Dealing with PICKS can be one of the more frustrating aspects of being a guitar player…they’re always slipping out of your fingers, falling into the sound hole (if you play acoustic guitars) and generally getting lost. You never seem to have one around when you need it.
I recently stumbled onto Guitar Moose…a company that makes handcrafted guitar picks with a great solution for dealing with the whole “slipping, dropping and losing” problem. I’ll do a brief review of their products in this article PLUS give you a chance to win a FREE SAMPLE PACK of products from Guitar Moose.
Guitar Moose Product Review
Guitar Moose is based out of Minnesota and they’ve been in business since 2009. They make three primary products:
1) Stickygrip Guitar Picks
These are hand-made picks available in various thicknesses, but the cool thing about them is that they have a special “sticky pad” on each side of the grip area. This allows the picks to stick not only to your fingers, but also to your guitar body or anything else you stick them to. It’s an elegant solution to a common problem that doesn’t require fancy pick holders or any other equipment…you just stick it and it stays put.
2) Softgrip Guitar Picks
The Softgrip picks are designed to be more comfortable to hold, and to enable you to practice and play for longer periods of time. These picks aren’t sticky, but they feel really comfortable between your fingers, and they help decrease arm and hand fatigue. These might work well for your guitar students, and also for yourself when you teach back-to-back lessons all day.
3) Stickydots
Stickydots are actually really cool! They took the same “sticky pad” material used to make the Stickygrip picks I mentioned above and cut them into small circles you can stick anywhere. This is a great way to secure your traditional picks if you’d prefer not to switch to a new brand. Each package comes with 3 Stickydots and they’re available in various colors to match whatever you want to stick them to.
I really like these picks…especially the Stickygrips. And the prices are affordable…you can pick up a “Player’s Pack” from Guitar Moose for only $20.00 and try them out to see if you like them or not. I’m sure you will!
Free Giveaway
I recently hooked up with Alex from Guitar Moose on Twitter, and we started talking about stuff. He sent me a package of his products to check out, which included the following:
- (5) packs of Stickydots (yellow, white, orange, pink and green)
- (3) Softgrip picks (0.50mm, 0.65mm and 0.80mm)
- (4) Stickygrip picks (0.40mm, 0.50mm, 0.80mm and 1.0mm)
- (1) Stickygrip “Pro Series” pick
The total retail value of this sample pack is over $20.00 USD, and I’m giving it away to one lucky person of my own choosing on THURSDAY DECEMBER 29, 2011.
Here’s how to enter this contest to win the Guitar Moose sample pack:
1) Click here to check out the Guitar Moose website and see all the cool things Alex has to offer
2) Leave a comment at the bottom of this article (below where it says “Leave a reply”)…in the comment, just tell me how using products from Guitar Moose would help you, and what you would do with them if you win.
That’s all there is to it. Good luck…and keep on picking!
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I am a young grandfather and novice guitar player, and these picks would make it easier for me not to lose it! I would use them myself to make my dream of playing a reality!
Hi Donnie,
I just started teaching guitar a couple months ago after being laid off from my “real” job after almost 20 years. I would love to try out these new picks. I have been playing mostly with finger-picks all these years and have recently decided that I want to get back into flat-pick playing. I am having a little trouble adjusting (hand cramps, dropping picks, etc). Anyway, put me in the pool for this free package!
Thanks.
Robin
Hi! I would love to be the recipient of these fantastic guitar picks. I have a real problem hanging onto my picks because I am a 45 year old woman who has just started playing guitar and, in particular, bluegrass guitar. Things fly fast in bluegrass especially my picks. I have lost control and had them land in my coffee cup, the Christmas tree and up on the ceiling fan whereupon they become missiles when I turn it on. I am just a real klutz when it comes to my picks. I would love to have these to at least preserve some of my dignity while playing since I lose most of it anyhow in my sound. For now. Thanks!!!
Do they leave any stickiness on your fingers at all?
Nope…no sticky residue whatsoever
Hey I think this picks are wonderfull ,I would to know that my picks wont slip out of my hands during a concert.I think many students of mine will be interested in those
Hey, I’m a guitar teacher. I have a few injuries and my hands fatigue quickly. And so those Softgrip Guitar Picks sound cool. I hope I win the sample pack!
Hey, Donnie! Been listening to your podcast voraciously for the past couple of weeks now. I’m a pick fanatic and am always experimenting with various pick materials, brands, and styles. I even did a review on my YouTube page (Click on my Name) all about picks. I’ve settled on two: Dunlop Tortex 1.14mm and D’Andrea Pro Plec Standard 1.5mm. Would be nice to get a set of these Guitar Moose picks & see how they play & sound :) Best of luck to everyone!
Eric
Cool! Thanks Eric…I’ll be choosing a winner Thursday morning. Good luck!
Thank you for this fun giveaway! I’ve just strummed my guitar with my bare fingers all of my life, but lately, I’ve been thinking about getting a pick. These look great, and I’d love to give them a try.
Also, I’m in the process of setting up a teaching business, and just signed up my first 5 students. It would be nice to share some of these picks with them——maybe as an incentive for practicing…
Thanks again!
Just wanted to check back in and let you know that I received the Guitar Moose picks that I won in the contest (Colorado to Virginia in only 2 days!) and they are fantabulous. I have been using them for a week now and I love them–have not dropped one yet and no unfortunate coffee or ceiling fan episodes.
Heck, even my playing sounds better. I think it is because the pick is not moving around in my fingers and rotating and I am getting a much better string strike just due to that fact. I also love the fact that they stick to the top of my music stand. I tend to go from fingerpicking and not needing a pick to flatpicking and rhythm where I do use a pick and it is so handy to be able to reach up and grab it off of the top of my stand. Before, I would be fumbling around trying to grab the pick and, inevitably, it would end up falling on the floor and then anger quickly ensues along with having to set the guitar down and find the pick before one of my dogs did.
In any case, I am thrilled with these picks (they are also very comfortable in your hand!) and will be adopting these as my “go to” picks in the future. Great job, Guitar Moose, in your innovation and solving a common problem and thank you again, muchly, Mr. Schexnader for the fun contest!
I’m glad you like them, Bridget! You are very welcome…