Anyone used a wooden guitar pick? Saw them in a music shop and on ebay -- they look so luxuriously tempting. Are they worth the cash in the same way that nice rosewood knitting needles are? :)
Cool idea! It would depend on the wood, I suspect. Roundwounds would chew up any wooden pick in short order, wouldn't they?
I have a lot of cowbone stock (the dog splinters his chew toys) & have been thinking about cutting some picks from that....
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
I've tried wood (and metal, cardboard, various plastics, hard rubber, and other stuff). I made a pick from basswood that had a nice mellow tone, but it didn't last very long. Crow's speculation is right, roundwounds chew up soft wood, and the nicks/chips/splinters that result give you an uncontrolled sound (and inhibit your picking motion).
I suppose you could make a pick from a hardwood like mahogany, or maybe even ironwood, that would be durable enough to work with. But it sure strikes me as a labor intensive process to shape and polish - plus it's hard to work small pieces of wood precisely, as there's not much surface for a clamp or vice to hold your work - and even less room for your tools.
The basswood one I did years ago I did by splitting a small block along the grain with a chisel, cutting out the basic shape with a coping saw, and then doing edge shaping with a pocket knife. It was probably 4-5mm thick when finished, and felt pretty good. If I'd used a harder wood, I probably would have tried a small vise with a Dreml tool to shape the edges. But then I would have had to make my blank with a table saw or something, because hardwoods don't tend to split nearly as cleanly as softwoods.
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I use them all the time. They last longer than regular picks by far.
Most of the ones I've seen advertised seem to be made from what I'd call fairly exotic hardwoods, stuff like mahogany and ... oh I forget the names, the sorts of things I expect to come from equally exotic locations :)
I use ebony, rosewood, blackwood and even boxwood. The same manufacturer makes a horn and bone pick too.
I'd say the wood picks have a warmer tone, a bit muted and the horn and bone have a glassy tone to them while still maintaining some of the warmth.
I use ebony, rosewood, blackwood and even boxwood. The same manufacturer makes a horn and bone pick too.
Thanks for the info, maybe I'll try some different picks -- seems like there's lots of variety about.
"Wooden Picks, on the water..." - CSN
Pretty sure those are arrow heads and you get them from the stone age.
Though googling neothlithic guitar picks I found this: http://www.findsbook.com/forum/field-walkers/2244-neolithic-period.html , so time to hone those flint knapping skills?
Pretty sure those are arrow heads and you get them from the stone age.
Though googling neothlithic guitar picks I found this: http://www.findsbook.com/forum/field-walkers/2244-neolithic-period.html , so time to hone those flint knapping skills?
Flintknapping's something my husband's interested in, though he's not actually tried it :>
"Wooden Picks, on the water..." - CSN
OK.. thats funny. :)
Ive never used one....and frasnkly dont use a pick at all, but it would be dooable to make them. Take a blank of some hardwood, and cut the basic shape out most of the way with a dremel router attachment, or a scroll saw, then make slices with a band saw... trim, file, and sand to finish, and its dooable. Maybe Ill try it next time I stumble across a nice piece of hardwood.
Paul B
I have bone/horn as well as wood picks. They have a meaty, rounded tone.
I also have stainless steel, credit card and coconut shell.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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cool never thought of this! what is the difference in tone anyone?