I've decided I want to start collecting picks. Rare oldies (like tortoiseshell), or picks from my favorite musicians. I figure they take up very little space and it'd be a fun quarantine-approved diversion. Not sure where to start though. Anybody?
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Do you collect picks?
- Thread starter fretlessman71
- Start date
It's more fun when you collect them AT the shows.
IF you're serious about getting plectrums from some artists, it can get expensive:
GUITAR PICK - THE RAMONES - DEE DEE RAMONE REAL STAGE USED CUSTOM TOUR PICK | eBay
IF you're serious about getting plectrums from some artists, it can get expensive:
GUITAR PICK - THE RAMONES - DEE DEE RAMONE REAL STAGE USED CUSTOM TOUR PICK | eBay
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
I don't get to go to shows anymore. Even when they start up again. :-(
I have a collection of picks that I've amassed over past decades, but none of them were bought for the sake of collecting them (not that there's anything wrong with that). My picks were obtained by: buying them to try them out, found, thrown out into the audience at shows I attended, or given as freebies from music stores that I bought gear from. I don't throw any of them away, I just toss them into the collection. Sometimes I'll use different ones for different sounds/feels when playing guitar (I rarely use a pick on bass). If someone comes over to jam and they need a pick, they're welcome to use any of the ones I have, and if they really like it they are usually free to keep it (unless it's one of my favorites or from a famous player).
my collection fits inside a Lemmy pick-box:
A friend gave the new-in-box picks to me a few years ago. I disliked the picks a LOT, but filled it up with Tortex triangles & V-Picks:
these are great when you don't mind (or want) a scraping sound
the rest are mostly Screamers:
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and at least one Dimension:
I simply won't buy or hold on to plectrums that are NOT equilateral like the Tortex or V-Picks above. Teardrop shaped picks should cease to exist, IMHO
A friend gave the new-in-box picks to me a few years ago. I disliked the picks a LOT, but filled it up with Tortex triangles & V-Picks:
these are great when you don't mind (or want) a scraping sound
the rest are mostly Screamers:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
and at least one Dimension:
I simply won't buy or hold on to plectrums that are NOT equilateral like the Tortex or V-Picks above. Teardrop shaped picks should cease to exist, IMHO
I never intended to collect picks, but one day to my embarrassment I found I had a pick collection. I’m not particularly interested in artists’ picks myself, more equipment picks. I have some Ampeg picks in different shapes from the mid-70s, for instance, of course lots of Fenders in different colors, many of the instrument, amplifier, and other gear makers, and so on. Also some studios, like Sun, or clubs, like CBGB.
Take care with storage. I’ve been keeping mine in vinyl coin holders, in plastic pages, but celluloid is rather unstable, and if one goes bad it can take others with it. There is a collector going by “Glorbz” that sells cardboard sheets that will let them breathe better. I need to get mine out of the coin holders.
I had an extra copy of the book Picks! by Will Hoover that i can pass along if I can find it. The history is, surprisingly, a lot more interesting than you might think.
A few pages out of quite a few:
Take care with storage. I’ve been keeping mine in vinyl coin holders, in plastic pages, but celluloid is rather unstable, and if one goes bad it can take others with it. There is a collector going by “Glorbz” that sells cardboard sheets that will let them breathe better. I need to get mine out of the coin holders.
I had an extra copy of the book Picks! by Will Hoover that i can pass along if I can find it. The history is, surprisingly, a lot more interesting than you might think.
A few pages out of quite a few:
Teardrop shaped picks should cease to exist, IMHO
I don't mind them so much, but I DO turn the point inwards towards my hand and play with the shoulder if I have to use them. I like the blunt-side tone, as well as the longer back-edge to hold on to.
It’s okay for picks that aren’t made from celluloid, but the celluloid picks need to breathe, or they can unexpectedly start to break down. I need to get my picks out of these vinyl binder pages. I already lost some picks, some special ones I had custom-made for my son’s birth announcement. I had the extras in a plastic bag and they turned into a camphor-scented pile of goo.
Not very humid here in CO. I bet a few holes punched through the plastic might keep them in good shape...?
im not sure if humidity has anything to do with it. It’s more to do with celluloid’s inherent instability, and there’s no way to predict if it’s going to go bad or not. It could be fine for years, and then one day it gets in a bad mood and decides to break down. That’s why this guy Glorbz came out with cardboard sheets that I’m overdue in ordering.
GLO®BZ - Home
The Picks! book goes into the history of celluloid, and how it was originally invented as a way to use up overstocks of gun cotton leftover from the Civil War. One of the first uses was as a synthetic ivory for billiard balls, with the unfortunate result that they’d sometimes explode if hit too hard.
Wouldn't say I collect them but I have a few. To get started, just go find some picks and buy them 
I have the Glorbz sheets--they work well.
My Collection is more for fun than anything else--ones that look cool, store brand ones, things that are bit different or just picks.
I don’t collect so much as accumulate. I’m a sucker for trying new picks (cheaper ones anyway, never paid more than a few dollars for one). I have half a jar full now. The only celebrity used one I have is from Rick Nielsen who throws handfuls to the audience at Cheap Trick shows.
I have been cought up in a pick buying binge lately.
Some are getting pricey.
$30.00+
I don't exactly sort them out,but store them all in an overflowing bin tray.
Agates,Wegens,V-Picks,stone picks,Telefunken graphites,hematite,copper.Sik piks,quartz,coconut husk.Ultex jazz,Dunlop Triangle stubby,buffalo bone,round,jade.
137 picks.
Some are getting pricey.
$30.00+
I don't exactly sort them out,but store them all in an overflowing bin tray.
Agates,Wegens,V-Picks,stone picks,Telefunken graphites,hematite,copper.Sik piks,quartz,coconut husk.Ultex jazz,Dunlop Triangle stubby,buffalo bone,round,jade.
137 picks.
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I don’t collect, I accumulate. 
It seems like every time I order some music gear, the vendor includes a handful of picks. 
Back when gigging was a thing I could always give some away or “lose” a few. 
It seems like every time I order some music gear, the vendor includes a handful of picks. Back when gigging was a thing I could always give some away or “lose” a few. 
I don’t collect them, but my Clothes Dryer does. 
