Endorsement by Matt Quistorf

As an instructor I find it imperative that a student learns to keep a loose grip on the pick. The Monster Grips allow guitarists of all skill levels to focus on playing light and articulate without worrying about the pick flying out of their hands. With the advantage of being usable on any pick-type the Monster Grip is sure to help a player develop or maintain a lighter technique.

• Diatonic Approach
  Take the guesswork out of progressions by utilizing the Nashville Number System.
• Modal Sequences
  Break away from playing straight scale runs by learning Modal Sequences!
• Riff Writing
  Easily create your own awesome riffs using these tips and techniques!

Guitar Girl Magazine
Katrina Johansson is a rock guitarist who has taken lessons from internationally known guitarists Michael Angelo Batio and Gary Hoey. She attended the Wisconsin Conservatory where she studied classical and rock guitar. Katrina is endorsed by Dean Guitars, Dime Amplification and Luna Guitars. She has toured with regional bands and her first CD of heavy instrumental music was on Michael Angelo Batio’s M.A.C.E. Records. He also played bass on her first CD.
Guitar Girl Magazine
katrinaguitar.com
Wikipedia

Guitar Player Magazine

Better Guitar Technique with Monster Grips

Guitar Player Magazine
“A lot of brilliantly simple ideas have come forth in guitar gear recently—perhaps because good product ideas that resonate with users can be easily user funded via sites such as kickstarter. com. That’s how Monster Grips ($8.99 street/16 pack) achieved its final business push, and the tiny, round silicone buttons definitely make a pick easier to grip. This makes me very happy when I purchase promotional “photo/image” picks that are notoriously slippery. I could just give them to fans, but I dig playing with them as well, and Monster Grips ensure that I won’t launch a pick off my strings in mid solo like a dork. (Thanks for that.) Another plus is that picks with Monster Grips applied won’t stick together in your pocket, making it easy to quickly snatch a single pick when you need most it. Pure genius.” ~Michael Molenda

Playing With Chaos

Most guitarists play either a traditional heart-shaped pick, or the smaller Dunlop Jazz type pick. I was once one of those people. In fact I still use both of those pick shapes often, but I prefer picks made of delrin. That’s usually not a problem for the heart-shaped picks, but for the delrin-based jazz picks, it is. I am constantly dropping them because they slip out of my hand. You know how it is; all those fans clinging to your leg during a solo and trying to tear your clothes off while you play – it’s tough to hold on to my guitar pick. (Listen, a girl can dream alright? Focus on the pick-dropping issue!)

Many months ago, I made the decision to try out a more rare guitar pick shape: the home-plate shaped pick. If you’ve never heard of or seen one of these picks, it’s because not many of your guitar heroes use them. In fact, Ritchie Blackmore and Lita Ford are the two biggest names that swear by the home-plate shaped picks made only by Pick Boy, a Japanese company. They are available through Osiamo, based in New York, but unless your local store stocks this kind of pick, you’ve probably never seen one.

I was inspired to try the home-plate shape because my guitar hero, Lita Ford, uses one and explains in several interviews how it allows her to use alternate picking techniques more efficiently. I figured that since I’m constantly trying to shred like she does, I may as well give it a shot. I was amazed by the impact of this new pick shape on my playing, but it also came with a separate problem: the material they’re made of. Pick Boy makes their home-plate shaped picks out of celluloid. They look really snazzy, but I have a hard enough time keeping my delrin-based picks in my hand, and celluloid is even more slippery. Osiamo was kind enough to send me a multitude of picks to test and in that batch was also a bone-based home-plate pick, but bone is just as slippery as celluloid. How was I going to make my pick “grippier”?

I resorted to buying industrial “grip tape” that they use on stairs and steps for safety purposes. I then had to cut this very rough tape into tiny squares that fit on my home-plate shaped picks. Problem: the gritty material that the tape is made out of crumbles over time, and if you do a pick slide, the little crevices get stuck on the strings, making certain playing techniques tough to deal with. But I love the home-plate shape so I needed to find a solution. One that wouldn’t result in any more X-acto knife marks on my fingers and picks.

This is where Monster Grips come into the picture. I did a quick Google search and came across their website. Monster Grips are a “super grippy, non-sticky, silicone grip that is ultra thin and stays clean.” I figured this might work to fix the problem that so many sweaty-handed guitarists like myself have and offered to do a review of the product.

