My Signature V-Pick!

Exciting news! As some of you may have seen on social media, I recently received my custom V-Picks plectrums. After trying out a selection of V-Picks for the Spotlight Review a few weeks ago, I got in contact with Vinni to let him know which products I really liked. I decided to go for a pick which was a combination of the V-Pick 'Red Rocker' and 'Pachelli'. The face of the pick is the size of the Red Rocker, a more standard shape and size of plectrum. Like the Pachelli, my pick has a 4mm gauge, with really smooth bevels, meaning the point of the pick is really accurate and smooth.

As you can see from the picture, the pick is a really nice, deep red colour, which makes my signature really stand out well. Both the V-Picks logo and my signature are engraved into the pick, increasing the grip, and looking epic. As regular readers will know, I do favour a pick with a larger gauge, so I find this pick really comfortable to use, and it works well for all the types of music I regularly play.

The tone of this pick really reflects the dynamics in your playing. Playing lightly gives a really pleasant warm tone, but with enough brightness to cut through the mix really well. Playing rhythm parts with this pick has a great natural compression, not too overpowering but giving an even tone. Playing fast, articulated lead parts is a dream with this pick - the bevels are so smooth they greatly reduce the amount of friction between the pick and the string, meaning alternate picking is easy, without any scratchy sounds. When you really dig in and play hard, the tone responds very well, with more high frequencies on tap, plus pinch harmonics are really easy to play.

One thing I really had to consider when thinking about what I wanted my custom pick to be like was the type of music I'd use it for. I decided that, being the size and shape of a regular pick, but the thicker gauge and with those awesome, smooth bevels, it would work well for most of the parts I play. I love a bright tone, which paired with my number one electric guitar at the moment (Gretsch Pro Jet - check out what other guitars I use) sounds great. Actually, it sounds a lot better than I could have imagined, and looks really nice.

Designing your own custom gear, whatever it is, is always going to be a challenge (albeit a very fun one), as most of the time I think us guitarists don't know exactly what we want before we try it. I have greatly enjoyed the process of designing my own plectrum, and have found it rewarding both in receiving a product which I have designed and works great for what I do, but also I have become more aware about the types of products I like using, and the benefits of each one.

Obviously, being my own signature pick, I'm going to be biased about it, however I do genuinely think that this product is great. Much like the rest of the V-Picks, the build quality is great - each model is handmade to a crazily high standard, and Vinni at V-Picks is really easy to talk to, and a great guy (if you haven't yet, check out the story behind V-Picks). At the moment, my signature pick isn't a production model, however I'm sure if you contact V-Picks they will sort you out, and you never know, maybe one day they will be!

Thanks again to V-Picks for their extreme generosity on helping me design my first signature plectrum, and for making awesome products!