Spring is here and many a young male’s horns are out in full show, for it is mating season, especially for young teenage rockers with a taste for groupies.The Guitarheads Dark Buffalo Horn Pick is as horning as they come, Rut-Rut.
Ah well, at least that is the fantasy. But when it comes to growing bone from some teen’s heads The GuitarHeads Dark Buffalo Horn Pick just might help a young man impress some girls enough for them to at least clap hands.
So what is this thing, Horn picks?
Well, part of it is just that the horns are there to harvest from hunters and slaughterers and some people will try almost anything (like me, erm, yes!) But still, the Guitarheads Dark Buffalo Horn Pick has its own claim for tone and feel, and it’s pretty.
So yeah, horns and bones, such as whalebone, have been made into works of art through the centuries. Long before plastic was available, Horn, Bone, Shell, and Feathers were some of the few materials one could fashion into something useful like a plectrum. Much changed with the advent of Celluloid, and you can read about it here.
So yeah, The Guitarheads dark Buffalo Horn Picks are a nod to simpler times where man-made materials weren’t that available or good.
So why this dark buffalo Horn material?
Well, to start, the Guitarheads Dark Buffalo Horn Pick Is polished and shiny, in a word, it is beautiful. And it is a naturally durable material, one that, while looking glassy, doesn’t sound like rock or glass entirely.
Oh, you mention the sound, what of it?
Well, first, when dropped on the table, the guitarheads’ dark buffalo Pick rings just a touch and is almost like a US Quarter coin in timbre. As far as tone on the guitar, there is just a touch of the glassy chirp, but it’s minimal, yet it’s just as assertive sound-wise.
These Plectra are lightweight also, almost as though they were hollow. They are very hard and give the strings are real strike when strumming and a really strong “Plunk” when driving out melodies.
And, back to the looks of them: This Horn piece is very dark like ebony and sounds similar.
There is some grain inside the surface of these picks and I’ve read that bone is made of the same substances as hair and fur, so that might explain that appearance.
When it comes to looks, how is it fashioned you ask?
It’s a large pick with the dimensions of 27x 33 mm and that means a long trip from the top end to the fine tip. This pick is not for faint-of-the-heart players, but for those who want to bellow out tones and give strings a serious workout. And they are fashioned with a large oval dimple for the thumb and a canal-shaped divot on the index finger side. That fashioning makes them grip pretty well, plus the sheer size helps the grip as well.
And you say the tip is fine?
Yes, a sharp pointy dagger tip that won’t wear away too quickly with un-chamfered sides with some rounding. And the playing edge is at a sharp angle (I don’t know if they intentionally made it that way, but it’s a bonus). That knife tip belies the fact that this thing is as smooth as my daughter’s skin was as an infant, and beautiful. A Dark Creamed Coffee color that is almost ebony-like and a shine not unlike a gemstone complete the personality of this pick.
So what about the specs, isn’t it time for that part of the reveal? Yes, read on:
| Material | Attack Tone | Decay Tone |
Dark Buffalo Horn | Crisp | Rich |
| Durability/Wear | Comments/Dimensions | Shape |
Will Wear with heavy use | Shore D Hardness 72 H | Enhanced 351 Style |
| Grip and Feel | Flexibility | Likely Use |
Decent Grip Because of Dimples on Both Sides | No flex | Many, rock Country hard jazz Bluegrass… |
| Thickness | Width and Height | Resonance |
2.36mm | 26.85Wx 33.33L in mm | Sharp Snap Loud |
| Tip Style | Bevel? | Approx. Cost |
| Fine hard angled Tip | Squared-off sides | US $12.00 After Shipping |
Now I would expect that using this on a jumbo flat top, say a 12-string, or a bass with bright strings for funk, or a Blues Guitar would be a great pairing.
These don’t cost too much and Buffalo are no longer in danger of extinction because we raise them for meat (If you haven’t tried their meat, it’s better than beef and makes a wonderful tender burger).
The Guitarheads Dark Buffalo Horn Pick is a hard pick and at first glance, you’d mistake it for glass or stone as it is very shiny and smoothly rounded all over.
So there you go, my brief take on what I think of this GuitarHeads Dark Buffalo Horn Pick. Now, can someone find some other antler and horn pick makers?
The Seller/Maker Etsy Page:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GuitarHeads?ref=yr_purchases§ion_id=13034368
Coming up: Right not, in the heavens, the planets have been aligning. So what is the the stars for us? Hint Hint…