Saint Guitar Company just released its first set of inventory guitars to the public today on its site (http://www.stguitars.com)! OMG! These guitars are gorgeous! As I test guitars for Adam, I’ve had the privilege to play both Messengers (double-cut): the Vintage Metallic Green Messenger, and the Solid Walnut Baritone Messenger. Both of these guitars are just super sweet to play. The two Benchmark (single-cut) and the Green Messenger guitars actually hung on a rack at the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood for a few months, but Adam decided to take them back for inventory to sell them directly from his site.
This is a huge step for Adam. For the last ten years, he’s been selling his guitars to individuals purely by word-of-mouth. With the new site, he’s opening up a whole new way to get these excellent pieces of playable art! I’m so excited for him.
In the next few days, Vinni Smith of V-Picks will be releasing a video review of one of Adam’s guitars. I’ll keep you posted!
Summary: Thick at 4.1 mm, this is the beefiest pick I’ve ever played. But it’s uncanny just how fast and accurate you can be with this pick! Comes in both Rounded and Pointed corners, and Vinni also makes a hybrid that has both types of corners.
Pros: The bevel on this pick is perfect, and totally different than the other V-Picks I’ve played. Whether you go with the rounded or the pointed version, you’re gonna love playing this pick.
Cons: None.
Price: $10.00 ea
Specs:
4.1 millimeters thick
Hand-ground
Flame buffed
Sharp, almost triangular bevel
Tone Bone Rating: 5.0 – I REALLY love these picks for playing electric guitar!
In my previous review of the V-Picks Medium Rounded and Pointed, I shared how the tone that they produce just make my heart sing! But with “The Snake” Vinni just blew those out of the water! Within minutes of playing both the Rounded and Pointed versions, I knew I’d never go back to the medium rounded and pointed again. Damn, Vinni! You just keep on inventing great picks!
The big difference between “The Snake” and the standard picks other than the beefy 4.1 mm thickness is the bevel. It’s sharper than the standard picks, with a noticeable burm-like edge. When I initially took a close look at the edges of these picks, I have to admit that I was a little dubious. After all, Vinni had just told me the other day that The Snake was his “most outrageous pick ever.” That coming from a man who makes picks that are half and inch thick, for cryin’ out loud!
But as they say, the proof is in the pudding, and I picked up a Saint Guitars Goldtop Benchmark, took the rounded Snake in hand, and started playing a riff. My expectation was that this pick would produce a sound similar to my beloved Medium Rounded. To say that I was completely taken by surprise by the tone that ensued from my amp would be an understatement. I stopped, picked up my Medium Rounded, and played the same riff. But it didn’t have quite the punchiness and roundness that the Snake Rounded produced. I just shook my head, and literally said, “That f#$kin’ awesome!”
Then I picked up the Snake Pointed, and started playing the same riff. Again, my preconception was that the pointed would play similarly to the medium pointed: A sharp, crisp attack that was great for playing leads, but not very enjoyable for strumming. From the first strum, my jaw just dropped. Unlike the medium pointed, this pick just glided over the strings! There was a little more resistance than the rounded Snake, and I expected that, but I didn’t expect how well the pointed Snake would move over the strings. It’s truly uncanny! And unlike the sharp attack of the regular medium pointed, what this pick produces is an absolutely gorgeous ring. I could use this pick for both rhythm and leads – and that’s what I’m intending to do at my gig this weekend!
I believe the bevel on these picks make all the difference in the world, and what sets them apart from Vinni’s other picks! This bevel is special, and really the secret sauce behind the tone these picks produce. The thickness of these picks just add to the awesome vibe they evoke. I didn’t think a 4.1 mm pick would be very comfortable, but I love it even more than the regular mediums! By the way, these picks are about the same size as the regular mediums, so it was a good comparison. The funny thing is that I hold these thicker picks even lighter than the regular mediums. The Snake seems to grip you, as opposed the converse. I guess that’s why Vinni named the pick “The Snake.” It really feels like it’s holding me while I’m playing.
Okay Vinni, I have to agree. These really are your most outrageous picks! For more information, go to http://www.v-picks.com
Summary: Super-fast, super-responsive plectrums that will take your guitar playing to another level!
Pros: Whether you play with pointy or rounded corners, these picks will give you more technical accuracy, and sweeter tone than you can imagine!
Cons: None.
Price: $4.00 ea
Specs:
Hand-ground and hand-buffed
Various thicknesses available
Tone Bone Rating: 5.0 – Like Red Bear picks, once you play with picks like these, you’ll never go back to your old picks.
