Hogjim Pik-Tik

Stick your pick right on your guitar

By Phil O'Keefe

I don't know about you, but I'm definitely one of those players who has a tendency to occasionally drop my pick accidentally while I'm playing, so I have to keep a spare one handy. Of course, like many players, there are times when I want to switch from using a pick to playing fingerstyle, or with a slide and bare fingers, or from pick to E-Bow, and that always brings up the question of what to do with the pick in the meantime. You can palm it, but I tend to drop the pick as often as not when I try to do that. You can slip it under the edge of your pickguard, but that only works with some guitars, and the pick can be difficult to grab quickly when placed there anyway. There are pick holders that can attach directly to the face of your guitar, but most of them use double-sided adhesive that can leave residue behind when removed. The folks at Hogjim have come up with an alternative that mounts directly to the guitar but that doesn't use adhesive. It's called the Pik-Tik. Let's take a look at the details.

What You Need To Know

• The patent-pending Pik-Tik was successfully crowdfunded via Kickstarter, with nearly double the funding goal pledged.

• The Pik-Tik is made of a pliable rubber-like material that is flexible and soft. The center of the Pik-Tik has a slot for holding your pick. The slot is slightly curved, which helps it grip and hold the pick once it is inserted.

• The opening of the slot is wider near the top of the Pik-Tik, and this helps guide the pick into the slot and makes it easier to insert it. The depth of the slot is 5mm, but inserting the pick as little as 1mm is sufficient to hold it in place.

• Adhesion is accomplished with a suction cup pad on the bottom of the Pik-Tik. Simply place it up against a smooth flat surface such as your guitar's pickguard and press down firmly to attach. To remove it, grab the Pik-Tik and slide it sideways, parallel to the surface it is attached to while gently twisting and lifting up and away.

• The Pik-Tik leaves no residue, and doesn't damage the mounting surface in any way.

• The Pik-Tik is available in black, orange, and clear.

• Hogjim is the Mongolian word for music, and the Hogjim company donates half of their profits to the people of Mongolia through the Flourishing Future charity; details are available on the Hogjim website.

Limitations

• You can only hold one pick per Pik-Tik. Fortunately it's a low-cost accessory, so buying multiple units is not too expensive. Also, the Pik-Tik can be easily and quickly moved from one guitar to another if desired.

• The types of picks you can use with the Pik-Tik is somewhat limited; the Pik-Tik is not well suited for use with extra large or heavy/thick picks. Standard, triangular , teardrop, and "jazz" sized picks work best, in thin to medium thicknesses. Hogjim recommends sticking with pick thicknesses between about 55mm to 88mm.

• You need to give a bit of thought to where the best mounting position is for your particular playing style and tastes. You want to mount it in a location that is easily reached so you can grab the pick quickly (or put it into the Pik-Tik), but you shouldn't put it somewhere where you might accidentally hit it with your strumming / picking hand since an errant strum can dislodge the pick. The Pik-Tik itself is surprisingly sturdy, and stays in place very well, even shrugging off the occasional accidental hit from my strumming hand while still remaining attached to the guitar. 

Conclusions

The Pik-Tik is a clever little accessory that can keep a pick attached right on your guitar where it is nice and handy and quickly reached. It's quite easy to put a pick into the Pik-Tik in a hurry once you get used to the placement and positioning you prefer, making it easy to switch from fingerstyle to pick and back again, and relatively fast too.

Unfortunately, it won't work for everyone. Players who use oversized picks or who prefer unusually thin, or thick, heavy picks will need to look elsewhere, but for thin to medium picks, it works great. It mounts quickly and easily, leaves no sticky residue on your guitar, and can be moved to another guitar whenever you want. It holds the pick securely, even if you move around a lot as you play, but not so tightly that it's difficult to grab when you need it. It's inexpensive too, and they even throw in a pick along with the holder. If you drop your pick a lot and need to keep a spare handy, or if you occasionally need to switch from flatpicking  to fingerstyle and back again in mid-song, it can be a very handy and helpful accessory to have. It does what Hogjim says it will, and it does it very well.  

Resources

Pik-Tik Pick Holder web page ($9.99 each, available direct from the manufacturer)

Hogjim's website

Phil O'Keefe is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer / producer and the Senior Editor of Harmony Central. He has engineered, produced and performed on countless recording sessions in a diverse range of styles, with artists such as Alien Ant Farm, Jules Day, Voodoo Glow Skulls, John McGill, Michael Knott and Alexa's Wish. He is a former featured monthly columnist for EQ magazine, and his articles and product reviews have also appeared in Keyboard, Electronic Musician and Guitar Player magazines.