About the small or even tiny shapes of the 358, 354, and 347 (and others), the D’Andrea Teardrops:
The D’Andrea Teardrops might be great for those hybrid pickers. One might be able to use them tucked in their palm when not in use. It won’t be easy to do, though. If you want to start with a hybrid picking technique, start with a larger pick.
These come in at least three forms/sizes: the smallest, the 358, the middle sized 354, and the larger and more manageable 347.
I don’t know if Mahavishnu John McLaughlin used them, but that type of playing would certainly work well with a very experienced guitarist and one of these picks.
The 358 is the size of a man’s pinky pad. It is tiny and would work exclusively with fine picking, such as on a small instrument. I wouldn’t recommend this to a novice. Furthermore, you would want to hold the instrument close to you so you could fine pick.
Their small size and diminutive shape lend well to nit-picking out single strings with rapid-fire and cadenza solos.
You would need a deft, delicate touch. With close quarter accuracy, if you advance as a player, you may find these are worth a try.
We suggest trying a wider, larger version such as the 347 to start with if you are intrigued by this group of shapes. If they don’t work for you, maybe the slight move up to the 551 or smaller Jazz III can work for you.
Only available at limited places…
All three of the D’Andrea Teardrops are made by Fender, also. So you can get them from D’Andrea or Leo’s former company.
I wish I had a great deal to say about these three, but they are essentially precision instruments for rapid, short movements and are not easily handled, I certainly have trouble with them as an intermediate player.
One will see these turn up in collector’s selections on eBay and elsewhere. I think it would be a very curious thing to construct some wooden ones.
The 347 might be a more likely strummer rather than the 354 or 358. Observe its wider angled tip. This would lend well to repeated alternate picking. I’d also try the 347 first of the three.
Welp, that is all I can say about them, I don’t have a lot of experience with them, when I was a kid, I like the 358 when I did leads, but I was younger and faster then…
Now back to the Intro page, or,if you’ve come this far, I’ve got another group of shapes.
