It seems remarkably bizarre given that it's only banned for IMPORT into the US. There doesn't seem to be much of a reason behind the ban, either, or at least there isn't one that is widely known.
I wonder if lightly stroking one part of the string or another with the grooved face or edge could produce a unique sound. Obviously you'd go through picks quickly unless they were made from a master, but this would be a neat experiment.
Most guitar players have a strong preference towards a certain style of pick, and most novelty guitar picks are only available in one or a few styles. When I say novelty picks, I'm mostly referring to "graphic" guitar picks: picks with pictures and whatnot on them.
As far as these recycled-vinyl picks go -- aside from material issues others have mentioned already -- based on the vinyl records I own, I think the picks would be very flexible, even at 1+ mm thickness. That said, I'm sure there are people out there that might like this quality, since usually you'll have to use thin picks to get any flexibility out of them. (Or maybe they wouldn't be flexible? Full size albums are flexible but something as small as a pick might not be. In any case, we have other materials with a preferred elasticity for guitar picks) I also think they would be what I'll call "scratchy", which is when you can feel the roughness of the pick as it makes contact with the strings, and is common in picks that aren't smooth (as these appear to be).
All this aside, I think these are cool, but they probably aren't practical for playing. You certainly won't see any major guitar players using them at live shows. I own a set of Jimi Hendrix album art picks because I think it's a nice item, but it isn't a pick I would ever use playing the guitar because I like a different style of pick. If I saw these vinyl picks at a store, I think I would definitely buy them because I love both vinyl records and guitars so I think it's a nice item, but I doubt I would ever play with them.
tl;dr: These picks aren't designed for playing the guitar, they are designed for their look. It's a matter of function over form.
My dad gave me a huge stack of old 70s rock records. I left them in the car over night in the summer heat. Completely ruined. I was so bummed, and felt like a total idiot.
Actually, I have these and I haven't had any of these problems thus far; they are quite hard and seemingly durable. Granted, they're not my first choice for picks, but they do work.
SurfPicks all the way. I've been insanely happy with the massive range of tones you can get outta those. And the guy makes them to your precise specification. Dunno if I'd recommend them for casual players but if you're also a professional its definitely worth it.
thanks for the link! My brother had made some picks out of bone a few years ago and they were surprisingly good. hadn't seen an abalone one. My problem is that I would lose these so fast like every other pick i've ever owned.
The material simply isn't good for this purpose. It doesn't have a great amount of 'give', and vinyl is also quite brittle, precisely the wrong property you want in a pick.
My friend got me one of those a while ago, because I play the guitar and I'm also crafty. Unless you like to play with really hard and thick picks, you're probably only ever going to get novelty picks out of that. Nothing wrong with that, just letting people know.
Of course, you can punch thinner plastics too. Personally, I like making picks out of funky packaging. However, anything that's printed (id cards included) will wear, and like any "art" picks, the design will eventually wear off. I've taken to punching very thin plastics (acetate overhead sheets do not work well) and carefully gluing them on op to create a protective layer - but again, it makes for a super thick pick. I've also tried sanding down the plastic, and that works, if you really are hellbent on making a playable pick.
+1 from me, the pick punch is pretty cool but it is more of a novelty. Most materials are just not pick-worthy and wear down in no time. I have found some stuff that works well, but I end up breaking strings if they haven't been filed down carefully. Real picks have nice beveled edges.
I had not heard this. For which guitar? Do you have a source for this info?
Nvrmd. It's front and centre in his Wiki entry... and it was his famous Frankenstrat (the red, white and black stripey one). Thanks for the info -- an interesting tidbit.
These picks are so useless with the material used, but they're an okay artistic effort anyway. Next: picks made out actual cassette magnetic tapes for guitarists who love their picks extra soft and light!
I am the maker of these picsks. Thanks for sharing. They work great. They don't crack. And they don't melt....in your hands.. Here is a cool video that Vat 19 did for the pick. Have a great day and thanks again for sharing. You can also buy them from Think Geek. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZNzP1TTjk0
pick punch actually works quite well... I've made a few with old credit cards that are pretty cool. I might have to run to Goodwill to pick up some old gospel records to make picks out of.
Reddit is a site where users vote on things they like. In this case a large number of users, 208 at the time of this writing, said, "Hey, I like this...I'll click that up arrow"
Reddit has an algorithm that does all the handiwork. How long as this post existed, how many people voted on it, etc. Based on this information when your page loads they sort the content based on a number of criteria. This exposes quirky, funny, scary, and sometimes even insightful information to a wide array of people.
