellow shopper drew near to ask how I've progressed to the standard of playing I am manifesting today (which is semi-pathetic, honest) so one of the factors considered was of course the choice of picks. I showed him my 3mm pick & he went, "Oh, this is for bass isn't it?"

There are reasons why I prefer thick picks:

1. Thick picks facilitate my playing style. This is my utmost important consideration. It even transcends the considerations for price & brand names. I'd embrace any thick picks out there that complement my playing style; most of the time, I'm playing hard-hitting stuff so that's the reason why thickness is important.
2. Thick picks supplement energy conservation, as far as I am concerned. It sounds contradictory; how can someone who plays 1,000 notes per minute even talk about energy conservation? But it boils down to one's playing style. I need to get from one note to another very quickly so there should not be any dissipation of efforts to overcome a thin pick that flexes with every note picked. Get it?
3. More often than not, thickness equals durability. In order to maintain my playing momentum, I need something to keep me going, endure my torturous feat till the end (of playing). I wouldn't want to pick a new pick every 10min or so because the ones I am using cannot see me through, it's a sheer indication of incompatibility.

So there we have it, my reasons for choosing stubborn picks are indeed not fueled by Satan; it's a playing quirk which I've discovered over the years. I urge you to consider the pick you choose to embrace instead of favouring the flavour of the moment. You could do worse by accepting just anything handed to you without even thinking why they should be a part of your playing. Lest we overlook, I'm reiterating the fact that this is a personal quirk, not a standard diagnosis of how things should be. Embrace the pick that you favour, don't let anyone tell you different. 

And yes, I play bass occasionally but I don't pick my bass, I use my fingers, like Jaco. :-)