Cycle of picks

A Good Friday morning to all. Lovely long weekend, yes?

I'm sure may of us here would have purchased & kept a few picks in our collection. Even if you're not a collector, you would have wisely kept a few for referential purposes, no? The primary reason here, for keeping stuff which you less preferred, is to bring them out on days when you think all else failed. On playing days, my ritual is to have a few picks out & at the ready. Even if I already have a favourite, go-to pick in hand, at a certain point in time, I'd switch picks just for variety's sake. You'd be surprised to discover that the ones you cast aside as spares or back-ups would be more adept than you would have believed them to be in the first place. I'm saying this because for those of us with more than one guitar especially, would have different string gauges, neck radii & string action, among other factors, which would react differently with a different pick profile. If we don't own a few picks to begin with, we wouldn't have discovered this special adaptation so to speak.

In the example above, I had the (L-R) Karma (DAW manufacturing), Mummy (V-pick) & Stubby (Dunlop) picks at the ready. As you've noticed, it's actually a line up of (L-R), flat, grooved & dented pick surfaces. I react differently to the feel, I play differently using these picks with various guitars, my picking efficiency gets affected with these picks, my brutal riffs work better with non-flat pick surfaces & the list goes on with slight variable differences. So which of these picks work best for any playing situation? None. I need different picks for different playing circumstances; different tools for different jobs as they say. So the next time you are on the verge of disposing seemingly dud & useless picks, do re-consider 😃

Stoned

I'm in a 'custom pick' mode in the mean time but I do return to a familiar feel occasionally just to keep things in check. My current picking proficiency is where it's at because I started on a familiar turf so forgetting my roots would be perilous. These days, the stores here don't stock Dunlop Stubbys as much as they used to. The closest substitute are the Clayton Stone pics; familiar size, outline, thickness just that they feature those grooves for a better grip. I'm not saying, in any way, that Claytons are the worthy second fiddle when Dunlop Stubbys are hard to come by- no way. It's just that these Stone picks are not readily available for us to try out (I bought my first one online) & that stores here don't shout out what picks they sell as opposed to guitars & amps. Available @ Musicark, $1.20 each.

Winners

Alright! Here are the winners for the Jazz picks giveaway (in no order of merit):

• Firdahaus (Firdahaus54@***.com)
• M. Razali AB (kucinghijau@***.com)
• Dzulhilmy (dzlhlm@***.com)
• Ismail (ismailnoble@***.com)
• Brandon T (tsuiwjb@***.com)
• Alvin Lim (addinmint@***.com)
• Theodore Lai (theodorelai360@***.com)
• Tan Jia Jun (tjj93@***.com)

Thanks for participating, a mailing address request had been sent out through e-mail. I still have a few more sets to spare so if you are still interested, do let me know. Open to Malaysian friends, of course :-)

The good Friday give away

Good Friday morning all you hardworking guitar fanatics who are enjoying the holiday (hopefully the long weekend as well). I'm doing a little give away here & you stand a chance to receive the above set of Jim Dunlop JAZZ picks (alien face hugger excluded), the set includes:

1. Jazz I: Round tip (1.1mm)
2. Jazz III: Pointed tip (1.38mm)
3. Jazz III: XL (1.38mm)

 Ready? Please answer this question & e-mail me your answer ASAP:

Rules:

1. All answers via e-mail only, replies to this post will be disqualified.
2. Your e-mail should bear the following tittle: JD pick giveaway answer
3. All entries should include the sender's name.
   
4. All entries should be submitted by 2359hrs on 3rd April 2015.
5. 10 selected winners will be notified via e-mail with a request for their mailing address.
6. All winners' name will be published at theguitaraddict.blogspot.com along with their respective e-mail address (partial address only for security reasons)

Thank you, everyone, for your continued support. All give away picks are kindly sponsored by Davis GMC, I am thankful for their support especially when they exceeded my expectations (Thanks, Janet!!). More importantly, I am grateful for their belief of this humble blog & my dedication to sharing.

