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I keep hearing Slim Pickens in my mind’s ear, which leads me to something about a guy having a fun night in Dallas….
But that’s beside the point. The point (as it were) is a trio of pointy picks I just received. They are made from, you guessed it, mother of pearl. And they are excellent! Softer than stone, but harder than every plastic pick and harder than tortoise shell. With the right technique, they sound like tortoise shell.
I used to make picks from beach shells back when I was playing rock (sorry, another unavoidable pun). They were thicker than these, and rock-hard. Great for that pick scrape thing, and good for precise playing… but a PITA to make. But what I received today was what I always wanted. They are just a hair smaller than my usual pick. But the tips are pointed enough for me, they are quite thin. And they look great. I’ll gladly pay the premium for these. Just have to make sure I don’t lose them!
a slight aside: I played a carved top Epiphone from the late 1950s earlier today. No cutaway, no electronics. Spruce top, carved maple back and sides. Very little wear & tear for such an old instrument. It sounds great, projects like crazy. But it’s clearly a big band instrument. The sound is not rounded; it is mid and treble focused. So the $7K ask was nowhere near my comfort zone to begin with, and as beautiful as it is that sound plus the lack of a pickup means it’s not for me.
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08-08-2023 05:15 PM
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Since Dr Strangelove is my all time favorite black comedy if not movie period, I think the quote is "shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas w all that stuff"
Originally Posted by coyote-1
Enjoy the pearl pick, and "no regrets coyote......"
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The Vegas line is an overdub. Watch Pickens next time you watch the movie. He’s saying Dallas… but JFK was shot there just before the movie was released, so they put new audio over that and used Vegas. Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Of course, you're absolutely correct, and I should be ashamed for having forgotten that. Originally Posted by coyote-1
Much obliged coyote!
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So it’s good for metal? Originally Posted by Chris236
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It does play like a ‘shredder’ axe. Originally Posted by coyote-1
So it’s good for metal?
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So? Who makes the MOP picks?
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Teh Google says lots of people make them. A basic search returns pages upon pages of them. Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and many, many more.
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Here’s one: Originally Posted by sgosnell
Robot or human?
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I always assumed that MOP picks would be brittle and easily chipped or broken. So I’ve never tried one. From this thread, I’m starting to wonder if my fears are unfounded. Do they hold up like ordinary picks?
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Yes! They last forever! Says the guy who received them for the first time just two days ago Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Only having it a couple days now, I cannot speak to their longevity. I can only compare it to the shell picks I used to make for myself. Those held up for quite awhile! They would start to chip eventually, but typically I would lose them before that would make a difference.
These MOP picks are made from the softer interior of the shell. And the edges are nicely beveled/rounded. So my guess is they will last for some time, and will be fairly resistant to chipping. But data is better than guessing, so I’ll report in here a few times over the next many weeks and let y’all know how they are holding up.
The good thing is they are $3 per or less, depending on where you get them. Not like the old days, where Pat Martino used to endorse a thing called the Min’d pick which was stone and cost tens of dollars per pick. Incidentally, these picks I got are fairly thin. I see stone picks on the market and they are 3mm thick… the MOP ones I got are only about a millimeter or so.Last edited by coyote-1; 08-10-2023 at 01:29 PM.
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Some of the MOP picks I've seen go for $65 and more, although that's on the high side. It seems that between $15 and $20 is nearer the median price. I didn't see any for under $3, but I didn't do much of a search. I think I probably have enough picks to last me for the rest of my life, considering the number of Blue Chip picks I've acquired as gifts over the past several years. I haven't come close to losing one yet.
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I’m seeing them in lots of three for ten bucks, more or less, and multiples of that. Originally Posted by sgosnell
I cannot imagine paying more than that. The $65 ones I’ve seen are for something like lots of 20 picks.
I just practiced for an hour. No sign of wear. I also measured the thickness, approximately. Seems there would be perhaps 18 per inch, which means they are around 1.6mm thick. Comfortable for me.Last edited by coyote-1; 08-10-2023 at 05:37 PM.
