Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anyone ever tried these? I just made some out of cocobolo as a gift for a friend of mine, and upon playing them I was pleasantly surprised with the sound and feel these produce. For me it feels like it's easier to play, and it really seems more responsive than plastic. Feels like there's less time between picking and hearing a note. The sound... crisper perhaps? More noticable with clean settings or on an acoustic. It sounds very nice, maybe somewhat because it seems to improve playing.

Easy to make too. I had a veneer I made from some cocobolo scrap that I sanded too thin to use for a cavity cover (it also warped a little from the heat off my orbital). It was already about the thickness of a medium/heavy guitar pick. I just traced a bunch of pick shapes onto it, cut them out with the bandsaw, shaped them with the drum sander, smoothed out the corners till they feel nice and then sand to 1000 and flip the paper over. Then I hand burnish it further with a cut up t-shirt on a hard surface.

Pretty fun to make. I highly suggest it. Use a hard wood like a rosewood or maple. There's a lot of folks who make them out of lignum vitae and swear by it. I've heard that all woods sound different.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

nothing beats a green 0.88mm Tortex....'cept maybe a fingernail or 3.

Yup. The ones with the point.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I had a couple hardwood picks that someone gave me a while back. I remember liking the sound/feel a lot, but they didn't hold up too well, as far as my playing style goes. I'm pretty much a 100% delrin guy, myself.

On a related note, my wife got me one of these for Christmas, and I've been experimenting making pics out of anything that will work: http://www.pickpunch.com/

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Mike Hoenerhoff
Elderly Instruments

I file a sharp point on my 1.5mm Max-Grip Dunlop picks - they'll take them away from me when they pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

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"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

hehe - one of my students bought me one of these for Christmas!

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"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Here's what I made for a birthday gift:




For those who are curious, the box is made from poplar with a curly maple topper. Made from found wood.

And then the coco picks I made.

I don't care what you guys say, I like how they play.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

very cool - lord knows i have enough cocobolo to make 10 pics for everyone on the forum (don't get any ideas!) and if i find some time, I may try making one - i have used wood picks in the past and didn't care for them , but since cocobolo is somewhere between alluminum and titanium, I may have to give it a try - btw, very cool pick box! - I made pick boxes several weeks ago and sold all of them: http://www.fretboxes.com

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

pretty cool lil boxes there virgil. wouldn't work for me though, because i just scatter picks any old where; putting them in a box=way too much work for me!

pretty cool lil boxes there virgil. wouldn't work for me though, because i just scatter picks any old where; putting them in a box=way too much work for me!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Nice box . I like how you dealt with the lid. In the past when i have made boxes I just glued little squares on the lid where the inside corners are, but I think that solution is much more classy . I may try hinges soon...
And i think I'll go make some picks now!