Bootique Cork

About three years ago I discovered V-Picks.

Vinni Smith has an acrylic formula which produces one very long wearing pick that is difficult to drop. Two of a guitarists pick related issues.

And then there is the edge of the pick - how the pick makes contact with the string. This'll determine if the pick feels fast or articulate. Sometimes the way you hold the pick will change that aspect - use the rounded corner and you're faster.

The other thing Vinni changed was the thickness of a pick.
For many years I used a Gibson Jazz pick, very thick, small and a teardrop, not a traditional shape at all.

But they wear quickly. And Gibson stopped making them. When I was down to my last few pristine picks from the gross I had purchased, I knew it was time to find something else.
I tried everything - wooden picks, picks made from stone (agate etc), and then I found the V-Picks.

First issue - wear - In three plus years I have yet to wear one out. So the price of $5 a piece is fast becoming reasonable. (Versus $1.25 for a pick that will last five or six months at best)

Second issue - as your hand gets warm the V-Pick tends to stick to your fingers. Hard to drop while onstage.

Okay, I'm in. I ordered what appeared to be the closest thing to the  Gibson I was using and waited for Nancy...Mrs.V to send my picks.
Fast service - usually I get an email from Mrs V. within 24 hours that my picks have shipped. And an ancillary note; they charge $3 to ship.
No silly $7.95 to ship a $5 pick...believe me, many places use S&H charges as revenue streams. (Don't believe me? Order something advertised on tv, and the second item is "free" if you pay the separate S&H fee - watch how high that fee is)

What I learn is the edge of this pick is different. The Gibson is virtually flat, no thickness. The V-Pick had a discernible edge to it that would alter the 'attack' of the pick depending on how I hold the pick.

I began to experiment.
2.75 mm became a default thickness for me. This is thicker than the Gibsons by two and a half times.
Then I found some 4.10 mms ($9.99) that I liked, again, it was the edge that made them more or less usable, by me. 

The thicker I go, the fast, and cleaner my arpeggios become, even some chording steps up, slap back, for instance.

So this week I just ordered my first (gulp) $15 pick. 5.85 mms of nasty.
It has a beveled edge that takes up a good portion of the outer edge.
I am now in the throes of exquisite anticipation...waiting for my Psycho (Yeah, Vinni lays on the rocker jargon a bit thick) to arrive.

Three years later I see all manner of boutique pick makers, attempting to replicate Vinni's aura.
And many seem to have interesting ideas...a twisted tip, an attachable thumb ring to make a thumb pick out of an ordinary one, et cetera. For the most part they seem to be gimmicky. Who knows?
More choices! Or just high priced snob appeal?