What Kind of Pick Do You Use?

[dvuksanovich]

I use Jazz III picks, but I use a nail buffer to smooth the edges, otherwise there's a scraping sound against the strings.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Y' know what'd be supercool? A fossil/Mammoth-tusk ivory slide shaped similarly to a Dunlop Harris Slide (among others of the type)- that is, with a radiused/concave profile, and flared (wider/heavier on the bass-end)- and also with a rough-textured interior, yet highly polished on the outside...

 

_____ http://www.musiciansuniverse.com.au/Uploads/Images/harris.jpg

[picker]

...has anybody used that guitar pick that actor Billy Gray was supposed to have invented? What's THAT all about?

Whitefang

 

Here is his website. I have tried that gadget at a local store. It feels okay, really. I think I didn't buy one because I was broke at the time, but every time I buy something like that, I either lose it or forget about it, and just end up playing an old school pick.

[picker]

Y' know what'd be supercool? A fossil/Mammoth-tusk ivory slide shaped similarly to a Dunlop Harris Slide (among others of the type)- that is, with a radiused/concave profile, and flared (wider/heavier on the bass-end)- and also with a rough-textured interior, yet highly polished on the outside...

 

_____

 

http://www.musiciansuniverse.com.au/Uploads/Images/harris.jpg

 

That sounds really cool...and probably expensive. I mean, petrified wooly mammoth tusk isn't going begging in the county square that I'm aware of, How much would something like that cost, TB, if it's possible?

[Eric Iverson]

Mammoth tusks? But aren't wooly mammoths an ENDANGERED SPECIES? LOL

[TuskBuffer]

Y' know what'd be supercool? A fossil/Mammoth-tusk ivory slide shaped similarly to a Dunlop Harris Slide (among others of the type)- that is, with a radiused/concave profile, and flared (wider/heavier on the bass-end)- and also with a rough-textured interior, yet highly polished on the outside...

 

_____

That may be doable, but probably insanely expensive. I've got a lathe so I have the tools to do it--but man, that's a lot of material to waste drilling out the inside...and that's if I can find material that big that's perfectly solid (that might be tough). Tell you what, we'll start at 1k and go from there

 

Mammoth tusks? But aren't wooly mammoths an ENDANGERED SPECIES? LOL

LOL--they were a few thousand years ago, not so much anymore!

[Larryz]

red .73 "Cool" picks...

[G. A. Donis]

I lose picks way too often to spend $20-$25 on a pick. Even if it did sound awesome I'm sure I'd just leave it somewhere.

[Gruupi]

I use the picks that grow off the end of my fingertips.

[skipclone 1]

Y' know what'd be supercool? A fossil/Mammoth-tusk ivory slide shaped similarly to a Dunlop Harris Slide (among others of the type)- that is, with a radiused/concave profile, and flared (wider/heavier on the bass-end)- and also with a rough-textured interior, yet highly polished on the outside...

 

_____

That may be doable, but probably insanely expensive. I've got a lathe so I have the tools to do it--but man, that's a lot of material to waste drilling out the inside...and that's if I can find material that big that's perfectly solid (that might be tough). Tell you what, we'll start at 1k and go from there

 

Mammoth tusks? But aren't wooly mammoths an ENDANGERED SPECIES? LOL

LOL--they were a few thousand years ago, not so much anymore!

 

Probably the only good thing about being dead, at least you`re out of danger

[picker]

That may be doable, but probably insanely expensive. I've got a lathe so I have the tools to do it--but man, that's a lot of material to waste drilling out the inside...and that's if I can find material that big that's perfectly solid (that might be tough). Tell you what, we'll start at 1k and go from there

 

Tell you what, TB, since you have the gear to make a slide, what non-standard material could you make a cool slide from that is more like $10 - $20?

[GreySeraph]

Ram horn!

[Caevan O’Shite]

I use the picks that grow off the end of my fingertips.

 

Yeah, same here!

[Bikewer22]

We in the cigar-box community mainly play slide, and you see a lot of inventive items over at Cigar Box Nation.

One of the members makes nice bone slides, even carving the non-playing side into artistic shapes:

 

http://handmademusic.ning.com/photo/mojobone-works-custom-slide-208?context=user

[TuskBuffer]

Tell you what, TB, since you have the gear to make a slide, what non-standard material could you make a cool slide from that is more like $10 - $20?

