Just wanted to let everyone here know about my Rawhide guitar picks. I've been making these for a little while with great response from people, especially from acoustic players. Following is my "ad copy" from my Etsy page. Contact me if you'd like some picks or if you'd like some picks of other materials and thickness/hardness. I'd be glad to make you some! Cheap!
Four(4) Handmade rawhide guitar (ukulele, banjo, mandolin, anything!) picks made from goatskin hides. I hand cut these from leftover pieces of rawhide from my drum making. Each pick is actually two thinner picks glued together for stiffness. I would compare them to a Fender medium pick in stiffness and thickness. Each set of four is made from the same piece of hide for consistency but each one is unique and slight variations occur.
Rawhide has a wonderful, warm sound that is great on acoustic instruments. If your fingers get damp while playing, the pick will absorb some of it and actually stick to your fingers! No more dropped picks!
Please contact me if you have a specific thickness/stiffness request. I'll be happy to make you some picks!
Payment by paypal (prefered) or by money order or even cash!
Free shipping by USPS in the US only.Orders are shipped by regular first class mail in a standard business envelope usually within 24 hrs. of payment.
Photos are examples of picks. The picks you get will be slightly different in color texture. This sale is for four (4) picks not all the ones shown in the pictures.
Thanks!
What my other customers are saying:
"Some feedback for you. I love them. I think I'm going to order $5 more worth right away. Serious though, that was an excellent idea and it works great for me."
Replies
thanks,
Chester
Mark Werner said:
Billy Gibbons' peso coin, John McLaughlin's chunk-o-plexiglass, stainless steel....On and on. The owner of our old club, the leader of the "Gravois Gypsies", used to cut his picks out of thin nylon sheet. Never hit a single note in his life....
So...If it works for you, it's great. Picks are cheap, try 'em all. Oh, except for those 30.00 numbers somebody sells...
BTW...I use standard .88mm Dunlop nylon jobs. Have for many years.
I play primarily 6-string acoustic, and Dunlop Tortex yellows have been my go-to picks for many years. Before that I used Claytons, which are basically the same thing but translucent white and harder to find on the carpet. I like that they're fast on the string and don't have as much of a clicky sound that regular plastic (e.g. Fender) has. Nylon picks are OK but just don't sound or feel as good as the yellows to me. Sometimes I use the heavier Tortex greens too.
When Chester's picks arrived, my first sensation was the mojo edge that brutally tramples plastic. They're handmade by a CBG brother out of goat skin! They're a standard teardrop shape and definitely have more texture to grip, but they're not quite as rough as they appear in the OP picture. I felt the flex of them and there were two that were the same as my yellows, two marginally heavier, and one indicated as "heavy" - a good selection based on what I told him I play with.
At first, they feel abrasive across the strings. After strumming a few tunes however, they get smoother and smoother. As I played I noticed that one made a different sound, and upon close inspection found that the two layers of rawhide had separated at the very tip. His accompanying letter explicitly offered to replace any that are coming apart new, and I have no doubt that he would, but I can probably just glue it up with c.a. Also, I've played daily with one of the other picks for a couple weeks and it shows no sign of separating.
So on to performance... For strumming, it has a great sound. It seems to have a little more percussive attack, but at the risk of cuteness, it's more "organic." Even after wearing in, they have a bit more friction and you can subtly hear it, but it's a good sound with no plasticy click in it. I think these picks might sound great in recorded rhythm tracks too. When I'm playing and singing with these picks... I can't describe it but it feels great and sounds great to my ear. I really enjoy the sound of them for playing primarily rhythm acoustic, which is what I play quite a bit of!
For alternate picking where you're more careful to just use the tip and edge of the pick and you want a sharper sound it sounds dull, especially on the low strings. Also, they just aren't as slick as the Tortex (I guess Chester doesn't put Teflon in his picks), so they aren't as fast. To play at the same speed as a plastic pick, you have to either work harder or play lighter. I'm no shredder, but I don't imagine rawhide is incompatible with your pleather pants. While playing Sweet Home Alabama way too fast (as usual) they gave me no accuracy problems, but I could definitely feel more tension in my hand and wrist over the Tortex at the same volume.
For CBG... well, I haven't really been playing CBG long enough to make an opinion. Also, my little paper-covered box needs all the brightness it can get, so I'll stick with plastics for that.
These picks will stay on hand and I'll use them, so I'm happy. They're nice sounding, grippy little strummers, another tone in the palette, and a little extra mojo which we can all use from time to time. Just don't put them in your mouth or drop them on the tan carpet. -Ben
Chester Winowiecki said:
Not djembes, but close...I'm a potter who makes a lot of ceramic musical instruments and one of these is a middle eastern drum called a dumbek or darbuka. It's similar in shape to a djembe but make of clay and a bit smaller. It's a quieter drum played mostly in ensembles with other instruments and vocalists. I'll have to get on my other computer, but I'll post a pic if you're intersted in seeing one.
BTW happy B-day!