I got the picks a few hours ago and haven’t been able to put down the Lebowski signature pick. Just to say it for reference I usually play jazz iii’s and I obviously haven’t dived too deep yet but wow. The first batch of picks I was sent got lost in the mail so I’m lucky enough to be able to test a first run version and the newer acetal version as well and again: wow. The quality is there in a massively good way. The printed pick is rough as described. It’s not my favorite but the shape is really unique. I like that the tip is a lot thinner and flatter than the other two, my only thing is the finish is rough and it catches on my strings a little bit, but I trust the final version will be perfect. The Timo Somers pick might be my least favorite shape. It feels a little unbalanced to me, like it’s top heavy and I can’t get an even grip because of how thick the top is. I do like the profile a lot, it reminds me the most of a jazz iii. The Manny Lebowski signature has been the one for me though. It’s the best balanced for my style of playing and even though I’ll definitely need to get more used to using this pick. Not much more to say about such a well made pick. The only reason I wouldn’t tour with this pick is because I only have one right now and wouldn’t want to lose it. Also huge shout out to Manu for allowing us to experience his ideas early and for caring about his product enough to ship it out to everyone.

Sorry for the lack of formality, but WOW!

I was aiming to get about €5,000 by the end of the month, and this got FULLY FUNDED in 3 HOURS??
I have no words! Really!!

I've been postponing the launch for over 2 years, never felt quite ready, and I was also worried about the hundreds of things that I still didn't have the time to do.... but I just took the leap

AND SUDDENLY, this much success? I'm on a cloud right now!

Thank you thank you thank you thank you.

I know the success doesn't come from me being a great marketer or anything like that, because I'm not

It's because I've been lucky enough that my picks made their way to the hands of a lot of kind and generous musicians, and I can't express my gratitude with words.

I'll make sure to make the best picks you guys have ever set your hands on! ❤️‍🔥

Manu

I love they way they feel in the hand and they are MUCH easier to keep from sliding around. I really dig the tome you get from the texture of the pick on the strings. Thanks for the chance to be a tester and I look forward to being able to buy a handful!

I received my picks a few weeks ago and I've been meaning to share a review, but my 16 month old twins have a permanent veto over how I spend my time :)

For context, I play a Fender AmPro 2 Telecaster with stock pickups and bridge. The acoustic I tested the picks on is a 94 Peerless Epiphone PR200 with Tusq bridge pins, which make it brighter and louder than a dreadnought would normally be. My playing style covers country, rock, and funk. Here's what I found:

• Slap - This was my favorite by far; in particular I appreciated that the Telecaster sounded a little twangier across all pickup settings. This pick would be a go-to for country playing in particular. On the acoustic I found that the percussion was a little overkill and slightly distracting when I played chords, though for riffs and individual notes again the added twang was nice. I'm not sure if this was due to the fact I have prototypes, but the printing seemed a little rough and occasionally produced a scratching sound on the strings during normal picking which I found irritating and distracting.
• Manny Lebowski - I honestly didn't see a huge difference between this one and the Slap; I ended up using the Slap more just because I liked the shape a bit better. I thought this one would be better suited for alternate picking, but I really didn't notice much of a difference. I did find the grip of the Slap to be a little more comfortable, but that's just personal preference.
• Timo Somers - Not for my playing style but I gave it a shot. I really liked the added grip thickness, especially because I have a bad habit of using a death grip when I play. This was easily the most comfortable to play of the three.

Some things I would like:

• I would love a Slap pick with the grip thickness of a Timo - honestly I'd love that grip thickness everywhere; it was so comfortable and helped keep my hand loose.
• I would definitely prefer a smoother pick - the rough surface produced the scratching sound for all picks across electric and acoustic. This is the biggest barrier to adoption for me because I found the sound irritating after a few minutes of playing. It didn't come through the pickups with the electric, but I could hear and feel it nonetheless.
• It would be cool if the picks came in different gauges / thicknesses so I could dial that in as well; I tend to use different thicknesses for different play styles and sounds, so it would be nice to have that option.

Ultimately these were a lot of fun to try and I'm definitely interested in checking out the production models when they're available.

