Review : Patoma Picks
Patoma Pick, 2mm in Delrin with exclusive diamond coated grip area
Yes, you read that right, a review of a pick, or in this case two different picks from the same company. Patoma Music is based in River Vale, New Jersey USA. Co-founder John Patalano reached out to ask if I would be interested in reviewing the company’s pick products. I agreed and they kindly sent two along.
The Unique Option
Patoma Picks have a grip area composed of industrial diamonds, up to 1 carat weight per pick. As folks may know diamond cutting wheels, diamond files and the like are renowned for their durability and cutting capability. They are also, to coin a phrase, very grippy.
My Pick Challenge
Pick choice is very personal. I prefer a thicker pick, over 1mm and up to 2mm are perfectly comfortable for me. My go to choice is black buffalo horn which are thick and warm between the finger and thumb so I am disinclined to drop them. When I went to have my own picks made for local supporters, I found a maker who had a process called Tru Grip and I liked it so much that I adopted it for my celluloid and Delrin picks. While people like them, the maximum thickness of 1.13mm is not ideal for me.
Patoma Sharp
The good people at Patoma Music offer celluloid and Delrin picks but all have this completely unique and for me, undroppable without conscious intent, diamond coating on the grip area.
No worries that there are diamond coatings where the pick hits the strings. That would be bad for all involved. The Patoma picks are available either sharp or in the very common 351 format and that is what I am reviewing here. The diamond overlay is only on the grip portion of the pick.
The Playing Experience
The number of guitars and basses readily available to me is well into the triple digits. They run different gauges of strings with different surface finishes, and are both coated and uncoated. While I commonly use one type of pick on acoustics, electrics tend to get whatever I use across the board. My goal here was to test the Patoma Picks across all types of instruments at hand. No matter how awesome the grip area is, the proof of the pudding is in the tone created by the pick stroke.
And I am pleased to say that these are very comfortable to play for extended periods and I do like the sound of the guitars when using these picks. I like the extra thickness and as I have developed some arthritis pain over the last decade, I don’t have to pinch hard to maintain a grip.
I will need to work on in hand transition from pick to finger style as I find any grippy pick more challenging to accomplish this with.
I can see that these will be a boutique choice at about $10 USD per. That’s not crazy pricing, there are other picks selling for $40 and more for a single, but it is a conscious buying decision. Customers in the United State can order directly from patomamusic.com or through some of the stores that have signed up to be dealers. I expect that such stores will keep the picks under the counter or in showcases, as they are so small, they would be the ready victim of five finger discounts if hung in public.
1.5mm Black Delrin
I find that I prefer them to my older favourites from V-Picks and certainly they work better for me than Gravity Picks, both fine makers. As I live in Canada, ordering across the border doesn’t make sense due to idiot tariffs, customs duties and the nearly valueless Canadian dollar courtesy of an utterly incompetent government but US customers will not face those issues.
It’s a good product, if a bit niche, and I wish the company great success.
Wrapping Up
I am picky about my picks. For me, a good pick makes the playing time more pleasurable whereas a pick that I have to work with or fight with puts me off. The Patoma picks keep the pleasure factor high.
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