John Reischman needs little introduction to fans of the mandolin. From his groundbreaking playing with the Tony Rice Unit and the Good Ol’ Persons to his current work as a solo artist and with his band, the Jaybirds, great taste and gorgeous tone are always front and center when John picks up his coveted Lloyd Loar-ear 1924 Gibson F-5. Another important factor in John’s tone is his flatpick. Naturally, John has experimented with and used a lot of different picks over the years, but his current favorites are made by Apollo Picks, who produces a signature line of picks for John ($40 each). We recently asked John to demo the picks while he was in the Peghead Nation video studio shooting lessons for his Old-Time Mandolin course. 

The standard Apollo John Reischman pick is made from a material called polyetherimide, or PEI for short (check out this page on the Apollo website for a detailed description). The picks have three rounded corners, which is the general shape that John has used for many years, and a thickness of 1.2 mm. “I find that’s thick enough to get a full, deep, dark sound, but I can still play at a pretty quick clip,” John explains. “I love the way they sound. They have a nice clarity to them; very similar to tortoiseshell.”

Apollo also offers the John Reischman pick in a material called polyether ether ketone, or PEEK for short. A bit less bright in sound, these picks are a good choice for use with instruments that can use a little help in warming up the sound. 

In this video, John demos both picks using his Gibson F-5, and he also shows one of Apollo’s casein picks. 

To learn mandolin from John Reischman, enroll in his Melodic Mandolin Tunes or his Old-Time Mandolin course.

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