Review
By Mark Wong
Company Website: www.ice-pix.com
Not too
long ago I was given the privilege of checking out the
Ice Pix line of guitar picks.
My first thought was that I had pretty much seen it all. What else could
there be? However, this innovative line pleasantly surprised me.
Ice Pix has two
lines of picks: Metal and
the “Stix”.
The metal picks come in various different metals and thicknesses. They
come in brass, copper and stainless steel. The thicknesses they come
in are what I would consider medium to very heavy and the thinnest being
the copper “flex” version.
Metal
My first thoughts were that they would give you a harsh, metallic sound,
but that’s not the case at all. Yes, they do sound very bright,
and string squeak is a bit louder on the wound strings, but in general,
they played very well.
They are designed
with little “grip” slots in
them so they are easier to hold, but I found the metal picks generally
had a firm, non-slip feel to them. They seem to use the natural moisture
in you fingers to sort of “seal” your fingers to the pick.
Even under heavy playing, you probably won’t lose it.
My
favorite was the copper “flex” pick.
I use Fender medium picks myself and this one provided the closest feel
to the Fender medium. It gave a nice, smooth, bright sound, and with
a Les Paul, it really sounded great.
Whether
you decide to use the Ice Pix metal pick as your main pick or as another
“tool” in your guitar tone tool box, there may be an Ice
Pix metal pick in your future.
“Stix”
As far as the Ice Pix “Stix”
line, it has potential to become the kind of pick you can’t live
without.
 |
The “Stix”
pick uses a patented Mini-Suction Technology that allows you to
stick the pick to your pickguard via suction, without any residue.
They are reusable and don’t wear out.
When they
first arrived, I started to play with the .71mm ones, the closest
to a Fender medium pick. At first the extra thickness of the pick
and the suction pad seems a bit odd, but I’ll get into that
later.
My next test
was to see if they really would stick. I have a wall hook for
my Telecaster, so I took the entire pack and stuck them on the
Tele. Three days later they were still there and to top it off,
the longer I left them on, the harder they stuck to the pickguard.
So it’s probably not a good idea to stick them on three
days before a gig. They can be really hard to get off!
|
|
Now, back
to the extra thickness of the suction pad. This grows on you.
At first I didn’t like the extra thickness at all, but over
time I found myself using them more and more. Now it’s reached
a point where I’m starting to feel handicapped playing without
them.
I play with
a very light touch and I hold the pick lightly also. I was always
flipping picks all over the place. The white suction pad has pretty
much solved that problem. I seldom lose one now and if I do, there
are of course more stuck to my pickguard.
|
|
Give
them a try and I think you’ll like them too.
|
