Endorsement, V-Picks Options

[derper]

Try to find some way to relax and sweat less. I think the goo might work, but I do not sweat excessively when playing--unless it is summertime in California and I am in a hot garage.

Unfortunately "sweating less" isn't much of an option. Even when my hands are in good shape, and I'm not practicing very hard at all at work, I can get the "cold, clammy, sweaty" hands. It's weird. I hate it.

Now I HAVE been sweating less at shows over the last few years. But some shows I play are pretty intense as far as the material (shown below), not to mention lasers, lighting, stress, energy and the FUN that can also kick in a little sweat. At age 30, and years of gigging experience, I've learned to "know thyself" quite well....and "thyself" is cursed with sweaty, bony little hands!!



Regardless, I love the V-pick and will continue to find the best "modification" so I don't have to revert back to tortex. After hearing the difference in tone, I simply won't do it.

Note: A rag damp with "windex" will wipe the sweat, oils and grease clean from the pick and your hands. Worst care scenario, I ALWAYS keep one handy by my pedalboard for shows!

[Nihilist1]

Unfortunately "sweating less" isn't much of an option. Even when my hands are in good shape, and I'm not practicing very hard at all at work, I can get the "cold, clammy, sweaty" hands. It's weird. I hate it.

Now I HAVE been sweating less at shows over the last few years. But some shows I play are pretty intense as far as the material (shown below), not to mention lasers, lighting, stress, energy and the FUN that can also kick in a little sweat. At age 30, and years of gigging experience, I've learned to "know thyself" quite well....and "thyself" is cursed with sweaty, bony little hands!!



Regardless, I love the V-pick and will continue to find the best "modification" so I don't have to revert back to tortex. After hearing the difference in tone, I simply won't do it.

Note: A rag damp with "windex" will wipe the sweat, oils and grease clean from the pick and your hands. Worst care scenario, I ALWAYS keep one handy by my pedalboard for shows!

Instead of Windex(Since it is a harsh Chemical, try bar soap. It actually removes ALL the oils you have left on the pick. Hmmmm. Try E-mailing Vinni at V-Picks. His E-mail will be in the Contact section. Maybe he will have some tips for you. He always gets back to his customers. Especially when they have questions regarding the usage of his picks.

[derper]

Instead of Windex(Since it is a harsh Chemical, try bar soap. It actually removes ALL the oils you have left on the pick. Hmmmm. Try E-mailing Vinni at V-Picks. His E-mail will be in the Contact section. Maybe he will have some tips for you. He always gets back to his customers. Especially when they have questions regarding the usage of his picks.

Thanks for the suggestion!! Vinni has certainly been VERY helpful thus far (and his wife also!!), and I certainly intend to email him as well. Also, I have a good friend that is a mechanical/industrial engineer and he usually has some killer solutions to problems such as this.

I'll keep y'all posted. I'm certain I'm not the only gigging musician that get's a bit "sweaty", so I'm sure Vinni has some tips as well!

[Nihilist1]

Thanks for the suggestion!! Vinni has certainly been VERY helpful thus far (and his wife also!!), and I certainly intend to email him as well. Also, I have a good friend that is a mechanical/industrial engineer and he usually has some killer solutions to problems such as this.

I'll keep y'all posted. I'm certain I'm not the only gigging musician that get's a bit "sweaty", so I'm sure Vinni has some tips as well!

I definitely get sweaty, but I have the tendency to wipe my body with a towel between songs. Then again, I rock the fan almost like Vai. I prefer cold weather, so being on stage can be a killer in some cases.

[Cosmin Lupu]

If you are playing the Tortoise picks like BEN, with the rounded tip, this thing will seem ALIEN. If you are playing pointy picks already, it's not that much of a stretch. But it does have that Dorito shape!

I got the Dorito pick in the mail! And yup, it's the pointiest pick I've ever had. Even more pointy than my Custom Unbuffed Vpick Switchblate! I'm going to give them a shot and record some bits with them as well.

[attachment=26342:vpick.JPG]

Dorito indeed

[PosterBoy]

I wonder if Vinni would make a Posterboy special.

A Stiletto that starts with the small pointed thickness and tapers down to the point.

[Todd Simpson]

Give all of these a shot and let us know what works! Also, some folks actually drill small holes in the large area of a pick to increase grip. It let's your fingers breath a bit too

Todd

[derper]

I certainly will. Someone recently suggested a bit of "hockey-tape", which sounds like a decent possibly solution as well. Never tried "Gorrilla Snot", and have read mixed reviews....looks like it's hard to find nowadays anyway.


I'll keep y'all posted. I also emailed Vinnie a few days back and am awaiting a response or some possible tips from them. I love the tone I'm getting from the picks WAY TOO MUCH to switch back now. I'll find a way to make V-picks work for my sweaty little hands!

Give all of these a shot and let us know what works! Also, some folks actually drill small holes in the large area of a pick to increase grip. It let's your fingers breath a bit too

Todd

[Nihilist1]

I certainly will. Someone recently suggested a bit of "hockey-tape", which sounds like a decent possibly solution as well. Never tried "Gorrilla Snot", and have read mixed reviews....looks like it's hard to find nowadays anyway.


I'll keep y'all posted. I also emailed Vinnie a few days back and am awaiting a response or some possible tips from them. I love the tone I'm getting from the picks WAY TOO MUCH to switch back now. I'll find a way to make V-picks work for my sweaty little hands!

If for some reason, he doesn't get back to you after a week or so, let me know and I will message him. I guarantee he will E-mail me back.

[SirJamsalot]

I hope this thread isn't too "old", to get a few responses back...