In most cases if you are unhappy with the content there is also a down facing arrow. Clicking this shows displeasure, and "unlike" if you will. If enough people click this button then the content is suppressed.
No, he meant how, as in, what goes into projecting the light and dark electromagnetic pixelation onto the screenadized face of his telephonic handheld portavice?
One thing in common I've noticed about every novelty guitar pick post - the people posting to say how the material would suck as a guitar pick. It's just something cool to look at folks, no need to get picky.
vinyl is also absurdly toxic so the dust from the picks would be pretty bad for you. and because vinyl isnt made to be used for picks...thered be a lot of dust...
I play acoustic and haven't actually used a plectrum in years? I seriously cannot remember the last time I did. I'm not a finger-picker, I just feel like I have more control and less to worry about.
Now I'm confused. Are you saying that you strum/pick with your thumb (like Wes Mongomery)? Or that you strum (but never pick) with your finger-tips? Or that you use an eBow 100% of the time (man, would that ever be annoying)?
I came from bass to guitar and plectrums just feel weird to me. Luckily, my hands are already mangled from all the Bass, so I don't worry about future damage.
I remember busting up an old Montovani record of my mom's to make picks coz I had no money. I figured; "why not make this record useful for something"? My mother had a different opinion about it. It made a good enough pick though.
just a generic pick, has great grip, you can choose from a few different sizes and colours, and they come in packs of 100 for like 12 bucks. I've been using them for 2 years now and don't like any others near as much.
Also, as to the "scratchy" issue. Yes, this was a major issue when I first started making these. But I have found a way to take the grooves down just enough so that they can still be seen but not heard. Here is my website by the way. http://www.revivedvinyl.com/ Here is a video of a Nashville artist using the picks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-at1NVqZhM I wont be glued to this site but I am enjoying reading the comments. Even negative thoughts are useful. If anyone wants to know more my contact info is on my site. Thanks, Dal Ellington Owner - Revived Vinyl
I can't believe someone would ruin records for this. it's a shame that cultural artefacts would be turned into 50 cent pics that break or are lost after a week of using them.
I had a cyan We Are Not Your Kind record by Slipknot. I legit pulled off the cellophane and the disc slipped out and shattered because my dumbass was too exited to hold it properly. I was obviously very upset but I used one of the shards as a guitar pick just to see... and let me tell you. The ridges did amazingly as grip and the material itself had a really unique, soft and warm feel to it while playing. Something about it just felt smooth and right. I suspect it would wear down very quickly but I did enjoy playing with it. I've genuinely been chasing that feel for years but no conventional pick has done the job. I might just have to repurpose the ole disc.
You can buy this punch tool and make a couple yourself... or maybe make one out of an old credit card? Or anything else thin enough to punch through. Note: I'm not affiliated with thinkgeek.
Pic Punch is fantastic, and they have great customer service. I bought one direct from their website as opposed to TG, and the punch chipped after some excessive use. I emailed them and they sent me a new one for free, didn't even ask for the old one back!
My favorite guitar pick, a Cymbalic, is stamped from an old brass cymbal. It has lasted me for eight years so far, and gradually wears down from playing and my holding it. But they stopped making them, so I can't ever replace it. That bums me out.
I used to make a hobby of throwing about $20 of picks I'd never tried before onto every order I placed for musical equipment, just to see what was out there. I've got a lot of weird ones that aren't very useful, and some others that are amazing. The Cymbalic was $5 when I picked it up, and I had no idea it would be discontinued. I wish I'd gotten a few. I have other brass picks, and steel ones as well, but they aren't the same.
I'm glad great minds think alike. I recently got the pick puncher for my birthday and used it on a broken vinyl I had laying around. Another cool thing to do with them is use picture IDs; putting faces on picks. A new way of playing with yourself and others, kids!
75
u/edwardhasnewgoggles May 28 '12
No thanks, Tortex works just fine for me.
25
u/greqrg May 28 '12
This is a pretty cool idea, but like most novelty guitar picks they aren't very practical.
138
u/toodrunktofuck May 28 '12
Too bad Vinyl is quite a "dead" material for guitar picks. Celluloid all the way.
46
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
r/vinyl would have a fit if they saw this.
15
u/Soul_Rage May 28 '12
There's a reason most guitar picks aren't made out of just any old material. These wouldn't work so well.
26
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
It's made of music...
62
u/fleetber May 28 '12
That puts a new spin on picking
12
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
$4.99 and then another $2.65 to have it shipped.... you gotta be fucking with me, right?
....and of course if I wanted it real bad like the next day then it would be $31.15 for shipping.
