Dava’s Dave Story has been improving musicians’ tools for a long time, and he brings
several good ideas together with these picks.
He sent us a large
variety, so I won’t
go into detail
about them all
except to say that
all are well-suited
to their different
purposes. Save
for the Jazz Grips,
all Dava Control
picks feature a
control region
with an inserted
molded tip. The control area allows you to eas-
ily change the flexibility of the pick by moving
your grip, instead of loosening it. Different lev-
els of flexibility in the same pick is highly use-
ful. The inserted
tips are also cool
because you can
get different kinds
of tone and playability, but all the
picks share the
same grip.
The Rock Control
grips with 1mm
celluloid tips
are smooth and
bright, the delrin are indeed fast, and the precision tip offers a sharp point. The nickel silver-tipped Master Control picks are very bright, but
also seem to get really good purchase on the
strings. I liked the precision and clarity these
tips brought to single-note lines.
Dava control nylons offer the same pliant feel
and grip as standard nylons, but with Dava’s
control region for a range of flexibility. Joe
Coffey, who plays acoustic and electric rhythm
guitar, reports that these have solved an old
dilemma for him. He prefers the flexibility of
very thin nylons, but they leave him without
the mass and grip he needs for more dynamics and power. He been using these for a few
weeks now, and I don’t think he’s looking back.
davapick.com
Surfpick
Ra Denney started making these picks from
lignmum vitae, the densest wood on the Janka
scale, but he now also offers picks made from
Snakewood, which is slightly less dense but can
be shipped internationally (it’s not on the CITES
list). When it comes to presentation, these pull
out all the stops—taking these handmade beauties out of their satin pouch produced subdued
“oohs” and “ahhs” of appreciation all around.
They play extremely well, too, and are far more
comfortable and welcoming than I had anticipated. After a few weeks, it’s become hard think
of a hardwood pick as an extravagance.
We tested a Rubber Grip Surfpick, a Jack
Grassell holy bullet, and one of the new
Snakewood Surfpicks. Each had a snug fit and
enough mass to require very little force for a
secure hold, letting me relax my grip a lot for
strumming. Going from light runs to digging
in was easy, too, since I didn’t need a death
grip to keep from losing control of it. The
Rubber Grip Surfpick has become my favorite
of the three. The weight and thickness makes a
smooth, clear attack easy. Denney will provide
as sharp an edge as you prefer, and he’ll also
replace your broken picks, but remember that
wooden picks don’t flex, so don’t try to test
them that way, or you’ll break them.
surfpick.com
THE
SPECTRUM OF
PLECTRUM
Big Rock
Engineering
We got good selec-
tion of picks from
Allen Chance with
the X- 1 ergonomic
pick grips, which are
stick-on, curved alu-
minum grips that will
mount on just about
any pick surface. It’s
not complicated, but
it does change the nature of your pick. These
grips curve around your thumb and finger,
requiring less force to get a good grip, which
lets you relax your hand. It takes some getting
used to, but it gives you control and dynamics
without fatiquing tension. The X- 1 does keep
your finger and thumb from having much contact with the pick surface, so some techniques,
like pinch harmonics, are out. Since the grip
reinforces good technique, it does seem like it
would be a very good practice pick for beginners and players who want increased accuracy.
Big Rock also
offers the F- 1
ergonomic grip
pick, which
has a similar
concept, but is
made from a
single piece of
folded plastic
that’s flat on
the thumb side.
The folded side
curves around your finger, so it also takes less
force to get a good grip.
bigrockeng.com
