As the green in our leaves fades and gives way to the vibrant colors of a New England Fall, what better time to review this Gravity Stealth Standard Reulaux?
You will see the obvious reason that I mention fall ridding us of the rolling greens of Connecticut; this pick is a fluorescent green color. It has edges that seem to glow (because of the fluorescence in the plastic channeling and spilling out of the edges of the pick, brightly.
This pick can be customized to your specs, including the gloss finish or “unfinished”, size, and color here at Gravity’s website.
The Gravity Stealth Standard Reuleaux is not a stand-out as far as picks go, but it does stand out visually. I think the Stealth term has to do with the look of the pick, it’s almost ghostly (perfect for the coming Halloween).
And yet, the shape is what they call a “Stealth”. It’s a sharp-tipped Reuleaux shape, in this section of the site we talk about this shape, it’s highly favored by mandolin players and strummers. But in inclusion to that, with the fine tips, you can pick notes pretty well and this would be great for arpeggios with alternate strumming.
We discuss Plectra and their various shapes and historical ones, in this section of our site. This pick could be called a “Modern Reauleaux Shape”. The sides don’t billow out opposite the tips as much as early picks of this genre, as seen on the above page.
Goblins and Gouls and Picks…
The pick doesn’t feel like a heavy pick, but it is 1.5mm and of some type of Acrylic Formula. I’ve gelled reasonably well with this Gravity Stealth Standard Realeaux pick, and despite it NOT being of gel, it looks the part and feels almost gel-like. It seems to grip better than some other acrylic picks, but that might be my imagination, it’s got me confused about that.
There is a slight hint of flex in this Gravity Stealth Standard Reuleaux and I think this pick would have been marvelous on my old Guild F-512 I once had (I miss that guitar like one misses their first love).
While I wouldn’t use this for a mellow Jazz riffer, that isn’t going to be the case with a bass guitar, on bass this would be quite suited to funky-rhythmic lines.
The edges are very smooth and rounded, better so, than on many crafted picks. That affects the sounds, as it doesn’t produce the characteristic grittiness of many hard plastic picks, but rather it yields a smooth tone. But as a crafted pick, I’d have expected a more even V-Edging as you can see in the below picture:
Self-Sedation is playing on my computer (Teenage Fanclub) and the brisk, staccato strumming with its bright and crisp resonance makes me think of this pick, which would be perfect for that song. (Don’t judge me too harshly for my music choices, I listen to a very wide variety of music.) I will have to get out my Gretsch and try this on it, it should bring out that chime-y Gretsch tone quite well.
Dropped on my table, the tone is a soft click, a subtle sound for a pick that is able to do some bright tones.
So let’s dig into the specs now, let’s see if it might suite you:
| Material | Attack Tone | Decay Tone |
Acrylic (but like Gel) | Crisp | Slight Clack with Thick- ness |
| Durability/ Wear | Comments/ Dimensions | Shape |
Wears better than Celluloid but not like premium picks slightly brittle | 83H Durometer Hardness | Modern Sharp Reuleaux |
| Grip and Feel | Flexibility | Likely Use |
| A little better than typical Acrylic but not at all gripply | Just a touch of Flex | Mandolin 12 String Acoustic Rock Rhythm Sensitive Moments |
| Thickness | Width and Height | Resonance |
1.4mm | 28.17mm Trianglular | High-Piched Clacking |
| Tip Style | Bevel? | Approx. Cost |
| Wide-V With Sharp Tips | Handmade V Style | 10 Buckaroos US Dollars |
- Holds/Grips ***
- Plays (action) ***
- Sounds/Tones ***
- Looks/Appearance *****
- Collectability ****
- Difficulty ***
- Durability ***
- Cost **
- Availability **
- Likeability ****
- Over-All Rating 64% Rating (Kinda low for a pick that I really like)
- Novices: Not a starter pick except for bass and mandolin.
- Performers: Yes with certain types of music like Bluegrass and soft rock.
- Intermediates: Medium-Grade usefulness, a recommend however.
So what’s next? Well, a pick of another unique hue that holds promise as I check it out, but I’ve yet to put it through its paces, stay tuned!
Tags: Guitar Pick Reviews, Introduction to pick site, instrument pick home page, Pick materials section, Pick Shape and Size Section, Pick site index of makers, vendors, and technologies.