Easy picking

Today's playing session was masochistic. It's actually my way of making things easy for myself- by making it difficult at first. I have many picks in my possession so I started by choosing a common feature- depression. All three picks here feature one, they are of different sizes, materials & thickness. The warm-up started with Pick 1. Due to its size, I had to focus on picking every note & making sure it's a sure hit. It's a lesson in focus. Next up, Pick 2. It's the exact opposite of Pick 1, obnoxious, a little lengthy so the focus was not to hit anything else unnecessarily. It's beyond warm up now. I was playing my routine scales & trying out new idea. The objective was to make things difficult for myself & it was definitely working. After the break, I was playing with my preferred pick (Number 3) & it was a breeze. In fact, I got this feeling of playing 'better' when in reality, it's actually how I played all along.

This leads me to say that one way of appreciating one's preferred tool/ implement is to actually use something else & feel the inadequacies kicking in as you try to adapt. Chances are, given ample time, you can make do with that change. However, if you return to your preferred ___________ (pick, pedal, cable, etc... insert accordingly), you'd know what's missing or bothering you so much that you can feel the difference. Appreciate your quirks, it's what makes you, you.

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. :-)

Pick away

I gave away some picks to a bunch of students who are guitar newbies. Hope they were inspired to take their learning to another level of competence.

Wheat picking/ Picking wheat

This is cool, not quite practical, but cool nevertheless- picks crafted out of wheat.

It's not new, in fact, it was featured in NAMM '09. The manufacturer did warn of wheat residue during play but tone enthusiasts would love to hear it in action. 

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Photo credit: NAMM '09 by theswigs

Dunlop Stubby vs V-pick

So this is the ultimate showdown; Dunlop's Stubby juggernaut to take down the colossal V-Pick... not quite. I believe the respective picks you see here were differentiated in design by the manufacturer to address different needs but from a personal point of view, I believe the respective products give the player a different playing feel which in turn influences the performance standards.

V-pick

It all started not too long ago when Mr. Brendon from BGW Guitars sent over a complementary V-pick knowing I am a fan of tank-grade picks; I can't live playing picks which are less than 1mm thick. Initially, I was dismissive of it as it's just another acrylic alternative; I've been playing the Stubbys for a while & this pick isn't a drastic departure from my current engagements. However, the unique selling point has to be the V-pick's beveled edges which means the strings leave the pick's contact at a faster action- it's not rocket Science this one, a simple innovation by a guitarist (founder Vinni Smith is a guitar enthusiast) for guitarists. The beveling also means, the edges of the picks are thinner than the rest of the grip area so you'd thought that you are holding a thick, unplayable piece of plastic in your hands but the tapered edges are actually doing the job. 

I am currently using the Traditional (as above) & Small Pointed versions which work fine for my needs. My only gripe here would be the colour; sometimes dropping a V-pick on the floor is equivalent to losing it for good. But not to worry, V-picks also come in red & glow-in-the-dark alternatives.

Dunlop Big Stubby

This has been my long-term favourite & it' still is. I favour the 3mm version & have them in my wallet, office drawers, on top of amps, bag pockets; they have become virtually ubiquitous. When Adam Teoh was still working at Swee Lee (Bras Basah showroom), he knew how many I'd purchase in a single transaction- many (I recall buying 30 pieces, that's the most number of Stubbys I ever bought in a single receipt). If we look at the Stubby, we note its curved nature; in Ibanez-speak, the Stubby is the pick version of the S-series body. This design feature is the pick's upper edge, it doesn't need beveled edges to accentuate precision picking. My other liking here is the pick's centre indentation which promotes grip effectively. I use to burn holes in other picks just to get some grip going but it's inherent with the Stubby. 

I wish the Stubby's tip was more pointed when they leave the factory, my current practice is to file the tip further to make it very sharp, I believe this enhances more precision. Well, it works for me.

Conclusion

Conceptually, both picks manifested different means to the same end- precision picking. The different playing comfort is the choice determinant; I like both picks & would toggle between the Stubby & the V-pick so if you see someone switching picks often while trying guitars out in the stores, that'd most probably be me. Be informed that there is at least a $3 difference (no kidding) between these picks.

Where to get them:

• Stubby: Swee Lee/ Davis GMC
• V-pick: BGW Guitars

When dad's not looking (Part 7)

When dad's not looking, someone brought over some friends to play with used picks...