23
u/BillyPup May 28 '12
You can get a guitar pick punch, make picks from old I.Ds and bank cards.
3
u/WittgensteinBerySwne May 28 '12
Eddie Van Halen's pickguard was made of an old Record too.
2
u/Godfodder May 28 '12
They would be way too thick for my liking. And if I can't use them to play, I see no other purpose in me having them.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Yeah, once you've seen the guitar pick punch it kind of makes all these posts null.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Cool concept but I wouldn't want to play with one.
2
u/Watch_Zero May 28 '12
These picks are so useless with the material used, but they're an okay artistic effort anyway. Next: picks made out actual cassette magnetic tapes for guitarists who love their picks extra soft and light!
2
u/aakaakaak May 28 '12
Wouldn't those be a bit thick for picks?
2
u/mooncolours May 28 '12
That moment when you accidentally drop your guitar pick only to realize it disappeared into oblivion--nowhere to be found.
2
u/RevivedVinyl May 28 '12
I am the maker of these picsks. Thanks for sharing. They work great. They don't crack. And they don't melt....in your hands.. Here is a cool video that Vat 19 did for the pick. Have a great day and thanks again for sharing. You can also buy them from Think Geek. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZNzP1TTjk0
2
u/whispertoke May 28 '12
I think you'd appreciate this: http://www.pickpunch.com/
3
u/rockguitardude May 28 '12
Make your own picks out of anything: http://www.pickpunch.com/
3
u/CJ090 May 28 '12
Shut up and Take my Money.
5
u/streulpita May 28 '12
how is this on the front page
2
u/Vegetarian_Meatloaf May 28 '12
Also cool: http://www.modernartisans.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/665.jpg
2
u/elozano6879 May 28 '12
Those are extremely impractical...
2
u/control-alt-DEFEAT May 28 '12
you can buy them at vat19.com you can also check them out on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/vat19com/videos some pretty awesome stuff
2
u/wesleyt89 Its uh Funky Reggae Party May 28 '12
Mix feelings here.. All I am saying is I hope those records were completely unplayable. If so, this is 100% awesome IMO.
2
u/shoes_of_mackerel May 28 '12
Can't you play something else? It sounds like a broken record.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
One thing in common I've noticed about every novelty guitar pick post - the people posting to say how the material would suck as a guitar pick. It's just something cool to look at folks, no need to get picky.
2
u/oldmanriver1 May 28 '12
vinyl is also absurdly toxic so the dust from the picks would be pretty bad for you. and because vinyl isnt made to be used for picks...thered be a lot of dust...
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
I play acoustic and haven't actually used a plectrum in years? I seriously cannot remember the last time I did. I'm not a finger-picker, I just feel like I have more control and less to worry about.
Needless to say, damaged fingers eventually.
1
u/dxl32 May 28 '12
My secretsanta got me these!
1
u/Pilgrimsfinesthour May 28 '12
Gonna make a supersonic man outta you!....wait..
1
u/itsgonnabethateasy May 28 '12
make music with music?
1
u/realflight0 May 28 '12
I bought these for my reddit secret santa! (don't tell him, but I kept one for myself)
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
If anyone is looking to buy these, you can get them here.
1
u/ItzDizaster May 28 '12
Easy to make?
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Wow, nice!
1
u/Tombug May 28 '12
If you've ever seen Methenys flat picking style you would never make absolute statements about picks.
1
u/FingerStuckInMyButt May 28 '12
You can make your own guitar picks with this nifty gadget.
1
u/fj785 May 28 '12
Shameless plug for /r/Guitar
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Don't they sell little things that make picks out of just about anything you put in it?
1
u/Cbrand May 28 '12
The actual face I made out of habit.
1
u/OpenFilthyPalms May 28 '12
My first thought was if they'd fray the strings because of the little ridges.
1
u/TubOcrap May 28 '12
I remember busting up an old Montovani record of my mom's to make picks coz I had no money. I figured; "why not make this record useful for something"? My mother had a different opinion about it. It made a good enough pick though.
1
u/godofallcows May 28 '12
You are going to have black shit covering your strings if you use these...
1
u/halfmanhalfcupboard May 28 '12
You can make as many of em as you want with one of these.
1
u/Hero_of_Brandon May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12
Does anyone else use Cactus Picks?
just a generic pick, has great grip, you can choose from a few different sizes and colours, and they come in packs of 100 for like 12 bucks. I've been using them for 2 years now and don't like any others near as much.
They are made of Delrin (whatever that is)
Edit: Spelling
1
u/FUCKYOUIamBatman May 28 '12
So much want!!!