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Four days with them now. Using one pick only. 60+ minutes per day playing, mostly scales and arpeggios in order to acclimate myself to the feel and to get the picking motion right in order to minimize any “stone pick sound” that might be obtrusive.
Zero hint of wear on the pick.
My strings are flatwound, and that’s likely helping. But a plastic pick would be wearing at the tip by now.
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Very tempting to try. I'm still using the tortex I've used for several decades. Never bothered to experiment with anything else.
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Eight days of playing at least an hour daily (as of last night). Not a hint of wear on the pick. It looks like new.
EDIT: Initially, I purchased only three of these. Because I was not exactly certain how they’d be. But as soon as I first played with one, I knew these would be my go-to going forward. A gorgeous new guitar deserves great picks, after all…. They were waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home from work. Here they are (the one I’ve been using set aside slightly at the top of the image). Best looking picks I’ve ever seen.
Last edited by coyote-1; 08-17-2023 at 05:09 PM.
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Two days later. Another bag of three arrived. Meanwhile, after a few more hours playing time there remains zero perceivable wear on the pick I’m using.
Think I’m set for awhile with a dozen for me, and some as gifts for a few aspiring jazz guitarists I know.
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Don't these picks produce a chirp?I've tried stone and metal picks in the past and even though i liked the feel of some of the stone ones,they all produced a chirp that was annoying,especially when recording.Seems cheaper just to buy a Blue Chip which has minimal pick noise. Originally Posted by coyote-1
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Found these a couple weeks that had been storage for over 50-years! My grandson says he’d like them. I wonder if he is going to use them or try to peddle them….I should find out!
Tom
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They do produce a unique sound. I guess it could be called a ‘chirp’… I’m finding that proper position and technique minimize the chirp. Originally Posted by nyc chaz
One of the things I learned from electric bass is to let the amp do the heavy lifting; I learned to play lightly. I’ve always sorta done that on guitar anyway, and I’m doing that with these picks. So I’m focusing on ensuring the pick is not at an angle to the strings. And I’m running scales and arpeggios and etudes constantly now, to ensure that becomes as automatic as possible. When I do it well, the chirp becomes un-noticeable.
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So I just sat down and figured out what the chirp is. It occurs when I’m hitting the string with my pick, but not producing a note. When I’m ‘ready’ to play a note on that string, but not yet actually playing the note - if that makes sense.
The chirp is inaudible when playing an arpeggio or chord. It only manifests in single line playing.
If the pick hits the string in the correct position (flat, no pick edge) and at the same moment that I’m actually playing the note, there’s no discernible chirp. Likewise if I’m palm-muting, no chirp is audible.
All that said: while my practice routines right now are all about getting my playing clean so there’s no chirp (which of course helps every aspect of playing, which makes it valuable), if an occasional chirp were to come through in performance I doubt any but the most (ahem) picky audience members would notice.
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May be interesting to you
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Wow, two weeks goes right by when you’re practicing scales.
Anyway, it’s 17 days since I got these picks. There is zero sign of wear on the one pick I’ve been using, despite an hour plus of playing time per day.
I am completely satisfied with these mother of pearl picks. They are well shaped, thin enough to not be obtrusive, and solid enough to be everything you’d want in a ‘stone’ pick. And they are beautiful to boot.
I’m not an evangelist so I won’t say “everyone should get these!”, but if you’ve ever been curious about these (or about stone) picks I do recommend giving them a try. Integrate them with a larger order and you’ll get free shipping, meaning the worst that can occur is you lose ten bucks and give them to someone else who might like them.
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A month in now…. No visible wear at all on the pick. Nothing. Oh, and my picking technique has improved as I strive to minimize the chirping.
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Nearly three months in, playing an average of an hour daily. Zero discernible wear on the pick. Technique continues to improve.
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