A quirky project has landed on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo that might appeal to up-and-coming guitarists who regularly see their picks flying into the crowd. It comes from Acorn Amplifiers in Atlanta, Georgia, and is a stompbox that assigns new picks simply by pressing a footswitch.
Acorn’s small team currently has a bunch of stompboxes for sale (including preamps and fuzz boxes) as well as tube amp heads, cabinets and combos. The idea for the pick pedal project arose when some players used old mint tins on their pedals to store picks.
As an inside joke, the gang decided to make a box that fed a new pickaxe through a slot in the top every time the foot switch was pressed.
“Inside the housing is a plastic box that serves as pick storage and motor mounts,” the team told us. “A spring-loaded feed mechanism forces the pick stack forward so a cam on the motor can engage the next pick and deliver it to the user when the foot switch is depressed.”
A video showing the prototypes was shared on the store’s social media and was an absolute hit – attracting hundreds of thousands of views, as well as requests to make and sell them.
Acorn Amplifier
Interestingly, the new pickaxe pops out of the back of the socket (instead of the point). The pedal pick is powered by the pedal power supply (9 V, tip negative) and loading the pick is expected to be as simple as lifting the cover and filling the cartridge inside. Currently only “standard” selection sizes are supported, but there may be a range to include less common selections.
The production version will also need to be made stronger for potential road life, and the current branding on the box (from the famous mint can) will likely have to be replaced, possibly with something acorn-specific.
The Pick Pedal project is currently funding independent website, benefits start at $60. The usual crowdfunding caveats apply, but if all goes to plan, Acorn hopes to start shipping to backers in December. The video below has more.
Guitar Pick Splitter Pedal – Acorn Amplifiers
source: Acorn Amplifier
