I knew I'd stir up some controversy.
But that's a good thing. It breeds great discussions!!! So let's get back to it shall we???
Silverado wrote:I see your point @rusirius!
Only problem I see is that there are a lot of weird/goofy shaped picks in those sets that will not teach a newcomer anything, and likely confuse them.
Point taken. But it's not like we don't see weird/goofy shaped picks with the other manufacturers too. The Sandman comes to the forefront of my mind for example. With quality videos and resources I don't think confusion should be too much of an issue, and having all those weird shapes in my opinion is a good thing as it let's them play around with them and realize just how useless many of them can be. Let's face it, MOST beginners are going to get sucked into that "I want a pick of every type and size..." mentality. But having a set like this through learning can teach a great lesson. When they get more profiecient and find themselves CONSTANTLY reaching for the same 2 or 3 picks it becomes evident what shapes are truly important.
Silverado wrote:Could also set a bad first impression about the hobby in general when those cheap picks deform and/or break as often as they are known to.
Another good point, and we certainly don't want to scare anyone off. On the other hand it may have more to do with which set they get. I mean, I've still got some cheap Goso picks that I use occasionally. Interestingly enough I've only snapped off one pick in my time, and it wasn't one of the cheap chinese ones...
On the other hand, in your defense, this IS one negative strike for these cheap sets... Some of these seems to be fairly decent, while others are total crap. The Goso set I got when I was first learning was great. On the other hand, I've seen sets that look exactly the same but come with completely different shapes and most all of them are useless, etc... That's the worst part, there's just no consistency.
Silverado wrote:I am not saying you are wrong by any means.
NOBODY is wrong here... It's all just our individual opinions. If I start on a cheap chinese set and have great success and feel like it saved me a lot of money in the long run, then I'm going to be biased toward going that route. If you started with a $150 Peterson set and had great success and feel like that saved you a lot of money in the long run, then you're going to be biased toward that direction. At the end of the day it's all just our opionions though. Nobody is wrong or right, just gives more options for a beginner to consider.
In fact, that's why I feel debates like this are very valuable, especially to beginners, and a big part of why I started it. Because I think it's important for them to be able to see things from all angles...
Squelchtone wrote:My take is that if you can't spend $30 on a Southord set and just have to buy the sh*t tools for $15 dollars because there's more of them and it comes with a cool clear padlock, then don't get into the hobby if you're that poor or frugal. Like seriously it's only $30 bucks for an actual proper set.
Completely valid point... BUT, consider the beginner. I don't care if you're looking at Sparrow, Peterson, Southord, or whatever... What are the odds the beginner is going to order a small set with a few picks in it? As a more advanced picker it's easy for us to look at all those crazy shapes and realize that most of them are useless, but when first starting out I know I personally felt like I wanted ALL the different shapes and options out there. So even if they go with Southord, what are the odds they actually go with a $30 set versus an $80 or more set because of the allure of "all those picks!".
I know I know... They don't need them, but CONVINCING them they don't need them is a different story. I started out picking with a set of two picks that I filed out of coat hangers. LOL. A half diamond and a hook. I actually got well beyond the beginner stage with those two picks... Yet when I started getting a little more serious the very first thing I did was order a big cheap chinese set. I'll admit it, I was drawn in by the "sexiness" of all those different shapes. Like a VTECH sticker slapped on a Ford Festiva could give a 20HP boost, having all these different picks to choose from would instantly make me a better picker... Well no... Absolutely not... But I had to find that out for myself... 100 terrific pickers could have told me that and I still wouldn't have believed them till I tried it out myself... Maybe I'm just stubborn that way and others aren't like that so maybe this whole point is moot. I dunno... But I know for me it was a lot cheaper to try out all those "Crazy" shapes with the crappy chinese set than if I had ordered every Peterson, Sparrow and Southord pick they make... LOL
Squelchtone wrote:And not all people are hands on to the point where they want to and polish some sharp poorly made pick set, I know when I got my first pick set in the mail all I wanted was to stick it in a lock and start picking, not spend a day sanding them down to make them workable, at that point the money you saved just got erased by time put into making set usable.
Well, the chinese sets I've used COULD be used right out of the packaging. It's just if you want it to be as smooth as possible it's going to at least need some 400-600 grit. On the other hand, as I said, I find that every pick I've ever bought has needed this to be as smooth as I like.
Now hear me out about the Southord set... I'm assuming since you mentioned the $30 price tag you're talking about the PXS-14 set? In my opinion, I don't see this as a good choice for a beginner... In fact, I see it as possibly a WORSE choice than something like the $15 cheap china set I mentioned. Now hear me out before you kick me to the curb...
In full disclosure, I've never actually used this set... So I may be way off base here... I'm basing this only on what it appears to be...
Forget about the ball and half ball. Chances are a beginner isn't going to worry much about wafer locks, they'll probably be focused on a crappy kwikset and whatever selection of padlocks they could pick up.
As for raking, I know my "first to grab" is always a double or triple peak bogie style. The closest this set has to that is the W style rake, which appears to have edges that are way too sharp and I'm sure is nowhere near as effective as either of the aforementioned rakes. In fact, to me, it looks like it's just asking for a beginner to snap it off in a lock. Both of the hooks appear to be relatively deep. I could be wrong, but if I had say a smaller brass ACE padlock or something like that, I think both of those hooks would be too deep to be effective. In fact, I can see them being a problem with lots of smaller padlocks, which likely a beginner will be focused on.
Like I said, this is TOTALLY based on what they APPEAR to be in their pictures... I could be totally wrong and off base here.