Awe-in-one: Profound I

Bought a pair of Awe-in-one picks (made in S'pore); it seems that the Profound I version is the only version meeting my needs in terms of thickness. The pick was designed to be scooped at a certain portion so upon flipping, it ceased to feel the same & hence it affects my playing. Still prefer my Stubby (& its clones) picks.

Worn picks (Part 3)

What worn picks are good for...

When Dad's not looking (Part 5)

My daughter busy playing with my used picks, some of which were lost during this event. *sigh*

Worn picks (Part 2)

Some other worn picks I still keep...

• the holes in many of the picks: my attempt to increase friction. I use lighted satay sticks to puncture holes in them
• sharp, pointed edges: because I filed them into being such to increase precision (I still do)
• bone pick: first row, 3rd from left. the thickest in my collection, a whopping $8 a piece...
• from Vietnam: Hofner picks, 4th row, 2nd + 3rd from right- my wife bought them when she was on a study trip there many years ago...
  

When Dad's not looking (Part 2)

Mum's just gotten me this cool stool so now I can just reach for Dad's picks when he's away; I put them back when I'm done so no big deal (I like the Stylus pick)... he won't notice. Of course, I've just messed with his Marshall amp settings... he he.

Stylus pick

This is the Stylus pick up close, the highlight is of course that ridiculous diamond-edge tip which might hinder play, so you thought...
However, in use, the Stylus is able to focus much of the string contact at the tip thus promoting precision picking- good news for all you speed mongers out there...

New picks

Got more new picks with me:

• Alice: I usually avoid thin picks but this is a metal pick from the manufacturer who I suspect is an OEM for other brand name picks.
• Stylus: That pentagon-shape is quite unmistakable, note the diamond tip; yes, it's a diamond shaped tip, quite a protrusion from the main shape & it makes the pick very uneven. The reason it was made like this is to promore precision picking.
• Grover Allman: The one with the skull; no I didn't buy it for this reaosn but the brand name itself on the flip-side is grooved to promote better grip- Made in Australia.

All picks available @ Davis GMC

Alice & Clayton

If you take a closer look, the above picks are not your favourite Dunlop Stubby units, these are Alice picks. They are made exactly like the aforementioned (stiffness/ dimension/ thickness) but upon close scrutiny, are a little lighter; not too telling if you handle the 1mm/ 2mm ones but the 3mm version. You'd suspect if these are OEM items after all...

On the subject of picks, Claytons feature a cork ring on one side to promote grip. Great idea but the feel is acquired taste. Nothing too repulsive though...

Alice & Clayton picks are available @ Davis Guitar.

Dava: Grip Tip pick

To me, the type of pick I hold, greatly determines my playing capacity; it's about how comfortable I am with it, it's also about how the pick is able to adapt to my playing eccentrities.

Pictured above is one of the many Dava picks available, this one in particular is the Grip Tip version; a plastic unit with synthetic rubber overcoat. The groove (lines) are there to promote grip, the circular motiffs as well as the 'DAVA' brand name are rubberless surfaces to promote grip as well.

So what's in it for you considering it's just another piece of expandable plastic, yes? If you look at the above pic showing the side profile, the item had been scooped in the middle portion to enhance different feel. You are essentially holding a pick which gives you a soft/ med/ hard attack depending on the portion you apply pressure most. Sounds like a workable selling point but that's what you get in use.

Verdict:

• the grip factor is assured, the grooves & plastic/ rubber surfaces work in tendem to keep the item in place, in fact, it hardly moved/ slipped while I was holding it
• the item in whole, would appeal to players who prefer thin picks. If you dislike the Dunlop Stubby monstrosity (no offence, it's my current fav), this one has enough classy appeal

PS: Thank you Davis Guitar for the complementary unit.

Picks & strings...

These are my used picks, I keep them because some of them are personal gifts. My wife bought me a few while she was away in Vietnam. There were times when master Beez (domestic pickup installation Jedi master) would give away the ones he had stuck on his forehead to me when I walk into his work place at Yamaha (former work place actually). Those were the days...

I'm easily bothered by stringless guitars especially when strings snapped during play (this seldom happens nowadays) or during installation. I have some here on standby, bass ones included.