Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Philosoful on May 31, 2010, 10:48:33 AM

Title: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on May 31, 2010, 10:48:33 AM
I make and sell these, just got a bunch of new material and a Dremel so here's some creations!
New materials available:
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs569.snc3/31065_117060038334513_100000915537828_91676_2079692_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs586.snc3/30915_120457487994768_100000915537828_105964_1262234_n.jpg)
Expensive shell:
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs526.ash1/30915_120456387994878_100000915537828_105961_3503028_n.jpg)
and 4 that are going to America soon:
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs566.snc3/30915_121316141242236_100000915537828_110534_5401268_n.jpg)
Don't have a site other than a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000915537828&ref=ts) for them yet but here's details:

"Orders taken @ samlaming at hotmail dot com / www.pearlpicks.com

Custom pics made exactly to what YOU want. Free shipping worldwide! Prices as follows;
___________________
Pics = £10 White MOP = Standard, additional options:

(Shell made pics will naturally have a very slight curve to them wheras blanks are flat.)

Green Shell MOP (Which has many reflective blues and pinks, very limited amount of shell left) = + £2

Foggy white/pinkish shell = No upcharge.

Shell grip = + £1 (only availible on the 2 previous shells, this is where I leave the shell on one side of the pic (except the tip) & carve out the middle so it forms a groove for the thumb to sit in - cosy!

Black MOP (Mirrorlike at angles/extremely reflective with green & pink relections) = + £3

Paua (A very thin shell (no thick pics made from this stuff!) which has green/pink/blue reflections as well as a black 'grain' on the shell) = + £2



Ad Wise - "Is pleased man $%&#ing awesome everyone should at least buy one to try out you will be amazed. Chords are crisper and tone is brighter"

'Vicious' from the Rusty Cooley forums:

"Ok, the verdict is in, the pics arrived and Vicious is gonna issue a statement of utter truth.

These picks are freaking amazing, and when I mean amazing, I've been playing on a certain pick for about 7 years now, and I'm switching. The picks I used were Juratex Cool Picks, in 1.5mm, they had this weird uber sand grip, which was kind of a gimmick, but whatever.

The picks Philosoful sent me are great. I fiddled around with them acoustically on my electric for about an hour, and the first thing I noticed is how utterly loud they were, I then ran through my amp, from clean to my lead tone, and I was lucky that my neighbors were gone, so I could turn my amp to a reasonably loud level. And even at those levels, I could still hear myself playing acoustically, which is pretty cool.

I have two picks, one which is whitish and the other is uber green and swirly, I think there are pictures above. The white one has this scratchy sort of feel, and the attack is UBER crisp and snappy, and each note rings well. The green one plays a lot like my Juratex, only better, it glides between the strings like butter, and the attack is a wee bit more sweeter than the white one.

Craftsmanship is perfect, I spent a long while just gazing at the picks, trying not to eat them, since they looked pretty tasty.

My only gripe (and this is a personal thing), is that I wish they were a bit bigger, since I'm used to playing on the Juratex picks, these picks are about the size of a Jazz III, and my fingers keep hitting the strings, I'll get used to it after a while.

I highly recommend you guys try them out. They've great tone.""
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: ultrafoxus on June 02, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
very beautiful meterial ..  :D :D
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: gingataff on June 02, 2010, 04:12:11 PM
How do you get flat pieces out of a curved shell, is it thick enough that you can just grind it down?
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 02, 2010, 05:17:25 PM
How durable are they?
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: FELINEGUITARS on June 03, 2010, 12:20:36 PM
Pretty shells - we like MOP and abalone :D
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 10, 2010, 10:07:09 AM
Never saw these replies sorry!

How do you get flat pieces out of a curved shell, is it thick enough that you can just grind it down?

I don't, that's the one thing with shells, it makes for a slightly curved pick but it can make for a quite comfortable fit with the curve of ones thumb/isn't all that noticeable on most pics of mine... Or there's the black and white blanks... I want to try and get all in blank form but blanks are more expensive and I don't make much money on these as it is.

Durable? Well here's a customer's quote:

"I'm not sure they wear at all.  Been using them for a while, haven't done any live performance testing, and I'm not a hard picker, but they've seen some huge abuse nonetheless. The picks I used to use, Juratex Cool picks, wear extremely slowly, and aside from the Cool graphic, they'll stand up for years, then again I use 1.5mm, Philosoful's picks would probably outlast the half-life of uranium. "

That's from - http://forum.rustycooley.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=679

They obviously do wear but they last miles longer than standard plastic pics, I am still using one of the first pics I ever made from MOP now and that was a fair while ago.