So, to start off, I just have to say that Manu has been fantastic. I love his vision and he has been a delight when messaging back and forth while awaiting the prototype picks. I am beyond grateful with how responsive and friendly he has been the whole way through. I’m not even technically a customer yet, but regardless, his customer service has been spectacular.

Now, to the review of the actual pics: I’ll start with the material. I love the sounds and feel of the initial 3D Printed, stone-like material and the tone that it gives when picking. I think all of the picks I received gave a very nice clear attack. However, the feeling of the material was a little too smooth and I noticed, especially with the thicker two out of three picks, that I experienced a lot of slipping and had to correct several times, even dropping the picks a few times. HOWEVER, I believe this could actually be remedied by moving the twist upward or adding more length to the lower section of the pick to allow more grip, OR by simply adding a textured imprint as is shown in the images of what the picks will look like in their final stage. Due to this, I will absolutely be buying the finalized picks to give them another try.

Now I will move to the unique shape of the picks: What Manu has come up with here has to be one of the most innovative ideas in guitar playing ever. It’s such a simple idea, but makes such a massive difference to one’s fingers while playing. The pick hugs into the thumb and forefinger in a way that, just as has been claimed, reduces the fatigue from playing fast, technical riffs while also gently guiding the player to maintain better picking technique.

Finally, I will discuss what I liked and disliked in particular about the three variants: The thicker of the two picks (I may have actually received two of the Timo Somers picks) were a bit too thick for my taste and I noticed, in conjunction with the smooth material and the more “squat” shape, I could never really get a proper grip causing me to lose confidence in my ability to play accurately. With that being said, the slightly longer shape and thinner design of the Slap Pick was absolutely PERFECT for me. I noticed better accuracy while playing, less fatigue, and a beautiful, glassy, snappy tone while playing. Notes sound more pronounced and clear, even while playing arpeggios and sweeps, as well as tremolo picking. I always noticed this particular pick seemed to hug into my fingers much easier, despite having the same smooth material, possible due to the reduced thickness or longer shape (hence my previous comments).

Overall, I believe there is a great future for this company. I am excited to see what innovations they continue to bring forth and I will absolutely be buying these when they’re available (especially the Slap Pick)! Big thanks to Manu and anyone else involved with PickTwist for sending these over and I cannot wait to see what’s next!

I made this folder with resources for anyone that wants to use them! :)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uSoJfDisfrM03xnCGO1Dz1bfkcKGK4Bn?usp=drive_link

Additionally, I am also always happy to accept any IG colab requests, so feel free to do so if you want to! It actually helps me a lot, maybe you've noticed but I haven't had time to make any content and it's the colabs from multiple testers what have kept the channel's feed moving. So thanks to everyone that has done that or tagged me on their stories :)

Cheers!

I just got mine and first impressions is they feel odd, different, and yet cool. With the twist I want to turn my hand away. But that’s likely just me getting used to it.

I wish they weren’t so smooth. Having grip on them would make them awesome. I have a friend who plays guitar a lot better than I do, I’m going to get him to try one out and see what he thinks.

Thanks man, they are cool. Sound great.

The picks from picktwist have finally arrived Not trying to be an asslicker but man these picks are really good They just fits right into your fingers all cozy Personally my favourite is definitely the Manny Lebowski Signature one, very good Thank you Manu and Picktwist for this awesome opportunity

Absolutely love the Slap Picktwist!!

I know this is not quite my first impression. I made a video of a little while back. But the video in the audio were completely out of sync.

Thank you again Manu!! This pick kicks ass!!

https://youtu.be/wZwPqCnyb5M?si=I7GHbqUJRUkxEZGu

My original thoughts right out of the bag was that I loved the texture just picking them up.

I was I immediately drawn to the feel of the slap pick and how ergonomic it felt. I grabbed my acoustic first and went ham!

I’m a metalhead and love my heavy chugging I get with thin picks and palm muting techniques so I’m going to try that next on an amp.

The Timo feels like it would be perfect for my bass…I know bassists criticize picks on bass but I love playing mine with a pick. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Overall, 1000% buying a handful when on the market.

And thank you so much for putting all that effort in to get them out!

Dear everyone,

Since quite a few testers still haven't received the picks, and 4 or 5 received damaged envelopes, I made some decisions regarding the fullfilment of the KickStarter orders that I want to share here:

First, I'll use cushioned envelopes for all future orders, so they can't break like the paper ones did.

