Skull and Tones Gemstone Guitar Picks 3mm Thick 2 Picks Per Order - Green Jade and African Bloodstone

I got these looking for a better pick for my electric mandolin. Most picks aren't sturdy enough and there is drag, sticking to strings, wear down quickly, break, and overall make it more difficult to articulate when playing quickly. There also tends to be a noise when you pick and re-pick an already moving string. Wedges (rubber) get rid of the pick noise but stick badly and wear down very quickly (they're basically an eraser). I like them for slower clean playing but for tremolo they just don't work. I have used dava grip tips which work better than regular picks for my needs but still leave much to be desired (they have a lot of pick noise, are thin which causes your hand to tense, and recoil which causes distortion). I didn't want to try bone or horn picks because I felt that they would have durability issues and would be too flexible (making them about like dava's). I looked at several stone picks and they didn't seem to have consistent cutting, sizing, thickness; no quality control. These picks are consistent in quality. Each is of course different but equally beautiful. They are 3mm which is thicker than what most people are used to, but to me, it's a great size as it is naturally easier to not tense my hand. Even though they are smooth, I haven't experienced any slipping, but if you do, you could easily get grip stickers.The logo is carved into the stone which breaks up the smoothness on the one side (which probably helps with slippage). The re-pick noise is sometimes noticeable especially if you come to the string from further away or from certain angles (think jumping into a double dutch; gotta get that sweet spot). But, this happens with all picks. They do not recoil/bend in anyway. This makes them great for fast clean articulated playing. You will not get distortion or double hit strings with a pick that is itself vibrating. I don't imagine the stone wearing away or breaking anytime soon. Although these may be pricier than other more traditional picks, they'll last you forever.

Great picks! I play with these regularly. They're actually starting to wear down. The only things I can be critical about are first, the mother of pearl one is pretty slippery if your fingers get sweat on them. Also, if you a a really hard player, you could end up breaking the pick. I let my cousin use my mother of pearl pick and after one band practice, he tore up the edges of the pick. Now if it was me playing, I'm sure that would've never happened. He plays way too hard to begin with, imo. My favorite is the camel bone pick which wasn't included in this pack, but that one is my favorite, and then the horn pick is great too. it has a great feel to it. I'd say it's worth trying if you are thinking about it. Besides, if you don't like how they sound or feel in your hand, they're still cool items and conversation starters.

Both my sons play guitar/electric guitar. Before ordering, my youngest son said not to, he didn't think they'd be anything special. After getting them, he changed his mind. He really liked them. I was going to give one to him and the other to the oldest son, but he liked them both so much that I told him I'd give them both to the older son and order him his own set. The oldest son is much more involved with his playing and he really liked them, and he's hard to impress or find something he likes. They both say you can feel and hear a difference. Subtle, but noticeable. They both seem to like the Tiger's Eye a little more than the Red Agate. I would love to order the Green Jade/African Bloodstone sets, but don't know how to do that as only the Tiger's Eye/Red Agate set shows up.

If you have never ventured into hard picks, then stone picks may initially seem like a novelty. For years I used the lightest most pliable picks made. They broke a lot, but somehow I felt their lightness made them faster and created a kind of percussive click. Ah, the naïveté of my Jr. High years and ears. Once I started to study gypsy jazz, I found that all the great gypsy players used heavier picks. Heavy non-pliable picks allow you to dig in, pop, or subtly glide across strings for a far greater range of tonality than thin picks can ever achieve. Stone picks are not only hard and thick, but they are also smooth and because of their glass-like surface can bring a sharp chime tone to your strings. I have had a variety of stone picks over the years and am very happy with the quality and value of the Skull and Tones.They are sculpted to fit your thumb and finger for maximum control and adhesion I also love the logo and hope they send me a sticker to put on the pick guard of my guitar.

I love this pick! The Skull & Tones Pick is 100% pure agate and is thick, smooth, and not slippery. You get a random color and by chance they gave me a green one which I definitely love. It is a very unique and well-crafted pick, not something you see everyday. It sounds great when I use it on acoustic guitar with it's bold and beautiful sound. They would make great stocking stuffers for your music enthusiasts. I was given this product at a reduced price for my fair and unbiased review.

I ordered a couple for my husband a couple months ago and he FINALLY got a chance to try them out. He was skeptical at first due to the thickness thinking he might break a string. He got used to it quickly and enjoyed playing with them very much. No broken strings and they sound amazing. Would most likely purchase a few more...have a lot of guitar players in the family and the picks are beautiful.

Rock with rocks! These area pretty neat, I got them as a novelty, but I really like them. They area solid and thick, but not so much that they become annoying to use. I thought the skull and cross notes would wear off quickly, but they are just as clear as day one. I wish there were more colors of them because I'd buy those too.

These picks are thick but on the small side for length; not as big as big as the Dunlop Tortex picks. They look beautiful. And one played very nicely, working especially well for heavy strumming. The other one, however, was chipped and it consistently catches on the string, basically making the pick useless.