Don't know why the other thread was removed, I don't think that was necessary. Perhaps a little editing, but outright nuking was a bit extreme, imo.
In any event, the bone picks arrived last night. I only gave them a quick run-through, so a lot more experimentation will be required, but I do have some initial thoughts.
First, some background -- I've used most of the major pick tpes throughout the years, celluloid, nylon, Tortex, thick Dunlop plastic, brass, steel, and Redbear. For acoustic guitar the Redbears are probably the best sounding, but they are absolutely the worst picks to use live -- they literally melt under the heat and pressure of playing a gig. They are also prohibitively expensive and really darken up your tone, so I would advise trying before you plunk down $20 for a single pick which will melt if you expose it to gig levels of sweat/heat.
After a lot of experimentation, I settled back to Fender Premium Celluloid, heavy gauge picks. I like the snap and attack they have, not a fan of their lifespan, howver.
On to the bone picks --
They are very well machined and polished. They are also very thick and inflexible, so if you like doing the celluloid bendy trick, you're out of luck with these.
I spent some time going back and forth between the bone and Fender Preminum Celluloid (I didn't bust out a Redbear for comparison). My subjective impressions are that the bone picks are very comfortable. They don't slide around as much as celluloid in your hand. Tonally, they add a nice, very low-level 'chunk' to the tone, without darkening the top end of the attack like Redbear.
When I went to the Fender, I was immediately struck at how plastic and 2 Dimensional the pick attack sounds in comparison. The tonal differences are definitely more along the lines of feel and the I-definitely-notice-it-but-wonder-if-anyone-else-would variety.
After about 30 minutes of playing with the bone pick, the tonal quality struck me -- It has a sort of organic quality that I've never heard before, even with the Redbear; the attack is very reminiscent of playing a nylon string guitar with your finger nails, in fact. Not exactly that sound, of course, but if you've ever played classical guitar, you know the tone -- it's round, it has a beautifully muted midrange, full bass and lots of resonance. In comparison, the Fender is simply 'plak, plak, plak' sounding -- very thin and insubstantial in comparison.
As I experiment further, I will post more.
