Apollo John Reischman Picks

The mandolin legend and Peghead Nation instructor demonstrates his signature flatpicks.

John Reischman needs little introduction to fans of the mandolin. From his groundbreaking playing with the Tony Rice Unit and the Good Ol’ Persons to his current work as a solo artist and with his band, the Jaybirds, great taste and gorgeous tone are always front and center when John picks up his coveted Lloyd Loar-ear 1924 Gibson F-5. Another important factor in John’s tone is his flatpick. Naturally, John has experimented with and used a lot of different picks over the years, but his current favorites are made by Apollo Picks, who produces a signature line of picks for John ($40 each). We recently asked John to demo the picks while he was in the Peghead Nation video studio shooting lessons for his Old-Time Mandolin course. 

The standard Apollo John Reischman pick is made from a material called polyetherimide, or PEI for short (check out this page on the Apollo website for a detailed description). The picks have three rounded corners, which is the general shape that John has used for many years, and a thickness of 1.2 mm. “I find that’s thick enough to get a full, deep, dark sound, but I can still play at a pretty quick clip,” John explains. “I love the way they sound. They have a nice clarity to them; very similar to tortoiseshell.”

Apollo also offers the John Reischman pick in a material called polyether ether ketone, or PEEK for short. A bit less bright in sound, these picks are a good choice for use with instruments that can use a little help in warming up the sound. 

In this video, John demos both picks using his Gibson F-5, and he also shows one of Apollo’s casein picks. 

To learn mandolin from John Reischman, enroll in his Melodic Mandolin Tunes or his Old-Time Mandolin course.

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