Coconut !!!

Elliot

Hi

Bob Holo is right - you can make an amazing pick out of the humble coconut.

First, they are at least as good as plastic. Denser material, so it makes for a slightly louder, more articulate, slightly brighter sound, very noticeable on the lower strings. When I made one, well two really, I found out pretty quickly that the Wegen design is pretty much perfect as far as the wedge and the way it sways over from right to left. The first one I made was for rhythm, and is a few mm bigger than the Wegen all around, with a slightly longer point and rounded edge. As the days went by, I then whittled it down some more until it was exactly like a Wegen. Making the wedge very flat (and smooth) plays faster. The main difference however was the larger dish for the thumb I had to make which turned out more comfortable and allowed for greater control since I could pinch (or "choke up" in baseball) on the pick better if I need to..

I suppose next I should start looking for a very very old tortoise, although they seem to hide well since they are hard to find here in Wisconsin.

badjazz

Great, the palm tree outside my window looks like it should have coconuts soon. I'll give it a shot. As far as the tortoise--maybe you can find a painter turtle in lake mendota or something? I'd get you a sea turtle (they are all over the place here), but I think I'd end up in jail, not to mention that those things are just too nice for me to harm.

Bob Holo

Groovy...

Yep, coconut is a wonderful pick material. Tortoise is actually not all it's cracked up to be. It sounds great but doesn't play as well as (delrin) plastic.

You wanna try some pick making experiments that you'll love?

Get some Clayton triangle picks - glue and clamp them together with superglue to a thickness of 2.5 to 3mm and shape them.

Ultex are great - sound a lot like tortoise but play better and last longer. The white ones and the black ones are good too. I made a sandwich of two white Claytons around a black Clayton center... it freaked Josh out - he loved it. It's a great pick.

Michael Bauer

Elliot was kind enough to send me the second coconut pick he made. It arrived in yesterday's mail and I used it last night extensively. I have the usual assortment of Wegens, as well as bone, horn, ebony and rosewood picks, and the coconut surprised me with how bright it sounded. It's more abrasive than the other picks, so it really digs into the strings and adds an extra snap to the rest stroke. I may fiddle with the shape, since it has a longer point than I am used to, but it is an interesting idea that produces a sound that's a little different than any of my other picks: bright, but with a little grit in the sound.

Thanks to you, Elliot! I will respond to your PM later today. This was a busy weekend and I haven't had much time to write.

As for tortoises, a really big one got hit by a car this weekend a couple of miles from my house. It looked over two feet in diameter. I was so busy thinking evil thoughts about the idiot who hit him (how do you not miss a turtle???) that I didn't think that there was a goldmine of pick material laying there.

Craig Bumgarner

For the purpose of pick making, is tortoise & turtle the same thing?

manoucheguitars

I'm impressed Elliot! I'll take one too... I think you may be on to something and I see a great marketing opportunity for you... "Elliots All Natural Coconut Gypsy Jazz Picks". You could do a large one that could double for an island style drink!

Robert

Michael Bauer

I believe the general rule is that turtles are marine creatures and tortoises live on land near fresh water. But I am not a biologist, nor have I played one on TV.

Robert, did you get my e-mail asking about Django in June? I heard you were going to be there with the Manouche stable. I'm hoping that's true.

Craig Bumgarner

Michael Bauer wrote:

I believe the general rule is that turtles are marine creatures and tortoises live on land near fresh water.

Yes, but regards to picks....? Now that I think of it, I don't recall hearing of turtle shell picks, only tortoise shell picks. Turtle shells are fairly common around here, I was just wondering...... :roll:

Craig

TenorClef

I tried both a turtle and a tortoise pick and they don't compare. The turtle pick seems softer, the tortoise is my favourite brings out a lots of overtones and has a great feel.

Elliot

'Who me, a tortoise? No dude, Sea Turtle! No thanks, I really don't feel like swimming just yet...'

I like your marketing idea Robert - if I quit smoking this summer, I'm sure I'll be up to my ankles in them...can't see asking more than $7 for one, lousy businessman that I am, just enough to buy some strings.

I just finished one that has a Wegen point with a rhythm grip that I like, I'll send it over to you. I figure I owe you one for setting up my guitar so nicely anyway.

E "...not a speck of cereal....!"

Craig Bumgarner

Not looking to go into competition with you Elliot, but if I wanted to try making one of my own, any guidelines on coconut material? Can I just buy a coconut at the grocery store, break it open, scrape out the soft part and start carving? Does the shell need to be dried first? Is there a particular part of the shell that works best?

Craig