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Company
Website: www.ice-pix.com
Not
too long ago I was given the privilege of checking out the
Ice Pix line of guitar picks.
My first thought was that I had pretty much seen it all. What
else could there be? However, this innovative line pleasantly
surprised me.
 Ice
Pix has two lines of picks: Metal
and the “Stix”.
The metal picks come in various different metals and thicknesses.
They come in brass, copper and stainless steel. The thicknesses
they come in are what I would consider medium to very heavy
and the thinnest being the copper “flex” version.
Metal
My first thoughts were that they would give you a harsh, metallic
sound, but that’s not the case at all. Yes, they do
sound very bright, and string squeak is a bit louder on the
wound strings, but in general, they played very well.
They
are designed with little “grip”
slots in them so they are easier to hold,
but I found the metal picks generally had a firm, non-slip
feel to them. They seem to use  the
natural moisture in you fingers to sort of “seal”
your fingers to the pick. Even under heavy playing, you probably
won’t lose it.
My
favorite was the copper “flex” pick.
I use Fender medium picks myself and this one provided the
closest feel to the Fender medium. It gave a nice, smooth,
bright sound, and with a Les Paul, it really sounded great.
The
“Stix” pick uses a patented Mini-Suction Technology
that allows you to stick the pick to your pickguard via suction,
without any residue. They are reusable and don’t wear
out.
When
they first arrived, I started to play with the .71mm ones,
the closest to a Fender medium pick. At first the extra thickness
of the pick and the suction pad seems a bit odd, but I’ll
get into that later.
My
next test was to see if they really would stick. I have a
wall hook for my Telecaster, so I took the entire pack and
stuck them on the Tele. Three days later they were still there
and to top it off, the longer I left them on, the harder they
stuck to the pickguard. So it’s probably not a good
idea to stick them on three days before a gig. They can be
really hard to get off!
Now,
back to the extra thickness of  the
suction pad. This grows on you. At first I didn’t like
the extra thickness at all, but over time I found myself using
them more and more. Now it’s reached a point where I’m
starting to feel handicapped playing without them.
I
play with a very light touch and I hold the pick lightly also.
I was always flipping picks all over the place. The white
suction pad has pretty much solved that problem. I seldom
lose one now and if I do, there are of course more stuck to
my pickguard.
Give
them a try and I think you’ll like them too.
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