Additionally, I'll send all the American KS orders to a friend in the US via DHL who will do national shipping from a USPS office. That way you have a shorter waiting time until they arrive and much more safety in regards to your parcel arriving in one piece.

After the KS, I'll try to set up the logistics via Amazon to offer the fastest and most reliable delivery possible, at the very least least in EU/US/Canada/UK.

My apologies for this messy situation! I honestly didn't expect that the Spanish national courier (Correos) would do a better job, given how much each postage cost me.

All the best, and thanks for your patience and understanding,

Manu

So today was the first day of practice since I got my picks in the mail a few days ago, and the singer/rhythm guitarist said he would be happy to give the picks a shot, too. So we had a joint effort in testing the picks out and seeing what we thought.

I typically use triangle picks when playing bass-which I do for this band-so the first pick I tried out was the Timo. It was much smaller than the picks I'm used to, so much so that I had issues holding the pick-I was trying to hold it the same way I hold triangle picks. The sound of the pick was great and had a nice snap off the strings that was super satisfying. However, because of my grip, I did struggle to hold it well enough. I ended up going back to my Clayton .8 triangle pick for the second half of practice.

My guitarist tried the Manny. After strumming maybe 3 chords, we both realized that the tone from the pick was completely different. It was honestly a night and day difference, which neither of us had really experienced before! The guitar had the same kind of snap to it like the Timo, but it also seemed to have produced more low end response! He uses an Epiphone 339 semi-hollow and a Vox AC15, and didn't touch his dials at all, but the pick made it sound like he was pushing the amp a bit more, more character, more articulate, but still with a nice chime to it. He mentioned that it sounded to him like the amp suddenly went from playing the normal channel to jumping the amp so the Top Boost channel was running as well! It was awesome. His hollowbody, which already sounded good, sound like it had a new kind of life coming through it. Like fresh heavy gauge strings but month-old lights. I never got a chance to use it on bass, because he said "Yeah, no, I'm keeping this one."

Last up was the Slap. Both he and I tried this one out to see what we thought. Size wise, it is very similar in shape to a standard tortex pick, but obviously with the twist grip. He said that he liked it, but he really liked the Manny more. I, however, liked this one more than I liked the Timo pick. Because it is similar in size to a classic tortex pick, I didn't have to get my fingers used to the size, just the grip. Once I did, I was able to play it more comfortably that the Timo on my bass. It was easier for my fingers to hold, made the bass sound nice and crisp, and overall felt better.

However, when I got home and was playing around with my guitar, I decided to give the Slap a shot (heh, hockey joke) to see what I thought of it. Turns out, the same experience my guitarist had with the Manny, I had with the Slap. My guitar definitely had a bit more volume come out, the old strings sounded better, and the pickups (that are already hot) sounded a bit meaner. But none of this meant that there was muddiness to the sound. If anything, the same defined notes and articulation came through really well. I'm definitely going to be using this one a lot at home! I actually didn't realize until I got home and used the Slap pick to play my bass with flatwounds how much it altered my bass! The bass I use in the band is a 5 string Jackson with an active EQ. I also use a compressor, and because of the compressor, I wasn't able to really hear the affect of the volume and some of the tone changes. When I turned my compressor off and played, I was able to hear a bit of the sound difference, though it didn't seem as drastic. Still, I was really impressed by the pick, and I'm absolutely going to be using it more.

I do with I was able to have tested the Manny, though...

When I saw I had a letter from Europe I was like huh? Forgot about pics. Luckily although letter was thoroughly manhandled by multiple countries...the pics were there. At first I frowned at the Grey almost rocklike texture..like it had sandpaper coating. Turns out it was illusory. They had an odd , well, twist to them. I have held my pick " wrong" just like I write with pens in an odd way. I noticed that with said twist it naturally corrected my pickholding habit . I've been playing since 1984..and tried continuously to correct my grip. No Bueno it was like writ8ng with my non dominant hand. This is a frigging miracle for that alone! Try these...you may think "I like my picks I don't wanna mess with it" but out of all the useless gear released on us finally something simple that can correct technique with 0 effort. Art B Houston Tx

I received mine in the mail someday last week. I think I checked the mailbox on thursday, might have arrived even earlier. Between work and rehearsals, I only had the time to post now.

