Sid Hudson wrote:My good friend Gary Carter sent me an email a few weeks ago raving about a new brand of finger picks that he had recently purchased.
Oddly enough the company “Hoffmeyer Picks†is located in Virginia only about 30 miles from our business Live Steel Strings.
Now I have great respect for Gary Carter, but I thought to myself "what can be so exciting about a new set of finger picks?"
Two days ago I ordered a set and they came in the mail this morning.
I pulled them out of the box here at the office and examined them carefully and failed to see the Wow Factor.
I noticed right away that they were pre bent and had a nice rounded shape that was pretty consistent.
When I got to the music house this afternoon I started piddling with them and shaping them to my desired shape and fit.
Surprisingly it only took me a couple of minutes to get them to where the fit felt like my regular pair.
Usually take me two weeks to break a set in and get them right.
The more I played the better they felt. After about 30 minutes I put on my regular pair and was shocked at how inferior they felt. The tone was not as good. The tone was thinner sounding with less mid range.
My old picks felt weaker and thinner somehow. (National Picks that have been polished tumbled)
The Hoffmeyer Picks feel stronger and slightly thicker although they are easy to bend and shape.
I did not measure them with a mic.
I have learned that a thumb pick (in my case a Straight Pick) has a great deal to do with tone.
The thinner the pick, the thinner the tone. Too thick of pick will result in too much mid range (Mud).
The Hoffmeyer picks are very comfortable, easy to shape and the tone is fabulous.
Thank you Gary Carter for turning me on to these Picks!
They are pricey $25 per pair. But like they say in racing;
“Speed Costs.†“How fast do you want to go?â€