Well, I've got different hardwoods, but I don't think wood would be a good slide material...maybe ebony, but it just seems to me that any wood would wear gooves pretty quickly. On the other hand, I may be able to get a curved piece of a tusk and kind of laminate it onto or inlay into a wood slide--I might actually get that to work--I'll have to kick that around and experiment a bit. Unfortunately it would still be more than the $20 range.

[skipclone 1]

maybe you could just affix a ring to it, just slide your finger through. It would have to be a one-size affair but less hassle than a solid wood base.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Almost any kind of stone over a Mohs hardness 6 would make a slide that would stand up to the most dedicated player, and most of the quartz family of minerals- agates, jaspers, amethyst, citrine, etc.- are relatively inexpensive.

 

If you want tough and exotic and have the right machinery, though, buy a rod of lab-grown corundum (a.k.a. sapphire or ruby) or some tungsten carbide: any pick or slide made from either should last centuries...

[TuskBuffer]

maybe you could just affix a ring to it, just slide your finger through. It would have to be a one-size affair but less hassle than a solid wood base.

 

That sounds like a great idea Skip, but would that be comfortable enough to use?

 

So check this out--I put my knife handle making skills to work and came up with this:

 

http://tuskbuffer.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ICEPicks.jpg

 

What do you think? I call it the ICE Pick (ICE=Ivory, Cocobolo, Ebony). I kept the ivory in the middle so it's still the part that hits the strings and also the part you hold on to--ivory grips your fingers when they get sweaty, instead of getting slippery and sloppy like plastic--so it's cool as **** looking AND functional! Not for sale yet, gotta make sure it will hold up to daily use (pretty sure it will). Any volunteers to test? Thinking of maybe offering it for an extra discounted price to the first couple "volunteers," or maybe free if you buy a certain amount of ivory picks or something--I dunno, just kickin' it around...

 

By the way, thank you so much for all the pick styles/materials you all use! Maybe I will start using different hardwoods and other materials. I can still focus on only a few different sizes/shapes/styles, but have a variety of materials. YOU GUYS ARE FREAKIN' AWESOME!

[Electric Biscuit]

My mother bought me a hand-carved Midnight Lace Obsidian pick for christmas, it's awesome

[skipclone 1]

maybe you could just affix a ring to it, just slide your finger through. It would have to be a one-size affair but less hassle than a solid wood base.

 

That sounds like a great idea Skip, but would that be comfortable enough to use?

 

So check this out--I put my knife handle making skills to work and came up with this:

 

http://tuskbuffer.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ICEPicks.jpg

 

What do you think? I call it the ICE Pick (ICE=Ivory, Cocobolo, Ebony). I kept the ivory in the middle so it's still the part that hits the strings and also the part you hold on to--ivory grips your fingers when they get sweaty, instead of getting slippery and sloppy like plastic--so it's cool as **** looking AND functional! Not for sale yet, gotta make sure it will hold up to daily use (pretty sure it will). Any volunteers to test? Thinking of maybe offering it for an extra discounted price to the first couple "volunteers," or maybe free if you buy a certain amount of ivory picks or something--I dunno, just kickin' it around...

 

By the way, thank you so much for all the pick styles/materials you all use! Maybe I will start using different hardwoods and other materials. I can still focus on only a few different sizes/shapes/styles, but have a variety of materials. YOU GUYS ARE FREAKIN' AWESOME!

 

That is a beauty!

Well on reflection, I was thinking that it would probably work better for the middle finger-the surrounding fingers could help stabilize it. But if the ring is sufficiently sized that anyone could get their finger in it comfortably there shouldn´t be a problem.I´d also opt for-well I don´t know how else to put it-more of a man´s style ring, so you have some width backing it up. An exaggerated width would be even better.

[GreySeraph]

That sounds like a great idea Skip, but would that be comfortable enough to use?

 

So check this out--I put my knife handle making skills to work and came up with this:

 

http://tuskbuffer.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ICEPicks.jpg

 

What do you think? I call it the ICE Pick (ICE=Ivory, Cocobolo, Ebony). I kept the ivory in the middle so it's still the part that hits the strings and also the part you hold on to--ivory grips your fingers when they get sweaty, instead of getting slippery and sloppy like plastic--so it's cool as **** looking AND functional! Not for sale yet, gotta make sure it will hold up to daily use (pretty sure it will). Any volunteers to test? Thinking of maybe offering it for an extra discounted price to the first couple "volunteers," or maybe free if you buy a certain amount of ivory picks or something--I dunno, just kickin' it around...