Just made my first black MOP pic (only recently been able to find some/had some supplier issues) which can't really be photographed without reflection massiveness occuring but here's the best I could do:
(http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5264/blackeh.jpg)
That's the bottom left black blank from the top picture, LOTS of green and purple in there.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 10, 2010, 12:30:32 PM
Emailed  8)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Stevepage on June 10, 2010, 01:08:36 PM
Got my order in  :P
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 10, 2010, 04:10:51 PM
 :lol: Thanks guys. I'd have sent Steve's already but I'm a bit meticulous at getting stuff right so he's got to respond to my email 1st. Here's his pic NEARLY complete though:
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6596/easyas1.jpg)

Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Dr. Stein on June 10, 2010, 04:38:01 PM
What sort of thicknesses can you do them in?
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Stevepage on June 10, 2010, 05:28:39 PM
Email replied to Sam  PDT_003
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 10, 2010, 08:46:14 PM
Looking frward to trying these  8)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 11, 2010, 08:04:13 AM
Thanks everyone.

What sort of thicknesses can you do them in?
Quite thin, the Paua shells I have are as thin as I go (they are naturally thin so can't be made very thick). The other shells are a bit harder to make thin - I can make pics of about 1.5mm if the shell's curve doesn't get in the way... however, if someone wants something thin as possible and a shell (as opposed to a pic made from a blank) pic, I can make the tip thin no matter what's happening with the main part of the pic. E.g, Steve's shell grip is probably about 4mm tall but the tip is waaay smaller.

Here's a picture of 2 of Lew's pics and one other (Steve's which is being sent today!). The second shot is (a bit sketchy) of Lew's Paua pic showing just how thin it is compared to a Jazz3 - if you tried you might be able to snap it with force but I have played it on my guitar which has tighter strings than anyone I've ever heard of and it can tolerate Nile riffing and thus is adequately solid :lol:
(http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/9559/trio.jpg)
(http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1395/thinness.jpg)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Stevepage on June 11, 2010, 08:23:26 AM
Lew, my picks bigger and nicer looking than yours  PDT_008
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 11, 2010, 03:31:32 PM
haha :-p

Sam hasn't shown the pièce de résistance pick, yet :-p
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Stevepage on June 11, 2010, 03:53:36 PM
 touché  8)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: MDV on June 11, 2010, 04:56:48 PM
I'll give 'em a shot. Email sent.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 12, 2010, 10:44:36 PM
Weekends = I = rather busy thus shall get these out soon. Lew, yours will be sent Monday. I hate keeping people waiting but duty calls!
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 12, 2010, 11:19:28 PM
no rush
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 15, 2010, 08:29:34 AM
Here's Lew's (except the top pic - was going to be his but the tip was uneven consequence to the natural contours of the shell so I re-made it. I forgot to get a photo before I put it in the envelope - sorry!) they'll be with you soon Lew.

(http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/8411/51048357.jpg)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 15, 2010, 03:24:41 PM
Look great. Nice one!
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 15, 2010, 04:37:26 PM
Likewise with your built in the other thread ;) Cheers.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 15, 2010, 09:41:03 PM
Hilary's...
(http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/3121/hil.jpg)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Lew on June 17, 2010, 07:48:17 PM
The shell grip is great!! 8)
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on June 17, 2010, 09:13:50 PM
Cheers man! Your one had a real sweet back as well. If you put a touch of water on it and rub it in the colour goes mental, not good for playing but it is a shell after all - tends to react nicely with water. Makes them look nicer than the pictures!
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: MDV on June 30, 2010, 03:29:16 AM
Just spent a few hours with mine. I really like it. It gets a bit slippery, but the material is a really good choice for a pick - who knew (I know, I was a bit skeptical over on nile, but I'm always up for being proved wrong). I really like the way the pick sounds and feels.

I did a little reshaping of mine when it arrived, and it is indeed a pretty hard material. I'm seeing a little wear from a few hours play, but its minimal.

I expect I'll get more of these and likely use my favourite till it dies. (after the black MoP arrives for the second one that is).
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: MDV on June 30, 2010, 03:35:06 AM
I went back to my ultex sharps for a bit and wondered where the control, touch sensitivity and dynamic range went. These let you get louder and hit harder, and also still give a sweeter full sound (than ultex sharps at least) when picking gently; they dont get too 'plinky' or 'clicky'.