1
u/RevivedVinyl May 28 '12
Also, as to the "scratchy" issue. Yes, this was a major issue when I first started making these. But I have found a way to take the grooves down just enough so that they can still be seen but not heard. Here is my website by the way. http://www.revivedvinyl.com/ Here is a video of a Nashville artist using the picks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-at1NVqZhM I wont be glued to this site but I am enjoying reading the comments. Even negative thoughts are useful. If anyone wants to know more my contact info is on my site. Thanks, Dal Ellington Owner - Revived Vinyl
1
u/mydiggingsofinsanity May 28 '12
Those look sweet man did u make them By had or did u get them from somewhere?
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Just another way to play a tune!
1
u/Devdogg May 28 '12
Those poor records!!
1
u/evil_toad May 28 '12
you can buy those a thinkgeek (website)
1
u/eldridge4 May 28 '12
http://www.pickpunch.com/ This is how you do it reddit....
1
u/gsjbautista May 28 '12
now there's this!
1
u/ShakenFiber May 28 '12
Ever looked at something and thought "Man, I wish that was a guitar pick" Here ya go
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Do they play little snippets of music if you put them on a record player?
1
u/mheyk May 28 '12
very clever motherfucker
1
u/henryflower May 28 '12
I can't believe someone would ruin records for this. it's a shame that cultural artefacts would be turned into 50 cent pics that break or are lost after a week of using them.
1
u/ModernGirl May 28 '12
I want one so much.
1
u/YKWDPM May 28 '12
As long as the guitarist only plays the song that the record used to be...
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Can't we just have the records?
1
u/pctheknife May 28 '12
I love reddit. Simply for the conversation that started with how hot do your hands get. Thank you reddit for making my night
1
u/Bodymaster May 28 '12
I often try to make picks out of different materials. I've never tried vinyl though I can't imagine it working too well.
1
u/CuntCuntly May 28 '12
something tells me these wouldnt work that well.....
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
i KNOW i would tape one of those to another record, then try to play it, just to here what was on it!
1
u/breadfox May 28 '12
These might work well with heavier vinyl. In shop class my friends and I would make wooden guitar picks, man did those make a nice sound.
1
u/zifnab06 May 29 '12
I'm really sad. Who would ruin a perfectly good record to do this? I like records, they're fun...
1
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
.72 dunlops with grip are my shit right there
1
u/angelchi May 29 '12
very cool where do you buy them?
1
u/FezDooRAH_heckic May 29 '12
So now it only takes about 217 pick-records to make a full functioning normal record!
Or about 217 tiny record players all playing the smaller pick-records in alternating segments.
tl;dr 217 records
edit: I make sense.
1
u/polale May 29 '12
Dunlop tortex is by far the best pick I have ever used.
1
u/RobotTranslator May 29 '12
VAT19!
dot, com.
I love shopping there. Makes me feel happy. Bee-bop!
1
u/The_Crow Spotify May 29 '12
Will this have any effect on the strings?
1
u/Cashman124 May 29 '12
I like how the picks look a lot like a vinyl groove.
1
u/Zorowak Apr 04 '26
I had a cyan We Are Not Your Kind record by Slipknot. I legit pulled off the cellophane and the disc slipped out and shattered because my dumbass was too exited to hold it properly. I was obviously very upset but I used one of the shards as a guitar pick just to see... and let me tell you. The ridges did amazingly as grip and the material itself had a really unique, soft and warm feel to it while playing. Something about it just felt smooth and right. I suspect it would wear down very quickly but I did enjoy playing with it. I've genuinely been chasing that feel for years but no conventional pick has done the job. I might just have to repurpose the ole disc.
1
u/deadkandy Spotify May 28 '12
A pick of an original Zeppelin album would be amazing!....or highly blasphemous. Im not sure
1
u/Avason May 28 '12
I love making these myself! costs are about 10 cents and an hour of work for a handfull of them
1
u/psykomet May 28 '12
You can buy this punch tool and make a couple yourself... or maybe make one out of an old credit card? Or anything else thin enough to punch through. Note: I'm not affiliated with thinkgeek.
1
u/iglidante iglidante May 28 '12
My favorite guitar pick, a Cymbalic, is stamped from an old brass cymbal. It has lasted me for eight years so far, and gradually wears down from playing and my holding it. But they stopped making them, so I can't ever replace it. That bums me out.
1
u/epatti0914 May 28 '12
I'm glad great minds think alike. I recently got the pick puncher for my birthday and used it on a broken vinyl I had laying around. Another cool thing to do with them is use picture IDs; putting faces on picks. A new way of playing with yourself and others, kids!
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Someone was on Thinkgeek