Tuesday, November 15, 2022:

This plectrum is a bit of a beast! The BHL Guitar Picks Ultem/Glass is a Monsta!

Now there is a new trend in guitar picks, I don’t know who originally made this style, but these picks are over 5 mm thick and 3 dimension-ally ground for the tip shape.

Often, they are made of heavy-duty plastic, sometimes an expensive one such as Ultem, which is what this pick is partially made of.

Such picks as this BHL Guitar Picks Ultem/Glass are intended to give a different feel and grip.

The Stats:

Material	Attack Tone	Decay Tone
Ultem/Glass	Very Aggressive	Long and Strong
Durability/Wear	Comments/Dimensions	Shape
Ultra-Durable	Durometer ShoreD 83+ H	Custom large/wide 351 with sharp shoulder custom ground
Grip and Feel	Flexibility	Likely Use
great feel but unusual for some	No flex at all	metal, speed, lead, electric Rock, funk, pop
Thickness	Width and Height	Resonance
9.41mm thick not at tip	29.38Wx34.8H mm	sharp, loud, glassy, rock like
Tip Style	Bevel?	Approx. Cost
Custom 3d cone curve	3d cone bevel	$36.xx w/Tax/Ship

Here is a list of Positive Features:

• They feel more comfortable for some people.
• They grip better for some folks.
• They are better for arthritis sufferers.
• They look impressive.
• They lend authority to their sound.

Now, this pick offers all those features, and even has a matte ground surface on the grip parts and a glassy surface on the tip part, but:

• It is glassy.
• It chirps a great deal.
• It is very aggressive.
• It’s not quite suited for acoustic guitars in my opinion.
• It is loud.
• Some folks don’t like the alien feel of a really thick pick or wider end to end top to tip pick style.

I want to say that for me, it is a refreshing take on a century-old device, the plectrum, which used to only be wood, tortoise, metal, or, eventually, Celluloid. For me, the BHL Guitar Picks Ultem/Glass is pretty comfortable and I do have arthritis and tremors in my picking hand (right hand).

I’m not sure I like the chirp, but for some styles of music, the chirp is a bonus, though I’m not sure what styles, perhaps Steve Vai like riffs?

Currently, this pick was a special run and perhaps Brock will make more one day with enough interest in it, but he has so many other great picks now:

Brock’s BHL Guitar Picks Etsy Page Here

This pick will suit certain users as a useful tool:

• Players with tremors or a weak grip.
• Players with arthritis.
• Pros that like large-wide picks.
• Speed pickers who can adapt to non-small picks.
• Thick pick lovers.
• Rock and Metal guys.

Now, conversely, some won’t find it as applicable for many purposes:

• Novices who don’t adapt to non-traditional shapes
• Players that don’t like exotic materials.
• Buyers who don’t budget for more expensive picks or custom picks.
• Those who need to use easily available picks from local stores and touring artists who don’t keep backups that can’t get lost.
• Some speed pickers who work better with tear drops/551s/JazzIIIs/

I would also say that this pick will be harder on strings, particularly with them if you play aggressively.

With a more delicate and well-amplified shredding style, the strings won’t suffer much though. Essentially, how you actually approach this pick’s use will affect how your strings and guitar body hold up (remember, heavy fine pointed picks will add strike marks to guitars without pick-guards).

^{I hope Brock is able to make more of these and that more of you ask for them, it’s quite special and his prices are more reasonable than some custom makers and he’s located in the USA AFAIK.}

I would say, look at these lists and if it sounds like your bag, try it and others Brock makes, a Thumb’s up Recommend!

• Would you buy such large thick picks?
• Do you find a chirpy pick useful?
• Do you like a slid-y, slippery, glassy response
• Are you going to try Brock’s Picks?