The Steel Guitar Forum

I recently received a Landis Accupick Thumb pick, and thought I'd give a quick review. I have been using Fred Kelly Speed Picks for quite some time, and like them a lot. But, especially in the dry winter weather, I have problems with them slipping on my thumb.

The Landis Accupick had a similar shaped blade plus the "death grip" texture inside, so I decided to give them a shot. The spiral design of the Accupick gives the ability to make the blade whatever length you want, and the general fit of the pick as loose or tight as you like. It takes some fiddling around, and the metal is thick so it's not just super easy to bend, but it bends just fine and holds its shape once you get it there. The fiddling around time is worth it though. I have mine set to where the blade is about where it was with the Kelly pick, though I can tweek the angle a bit with some bending to make it even better. With the "death grip"texture, it stays put on my thumb. Very nice.

I've never liked metal thumb picks in the past, but the tone of this one is very good. Better even than the Kelly pick. It plays really well.

Anyway, bottom line for me is that it takes some patience to get it set up right, but unlike most thumb picks, it can actually be set up exactly as you want it. It stays put and sounds great. Plus it looks nice! For what little it's worth, I recommend them!

No affiliation with Landis other than satisfied customer.


Dave

I'd like a review after 5 years of use. Seems like a metal pick would wear out strings over time, and itself get worn down where the pick strikes strings...?

I am also very happy with my Picks from Landis. I wouldn't worry about the pick wearing out or getting scratched, they are much more durable than plastic picks. It would take a long time to wear out the strings with these picks, far longer than I would go between string changes.

Ed

John McClung wrote:I'd like a review after 5 years of use. Seems like a metal pick would wear out strings over time, and itself get worn down where the pick strikes strings...?

I figure that metal fingerpicks have worked well for me for many years, I'd just never found a metal thumbpick that I liked up until the Landis. Yeah, 5 years will tell, but I don't see any reason that wear and tear on either the pick or the strings should be any different than with metal fingerpicks.

Dave

Landis picks are amazing works of craftsmanship. The feel is quite different from the Fred Kelly picks - much softer. The bands can be easily shaped to one's liking. I'm still playing around with mine but would highly recommend these picks.