The Steel Guitar Forum

I started using these mizrabs (sitar picks) a while ago because I had an idea for a fingerpick design and found out these already existed. I'm trying to work on a technique that can't easily be done with conventional picks, so I though I'd give these a shot.

Bottom line--after a few days of extreme discomfort, I realized that I could manipulate the picks slightly to make them more comfortable and still be secure. The wire is deceptively hard, so the tone is still there. I find that I like them more every day, and they are what I've been using for exclusively for a short while now. I'll admit, it takes a little getting used to, but so do most changes. I used everything from vintage Nationals to the new NP-2s, to Dunlops of every gauge.

Wow Mike.....are you picking with the edge of the plastic pick? Or the underside of the pick at a convoluted angle?

What made you try this? You have fabulous tone as is....so what can this do for your tone/speed that you couldn't get out of the other picks?

I commend you for trying something new....always trying to improve.

Stephen, in the photo I'm not actually playing, just holding my hand to the side.

I wanted to develop a pick that would allow me to tremolo with one finger (I use to do that a lot, but there was always a danger of losing the pick) and also to be able to pick in both directions. Not very easily done, no matter the pick, but something I'm working on to see if it has any value to me.

I still have a set of picks that somebody on the forum made for me several years ago which can be used for the one finger tremolo thing. They're a standard metal finger pick, and the "blade" of another pick has been cut off and then attached opposite to the existing blade. This means the pick can be used in either direction, and it works well.

-Travis

is it hard to really dig in? In theory this would allow for some awesome flamenco strums too.

Here's what I made. You can tremolo pick, and also, by placing your thumb against it, use it as a flatpick.

Mike,

I'll have to see these next time I see you play. I can't visualize what they are like from the photos.

Those look like.....finger thongs......

Here's another look, Bill:

I may be wrong, but I can see where these would force you to have proper right hand technique, in order to be able to pluck the strings. Maybe not a bad idea for those folks wishing to work on that.

Mike, how does it effect the tone you normally have with your guitar? Do you notice any difference? Curious minds want to know

The tone is very good on the unwound strings; however, I've uncovered a real weakness on the wound strings, particularly the heavier strings, where if I'm not careful to limit the contact with the string I can hear a scraping sound which is even more undesirable than the clicking sound you might get with finger picks when you block. If I'm careful enough I can limit it.

I would love for these picks to have a surface area that strikes the strings being about 1/8" wide, rather than just the thin, stiff wire that it is.

Mike,
If you were to make picks like the one in the pic I posted, you could cut them to any width you wanted. Easy to make too, and I'd think a lot more comfortable to wear.

Hey Mike: I did a stint of about a year using mizrabs, but on standard guitar (before I started playing steel). They definitely have certain advantages, but I could never quite get past the problem with wound strings that you've already encountered.

(You probably know serious sitar players swear that plastic coating on the top of the picks completely kills your tone - has to be metal against finger...)

Where did you get them?

John Billings wrote:Mike,
If you were to make picks like the one in the pic I posted, you could cut them to any width you wanted. Easy to make too, and I'd think a lot more comfortable to wear.

John, you did a good job on that. That was good thinking. How did you weld the pieces?

Mark, you gave me an idea--powder coating. It would probably be great on these.

John B, they are plentiful on ebay. Just search for mizrabs.

I like "flicking" the strings with a downward rake (playing regular guitar) or forward stroke of my fingers in addition to standard picking. I've been experimenting with Atomic Frailing Picks from Janet Davis Music:



They don't work very well for standard picking, though, although I have managed to make them work on occasion by messing with my technique a little.

Mike,
I just cut the blade off an extra pick, and silver soldered them together just at the tips. I've been using that index fingerpick for at least 25 years, I need to make a new one. You could make them, and then cut them to any width you'd like with a Dremel tool. Should be easy!

Well, I used the mizrabs on a recording session yesterday for a smooth jazz artist. The part I played on steel was short and unconventional (doubling a bass line), but it was played on the wound strings and the scratching was not noticeable (not saying it wasn't there, but I didn't hear it). I also played bottleneck and telecaster (not with mizrabs).

Hey, Mike --
These are some picks that came in the case of a steel I got... They are labelled "FITRITE Pat. Pend."

They are NOT comfortable (to me)!!

But, someone in the 30's or 40's had the same idea!

Dave, those are pretty cool! They don't look comfortable at all (I'll bet they're as stiff as can be and that forked end looks like a masochist's delight), but I like the little crimp on the tip.

The jury's still out on the mizrabs--I've been alternating between those and my Dunlops, but the Dunlops .018 are the go-to picks.

Oh, yeah, they are really stiff... It would take a while to get them bent to fit the fingers comfortably, and I use that word loosely!!

I'm using plastic now... gee, that's what I started with back in the 60's... How'd I end up back there?

I've tried these before, for the same desired tremolo effect, but I couldn't get enough velocity to get a strong tone. Sitars have wide string spacing, and even standard guitar strings seem too close together to 'rab on. It seems to me that a single thick plastic blade (like a guitar pick), attached to your finger, might work best. You'd have to work out the angle, and the roundness of the tip shape.

John Billings wrote:Mike,
I just cut the blade off an extra pick, and silver soldered them together just at the tips. I've been using that index fingerpick for at least 25 years, I need to make a new one. You could make them, and then cut them to any width you'd like with a Dremel tool. Should be easy!

John:

Not to get too technical here, but what particular type of silver solder did you use, and what did you use to heat the metal? Knowing the approximate melting point and whether you used any kind of flux would also be helpful. (Yes, I am always asking questions like that... )

I used to do HVAC repairs for 25 years and silver solder was great. There were the 15% solder brazing rods that you would use with a hot torch for most joints as well as the ~8% soft solder with a melting point around 500 degrees when too much heat could damage the surrounding components. Plus the incredibly expensive hard wire type used for very critical repairs.

To make it even more complicated they have a silver bearing soft solder used for electronics with a higher melting point than 60/40. Audiophiles insist that they can tell the difference...

Steve Ahola

P.S. It would be way cool to send the finished product to Andy Hinton for him to coat. I believe he charges a $1 per pick plus $2 s/h for the whole order. (Metal picks dig into my cuticles unless I have him coat them- highly recommended!)

Mike:

I think that silver solder could be used to make your own sitar picks with a heavier gauge wire which might lessen the scraping sound on the wound strings. I would check with a machine shop for a possible source for the wire (as you mentioned it does have to be very hard). With the lower temperatures required for silver solder you don't have to worry about the metal losing its temper as much. It looks like the picks that you have are just twisted very tightly; I think it would be easier to just twist them loosely and then use silver solder. And send them to Andy Hinton to be coated in your choice of colors.

I've used mizrabs for years,
45 years back we just called them plectums,
here's something I ran across
http://www.mugwumps.com/ephemera/thimble1.jpg
(banjo thimbles)

I used the mizrabs for a while, but went back to using regular metal finger picks.
There were some good qualities about them, but they were tough with tighter string spacing.
Also, the tone was a little different than I wanted.
I still have them, though, and reserve the right to change my mind...again.