I was like a giddy school girl when they promptly arrived in the mail. I went from my mailbox into my music room and took out one of my much-loved picks. Would this be the product that finally allowed me to use my pick without a care in the world? Or was it going to be another gimmick? Lord knows the music industry is full of those. How did Monster Grips fare in my testing lab? To say they passed with flying colors would be a huge understatement. This grassroots, Kickstarter-funded “invention” is quite possibly the product that revolutionized my playing the most in this past year. The Monster Grips work like a charm! They don’t get sticky, they don’t fall off the pick even after weeks of use, and best of all, you hardly notice they’re on the pick at all. This product is sheer brilliance and as a result, I can use all of my favorite picks/pick shapes no matter what, and not fear dropping them due to a lack of grip ever again.

I also tried the Monster Grips on the regular heart-shaped picks and had the same results: strong, solid adhesion without sticky residue or change to playability and how I hold the pick. The product is so professionally and minimally packaged that unless you’re looking for it in a retail store, you’d totally walk by it. But just like anything else worth knowing about, it’s going to start out as a secret that a few “in-the-know” musicians are going to spread a little at a time, and if I know guitarists well, it will take off like wildfire. The good news is that while that fire is raging on, you’ll be able to run knowing full well that your guitar pick isn’t going to slip out of your hand any time soon.

While the target audience may be guitarists, Monster Grips knows that drummers, singers, and many other musicians and industry tech people will be able to benefit from their product. You can order Monster Grips directly from their website, where you can also find local retailers/distributors of their product. At $8.99 for a package of 16, this is a bargain that you just can’t pass up.

Overall, I am thrilled to finally be able to use the pick that I feel most comfortable playing without having to take the asphalt-like “crumbs” from the stair safety tape out of my pocket any more. Monster Grips have got a hold on my pick collection, and they’re not letting go anytime soon. In the words of Spinal Tap, if I had to rate Monster Grips on a scale of 1 to 10, they would definitely “go to 11”.

Guitar World Magazine

“You know you’ve done it plenty of times. Right in the middle of strumming aggressively, your pick flies right out from under your sweaty hand, swiftly disappearing onto the dark and cluttered stage. Or even worse, it falls into the sound hole of your acoustic guitar because your grip is about as firm as a wet fish. For many guitarists, this common mishap could easily be solved if you crazy glue your pick onto your index finger or thumb. But let’s be serious, that’s never going to happen. Thankfully, Monster Grips has a simple solution to this reoccurring dilemma with a clever self-adhesive guitar pick grip that allows you to get a hang on things. Monster Grips is a small, circular self-adhesive that conveniently attaches onto the surface of your guitar pick with an exterior dimpled grip that makes a firm connection with your fingers, especially if you stick it on both sides of the pick. It features a patented silicone based material that’s non-sticky with a textured grip that feels naturally comfortable and paper-thin, so it doesn’t feel cumbersome or interfere with your articulation. After an hour of use, its solid hold feels so seamless that you’ll want to stick it on all your picks. Monster Grips comes packaged with sixteen grips, which are more than enough to never let that pick slip away from you again.”
~Paul Riario

Hershel Yatovitz calls Monster Grips “Perfection!”

“I have always felt that dropping picks on occasion is a really good sign that I’m playing with the level of relaxation in my picking hand essential for good technique. But f course when they do fly away it’s no fun. With Monster Grips I get to play with my hand more relaxed than ever and never drop my pick. Perfection!” ~Hershel Yatovitz: Lead Guitar with Chris Isaak and Silvertone That is precisely the goal of Monster Grips; to allow for a more relaxed grip while maintaining a secure hold on your pick.

