Not Flowing

The Dunlop Flow pick was hype a while back. As you can see above, it's streamlined for a slick picking performance. Being me, I just couldn't get along with it. It felt wrong to begin with. Despite being acclimatized to acrylic picks I do own picks made out of other materials. It seems that the Flow's proprietary Ultex material isn't one of that other material that appeals to me. Less than 5 minutes later, I'm playing my DAW Shredline pick instead. As you can see there, I prefer a more bevelled edge with an unpolished surface. This catches the strings readily & offer lots of grind when peddling bass notes - for angry people like me.

Dimension

An unlikely candidate for last night's practice; V-Pick's Dimension 4.0 (ghost rim).

I was feeling a little edgy playing fast stuff & felt that the pick I was using didn't have that much meat to deliver the aggression through effectively. It's not about not having a hard pick material but a thicker pick to promote a more effective grip especially when attacking the strings from a certain slant. The Dimension is 4mm thick, 1 mm thicker than what I usually have lying around & that's all I needed to make the session more effective & enjoyable.

Thinning out

Had some playing time this morning. Re-visited a 1.5mm pick. Not a good outing. It seems that I can't play with anything less than 2mm for electric stuff. I tend to apply more pressure when holding, resulting in fatigue. Also, too many missed notes due to playing psychology; I thought I picked some but I didn't. Years ago, I believed that the pick should be the least of my worries as my playing really sucked. There was more focus on technique but along the way, the pick is one of the most essential component of delivery. 

Weekend's here!! 👍👍

Picking

This was a necessary withdrawal. I had not been playing my so called preferred pick for a good reason- it made me play badly. Sloppy, to say the least. I returned to others which played a marked role in terms of inspiration & focus. These are the picks you see at the background: Howling Monkey/ Dunlop/ V-Pick/ Dragon's Heart. There are others but I do not intend to make this entry excessive. Bottom line- when you observe a hiatus with good intentions, you'd return refreshed & appreciate what made you effective to begin with. 

There is bound to be something in our lives that clicked with us but more often than not, we tend to take them for granted. It's after these things had gone missing then we start to realize the potent ingredient that makes us who we are. At this point in time, I'd say that my picks are the ones that matter the most to my playing. On a peculiar note, my preferred pick don't always work all the time. There were days when I played worse than a noob. Then the necessary withdrawal begins & the ultimate realization manifests itself- have I taken things for granted? 

Have a good August ahead, everyone. 👍

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

Zaza picking

It's a good Friday when the stuff you least expected just popped into the mail box. I ordered the V-Pick Neil Zaza pick about ten days ago. International delivery was free, so why not. I've always been a fan of grooved picks. In this case, the holes there are my favourite kind of indentation that promote grip. To me, a good grip is essential considering the intensity of my picking. The 2.75mm thickness was the other gratifying consideration. I prefer a 3mm pick or thicker but under certain configurations (materials, shape, etc.), shaving a little off the preference works as well. The only aversion in this case is the width; I play better with something a little wider to the grip. 

Wishing you folks a good weekend ahead 🃁

Mummy fly cinders

Had been a crappy week. But more importantly, I still got to play guitar, this evening included. 🎸 Kept it light. It's any guitar that's within reach plus the line up above: Blackstar FLY3 amp, TCE Cinders OD & my fav Mummy pick.

The jade pick

I'm a fan of thick, hard picks. It's a personal quirk. More importantly, it complements my picking style. Trying this jade pick. It's definitely hard (it should be- it's a rock) but it's not that thick. Best bet it's a 2.5mm because I've placed it side by side with my 3mm stubby & it's a little thinner.

Petrucci pick

Dunlop picks & John Petrucci's recent collaboration: The JP Jazz III. There is indeed a sizable following when it comes to Dunlop's Jazz III picks, so here's adding a little variety to the option.

It's the tip

For many of us, we'd love to embrace the precision attack of metal picks but can't come to terms with the overall feel. Dava picks now offer a hybrid model- a plastic pick with a nickel silver tip. The side profile featured above shows you the ribbed middle portion, the way you hold it is crucial in manifesting the picks' softness/ hardness without actually switching from thin to thick picks.

My other encounterns with DAVA:

CLICK

CLICK

Kinder pick

If you have bought the Kinder Joy chocolate snack (for yourselves *admit it!* or your kids), it comes with a plastic spoon for you to scoop the edible bits out of the half-shell.

This spoon doubles as a great guitar pick for us strummers. You can hold it either way & make use of the different picking edges to play your favourite chords. Not so applicable for precise (solo) picking...

Grind dust

The arrows in the above pic indicate some powder residue not attributable to storage neglect but my excessive pick grinding. It's one of those days when I can't play lightly, the pick used was a Dunlop Stubby 3.0...

...the guitar: Ibanez RG321.

Complementary pick

When you purchase the Fullbore Metal pedal, there is a complementary Dunlop Ultex pick in the package; it's packed inside the box, please do not ask for it separately from your dealer.