Qualities of a premium guitar pick
In our article “How to choose the right guitar pick,” we did a deep analysis on the qualities you should consider when deciding which plectrum to use.
In this article, we will discuss the most important characteristics needed in a guitar pick in order to make the playing experience as comfortable as possible and obtain the best results. These characteristics are not as obvious as others but are essential to getting the most out of this accessory.
1- What is a premium guitar pick?
The Cambridge Dictionary says premium is “used to refer to something that is of higher than usual quality."
Therefore, a premium guitar pick will exceed in qualities like material, shape or texture and will provide a playing experience that’s above average in terms of precision, durability, comfort, tone, or other areas.
Put simply, a premium guitar pick will perform better than regular picks.
1.1 How to achieve premium quality:
Reducing the definition of a guitar pick to its basic intrinsic features, it is easy to understand how to improve certain areas.
For example, it is logical to conclude that better materials will have an impact on the guitar pick’s tone and durability.
Also, with the help of basic ergonomic and design laws, you can create a shape that enhances grip or slides better. The key is to know what you are looking for.
Back in 2018, with the help of a number of professional guitar players, we defined the requirements the Rombo picks had to achieve:
- Excellent tone with minimal pick noise
- Durability
- Comfort and grip
- Great look
- Versatility
With these premises, we started a journey to identify the qualities that would provide an above-average experience in every area.
2- Qualities of a premium guitar pick:
2.1 Micronodules grip texture:
Grippy, non-sticky surfaces are perfect for the guitar pick’s hold area. The best way to achieve this is to create a texture that fits between the grooves of your skin and prevents the guitar pick from slipping or creating an aggressive grip geometry that is uncomfortable for long practice sessions.
When developing the grip texture, our focus was to create a type of grip that allows the player to maintain flexibility and freedom along with a feeling of security and control.
More information on guitar pick grip can be found here.
2.2 High-mirror polished tip:
A guitar pick with a polished tip allows the player to experience more control and less friction. Reduced friction between the plectrum and the strings of the guitar will increase the durability of the pick because it will wear less and reduce its noise.
Noise reduction is a feature especially useful for recording studio tracks.
Furthermore, a polished tip produces more clear individual tones, a requirement for some guitar techniques such as sweep picking.
2.3 Variable thickness:
One of the less common characteristics in guitar picks is variable thickness. It is ideal for the pick to be thick for better control; however, this could significantly reduce its flexibility.
For that reason, plectrums of variable thickness have been created, giving us the best of both worlds.
That is to say, we could have a guitar pick with a solid, thick body that gives us better grip and control. Additionally, it features a thinner tip that provides enough flexibility to achieve greater versatility when developing various guitar techniques.
Remember that an increase in the thickness of only two sheets of paper will substantially reduce the pick’s flexibility!
Read more about the advantages of using a guitar pick with variable thickness here.
2.4 Ergonomic design surfaces:
By following ergonomic models, the surface of the pick can be adapted to feel more comfortable and also look great.
Similarly, we can take advantage of concave or convex surfaces, as they help keep the plectrum’s position oriented and avoid losing control in turning movements.
The shape is also closely connected to the tone of the guitar pick. Just like with the design of a surfboard, you need a specific shape to optimize your energy when catching a wave. The same effect is caused when the guitar pick plucks the strings; different shapes will produce different results.
2.5 High-quality materials:
If your hands are doing an arduous job, then they deserve the best tools, right? Many people spend a lot of money on guitars, amplifiers, strings, and other accessories, but they overlook the guitar pick. This is a big mistake.
The material with which the pick is made can influence the tone, attack, flexibility, durability, and many other aspects. Therefore, without paying attention to it, you can hardly find your personal sound.
Are you curious about the materials used for the Rombo guitar picks? Read a full article on the topic here.
2.6 Unique designs:
The design of everything you own is a way of expressing yourself and defining your personal style.
When it comes to guitar picks, functionality is everything. This is the reason we have spent so much time integrating beautiful geometric patterns that also fulfill the functional requirements for every technique.