About Hershel Yatovitz
Hershel Yatovitz is the lead guitarist for pop rock icon Chris Isaak. Since joining Isaak in 1995 he has recorded 10 albums with Isaak, toured the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and made hundreds of TV appearances. He also acted and played on the critically acclaimed Showtime TV series, “The Chris Isaak Show” from 2000-2003. And, more recently performed with Stevie Nicks, Trisha Yearwood, and Glen Campbell on the A&E BIO Network’s “The Chris Isaak Hour”.
Among many other artists, Hershel has played with: Art Alexis (Everclear), Nicole Atkins, Booker T. (Booker T. and the MG’s), Michelle Branch (Santana), Junior Brown, Michael Buble, James Burthon (Elvis Presley), Glen Campbell, Brandi Carlyle, Mike Clark (Hervie Hancock), Shawn Colvin, Dick Dale, Bo Diddley, Minnie Driver, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, Mark Ford, Bruce Forman, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, Allman Bros.) Tootie Heath, James Hunter, Chris Issak, Stephen Jenkins (Third Eye Blind), Kolvane, Lisa Loeb, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Brian McKnight, Brett Michaels (Poison), Alison Moorer, Vince Neil (Motley Crue), Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac), Joe Pass, Bonnie Raitt, Rufus Reid, Leann Rimes, Ritchie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Brian Setzer, Paul Stanley (KISS), John Stowell, Ron Thompson, Pam Tillis, Waddy Wachtel, DB Walker, Joe Walsh (Eagles), Trisha Yearwood, and Dweezil Zappa.
An active record producer and composer, Hershel also plays bass and drums. He is at home playing many styles including African, Blues, Calypso, Country Western, Folk, Funk, Italian, Jazz, Latin, Motown, Raggae, R&B, Rock, Soul, and Western Swing. His versatility has led to diverse experiences, form meeting and performing for U.S. Presidents and other luminaries to playing venues from The Superbowl, Kennedy Center, and The Hollywood Bowl, to hospitals and children’s centers to TV shows with legendary music stars.
As well as performing in many San Francisco Bay Area bands, and producing and recording local artists, Hershel was a music educator until 1994. He taught guitar and bass for 17 years, including 9 years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University in California. When not on tour he lives in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Rated Top 10 By Tyler Larson

Acoustic Tuesday with Tony Polecastro

A very big thank you to Tony Polecastro with Tony’s Acoustic Challenge at Acoustic Life for such a glowing review in today’s excellent episode. We are honored to be featured on such a quality channel, and highly recommend that you subscribe to AcoustLife.tv if you have not already done so.

Tony put our product to the test in a very creative way, and was ultimately surprised that our superior product claims proved to be true!
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Here is an excerpt from Tony’s blog:
There are some things that #guitargeeks deal with on a regular basis like broken strings, constant tuning, and misplacing your pick, but nothing is worse than finding a pick that you absolutely love only to have it become slippery in your hand and start spinning while you play. This #guitargeek phenomenon is all too common and thankfully there is a company out there trying to stop the spinning and slipping. Monster grips is a company that makes these small and grippy little discs you can stick right on your favorite pick… and they actually work! I have tried many products that aid in helping your pick stay put, from Gorilla snot, to violin rosin, and even the Cool brand picks with the sandpaper attached to them. I can confidently say that Monster Grips are a cut above the rest and are raising the bar in this category of Acoustic Guitar Accessory. They are easy to use and extremely durable. I put the grips on each side of a Dunlop Ultex pick, played the guitar for more than an hour, followed that up with placing the pick in a cup of coffee, and then washed it off with dish soap. In short, I put these through the ringer, and after cleaning they were just as grippy as when I first put them on. One of the things I had to get used to was the feel of the grippy pads on each side and the added thickness, but after a short adjustment period I found these to be pretty darn effective. They also work really well as a non slip surface on the feet of effects pedals. All in all Monster Grips are pretty outstanding if you are one of those players needing a little extra grip on your pick.

Sources

If you haven’t heard of Heavy Repping (plectrum blog), you are in for a treat.
The full interview can be read here.

A thorough video review is also available below.

This blog is by far the most comprehensive pick/plectrum blog we have ever come across! John Tron Davidson does a fantastic job bringing to light the many nuances that make a pick so special, as well as exposes us to the great variety and manufacturers available. Be sure to follow all the channels!

• https://heavyrepping.com
• https://www.facebook.com/heavyrepping
• https://www.instagram.com/heavyrepping

We were honored to sit down with Heavy Repping for an insightful conversation, sharing some details that may be familiar, and some we have never discussed prior.

We greatly appreciate every supportive customer that helped us get to this point by sharing their love for our product.

Sam Ash is a renowned leading Music Store, and we consider it a notable achievement to have been carried by them.

Sam Ash Music Stores
178 Mamaroneck Ave
White Plains, NY 10601