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You'll be glad to know this isn't just another "apply light tension and lift pins" guide with piles of useless filler and pictures to bulk things out. I've covered everything a newbie could possibly need in excruciating detail, including a bunch of other stuff that nobody ever takes the time to explain properly. Most (if not all) of the books out there only go into basic detail on picking technique, and certain information tends to be very outdated.

The feedback on this so far has been very good, so I thought I'd share here. Big thanks to Orc, who put it into pdf format for me and was also kind enough to host it.

You can download the book for free HERE. If any of the newbies have any questions, feel free post them in this thread if you want. As for the rest of ya... I know how nice it is to find somethng new to read, even if you already know the stuff, so... enjoy!

Looks great, Solomon!

Very nice read indeed, lots of great to the point information. Loved the "FASQ" section also haha. Thanks for the shout out at the end of it as well. Much appreciated! EDIT:

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it

Hallis, I always figured my writing was fairly poor to be honest. As long as people can understand what the hell I'm on about though it's all good

I only skimmed the book; but what I saw is a very fine book on the subject. Well done, Sol!

very well written & an excellent reference guide so easy to understand I think you captured everything

catch ya lata have fun ...............................................

OUTSTANDING Work Solomon!!!!!

Great man... Really good stuff. If you're looking to add anything, I think a little glossary of slang might help a newbie. that and maybe a pick profile section with all the nicknames for picks and such.. But really awesome job on this tutorial/book.

Happy Writing,
Whizdumb

holy shit solomon this is awsome thanks so so much we all really appreciate it

A great tutorial!!
I will start giving this instead of the MIT guide to all interested in the hobby.
And the FASQ- section was good too, but I would have left the 180 - question un answered. I get a good laugh about once a week reading these posts.
Thanks for writing it!

Thanks to everyone for the input, it's nice to see people are enjoying it.


Thanks whizdumb. To be honest, people will pick up everything they need to start with during the course of the book so I decided against the glossary. I didn't wanna overload the poor newbies with information they don't really need yet, so the glossary would only contain stuff which is taught throughout the book. And we don't want people just skipping to the picking section and referencing a glossary every time they get stuck instead of taking the time to actually learn the stuff beforehand. I want people to read this and get a proper understanding of everything before they start picking, cos that's the mistake I made when I first started.

As for pick types, I actually wrote up a section on that but I decided to leave it out in the end. The reason for this is because picks fall into main categories and it really just boils down to trying a bigger hook or a different type of rake. I didn't see the point going into a ton of detail apart from maybe mentioning the ones that really suck, such as snake rakes and various different ball rakes.

I suppose a small bit at the end of the SPP section with a pic of different hooks and offset picks would be good, likewise for the raking section. Although I need to get more rakes to take a good pic!! I'm treating myself to a new set of picks which includes various rakes after christmas is over, so I'll update it then.


Thanks wizer, that's a serious compliment as the MIT guide is pretty much the go-to reference at the moment

The 180 question has recently started to make me facepalm every time I see it, so I needed to vent a little. It stays!!

Nice work there Solly! A good read indeed! I gotta say I'm impressed! I like it far better than say the LSI guide even, and I thought that one was a pretty good intro. Good way to put it into a pull no punches, no bullshit, straight forward, what you need to actually know format. Great job!

And the 180 thing... well, I happen to remember him getting burned by that on an american... granted, it wasn't specifically because he just turned it to 180 like a jackass, but due to other circumstances it turned and jammed at 180, ripped springs, all the fun shit... I knew why it was there as soon as I saw it, beyond it just being a common question. And comeon, let's face it... everyone's done it at least on accident in one of them "oh shit!" moments.

-Elbow

Thanks for that Solomon. I've read it once and plan to re-read and diligently apply the material to my picking. I hope that you grow the document as your learning and skill expands.