Love my v-picks. Tone is awesome. BUT, I tend to get sweaty on-stage and sometimes get the sweaty hands for virtually no reason. Sweaty hands = Slippery V picks.

Has anyone come up with a solution?

I went to a craft store and found several possible "options". I haven't tried any, but intend to try/consider trying the following options to modify a v-pick:

-Adhesive "fabric" tape. It may give just enough "fabric" to absorb minimal sweat. It's very thin as well.

-Sticky "dots". They are literally a sitcky little "dot" of clear plastic goo. Not my first choice, but it may work if nothing else does.

-Fuzzy/"velvet-y" stickers. Same thought as the fabric tape.

-Spray on material: I know they make cans of "spray on truck bedliner", which could provide some extra grip. But, it's probably not absorbing any sweat. If they made a spray on "tortex" material, that would be AWESOME!!

-Wax: I'm thinking about dipping one "Maker's Mark" style. Probably still not grippy when sweaty.


Any other ideas? I expect several "fails" before finding the right modification.

Take a knife and play tic-tac-to (cross hatch scratches) on either side of your pick. I do that with my "tortoise shell" picks - ads grip for me. Alternatively, you can heat up a pin to red hot and poke holes in your pick around where your thumb rests on the pick - it works, but I've found just carving it up a little with knife / razor blade adds a little extra grip.

[audiopaal]

Congratulations, that's great

I've got a few V-Picks myself, but not all of them are to my liking..
I have two that are awesome though which I use quite a lot

I can't remember the name of the pick, but I'll come back to that..

[Todd Simpson]

I certainly will. Someone recently suggested a bit of "hockey-tape", which sounds like a decent possibly solution as well. Never tried "Gorrilla Snot", and have read mixed reviews....looks like it's hard to find nowadays anyway.


I'll keep y'all posted. I also emailed Vinnie a few days back and am awaiting a response or some possible tips from them. I love the tone I'm getting from the picks WAY TOO MUCH to switch back now. I'll find a way to make V-picks work for my sweaty little hands!

Vinni is THE MAN! Glad they are working out! Also, give JAMSALOT's suggestion a try an "Cross thatch" your grip area with a sharp knife like he is talking about. I'd forgotten all about that, I used to do that to my pics all the time for live gigs.

[PosterBoy]

what is the spray gymnasts use to stop their leotards going up their cracks?

That should work!!!!

[ItSME3]

Didn't read through the whole thread but someone said its not possible to get them in Europe.
I live in ... Germany and I order them online at the V-Pick page. They ship for a small extra to most countries worldwide. It takes about 3-4 weeks but they always reached me (once paypal screwed up my adress and they got lost but otherwise its all no prob).

Great picks even for someone like me who doesn't know much about guitar playing. I think they make you a better player.

Congrats to your endorsement.

[Nihilist1]

Didn't read through the whole thread but someone said its not possible to get them in Europe.
I live in ... Germany and I order them online at the V-Pick page. They ship for a small extra to most countries worldwide. It takes about 3-4 weeks but they always reached me (once paypal screwed up my adress and they got lost but otherwise its all no prob).

Great picks even for someone like me who doesn't know much about guitar playing. I think they make you a better player.

Congrats to your endorsement.

Thank you very much. They have definitely helped me tonnes on my path to guitar nirvana.

This post has been edited by Nihilist1: Mar 14 2012, 07:02 AM

[derper]

ARGH!!! So....my second order is over 2 weeks, and hasn't arrived!! It shouldn't take that long in the US. I'm really trying to get my "perfect pick" selected, and it's really set me back. I wanted to be on my 4th order by now (figured it's gonna take a few tries to get the right "sweat modification" down....my first attempt failed), but I'm waiting for my second again. Also, Vinni's response to my sweat problem wasn't very good...."wash my hands and pick with soap". I feel like he didn't read my question....that or he thinks I'm going to be playing live next to a sink!

Anyway, I'm trying to be patient, because my experience at first was so good. But I'm frustrated.

[Todd Simpson]

ARGH!!! So....my second order is over 2 weeks, and hasn't arrived!! It shouldn't take that long in the US. I'm really trying to get my "perfect pick" selected, and it's really set me back. I wanted to be on my 4th order by now (figured it's gonna take a few tries to get the right "sweat modification" down....my first attempt failed), but I'm waiting for my second again. Also, Vinni's response to my sweat problem wasn't very good...."wash my hands and pick with soap". I feel like he didn't read my question....that or he thinks I'm going to be playing live next to a sink!

Anyway, I'm trying to be patient, because my experience at first was so good. But I'm frustrated.

Try the "Cross thatch" trick where you use a pocket knife and just make lots of X shapes on the pick where your thumb goes. And some of the other tricks wel well ; )

[Nihilist1]

Two weeks is too long. Contact the post office and see what is wrong. It only takes a few days if you live on the west coast. They most likely lost it. If that is the case, get some data and send it to Vinni. Business ethics determine that he will either reimburse you, or send more.

[Cosmin Lupu]

Two weeks is too long. Contact the post office and see what is wrong. It only takes a few days if you live on the west coast. They most likely lost it. If that is the case, get some data and send it to Vinni. Business ethics determine that he will either reimburse you, or send more.

Good point

[Todd Simpson]

Two weeks is too long. Contact the post office and see what is wrong. It only takes a few days if you live on the west coast. They most likely lost it. If that is the case, get some data and send it to Vinni. Business ethics determine that he will either reimburse you, or send more.

If the picks got lost on they way I'm sure Vinni will take care of it. He has been nothing but great/killer/awesome to me and everyone I've ever known that dealt with him. Sorry to hear about the lag though