D’Addario Assorted Pearl Celluloid Guitar Picks, 25 pack, Medium

D’addario are well known for their excellent range of guitar strings. I use their NYXL strings almost exclusively but didn’t know they also do picks. I was a bit surprised when a bag of 25 turned up in the mail. I haven’t a clue where they came from but the envelope was addressed to me so I figured I’d review them.

This is their bag of 25 classic pearl celluloid picks in various colors. Back at the turn of the 20^th century, guitar picks were most often made from tortoise shell. Then plastics were invented. Celluloid is one of the first thermoset plastics. It is a plastic best known for its use in photographic and movie films. It can be stained with dyes and in the early 1900’s was used for all kinds of plastics as a cheap alternative to tortoise shell. Everyone is familiar with those vintage tortoise shell combs, hair brushes, pens and classic eye glasses frames from the 50’s through to the present day.

These picks are made from that material and are pretty much a standard 0.70mm  (.028 inch) medium pick. There are five different pearlescent colors: red, white, blue, green and black. The picks are standard shaped with a very smooth slightly rounded edge. They are printed in satin silver on both sides. You have the D’addario logo on one side, stating they are made in the USA underneath. The other side just says CLASSIC 0.7mm.

In use, they are fairly stiff with a strong attack and distinct detailed highs. The smooth edges don’t snag and sound is pretty standard for this kind of pick. Different materials and thicknesses change the tone of the guitar. These are designed to be classic and ultimately sound like you would expect a strong fingernail to sound.

They are inexpensive at around $5 for the whole bag of 25 on Amazon which makes them cheap, disposable and a good staple pick. They are well-formed, and sound and feel consistently identical. At home, I typically use a variety of more expensive premium picks that come in packs of 3 or 4 costing almost twice the price of this bag of 25. If I was taking the guitar on the road I’d definitely consider these. I have a few other cellulose picks that are pretty similar but not all have a nice smooth, rounded edge.

So these are pretty good.