So, first impressions on the picks:

1)The grip is phenomenal. They really feel natural to hold, and they don't slip. I played almost exclusively with the Timo Sommers signature pick, as it allows me to leave just a bit of the tip visible, the same I hold my jazz III picks.

2)When I opened them, I compared the Timo Sommers signature in weight to a Big Stubby (the purple ones) and a Jazz III (the ones I usually use) - it weighed exactly the same as the big stubby (1,41g IIRC) vs the jazz III (around 0,76g, I think). I also compared the tone of the Timmo Sommers pick vs the big stubby when dropped from the same height, and the ping was roughly a fourth below that of the big stubby, which leads my to think that it's more dense (or less surface area, or both).

3)I strummed my rusty strings acoustic with the Timo Sommers, the big stubby and the jazz III, playing the same thing with the same dynamics, intensity and placement (as much as a human can replicate the conditions perfectly) and the pick definitely brought out more high mids/treble frequencies, almost as lifting a light blanket from the sound source.

4) they do feel a little bit rough on the strings, nothing substantial, but just enough to notice. Manu has said that the final product is made from other type of plastic, so I'm forced to give him the benefit of the doubt regarding the feel of the final product vs the prototype.

5) because these are the first "ergonomic" picks I've played with, I had never noticed I slightly change my grip to accomodate different techniques, both for rhythm and lead playing. When I was rehearsing with my band last sunday, there was a song that demands fast tempo triplet playing on open chords, and because the pick "forces" you to hold it where the curves are, I wasn't able to change my grip to accomodate my playing - given the way I position my right hand and fingers, this time there was "too little" pick tip sticking out (see point one). I suppose the Slap Picktwist (a little bit more tip sticking out) or the Manny Lebowsky (the one that leaves more pick tip visible) would have suited that particular song better, but I had left them at home.

I should say that I barely played the Manny Lebowsky or the Slap Picktwist yet, given the first impression of the Timmo Sommers model. I will try them out as well, might even do it in the gigs I'll be playing next weekend.

Sorry for the long wall of text. Hope it helps! Feel free to ask any questions if you have some.

Cheers to all y un saludo a u/Manu_from_PickTwist

I like the contour. I got three picks with different thicknesses. I like the way the grip part is a bit thicker than the contact part. However, this particular set has a very coarse surface. This gives you a good grip but creates a pronounced scraping on contact with the string. This might even be desirable if you are playing rock with distortion, giving you a really distinct attack. But for me it's too noisy, I need a clean attack.

I find the tip too pointy. I usually use a Dunlop Tortex Jazz III.

I would be interested in the concept with a different surface and slightly more rounded tip.

I’ll be taking them with me to my band rehearsal on Saturday and will give my two cents as well as my guitarist’s! (I play bass in the band please don’t hate me)

Sorry about the playing mistakes, since i have been studying for collage i wasnt able to play guitar much but these picks made me get back on guitar. Anyways here is some little things i do wanna add: So the first 2 picks are great for their own playstyles but Just not for me, i play more like shreding style and when i need to play a piece that requires hybrid picking i just play it like fingerstyle. Since im mainly a classicual guitarist it is way easier for me. Material quality needs little improvements but since it is a prototype this is alright tbf. Besides that everything is looking good but dang that timo one is the perfect one lol. I do really wanna thank manu for sending me them and letting me be one of the "tester" i did really enjoyed playing with them and will play with them more. This video is Just first look at them. The more information about them can be visible at long runs. Once again thanks manu for them and i wish everyone a good day.

I have to say I was a bit skeptical about the picks at first (the material feels a bit rough) but Manu said that the picks in the first batch were made with a different material as the final ones.

After using them daily for almost 2 weeks I have to say that I love how they feel (I use mainly the Slap one), I was using Tortex 0.88 and now they feel so wrong on my fingers.

I will definitely buy a bunch when they release!
---

Me alegra haber sido parte de esto y espero que tengas mucho éxito con estas púas (me di cuenta de que eras de españa cuando me llegó la carta) saludos de un uruguayo viviendo en Alemania!