The Golden Tortoise

Amber Guitar Picks!

Picks and Stones answer to the Tortoise Shell question.

The forbidden fruit of the tortoise shell guitar pick has for decades frustrated the guitarist who wants that warm tone and feeling that comes from the shell of the Hawksbill sea turtle. This admittedly cruel trade was a burden on the collective conscience of the many guitarists who'd grown accustomed to its incredible sound. Newer generations of guitarists have only heard of the legendary tone and many feel that they've missed the boat.

When the trade of tortoiseshell was banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species act in 1973, all sales of the banned substance became a serious crime. Though tortoise shell guitar picks are still available on the black market, it's not worth the price on the pocket book or the conscience. Many are on the quest for the ultimate substitute.

Plastics have long been employed to mock the qualities of tortoise shell, usually leaving guitarists disappointed with its' hollow plastic tone and feel. At their hardest, plastics are still softer than tortoise shell and feel cold and lifeless between the fingers. But for 35 years there's been little alternative.

Amber has some very important things in common with tortoise shell, not the least of which is its' warm, wonderful tone. Amber is an organic substance that was once the sap from a tree 22-26 million years ago, in this case the Hymenaea tree. What was once a sticky, honey-like goo eventually condensed to become the same density and texture of tortoise shell. Amber and tortoise shell are both organic materiels that naturally grew from a living being, perhaps this is the quality that gives their tone so much life.

An amazing quality that Amber has that is not found in toroise shell, is the rare inclusion of fossils like bugs, reptiles, and a variety of organic materiels as old as 25 million years. When the amber was still just tree sap it picked up many critters and organic materiels that have since remained trapped in time. It's rare to find an amber specimen that shows the detail of inclusions as well as a guitar pick. The image above has a very clear mosquito in the left side and a moth-like bug at the top, several smaller bugs are spread throughout. This is a very rare specimen at 2.5mm.

Another quality of Amber from the Hymenaea tree of modern day Chiapas, Mexico, is its' range of colors. The iron rich soil of the high mountains of Chiapas tends to bleed rich redish brown colors penetrating up to 2 centimeters under the surface of the amber. More rare and captivating are the deep green and blue colors that can be seen when some amber is shown under a bright light, usually against a dark background. The specimen above has an inclusion of unidentified organic matter.

Nothing is quite as important as the sound of Amber Guitar Picks on the guitar strings. Amber has a warm rich tone reminiscent of tortoise shell picks differing with every shape and size. When cut 2mm or thinner amber even flexes like tortoise shell, when thicker it's unbendable. Ambers' ability to absorb shock makes it much less likely to break. In this artists' opinion, Amber is as good as toroise shell in every way. I'd like to hear your opinion.