 

By the way, thank you so much for all the pick styles/materials you all use! Maybe I will start using different hardwoods and other materials. I can still focus on only a few different sizes/shapes/styles, but have a variety of materials. YOU GUYS ARE FREAKIN' AWESOME!

 

beautiful mang! I'd be willing to try, but I just bought one Music major = not much dough to go around

[haywired2]

I used to use Guild Rounded Triangle picks, but now I'm using Clayton Acetal Rounded Triangle Guitar Picks .63. Then when I drop it I use my fingers.

[TuskBuffer]

Here's the newest addition:

http://tuskbuffer.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Skunks.jpg

I call it the E&I Skunk Pick (E&I=Ebony and Ivory). What do you think?

[GreySeraph]

Looks better than the other one! One thing I've been wondering about these knife-handle designer picks is what happens when you play them enough that you start picking into the ebony? Could it potentially shatter at the sealing? Would it sound weird? I'm sure ebony and ivory would sound very different when plucking guitar strings. Maybe if that should be a problem, would u be able to make the wings slightly wider for more usage? I'm just rambling some thoughts and what not.

[TuskBuffer]

Thanks Grey--I like it a little better myself. I was thinking of calling it the Tuxedo style or something, but I think Skunk Pick sounded funnier (c'mon, I call myself TuskBuffer after all ) and hopefully more memorable.

 

So, are you suggesting to make the ivory strip in the middle narrower or just make the pick itself wider by widening the wings? As far as what happens when you start picking into the ebony...if you do get that far, I'd suggest just get a file and reshape it. That's how I shape them--file by hand (yup, long, tedious process). I don't think you'll have anything to worry about as far as it shattering or separating.

 

By the way, did you get that pick I sent you yet?

[GreySeraph]

I havent seen it yet, but I'm at work so I dont know if my mom/dad/brother got the mail yet. I'll let you know asap!

 

As far as the pick, I was suggesting the same shape, but a little more ivory (so wider on the ivory and the ebony wings would be just a tad smaller), as it's the one that's doing the picking. What would you use for shaping? I got a bunch of nail care stuff for my classical guitar nails, would like emery boards and buffers work?

[TuskBuffer]

I wouldn't think emery boards, etc. would do much. I use a big old wood file--It's big, it's ugly, but it gets the job done!

 

Yes, I can make the ivory part wider, but I think it's pretty good where it is. I don't even come close to hitting the ebony part; but then again, everybody has their own style. In any case, I wouldn't be able to change what I already have of course, but I can certainly consider it in the next batch...or with the next design. I'm thinking of ordering some different kinds of woods--hopefully they'll all be cool and I can make full picks as well as the "hybrids."

[GreySeraph]

Got mah pick! (as well as a abalone pick!)

 

So far the pick sounds super clear! Great pick, man! It feels like there's a slight flex that I'm not completely used to, as it's much thinner than picks I've used before. Still, the tone is quite bright but not harsh; I REALLY dig it with the higher end of the guitar, as well as any chords with open strings. I'll write up a review after a few weeks of using it! Next month I'll definitely send you a brossard pick for the sake of getting another one, though I wanna experiment with a thicker one as well.

 

Question: Are you making these from piano keys?

[picker]

I would like to buy one of your picks, 'buffer. How do we get started?

[TuskBuffer]

SWEET Grey! I'm so glad you like it ! It's amazing how something as simple as a pick can change the way your guitar sounds, isn't it? You'll also notice that you'll be a lot more accurate with it because it doesn't slip (maybe the same as wood? I haven't made any wood picks yet to try out--will be coming soon).

 

Question: Are you making these from piano keys?

No. Piano keys are (were) made from elephant ivory, my picks are made from prehistoric woolly mammoth ivory. I can actually get legal elephant ivory with full documentation, but I don't even want to touch the stuff. Not that I'm a tree hugger or anything, but I'm pretty sure the elephants didn't die of old age. Mammoths, on the other hand, died out right around the dawn of mankind...and I think it's cool that we can use a pick made out of a piece of an animal that was alive maybe 10,000-40,000 years ago!

 

I would like to buy one of your picks, 'buffer. How do we get started?

Thanks Picker! By the way, your avatar cracks me up every time I see it. What movie is that from?

 

I'll send you a PM with the info. I'll be working on the website today, not sure how far I'll get but I should have prices up--still offering anybody from this forum $5 off regular prices. Eventually I'll figure out how to do discount codes and stuff.