MATERIALS
DELRIN
If you were to invent the perfect material for a pick, it should have the following characteristics: resistance to abrasion, smoothness on the strings, high density for depth in the timbre.
Thankfully, there already is a material exactly like this, and it's called Delrin.
Developed by Dupont for industrial use, it is perfect as a raw material for picks. Delrin is resistant to the wear caused by the strings, fast on them and has a sweet and decisive tone, full of character.
For these reasons Delrin is the reference material of Pleks, tested and approved
with enthusiasm by thousands of musicians over the years.
CELLULOSE ACETATE
Not to be confused with celluloid, with which (among other things) picks were produced before plastic, cellulose acetate is a polymer whose fibers resemble silk. A docile material, not excessively hard, today it lends itself to the manufacture of spectacle frames.
The tortoise shell version is visually pleasing, and picks made this way are particularly beautiful. It has excellent grip, is very pleasant to the touch, and has a very sweet and organic tone, similar to horn and tortoise shell.
TAGUA
A true miracle of nature, Tagua is the seed of a palm that grows only in the north-west of Latin America. As big as an egg or a little more, Tagua, when ripe, becomes solid and hard as if it were ivory - not surprisingly, it is called vegetable ivory.
Once used to make buttons, today it is used only in costume jewellery.
And for picks of course, like Pleks, which exploit the qualities of hardness and solid,
organic timbre.
ULTEM
Ultra-high performance thermoplastic, Ultem is used in the aerospace industry and surgical and food equipment, among others. Excellent mechanical resistance to high temperatures are some of the characteristics of this premium material.
From a musical point of view, picks made with Ultem sound "big", with a killer attack
and a characteristic rustle on the strings.
At the moment only available in 2mm thickness and exclusively for some models.
PHENOLIC LAMINATE
Ultra resistant and similar to bakelite, phenolic laminate – often known as micarta – is a hybrid material, obtained by superimposing very thin sheets of paper impregnated with natural resin, which are then subjected to very high temperatures and pressure.
The result is a brown paste with veins, very hard and though, beautiful to look at
but also to play with. Sweet tone but with lots of attack.
EXOTIC WOODS
The very first Pleks, born ten years ago, were made with grenadillo and padouk, two African essences. Over the years, Pleks research has been directed towards other materials, but on commission you can request picks in different woods such as ebony, maple, cocobolo, guaiac, rosewood and various others.
Each essence has its own timbre and also its charm, which can be fully appreciated by those who use them in the studio, where the recording techniques are able to capture all the tonal nuances.
