April 05, 2007

The F-1 Guitar Pick

Innovations when it comes to guitar picks aren't really that frequent. I do admire those people who can come up with new creative ideas for something quite basic as a guitar pick. I have tried the innovative F-1 Guitar Pick for a few days now, and I figure it's time for a review.

What is special about this guitar pick?

What is different with this pick? Well, it has a unique design. Imagine you had a normal guitar pick, except it's longer, and you fold it over. This creates a fold, and the fold is shaped so that it follows the shape of your index finger. This means you get a good grip on the pick.

I have now tried two different thicknesses of the F-1 guitar pick, a thin and a medium version. Here are my thoughts.

I find that it is a very different way of using a pick, and for me, it works best when picking over chords, or arpeggiating chords. It seems to provide more accuracy when jumping from string to string, playing one note per string. It also works well for alternate picking on one string.

However, I found it did not work as well for me when playing funky grooves and rhythms. I have noticed that when I use a normal pick, I turn it slightly in my grip to create different sounds and textures. I do this automatically without thinking, and this is probably because of playing guitar for so many years. This is an area where the F-1 guitar pick gave me problems. Turning it in my grip was not so easy, since it is designed to sit firmly at one specific angle.

Summary

My conclusion is that the F-1 guitar pick may work for some, and may not work for others. I think it works best for picking note by note on either one string or arpeggiating chords one note per string.

The recommendation I give is to give it a try, especially if you are somewhat new to guitar playing. Old dogs like myself may be harder to teach new approaches like this, but don't take my word for it - try it, you may like it.

See www.bigrockeng.com/ for the F-1 Guitar Pick website.

By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com

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Posted by Robert Renman on April 05, 2007