Zaphod, take your pick!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter muttley600
  • Start date Start date
guitar junkie said:
Hey Muttley how much do you get for one of the piano key models?
Click to expand...

The ivory

I don't sell em It's questionably illegal here..

The tortoise shell,

The small piece I have is pre 1947 and unworked and as I understand it it's OK for me to use. I wouldn't sell them under any circumstance. The stuff is covered under CITES. see here
 
I applaud your gesture Muttley.

Zaphod, I would appreciate it if you would post your impressions when you try it out. I used to use tortoise picks early on. You could still find them then.
 
I made a few picks out of PVC sheeting and they sound and play pretty good.

I guess my favorite pick is the Wegen Tripoint but it's like $7.50 a pop and hard to get in the states...
 
Man, those are some pretty picks. I've never ever lusted after a pick before, and I can't believe I'm doin' it now....
I did a little reading on legal stuff on that link you provided Muttley, and it seems like the land dwelling creatures are not covered under these laws.... am I reading that correct?? If so, would a turtle like the one pictured here (Eastern Box Turtle)provide a pick similar for myself, and would it be legal to harvest such a creature here in the United States for such a purpose, provided it was only for personal use? If so, how on earth would you get that curved shell flattened enough to use for a pick???

Peace!!

~Shawn
 

Attachments

  • tortoise.webp
    tortoise.webp
    16.1 KB · Views: 76
Milnoque said:
I applaud your gesture Muttley.

Zaphod, I would appreciate it if you would post your impressions when you try it out. I used to use tortoise picks early on. You could still find them then.
Click to expand...

Glad to do it, Milnoque.
 
I understand that in some states they are protected.

A few years ago a buddy of mine was making picks from snapping turtle shells and he said it really was hard to get something thick enough to work with....

However you might check out the Greven picks that are made in some way from the components that end up being turtle shell.... Not cheep though!
 
Interesting. I've never used a "real" tortoiseshell pick - is there really a pronounced tonal difference from tortoiseshell or ivory?
 
They're here!

Muttley, the picks arrived yesterday. :) One tortoise shell pick and two ivory picks. They are very nicely done. It was really kind of you to send them.

The pictures earlier in the thread tell most of the story. The tortoise shell pick is both larger in size and thicker. The ivory picks are thinner, and about halfway in size between a "standard" big pick and a small jazz pick.

I spent some time with them last night, alternating between the two types and some of the other picks I use. My normal picks are celluloid - I use a standard big pick in medium weight for my acoustic work and a medium-weight celluloid small jazz pick for most of my electric work. I also have the wood (bois d'arc) and silver picks that my friend at work gave me a few weeks back that I've been experimenting with.

Milnoque, you asked for a tone comparison. Both the tortoise shell and ivory picks yield more volume and attack than the celluloid picks, since they are much stiffer. On my D-28, the tortiose shell pick gives a very bright but full-range tone while the ivory is a bit less full. This probably has to do with its rounded point profile and lower mass. On my Les Paul R4 I found the same to be true but as I normally don't use the big picks on electrics I spent a lot of time with the ivory pick on this guitar. It brings a lot of honk and fullness out of the R4 that my little jazz picks don't get. (Jazz picks are still the masters of pinch harmonics, though. ;))

You do have to be aware of your pick angle on the bound strings with stiff picks as you can get a lot of extraneous noise if you're not careful.

These are kick-ass additions to any players' toolbox of picks. Thanks again, Muttley, and the rest of you can just eat your hearts out. :p
 
eyema_believer said:
Man, those are some pretty picks. I've never ever lusted after a pick before, and I can't believe I'm doin' it now....
I did a little reading on legal stuff on that link you provided Muttley, and it seems like the land dwelling creatures are not covered under these laws.... am I reading that correct?? If so, would a turtle like the one pictured here (Eastern Box Turtle)provide a pick similar for myself, and would it be legal to harvest such a creature here in the United States for such a purpose, provided it was only for personal use? If so, how on earth would you get that curved shell flattened enough to use for a pick???

Peace!!

~Shawn
Click to expand...
Don't you think you should at least eat the turtle...so as not to just kill him for the shell....?














Or at least make him a Mink coat....












:eek::D
 
true-eurt said:
Don't you think you should at least eat the turtle...so as not to just kill him for the shell....?
Click to expand...

Not this one. I've had the shell since the late 70's and I know for a fact he was dead at least 50 years before that. Came from my Grandad's antique restoration shop when he retired.:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top