3- Conclusion:
In short, guitar picks are personal items that are bound to subjective perceptions. However, some aspects are measurable and can be improved to fulfill requirements that every guitarist needs.
Don’t overestimate this small piece of gear.
Not sure what is the right guitar pick for you? Let us help you here.
Guitar Pick Deep Analysis: Rombo Diamond
Guitar picks can be found in all shapes, colors, and materials. These small items used for specific guitar techniques can offer different tones, dynamic ranges, and ergonomics, and therefore create a totally different playing experience depending on the pick you use.
The aim of this series of articles is to inform you in detail in a way that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. We want you to understand why we do what we do. So relax, hold your tea, and enjoy our first deep analysis on the guitar pick Rombo Diamond.
1 - Guitar pick Rombo Diamond: Overview
Exceptional picking control and accuracy. Favorite amongst advanced guitarists. The hole in the middle provides extra control and grip rate. Sharp tip for high attack, and clean bright tones.
2 - Guitar Pick Geometry Analysis
Guitar pick size
With its 28,4 x 25,5 mm, Rombo diamond can be considered a small-medium sized guitar pick.
Small guitar picks have several advantages: They perform exceptionally when practicing speed and are perfect for shred techniques.
With small-sized plectrums, your fingers are closer to the strings and you get more feedback from your guitar playing.
The downside of these picks is that they can be dropped easily. This is the reason we decided to increase the size of Rombo Diamond a little bit and make it small-medium. The first prototype was only 25 mm high.
Furthermore, we decided to increase the width to match the regular size of a thumb.
Guitar pick shape
The shape of a guitar pick is often overlooked. However, in the case of Rombo Diamond, thanks to its form and the pointy guitar pick tip, the attack and the control are substantially increased.
The pointy guitar pick tip, with only 3 mm in diameter, was designed to provide maximum note control.
The angle of the tip is wide enough to let your guitar strings slide longer.
Rombo Diamond has a slight bevel edge, mainly used to increase the guitar playing speed.
With a rounded bevel like this, the attack of the guitar pick gets smoother, a feature that changes the feedback you receive when you use specific techniques.
This is only possible for guitar picks with enough thickness, and it is very popular because of the feeling of easiness it provides while playing guitar.
Guitar pick thickness and guitar pick flexibility
The guitar pick thickness mainly defines how flexible a guitar pick is. However, other aspects like tone and ergonomics are mostly influenced by the thickness of the pick.
Rombo Diamond has guitar pick variable thickness along its body. This means that this guitar pick has different thicknesses for the hold area and for the tip area.
The thickness of the tip is 1,35 mm, providing enough space for the bevel edge mentioned before. This can be considered as a heavy/thick guitar pick.
The thickness of the hold area varies due to the diamond design. At the highest point, right in the middle where all the vertices create the diamond design, it is 2,65 mm thick.
The variable thickness on Rombo Diamond has been implemented primarily for two reasons:
It increases the feeling of control because the pick is easier to hold
It increases the bass tones, creating a much thicker tone
Both dimensions create a very rigid guitar pick.
The thickness of a guitar pick is also an essential factor in terms of durability. The shape and bevel combined with the polished tip and its thickness make this pick very durable.
3 - Guitar pick Materials and Surfaces
Guitar pick material
The material of a guitar pick is strictly connected to its flexibility and tone.
Rombo Diamond is offered in the Rombo polymer and the EcoBlack polymer, which offer the same characteristics.
The polymer we use is an improved variation of nylon designed to increase the durability and cause some tone changes. It is manufactured in Italy.
Since we use the same material for all our guitar picks, this part of the analysis will be skipped. We have already created an extended article regarding the materials that can be found here.
Guitar pick design
The Guitar Pick design is obviously inspired by a diamond shaped geometry. Rombo Diamond was meant to be hard, durable and rigid, therefore this design matches its mechanical attributes very well.
The functional surfaces were distributed in a way to enhance the diamond form. The grip area in the middle makes the diamond visible, while the polished areas give the shape and tip more optical clarity.
