Of all the types of Pick Materials, Translucent and Transparent plastics have one of the wide t choices out there. These include Polycarbonate, Acrylic, Radex, and easily several others.
The makers of Translucent and Transparent Plastic Picks:
Some custom-pick luthiers use very exotic plastics that are pretty similar to each other. We’ll get into that in a moment. Companies such as Dupont make the materials, along with nylon and Celluloid products. Dupont is just about the biggest plastic supplier in the pick industry and they’ve been around a very long time. They also have a great deal of knowledge and experience in plastics and each type of plastic has its plusses and minuses.
Check out this pick maker in Switzerland. The maker is a Guitar Luthier who also makes highly specialized picks. His picks are made in huge dimensions, are fully handmade with exquisite detail, and are not cheap. But if you are arthritic, like me, you might like them.
Along this line, specialized picks dominate the Transparent pick industry, such as Gravity Picks Company and V-Picks company.
The V-Picks “Mummy”, which I will review on this site, offers a sample that has a rough, sandy-like edge that makes a “gritty” tone. Another such pick is the “003” by Gravity, a 3 mm pick. Many clear plastic picks are uber thick, or at least a bit thicker than other plastics.
Materials:
There are also thinner clear picks, some are less sturdy because the plastics are brittle. However, Polycarbonate can be sturdy even thing, but it’s more expensive and is more rare.
Most clear plastics are harder, in fact, than Nylon or Celluloid: They have to be thicker because many of them are made of a material the could shatter if struck too hard. The grip is better with your fingers wider apart (being that they are necessarily thicker) holding these things.
The Jim Dunlop Gels have a 76.5 Durometer Shore D hardness and come in thinner versions with a little more flex while being passably warm enough for many people’s use. Gells won’t snap apart as soon as acrylics. They also have a snappier tone compared. An exception to the norm with this classification, gel might be a special choice for some of you.
Many of the Gravity picks are about 86 to 87 Shore D hardness and come in very thick versions such as 3mm thick. They are chunky thicknesses that can exceed 8mm for some models from various makers!
The V-picks are about the same hardness, I test them at 87 to 88 hardness and they have a great variety of tips and thicknesses. Their B# pick (yeah, a cute name if you know music theory) manages a softer, warmer tone with its well-rounded tip and gently curved bevel.
And yet, MORE materials…
Among translucent and transparent picks, yet another Pick Material is “Radex” (marketed by D-Andrea). I know little about the material other than it is translucent-gray and has a warmer tone than the others. I test the hardness at a shore D of 77 on my Durometer. In my opinion, it is gel-like. I will describe them on their own review page on this site in due time.
What about the Feels and Tones?
Some of the clear plastic picks have a really “glassy” feel and tone, and the thinner products can be a little flappy and bright. Some can have a “grinding” tone if they are rounded or beveled with a rough, coarse sanded edge.
They generally aren’t flexible, mostly due to thickness and hardness (and most are thick). But the sharp tone is very desirable with some music styles such as metal and hard rock, heck, even country. They can give you a Twang.
They have great attack and the tips can be shaped to a good sharp point, or a really very rounded edge. Some have speed bevels or sandy edges.
How you holdin’ up, dude?
Durability will vary with translucent and transparent plastic picks, because it is a hard and brittle material, so tips will wear eventually, and if you beat on your guitar a lot, I can’t guarantee that you won’t break off the sharper tips on some of these! I’ve seen Santana play with sharp-tipped equilateral tipped picks that appear to be such plastic, so they certainly can serve well. And yet, I’ve seen broken-tipped vintage picks of some of these materials.
There is a large custom shop industry in these clear (and translucent) plastics but most are similar enough that I group them together here. You won’t find them in many stores, though some great stores frequented by pros might have some of them.
So you say you are holding up ok, dude? You still need to get a grip man!
There is an interesting thing that happens with the grip of these: They are pretty slippery, but with finger heat and moisture, they begin to stick in your fingers fairly well, at least some of them do. You may find that you want to use a grip material with them, however. Grippiness with these picks is a bit of a controversy, some swear by them, others complain.
Logos are often etched in them, helping the grip, but it doesn’t seem to help much.
I would suggest that any player who experiments with tone get a few different picks from the various makers of these translucent and transparent picks. It’s a good idea to support small manufacturers and moreover, it is fun. Also, while some sound glassy as you might expect, some designs manage a little warmer tone, partly thanks to tip rounding.
Dude, if you can get back up, give these a try, they might help you…
You just have to give them a try. The tip shape is pretty important to the tone, so try various tips and bevels. Many of them ARE beveled, make sure you specify right or left-handed as there are special bevels for-handed people, as well as more universal bevels. Some are diamond-edged, and some are not.
Since there are so many different types and formulas involved, I will focus more on how they play in future reviews, and generally, they are all very durable- yet and could break due to that if one is really really abusive on a thinner model. So this is the thing: They are generally fairly durable, but a more animated player with a sharper tip might crack off the end of one of these. I suggest a subtle touch. But great guitarist usually do have a light touch.
Alternate pickers and shredders will unite in huge solos for these guys!
How ’bout you, dude, now that you are feeling better, did you like that acrylic? I’m glad you are recovering, hah…
And now, for something entirely different...
A tale of two cities (or was it dozens of, erm, plastics?): includes Opaque Picks next.
Drop a comment!