The other day, after 25 years of playing guitar, I had an experience that I never expected. Let me explain.
I’ve always been the type of person to say, “It’s not the gear that counts—it’s the player.” And, while I still do believe that in most cases—when your gear is actively hindering your performance, it’s time to consider a change. And I never thought that the picks I was using made that big of a difference—until I tried a D’Addario casein pick.
It all started when I was trying to learn Tony Rice’s “Church Street Blues” (kind of a Mount Everest of flatpicking, if what you read online is to be believed). But I was stumbling (understandably, I think you’ll agree), so I turned to YouTube (for the slow speed function—a life-saving hack for guitarists, you’re welcome) and came across this video from samuraiguitarist where he breaks the song down. (Thank you samuraiguitarist, I’m doing much better now—although still not perfect.)
But not only does samuraiguitarist break down the notes and technique behind the song—he goes so far as to do a deep dive on the gear required to get the sound right too. I had already noted how loud Rice’s pick sound is on the whole Church Street Blues album—you can really hear it clacking and sliding along the strings—which I knew was a testament to the legendary guitarist’s light touch. (Watch Tony Rice play "Church Street Blues" below—welcome to your new YouTube rabbit hole.)
But samuraiguitarist highlighted another important point: Rice was likely using a real tortoiseshell pick, which was standard practice in the old days but now (rightly) considered unethical (and where would you even get one, anyway? Asking for a friend).
The closest substitute, he points out in the video, would be a casein pick from D’Addario. Casein, an organic material derived from milk proteins, is a natural plastic substitute that’s touted as the most similar replacement for real tortoiseshell that you could get. I was immediately sold—I headed to Sweetwater and smashed that “buy” button for a shot at TR’s mojo. (I also threw in a Chris Thile Casein Mandolin pick while I was at it—because my mando playing needs all the help it can get, too.)
As for the Martin HD-28… that will just have to wait.
Quick Overview
D’Addario Casein Pick: My Experience
Overall, the pick is vastly different from what I ordinarily use (typically standard shape, Medium-Heavy Fender, Dunlop, or Tortex—again, I never put much thought into pick choice—foolish mortal). I got the "Wide"—it’s a large triangle shape and a whopping 2mm thick—waaaaay thicker than anything I had ever laid my fingers on. (They also make a Standard casein pick.)
Feel
But most notable right away is the texture of the casein (technically, this casein-derived material is called Galalith). Different from plastic even at the first touch, it’s got what I can only describe as an organic feel—slightly more… porous(?) feeling than plastic, and even a bit, shall we say, oily. This ultimately makes the pick a bit more difficult to maintain a grip on, so I was glad for the massive triangle shape that I was initially skeptical of.
And as soon as it hit the strings—oh, man. The galalith/casein material has a glassy quality that makes it glide effortlessly across the strings, making even Tony Rice’s crosspicking patterns feel, well, not so punishing as they did before. Licks I already had dialed, meanwhile, felt like a dream.
Sound
And the sound? This part I could not believe. That glassy feel is accompanied by a glassy sound as well, when applied with a light touch (as Rice would). There it was! That subtly audible, yet delicate and elegant-sounding pick noise, pretty dang close to TR’s signature sound straight from the Church Street Blues album (the hands, alas, are still my own).
This part blew my mind, though—when applied with higher pressure, you almost get the reverse effect: you hardly hear the pick at all. It’s almost a thumb-picked-like sound; you get all pure guitar tone with hardly any pluck to it. I even picked up on kind of a compression-suck effect, like you get with a cranked tube amp—almost more of a feeling than a sound, and one that’s quite difficult to describe without experiencing it yourself.
Chris Thile Signature Mandolin Pick
The Chris Thile pick is quite similar to the guitar pick, only a bit thinner—1.4mm. Most of the same points apply as well—but, mando players, you can imagine what a smooth, glassy, beveled pick can do for your tremolo picking. I’m addicted! What on earth was I doing before playing with a Fender Medium-Heavy…? Don't @ me!
The Verdict
I’ve read that you want to be careful with these picks, for example, not getting them wet (I would hate, then, to find out what happens if you leave one in your pants pocket and it goes in the wash—the eventual fate of so many picks). I’ve put a fair amount of mileage into mine already, and while it does seem to be developing a slight concavity, I don’t really mind (but some players might!). To my brain, that just means it’s time to flip it over!
But overall, I love what these picks have done for me—I’ve been so inspired to practice lately because I just can’t get enough of their sound and feel. So if you’re looking to break out of your acoustic guitar-picking rut, I strongly recommend you shell (get it?) out for a D’Addario casein pick. (For the same price, you can also get exactly 72 Fender picks.)
And now, ladies and gentlemen, Tony Rice.
Featured image courtesy of samuraiguitarist on YouTube.
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