Yes, I definitely like.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on July 02, 2010, 08:39:02 AM
Thanks! That is fine - I am a cynic with gear which is ironically how I got to making pics myself, didn't think much of anything else I'd tried and seen so done it myself. What did you do reshaping wise? I am always interested in criticism (as long as it's not from someone who is clearly a fool) because I don't get much of it :lol:

Paua, although some may say is the nicest looking is indeed the thinnest hence easier to wear. Paua can actually be snapped with force if one tries (though yours is a bit thicker because I used the side of the shell hence yours is more solid) but it is enough to sustain extremely tight-string-agressive-playing.

Thanks again, I love getting feedback and thus appreciate such.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: MDV on July 02, 2010, 10:22:55 AM
Well, I found the tip was a little unevely profiled in the thin axis, and rolled off the string because of a too-steep taper to begin with, it was sort of a little half-diamond profiled if you look down the point, so I flattened it. Most of your pictures dont show the same sort of thing.

Also, the curve of it created an odd angle whereby in downstrokes it hit the string a little shallow and in upstokes it hit hooked the string a tad, so when I leveled out the profile of the tip I did it asymmetrically so that the pick hit flat.

Minor things really, just being fussy. Most of your pics dont seem to have a pretty flat, level profile at the tip, so perhaps its just something to be mindfull of when making the curved/shell grip ones?

It certainly can take aggressive playing. I have a riff in one of my tracks thats fast, hard-picked alternate double stops and chords, and its really quite difficult: it requires a lot of force, driving through powerchords at ~260bpm and most picks sort of jam on the strings and the flow breaks, but between the nature of the material and how it interacts with the string (mostly slides through quite easily, but with a nice amount of grip) and the mechanical properties of it, its energy-impartment to the string because its stiff, I was able to play the riff much more easily than usual, and the pick suffered no harm (a recording of this riff can be heard in my track 'holy tyranny' on players - its what might pass for the chorus, and its too slow on there: I had trouble 4-tracking it at its correct speed, so its reduced to 245bpm).

I'll be sending the paypal for a couple more today.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: Philosoful on July 02, 2010, 03:11:53 PM
Well, I found the tip was a little unevely profiled in the thin axis, and rolled off the string because of a too-steep taper to begin with, it was sort of a little half-diamond profiled if you look down the point, so I flattened it. Most of your pictures dont show the same sort of thing.

Also, the curve of it created an odd angle whereby in downstrokes it hit the string a little shallow and in upstokes it hit hooked the string a tad, so when I leveled out the profile of the tip I did it asymmetrically so that the pick hit flat.

Minor things really, just being fussy. Most of your pics dont seem to have a pretty flat, level profile at the tip, so perhaps its just something to be mindfull of when making the curved/shell grip ones?

It certainly can take aggressive playing. I have a riff in one of my tracks thats fast, hard-picked alternate double stops and chords, and its really quite difficult: it requires a lot of force, driving through powerchords at ~260bpm and most picks sort of jam on the strings and the flow breaks, but between the nature of the material and how it interacts with the string (mostly slides through quite easily, but with a nice amount of grip) and the mechanical properties of it, its energy-impartment to the string because its stiff, I was able to play the riff much more easily than usual, and the pick suffered no harm (a recording of this riff can be heard in my track 'holy tyranny' on players - its what might pass for the chorus, and its too slow on there: I had trouble 4-tracking it at its correct speed, so its reduced to 245bpm).

I'll be sending the paypal for a couple more today.

Hmmmmmm, strange unless perhaps I was testing it on my Conklin's quite absurdly tight strings a little too hard. Thanks for letting me know though. There is an element of compromise with shells and the natural curvature which I always try to minimize but one can flattern stuff out to a certain degree but you're thus slowly shaving the tip away and before you know it your pic would be Jazz 3 size instead of slightly larger for example. However, the blanks are lovely for just this reason! Paua blanks tend to only be sold in tiny sizes (just about too small for a pic) or in larger sheets but at a fraction of a mil which is obviously only good for inlay thus I can only really do it from shell. I'm working on sourcing some green shell stylee stuff in blank form too soon so that should be cool.
Title: Re: Mother Of Pearl Pics
Post by: MDV on July 02, 2010, 03:30:54 PM
Oh, totally, compromises almost always have to be made when making anything. Certainly I'd rather that it came out as-was than over-made and too small! (I just went and tried out some ultex jazzes again, and the extreme smallness is really weird to me, and you cant put material back on, so too big is much better for me!).