As we will see in the next chapter, the 3D surfaces were designed as functional surfaces to improve the grip. However, with the first prototypes, we realized that this was a very nice way to explore more design nuances.
Guitar pick grip
For the grip of Rombo Diamond, there are three aspects to consider:
The material
The 3D Geometry The micro-nodules texture
The micronodules texture is the texture we developed to create a comfortable grip. Usually, this texture wouldn’t be enough for a good grip and for this reason, we incremented the grip using the right material and 3D surfaces.
The 3D surfaces with the shape of a diamond have different thicknesses and tilted angles that fold the surface in different directions. This increases the grip substantially and avoids the rotation of the pick while playing.
For the people who like to hold the pick on the back side, we created a tunnel to compensate for the thickness reduction this area has.
We consider Rombo Diamond to be a pick with medium grip.
Guitar pick colors
Currently Rombo Diamond is offered in the following colors.
Manufacturing technique
Rombo Diamond is manufactured using an engineering technology called injection molding, in which melted polymers are forced to fill a mold and get a specific shape.
After that, there is a small mark called “the gate” in the back of the pick, which is where the melted material flows through to enter the mould. After the production, this manufacturing mark is treated by hand to make it smaller and less visible.
The borders of the pick have a parting line which is also removed post-production to increase the quality of the borders of the guitar pick.
Rombo Diamond is manufactured by automatic processes. However, a post treatment by hand is necessary to achieve the quality Rombo pursues.
4 - Guitar pick sound
Guitar Pick tone
So far, we have defined Rombo Diamond as a very thick, small-medium guitar pick, with a sharp tip. These are the typical characteristics of a pick that produces very bright tones.
However, due to the variable thickness mentioned before, we incremented the dynamic range of the guitar pick, allowing the player to enjoy some bass dark tones as well.
Usually, guitar picks with a very heavy attack can reduce the sustain of your guitar tone. With these small thickness changes we solved this problem.
The polished guitar pick tip, combined with its shape, enhances the bright tones and allows you to play some of the harmonic techniques on an electric guitar more easily.
The bevel edge can create those beautiful thick and compressed tones that we all like for distortion and overdrive.
Rombo Diamond is a pick that produces bright and clear tones, but with slightly dark shades in the background, which makes the sound richer and more complete.
Guitar Pick Noise
Because of the integrated bevel edge, the material toughness, the shape, the pointy polished tip, and the thickness, we consider Rombo Diamond to be a guitar pick that creates lower pick noise.
5 - Guitar pick techniques
Rombo Diamond was designed for the advanced player who likes speed, volume, attack, and control, but still wants a sophisticated tone and more than just power.
It is mainly intended for electric guitars.
Arpeggios and shred techniques like sweep, alternate, and tremolo picking are good examples of techniques which can be improved using the right guitar picks.
For strumming and palm mute, using Rombo Diamond can give you a much thicker and complete sound creating a bigger atmosphere when playing guitar.
6 - Pricing
Rombo Diamond is currently offered only in guitar pick sets containing four guitar picks in different color combinations and a packaging card with extra information about the pick attributes.
This pick is also included in the Variety Pack from Rombo, with other guitar pick models.
7 - Conclusion
Size: Small-Medium
Shape: Pointy tip, sharp attack angle
Thickness: Heavy with variable thickness. Hold area: 2,65 mm - Attack area: 1,35 mm
Materials: Rombo Polymer and EcoBlack
Durability: Very high
Design: Diamond Design with two different surface types.
Grip: Medium, micro-nodules combined with 3D Surfaces
Colors available: Graphite Black, Water Blue, Strawberry Red, Honey Yellow, EcoBlack
Manufacturing technique: Injection moulding and hand processing of the borders.
Tone: Bright, clear tones with a bass nuance on the background caused by the geometry.
Pick noise: Low
Techniques: Mostly electric guitar. Lead guitar techniques and high volume distortion.
Pricing: Guitar Pick Set Rombo Diamond