Okay, I’m sold. V-Picks are absolutely awesome! Yeah, I’m a Red Bear lover, but I love these equally, but for kind of different reasons and applications. For acoustic, my Red Bears absolutely rule. I couldn’t wait to get home to do yet another comparison test, and for flatpicking and strumming on an acoustic, my Red Bears (Style B Medium and Heavy), completely did it for me. They produce rich and warm tones, and chime like I’ve never heard from my guitar. They really are a strummer’s dream come true. But for all-around electric playing, V-Picks, especially the medium sized pointed and rounded picks, just make my heart sing! Not that the Red Bears sound bad on electric- they don’t. But there’s something about the brighter tones the V-Picks produce compared to the natural, warm tone of the Red Bears, that sound much more pleasing to me on electric guitar. Of course, this all boils down to personal preference as I mentioned in my previous article from earlier today.
So what’s the big deal? It’s all in the sound, baby! And to demonstrate, I created a sound sample. In the sample, I play a scale in E major starting on the 3rd string on the 9th fret. The first clip is with the Dunlop Tortex Medium (Orange), to provide a reference point. The second clip is played with the V-Picks Medium Rounded, and the third clip is played with V-Picks Medium Pointed.
If you listen carefully, the difference in how the clips sound is subtle, but important. With the Tortex, there is actually a very slight delay between when a string is struck and when sound is produced. It kind of screwed me up when I moved to the medium rounded, but the thing to notice there is that the tone is thicker and much more well-rounded. In the third clip, I moved to the pointed pick. I got the same bright tone that the Tortex produced, but the tone is much smoother and more refined and defined.
Another huge difference in playing the three scales was that with the Tortex, I didn’t feel like I had much control. Even though I stayed on tempo (I had a metronome set at 120bps that I was playing to), I no longer felt confident with that pick. On the other hand, with the V-Picks picks, I felt like I was in total control, and in fact, felt like I could go A LOT faster!
I could write more, but why? The sound bite says it all! And no, I didn’t purposely play bad with the Tortex. In fact, if anything, I tried to be as accurate as possible with the Tortex so I could give a fair representation. I was even a bit sloppy with the second clip, using the medium rounded, but the tone was so much smoother than the Tortex, despite my technical mistakes.
My days of buying bags of cheap-ass picks are over, folks! With my V-Picks and Red Bears, I’m now in tonal heaven! I can’t say enough about these picks, folks! You gotta go out and try them!
As many may know, after 35+ years of playing, I switched from my favorite picks, medium Dunlop Tortex, to Red Bear picks. Since then, my playing has really taken on a different dimension. I feel a lot more confident with my playing as these thick, natural feeling picks have made me much more accurate, and really bring out the tone of my guitars. It’s truly amazing!
But over the past weekend, my friend Adam Hernandez of Saint Guitar Company, called me up and told me about his friend Vinni Smith, creator of the V-Pick, another high-end pick. In our conversation, he shared that he had told Vinni about my site, and told him to contact me to see if I’d review his picks.
I had heard of V-Picks from people on the various forums I either lurk or participate in, and I was very curious about them, and wondered how they’d compare to my beloved Red Bears. So I beat Vinni to the punch, and contact him, at which point he said he’d send me a few to check out.
I finally got them yesterday. I guess Vinni’s idea of “sending a few” is much different than mine. I was thinking he’d send maybe three or four; instead, he sent me pretty much the spectrum of the picks he makes! What a guy!
Anyway, I was too tired to test them out last night, so I decided to try a few out at a church service I did this morning. I also took my Red Bears to do a head-to-head comparison. Just as expected, these picks had the same effect on me that the Red Bears have. When you’re playing effortlessly, and the strings chime like they’ve never chimed before, it evokes a visceral, almost primitive feeling that takes you to another dimension. That’s what playing with a great pick does for me, at least.
So considering how V-Picks also evoke the same type of emotions in me as my Red Bears, how do I rate them? Well, of course, I have to give them a 5 Tone Bones score. But if you were ask me which are better, I’m going to be completely non-committal and say that it really boils down to personal preference. To me, they both kick ass! But let me take some time to share some of my insights on how they stack up against each other:
Feel
With respect to feel in my hand, both Red Bear and V-Picks feel great. But the big difference for me is that the Red Bears feel – for lack of a better word – natural. They really do feel like natural tortoise shell. Please don’t read this as a negative with respect to a V-Pick. It also feels great. It’s just different.
