Gypsy Picks

nwilkins

David which Canadian distributor have you tried? There is a shop in Ontario but the one in Calgary has them foe cheaper and they seemed easy and friendly to deal with (however I didn't order a GJ style).

drolling

Stringman is the distributor I've been talking to off & on about these picks for about a year.

Guy who runs it's a folkie who does the biz in his spare time.

Elderly, the online store I got my Gitanes from also stocks Tortis, but they've been backordered every time I checked.

Paul, thanks for the suggestion to go straight to Redbear. Years ago I tried to insinuate myself into Dave's acoustic discussion board, but my grass just ain't blue enough, I guess...

Bob Holo

I've made picks in this way, but found no advantage over laminating premade picks together and shaping them. Ultimately, they sound like (and wear like) plastic. Dow DER330 and DER383 are bisphenol resins with the approximate feel (330 is a bit softer) if you really feel the need to try this. Be careful - too much of this stuff in your lungs and you'll be struggling to do 3rd grade math... I've had good success with some other materials that I will not get into here because they are just flat dangerous to make. If you REALLY want a tortoise shell sounding pick, Golden Gate makes some picks called "Mock Turtle" that are darned good. None of these other turtle-like plastics even come close to the Golden Gate. Get the big triangular ones and shape them / laminate them etc...

The good news is that you can make pretty darned good picks inexpensively with relative safety Just get big triangular picks made of material you like - and bond them together with super glue. Get some picks - some super glue - a couple of chunks of HDPE (or something else that doesn't stick to super glue... wax paper etc... Put the picks together - tape them on one side so that you have a hinge to keep the picks from slipping around... open the hinge... put a decent amount of super glue on... close the picks together using the hinge - sandwich them between HDPE or waxpaper coated wood & clamp till dry... then shape picks.

Some decent picks to try... Clayton Ultex, Clayton Acetal or Black Jazz (very similar) - and any "old school" celluloid (Fender / Gibson / DAndrea) Your results will be better than if you try to float epoxy resin on wax paper - and your brain cells will thank you. Better yet, go get a coconut and use that to shape picks... I swear... it's great material. By the way, Delrin is a form of Acetal... the "Tortex" picks you see so much of are Delrin (Acetal)... I like Clayton's Acetal though... seems harder and more slippery... could just be my imagination.

Mark

Here's a short video (you may need the DIVX codec if you don't have it) for those of you who want to make your own picks.

I started with a slab of acetal approx 4mm thick. Attached to one face is the self adhesive print out of the shape I want to create.

I tried to demonstrate hand tools that are readily available to everyone for very little cost. The final picture doesn't do it justice really. In a good light the pick is highly polished and shoots across the strings.

In the sanding process I use all grits from about 180 to 2000. They are used either wrapped around sticks or folded in my fingers.

The final sand is with 2000 wet/dry using Brasso as a lubricant. I also use Brasso with soft cloth and buff to a high shine on the bevels.

I'd love to hear/see what other players do to make their picks.

Cheers Mark

pdaigle

I contacted Dave at Red Bear Trading about getting a pick made that was thicker than 2.5mm. Here is his reply:

Patrick,

Right now the thickest I can go is about 3mm or so. However, if you can
play with a pick whose surface is not perfectly smooth, I can cut you
one from my raw material which is almost 4mm thick. The playing edges
would be nice and polished, but the gripping surface would not be smooth.

Dave

--
Dave Skowron
Red Bear Trading Co., Ltd.

Bob Holo

Nice video, Mark.

My technique is similar... but uses more power tools (which can be dangerous) so your technique is probably best for DIY. I use a thickness sander, a bandsaw, a bench sander, a buffer... the same basics are there, though. The big variables to play with are 1.) material composition 2.) material thicknessl 3.) width of the angle of the edge 4.) angle of the bevel 5.) degree to which the bevel comes around to the point or is merely on the sides 6.) sharpness of the point.

One thing I can add is that if you use a fine grade of "sandpaper sponge" to take the file scratches out, you'll find that it does a respectable job of blending - two birds with one stone and both done flawlessly. Just hit it at a low angle so that you don't change the bevel too much as you remove scratches. You'll have to expiriment with it a bit but you'll see what I mean - try it once and you'll be hooked. Also - for polishing - I use micromesh sandpaper backed to a soft density rubber - just keep it wet so it doesn't load. Then I polish with 10,000 grit aluminum oxide on foam. You can see yourself in the reflection on the bevel

Mark

Thanks, Bob.

I agree, there is a lot of what I did on the video that can be done by machine. Infact with a few simple jigs the whole process could be very easily streamlined. But for the DIY'er the fretsaw and the file are fairly harmless - a trip to the first aid cupboard is preferable to the emergency room! Particularly if you want to use the pick at the end of this process.

You're right too about the variations of design, method and composition...they all play a part in producing the pick that is right for 'you'.

I have used sanding sponges too. They're great and they're much more comfortable to hold. They probably do a better job of blending any unwanted arris' too because they fold to a natural round - they don't tend to split like paper can.

I'm heading out now to get the 10,000 grit aluminum oxide - that's the sort of perfection I look for in my work - nice suggestion!

Cheers Mark

Bob Holo

Cool - always happy to help another person who shares in my perfectionist neuroses.

I'm not sure which brands you have in Australia, but in the states, the micromesh easiest to get is from Mirka Abrasives whose Abralon line of abrasives is foam rubber backed and goes up to 4,000 grit. http://www.woodessence.com/abrasivesdefault.html

The silicon oxide comes in gel form called "NicSand" and it's good for quite a few things - I use it for pick making - for final polishing on polyurethane woodworking projects, and for taking scratches out of CDs. It's wonderful stuff http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NicSand- ... enameZWD1V

doctordragon

Has anybody tried the Dunlop Primetones? They seem to be interesting (never tried them) but are hard to find...

Powerfibers

The Primetone are very Wegen looking, but only useful as a backup in my opinion. The model I have is thicker than a standard Gypsy Jazz Wegen, the bevel is close but the tip pointier than the Wegen. The material feels not quite as hard and slick. Hard to describe...airy feeling compared to the more dense bowling ball feel of the Wegen. Definitely worth getting a bunch if you want to try to modify them.

Did that make any sense at all?