Mummies

I refer to the V-Picks Mummy as my comfort pick. These are 2.75mm but light as heck. Those deep etchings are essential for me as they help me deal with careless moments; the pick would still be between my fingers if I loosened my grip. In addition to those, the Mummy sports a bevelled, rough edge which helps with aggressive music. Also, if you don't already know, it reduces the chirping sound when dealing with plain, unwound strings. The red version there was a custom order, otherwise, all Mummy picks are colourless. 

Being picky

 

These days, when I play, I do not stick to a particular pick. I will have a few on standby & go with the one that I click with for the rest of the session. 

For instance, I will start with that glittery one (above: Northern Ghost Planchette, glitter edition) as this is my current preference. This will make me play with the least mistakes, it's the most comfortable. 

Then I will switch to the black one (Dunlop Flow 3mm) which is the trickiest to deal with. It's also downright slippery & will glide from string to string rather effortlessly & made me fumble. I will drop the pick the most times when I am dealing with this dark menace. 

Lastly, this clear wonder pick (V-Picks Mummy) is a cheat pick. It's my most enduring reference when all else fail but it's not the one I play the most. It's almost too precious to be played. So between these 3, one will make it till the end while the other two would return to the storage box to rest.

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.

Three amigos

My current go-to trio:

1. V-Pick: Mummy Had been my favourite since I tried them. They are currently offered in a 2.75mm thickness which is below my standards. However, the efficiency I get from this one is impressive
2. Gravity: Custom Shop Edge This is a recent resurgence; I had abandoned them for personal reasons but that's all buried away for goodness sake. Similar material to V-Pick but the custom options here mean you get to choose the thickness, colour as well as grip type. This one's a 3mm, might be going up to 4mm in time to come.
3. DAW: Custom engraved Shredline Ordered a set last Black Friday, 3mm & partial acrylic. The smoothest, fastest but lacked a good grip. Still, it's the one I ended up using for the rest of my playing time after starting with the other two.

Note that I have pretty much settled with unpolished edges. This prevents the picks from giving off that chirping sound when you hit the plain strings; no chirping annoyance with wound strings. 

Euro killings

The Killing Floor is indeed my staple pedal for each playing session. I kinda prefer hearing the guitar with more of what it should sound like rather than colouring it with a drive pedal. It's also dead simple, just a one knob affair with 3 voicing options. Grabbed the Euro II by mistake while playing but decided to stay with the pick throughout- mistakes & all. 

Wishing you a good Monday & a good week ahead. 👍

Get well soon, Vinnie

In a recent bout with heart-attack, V-Picks owner/ founder Vinnie Smith underwent bypass surgery recently. We wish him well & a speedy recovery.

And on that note, he decided to release this new model called, the EKG. Timely indeed. 😆

PICS: V-picks i/g & webstore

Vs are in town

Davis GMC is now the official dealer of V-Picks. The models you see above are in stock.

I've been using V-Picks since leaving the Gravity camp for personal reasons, not that the latter picks are bad. They are both awesome references when it comes to acrylic picks & are close substitutes in terms of material & performance dare I say. These boutique names are indeed costly but still within reach unlike boutique pedals. If you could recall, V-Picks used to be available at BGW so some of us here were already into the V-Picks experience before this announcement. Also, people like yours truly here have been buying them online as well (like this one from 2016: CLICK). If you are fans of the Dunlop Stubby, you'd do well to check out V-Picks. These might not be life changing for you but for those of us who insist on hard picks, these might appeal in terms of durability & comfort. 

PIC: Davis GMC FB

Worth picking

That's right, I'm a little picky about picks. I'm down to 2 preferred brand names when it comes to getting a preferred selection. The first is V-Picks. The Shredder & Pachelli were purchased just prior to Easter since they had a store-wide 20% discount going. As such, I took the opportunity to try something out of my comfort zone. The Shredder is a little extreme in terms of outline & it serves players picking a certain way, very much like how Al Pitrelli picks his notes. Any other way, that  rather extended pointed tip would snag strings & it's mistakes galore. Not my type, bought it to try. The Pachelli is a trimmed down Dunlop Stubby without the middle indentation. It's a 4mm monster that serves aggressive riffing as well as fast solos, especially those who pivot their wrists more than their elbows. My type of pick- like 👍

The other brand name is DAW. I recently retired my Karma pick & refrained from using my remaining 2 as they are discontinued. These picks you see here are my likeable alternatives, the Shredlines. The bigger, more triangular version of the Shredline is called the Trix. Despite disliking bulky triangular shapes, I find the Trix to be very efficient for aggressive riffs. The standard Shredline there in red is great for- you guessed it- fast picking. I've tried all the picks DAW has to offer including some discontinued models like the N4. 

O-pick

Looks like another winner the V-Picks camp; the Orianthi signature. However, not my type as it features a little flex in the formula. In my hands, I would most probably break it during play.

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. 👍