The 2014 Arlington Guitar Show
/My Favorite Show Thus Far
Me and Tim.
It has been a couple of weeks since the show now so this article is definitely overdue. Though the traffic at show was was less than most venders expected, we all stayed quite busy the entire time. I had hoped to get out and shoot some video to share but that really wasn't possible. I had to call in my wonderful fiancé to take photos so we would have at least some media to share. If you didn't get chance to go, I have to say that you really missed out. There was just a massive amount of guitars and gear. Everything from the new and innovative to the vintage and weird. If you are gear hound like me, this was the show to be at. If you missed out, there is always next year.
Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks
Our simplified display.
As I stated before, we stayed really busy for most of the show. In keeping with our previous show stats, a little more than four out of every five players that sat down and tried The Dragon's Heart bought one or more.
There was one bluegrass player I remember in particular that I pulled from the crowd walking by. I won't sight him by name but he did not want to sit down and try a Dragon's Heart. I managed to coerce him into the booth and set him up with my acoustic and a Pure Dragon's Heart. He played for almost half an hour. I actually demonstrated and sold picks to three other players while he was playing. When he finally finished, he bought three Pure and spent another 15 minutes telling me how great they were. He was very much convinced that I needed to make sure that every bluegrass player in the world knew about The Dragon's Heart.
Me in my element. Another pleasantly surprised player.
We also debuted our new Faux Dragon's Heart line and these did very well. They come in a six pack, click here to learn more. We also had some very special pricing for the show. Cutting the cost of shipping out of the equation really freed us to bring some excellent value to the players. If you weren't able to attend the show for whatever reason, please keep reading. I have special limited time offer you.
Bobby Patterson
Cover shot of Bobby Patterson.
This was one of the highlights of the show for me. Bobby Patterson actually came to our booth and played guitar for a little while. If you don't know who this is you should probably look him up. He was a popular R+B guitarist in the 60's and he played with a lot of the really big name blues players from the 70's and 80's. He has a new album out called "I got more soul" and let me tell you, Bobby definitely has more soul. I couldn't sell Mr. Patterson a pick because he plays with his fingers. He did offer to buy one of my guitars though. I had to politely turn him down as it was one of favorites that only brought along so players could test picks. Even though Bobby did not, his grandson did buy a pick.
EKlein Guitars
Really do check these out. Really.
I first came across these at the Dallas Guitar Show earlier this year but it wasn't until this show that I finally got to meet Ed Klein of EKlein Guitars. If you haven't heard of these you are very much in the majority, but these are worth looking into. In fact, I have one these in my sights for the next addition to my own collection when funding permits. The bodies and necks are formed via injection molding. The material they use is a spruce composite of some sort. From what I remember from my discussion with Ed, they use reclaimed spruce that is ground down and mixed with a resin. This material is then molded into the forms of the body and neck separately. From there it is assembled in a manner very similar to any other guitar. I have to say that I was very apprehensive at first but, they play very well, sound really great, and are much more impervious to environmental conditions than a standard wood guitar. For more details check out the Eklein website.
Random shot from the show. Courtesy of Jess, the love of my life.
V-Picks
V-Pick stock photo
Now this next section begins to tread into the area of "conflict of interest". I am going to write this anyways and to heck with consequences. This was the highlight of the show for me. I got to meet Vinni Smith from V-picks. In case you didn't pick up on it, Vinni is the "V" in V-pick. I have to admit that I was a little nervous to meet Vinni. Partially because I am a huge fan of his but mostly because I could be considered one of his competitors. Vinni is an awesome guy, and he was kind enough to spend almost an hour talking with me during the show. We even traded some picks.
Now I would like to able to tell you that my picks are definitively the best picks. While I certainly believe that this is the case, I'm also certain that Vinni feels the same way about his picks. He has every reason to. Vinni makes some fantastic products and feel it only right to mention that his were the first picks that I ever tried (all those years ago) that really made me believe that a guitar pick could be more and perform better. I still to this day can appreciate the V-pick for the great product it is. Much in the same way that I imagine Leo Fender would appreciate a Les Paul. I think most us can appreciate both of those guitars.
In most of these blog articles I talk about my picks and why you should try them, but I always state (in one form or another) that you should try as many picks as you can get your hands on. That being said, If you are only going to try one new pick, try mine. If you are gonna try two, try Vinni's and mine. Only you can decided which is the best pick for you. A very special thank you to Vinni and Nancy for being so nice and taking the time to talk with me.
Second Chance To Get Show Worthy Discount
Another shot of the show. Thank you Jess, you are a life saver.
As I stated earlier in this article, I have a special offer for you. If you missed out on the show, you really missed out on a lot of great stuff, a whole lot of fun, and some great pricing on Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks. I want to offer special discount to you just for reading this article. Enter the coupon code IMISSEDGUITARLINGTON and you will get 18% off your entire order. This is only good for a limited time.
Thanks for reading. Until next time... Play with fire, in your heart!
Corey W.