354 ½ Meantone model, Dankblanks clear/salt/pepper resin, foam silicone grip cushions, 2.7mm

Description

In the testing phase, I confronted some electric students with this grip solution.
Foam silicone grip cushions.
While my students are usually my harshest plectrum critics, they were unanimously surprised by the comfort and efficacy of these cushions.

Not my idea, you have to go back almost a century for that. They knew what they were doing back then. 

The 354 ½ is a Meantone shape, choosing a curve that’s right between a regular 351 and a more vintage 358.
It turns out it’s a sort-of-351 without the shoulders. Lose ‘em if you don’t use ‘em, and it’s unlikely you’ll be playing the shoulders with those surprisingly comfortable silicone rubber grip cushions, a Meantone reinvention of a past solution.

The cushions are remarkably versatile: comfortable, soft and grippy, they allow you to hold your plectrum loosely but retain control and volume. Or weaker fingers might be helped by a thicker grip and soft supports.
You have to feel it to believe it. The soft cushions feel thick at first, but soon you realise that you can now hold the plectrum in a much more loose way, relaxing arm, shoulders, even neck. Very therapeutic.