THE BOUTIQUE PICK ROUNDUP
After much research (ahh..just surfing the web
) and diligent hours (only when I didn't have something better to do
) of painstaking scrutiny (checking em out for the heck of it
) using the most advance technology (uh..my fingers & ears
) I have come up with an evaluation of several (actually, only what I could get my hands on fast
) of the boutique picks on the market. Here's what I've found.
Turtle shell – I'm starting out with the real thing (the shell of the Hawksbill SeaTurtle) as a gauge because the qualities of tone and playability are what most of these “boutique” pick makers target. A warm midrange tone and smooth playability over the strings are what have made this the Holy Grail of guitar picks. Unfortunately the Hawksbill is a protected species so unless you have some pre-1970s they are basically unobtainable, hence the innovations of some cutting edge pick makers.
Blue-chip – Controversial for their price, rave reviewed by their customers, touted for their proven durability, and playability, this is a top-notch product. I could not warrant spending that much and found the tone slightly brighter than T shell but very close and playability was very nice.
Wegen – A thick gypsy jazz pick with a smooth attack, the tone was as thick as these picks but I did not gel with the pre-made grip and was not as articulate as I like. Produced loud ringing notes especially acoustically, very noticeable above the others reviewed but seemed more suited to rhythm playing.
Dunlop primetone – Yes, some of the larger manufacturers have stepped into this game with the best of what they have to offer. I have been using their jazztone 208 for years (excellent thick tone) but did not feel that their primetone was significantly better.
V-pick – This one was a huge surprise for me, I had researched pick materials and found that acrylic was considered to be one of the brightest sounding materials for guitar picks. I was very surprised to find that their slightly rounded tip models that had enough thickness to them (2mm and up) produced a very warm mid range tone. Along with the fact that it glided over the strings as well as the blue-chip at about $4-5 bucks makes this a real winner and I will be experimenting with other models in their very wide product selection.
Gravity – I have only found models from this company in stores that had very sharp tips and edges which produced tones much brighter than I like but they are very articulate and I can see them being the "go to" item for speed metal and fast playing.
Red Bear – (haven't got my hands on one yet, order pending, behind in production)
*Honorable mention: D'Andrea Pro Plec – These actually are just average on my playability scale and not considered a "boutique" pick, but the tone was really, really nice on their thicker gauge, and at .75 ¢ a pop you can't go wrong.
The biggest revelation I found was that the design was equally as important as the material. The simple math is: size/mass/thickness/tip shape formulated in various ways shapes your tone as much as the density and chemical compound of the material. Many of the manufacturers provide options on the shape of these pics like left-handed or right-handed speed bevels or rounded bevels to suit individual players tastes.
I hope this posting will be useful to all in their quest for the ultimate tone and playability worthy of these fine instruments (...ahem...PRS
) that we love so much.
** Gear used for this evaluation: PRS HB II, PRS 408, Mesa recto verb.
H.B.
![]-[@n$0Ma☩!©](/data/avatars/m/0/675.jpg?1595235761){kind=avatar}
