Ritchie Blackmore Custom Square Picks vs Sixpence Coin
The Ritchie Blackmore Custom Square Picks and the Sixpence Coin are both picks sharing bright. The Sixpence Coin leans transparent and sustaining.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.51% — moderately similar
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Electronic
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- bright
Ritchie Blackmore Custom Square Picks
Unknown brand · pick
Sixpence Coin
Unknown brand · pick
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.Ritchie Blackmore has played an unusually squared plectrum shape since the 1970s, originally cutting the corners off standard Fender Tortoiseshell Extra Heavy picks into a rectangular form because he disliked the conventional rounded shape, later having custom versions made by brands including PickBoy, some printed with his name on one side and a blunt declaration of ownership on the other. The square shape and edges change both grip feel and pick attack angle compared to a standard pointed pick, part of the distinctive attack and articulation heard across his Deep Purple and Rainbow lead work, and the design has since inspired several boutique tribute pick makers producing his shape in multiple gauges for fans wanting to replicate his exact feel.
Brian May has used an old British sixpence coin instead of a standard plastic pick for the majority of his career, favoring its rigid metal edge and the specific grip it affords for the intricate, layered guitar harmonies and precise picking heard across Queen's catalog. The coin's hard, unyielding edge produces a brighter, more percussive attack than a flexible plastic pick, part of the overall distinctive tonal character May achieves with his homemade Red Special guitar, and its use has become as recognizable a part of his public gear identity as the guitar itself, inspiring officially licensed sixpence-style pick reproductions for fans.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Hard Rock
- Metal
- transparent
- sustaining
- tight