http://www.americanheadhunters.com/reptiles.html
This left me scratching my head, surely this has to be a con? I thought the purchase of genuine tortoise shell to be illegal? I've occasionally spent some time trawling ebay looking for any old Victorian tortoise shell buttons which i thought i might be able to shape into a suitable guitar pick, but this web site seems to good to be true.
What do you fellow jazzers think?
Comments
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=11734
I'm not sure the shells for sale on the site that you referenced would be thick enough for pick production.
Charlie
www.art-ecaille.com
I had a pick I made from a piece of real tortoise shell my grandmother gave me from some broken jewelery and I also bought one from them at this year`s festival, and I can tell you what they`re selling really is authentic.
If your in doubt you can cut a very small bit from the pick and burn it, it should smell like burnt nails. You can also learn to identify it by sound and looking it against light.
I`ve heard that in China tortoise shell trade is legal, they seem to think it is an aphrodisiac...go figure.
Previously-Gitane 255
Previously- Gitane D500
The guys at Samois sell `em at 20-60 euros depending on thickness.
But it really is a very special sound.
Good luck!
-Paul
Links:
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/opis/html/summary/lacey.htm
Flatpickin' thread:
http://www.flatpickin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1491&highlight=turtle
1.) Coconut. If you get a good dark glossy hard chunk of coconut you can make a pick out of it that will blow your mind... good crispness... sharp woody leads and big chunky dry rhythm. Best of all - you can get all the material you need at your local grocery store for cheap.
2.) Tagua Nut. The sound is a bit softer - so is the pick. It's a great "big fat lead line" pick and good for a rich rosin-filled pompe sound but I find that it wears out if you use it for repetitive rhythm like a true Bossa. It wears way better than ebony - but it wears nonetheless. I have a local source for Tagua but found this guy on line with about 30 seconds of Googling. If you don't hav a lot of tools - maybe buying slices is smart because cutting Tagua nut slices and thicknessing them properly is a major pain in the backside. http://www.turtlefeathers.com/text/natu ... tagua.html
Shape is really important. The Dugain and Sarod picks just don't get you there. But if you don't have a lot of tools - maybe buying one of their coconut picks and shaping it will get you there faster. Or - just get a Wilton Stubbie - the Wilton Stubbie shape is so close to the design I've arrived at after years of experimentation that if I were paranoid I'd think he copied me. He's at http://www.wiltonpicks.2ya.com/
Previously-Gitane 255
Previously- Gitane D500
is there any proof?
really..
i can get the same sound using a cheap dunlop.
tortoise shell is actually too hard. it creates a really bright, hollow sound. doesn't sound like django at all.
Learn how to play Gypsy guitar:
http://alexsimonmusic.com/learn-gypsy-jazz-guitar/
I know of two pieces of information (one in this forum and the other on a site calle Arte Ecaille) http://art-ecaille.com/turtle-shell-EN/plectrum.htm that talk about Gypsy plectrums and mention Django (how can one talk about GJ and not do so) but these do not constitute a definitive opinion in my estmation and sadly - most of they guys one could ask about Django's equipment are not walking around anymore.
My own personal rockstar/hero, Tchavolo Schmitt, was playing Dugain Ebony picks at DFNW because he was given a handful of them when he arrived. He was playing my guitar and using my Wegen 1.5mm and said: "It's nice, will you trade?" Sure! Truth is that I don't like Dugain Ebony picks all that much but I do like having a Tchavolo-played pick as a keepsake. Tchavolo made both the Dugain & the Wegen sound good. He could likely make any reasonable pick sound good. I have to believe Django would be the same. These guys were born poor - scrappers - they would have had to learn their craft using what they had and adapt to the situation to rise to the top.
Learn how to play Gypsy guitar:
http://alexsimonmusic.com/learn-gypsy-jazz-guitar/