Paul Franklin Signature National Picks

[David Ball]

You all bend the blade, wrapping/tuning it around the end of your fingers, or are leaving it as it arrives in the mail?

I've left the bend as is. The only adjustment I've made has been to widen the band to fit my fingers comfortably.

Dave

[Michael Hartz]

I wear my picks similar to Paul so right of the box wasn’t going to work for me, had to bend them over the tips of my fingers to feel natural to me. This was quite a feat as these suckers are thick and do not bend easily. Happily they are perfect now.

[John Larson]

Got mine today, very nice. They feel slightly less malleable than the standard national clones I've been using. They definitely stay put.

[Bill McCloskey]

Looks like they are out of stock now. I wonder when they will make more Any ideas?

[John Larson]

Looks like they are out of stock now. I wonder when they will make more Any ideas?

I would think a company like D'Addario would be pretty good about getting them back in stock.

[Corbin Pratt]

They're back in stock. You can use code MARTY20 for 20% off. Not sure how long that's valid for.

[John Sims]

The code didn't work so I bought them anyway...We'll see

[Jan Mulder]

As far as I know, he plays with fingerpicks with square holes (also known as the Jeff Newman picks).

[Bob Shilling]

The code worked for me. Picks arrived Monday. I still can't play like Franklin

I like the picks, but I've gotten used to Acri picks, so I'll have to give them a longer test period.

[George Seymour]

Out of curiosity, tried them...feel just like the NP2's..didn't care for them, but then again
not everyone likes the same thing..

[Jon Zimmerman]

Gotta try these. Multi-high ‘5’s () to PF for due diligence with D’Addario. Stretching out to create crucial, really useful, and improved ‘point’ of attack
items like these make Paul a stand up guy. (worth extra couple $, IMO..for that PF brand…not gonna make THAT much wealth).

Steady on

[Dave Magram]

Were the early National fingerpicks nickel-plated brass?
I thought they've always been made of some sort of nickel silver alloy or "German silver".

"Nickel-silver" is a marketing term--there is no silver in "nickel-silver" fingerpicks.

From Google:
Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, even though it doesn't contain any silver.
Nickel silver is an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc that typically contains the following percentages of each element:
Copper: 50–80%
Nickel: 5–30%
Zinc: 10–35%

Nickel silver may also contain small amounts of lead, tin, and manganese.
The most common composition is 18% nickel, 62% copper, and 20% zinc.
It's also known as maillechort, German silver, argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, or alpacca.

I was told by Doug Hutchens, maker of "Roy's Own" fingerpicks that there are seven hardness grades of the
"nickel-silver" material used for fingerpicks.
The old Nationals used the second softest grade (#2).
Doug chose the softest grade (#1) for "Roy's Own" fingerpicks.

In my experience, Doug's softer "Roy's Own" fingerpicks grab the strings more than the old Nationals did, producing more tone and volume.

- Dave

[Bob Hoffnar]

I'll be ordering some pretty soon. I've been using showcase 1941's for the last 20 years but I'm down to just 4 of them.

[Dale Rottacker]

I'll be ordering some pretty soon. I've been using showcase 1941's for the last 20 years but I'm down to just 4 of them.

I love the Showcase 1941's and glad I saw Tommy White recommend them years ago ... Have a few sets I've hoarded.

The thing I like most about Pauls picks is the absence of a hole on the blade. I must pick too deep sometimes cause occasionally I'd feel the hole try to grab a string.

[Franklin]

Thanks for trying these picks!

I presented this concept to National in the late 70's, then again to Jeff Newman in the 90's.. Both times I was told it would cost more to revamp for this new concept.

A completely usable blade surface provides more tonal variances. At the beginning of my journey, I memorized avoiding the blade holes to improve my tone while trying to master blocking strings. With these picks I am digging deeper into the strings on ballads...Thats a game changer in the best of ways!

Paul

[Tim Sergent]

Totally agree with Paul! I always hated it when I could feel that hole hitting the string and getting that zinging overtone as a result. Never could figure out why the hole was there in the first place. Also, I can really feel a difference with the picks when I have to strap one of those "banjo things" around my neck. Thanks Paul!!

[Steven Pearce]

Love em right out of the pack.

[Roger Rettig]

The links are dead for me.

Amazon has them for $33.+ - is this the norm?

[Jerry Overstreet]

Most likely Roger.

Here's the pricing from D'Addario. $34.99 4 pk.
https://www.daddario.com/search/?query= ... nger+picks

Other stores have them cheaper, like Elderly, but they're sold out lots of places.

Check the forum store. I think I saw them earlier for $6.50 pr. Good deal + helps the forum.

[Bob Tuttle]

These are available on Walmart.com. A 4-pack is $21.99. I ordered some that should arrive on January 9th. Can't wait to try them.

[Mark Eaton]

Most likely Roger.

Here's the pricing from D'Addario. $34.99 4 pk.
https://www.daddario.com/search/?query= ... nger+picks

Other stores have them cheaper, like Elderly, but they're sold out lots of places.

Check the forum store. I think I saw them earlier for $6.50 pr. Good deal + helps the forum.

$6.50 each, but currently out of stock. Send an email if one is interested. Good for me since shipping is getting so expensive, I live less than 20 miles from SGF "world headquarters."

[Brett Day]

I started using the National Paul Franklin Signature picks recently and they are the best picks I've used! I put them on to play steel after Christmas, and, wow, they're very comfortable, and they're easy to use on steel! When I put them on for the first time, I knew that they would be the best picks I've ever used for steel, and I also have a pair I use for dobro, they work well on dobro too! The National Paul Franklin fingerpicks are now my go to picks, and it's awesome playing steel with picks with the name of one of my musical heroes, Paul Franklin on them!

[Tommy White]

I’ve been using PF picks for a few weeks. I don’t know why someone didn’t make this design long ago. They have no scraping edges, no matter if you wear your picks straight on or a bit to the side. The shank is just right without the hole! Seems like I play a little more clean with a little less effort. I highly recommend them. You will feel and hear the difference I’m talking about.

[Harry Teachman]

Got a set from Amazon all the way from the UK! Supposed to be delivered today.......we will see.

[Allen Howington]

In English measurements, what gauge are the new PF finger picks.... specifically, the NP2-04 nickel finger picks.
Are they .015 or .020 or .025 size?