Tone
For this test, I chose a similarly sized and pointed V-Pick to compare against a Red Bear Style B Heavy pick. With strumming, both picks produced gorgeous, warm and ringing tone. But I could detect a bit more highs out of the V-Pick, which made the tone sound just a tad bit more lively, while a strum with the Red Bear was much more balanced. Both tones were fantastic, though, so no clear winner in this department. However, I did also test out a couple of the really pointy V-Picks that Vinni sent to me, and whoa! These sounded awesome for picking individual strings. They also produced a very bright, almost jangly tone during strumming. Since I didn’t have anything equivalent with a Red Bear, I couldn’t make a comparison, though I imagine the response would be similar.
But here’s a very interesting thing that I found myself inadvertently doing during my little gig this morning. Depending upon the song, I’d use a different pick to elicit different sounds from my acoustic. When I wanted a really bright sound, I’d use the V-Picks pointy. When I wanted a warm, rich strum, I’d use the Red Bear. Something in the middle, I’d use a rounded V-Pick. I don’t know how practical that is with a full band, but it sure worked for me working solo, where it was just me and my acoustic.
And the winner is…
Neither or Both. Er… There is no winner. For me what it boils down to is personal preference. Both picks are awesome-sounding. And based upon my experience this morning, I’m going to start buying both kinds because of the different shades of tones I can get out each. I’ve read some lively discussions comparing these, but frankly, most of the people who contributed to these discussions had played only one kind of either. I’ve had the fortune to play a few styles of both, which explains while I’m very non-committal about declaring a clear winner; because from my point of view, there simply isn’t one with respect to feel and tone.
So I’m going to endorse both picks because they’re both great. But if you’re after advice on which to choose, then choose one based on how it feels. I love the feel of the Red Bear, maybe a tad bit better than the V-Pick. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a better pick, which is why I recommend you play both kinds and make a decision on what feels best for you. I will add that Red Bear doesn’t have a super pointy pick, so if you’re after something like that, then V-Picks is what you’re looking for!
Notice I didn’t mention anything about price. If it boiled down to that, then V-Picks wins hands-down. Most V-Picks cost $4.00, while Red Bears cost $20.00. But be aware that Red Bear picks are rough-cut, then hand shaped, so there’s lot of labor that goes into them, plus you’re dealing with a polymer made from a natural source. On the other hand, V-Picks are molded, then buffed, so the labor is a lot less.
CORRECTION: (2/11/09 )Vinni contacted me about how he makes his picks. Actually only a few are molded, the rest are cut and hand ground. So my bad…
Personally, price of the picks is one topic on this blog where I’ll say that is less important a factor in the decision-making process, which kind of goes against the grain of what GuitarGear.org is all about. The reason I’m de-emphasizing price is because on the grand scale of things, once you’ve spent a few grand on guitars and amps, whether you spend $4 or $20 on a pick is pretty inconsequential. So the decision should rest on how the pick feels and sounds to you.
Finally…
The one thing that V-Picks does have over Red Bear picks, is that because the picks are made from acrylic, Vinni can offer a much greater range of thicknesses with his picks. For instance, he can go all the way down to .5mm. I have one of these and while it flexes like my Dunlop Tortex, it still beats the shit out of it. On the other hand, because of the material, Red Bear picks start at 1.0 mm. But I do have to say that I don’t know for sure if there is a lower limit. It could be there is, but perhaps there’s just not demand for picks thinner than a millimeter. Be that as it may, with either V-Picks are Red Bear, you have a variety of styles to choose from.
Another thing you might consider is durability. V-Picks are acrylic, and that is a VERY hard material. It’s tough to scratch, and from what I could tell, these picks will not wear down very quickly. Red Bear picks on the other hand, do wear down, and as they are made from a natural material, need some special care. You occasionally have to rebuff them. But frankly, it’s something I’d expect from a more expensive pick made from natural material. But if you don’t want to fuss with that kind of stuff, then V-Picks is the answer.
As a special treat, I found a video of Vinni Smith giving a lesson on YouTube. This dude is a BAD-ASS guitar player! Rock on, Vinni!
Saint Guitar Company just released its first set of inventory guitars to the public today on its site (http://www.stguitars.com)! OMG! These guitars are gorgeous! As I test guitars for Adam, I’ve had the privilege to play both Messengers (double-cut): the Vintage Metallic Green Messenger, and the Solid Walnut Baritone Messenger. Both of these guitars are just super sweet to play. The two Benchmark (single-cut) and the Green Messenger guitars actually hung on a rack at the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood for a few months, but Adam decided to take them back for inventory to sell them directly from his site.
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