Thanks to Mike Higgins with Bluegrass Canada, the magazine of the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada, for sharing this profile of John Ellington, maker of the Ellington Silver Picks. It was written by Dave Featherstone.
We had the opportunity to meet and interview John Ellington from London, Ontario, known by his friends and customers as The Pick Man from Canada. John, in his earlier years (he is 83 years young now), played banjo and mandolin in various local bluegrass venues around the London, Ontario area.
Being a goldsmith by trade, and running his own business in that field, John was always looking for a better way, especially in metallurgy. Banjo finger picks were one of those endeavors, both three-finger style and clawhammer.
The brand name – Ellington’s Silver Picks.
John related how his family came from North Carolina to Southern Ontario in the 1927 era. As a young child his memories are filled with listening to country and bluegrass music on WSM or Wheeling, West Virginia that my family missed so much.
“Later in life I became a goldsmith, and still with that drive for traditional acoustic music, purchased my first banjo on condition that there was a good banjo teacher available. That teacher turned out to be Dave Talbot, not only a good friend but one of the best banjo players in Nashville today.
During this time Dave and I toured many festivals, as well as playing bluegrass, and I soon realized I was not a true musician, but rather better suited to expanding my trade as a goldsmith and working with my hands.
During my banjo playing days, I was not comfortable with the National finger picks and started to make my own picks, and after 30 plus years make a great pick.”
The design of John’s pick does not rely on pressure to wrap around your finger, rather they are designed to be looser, thus much more comfortable to wear, especially for long periods of time.
I went back to the ‘drawing board’ many times on how to make the pick more comfortable to wear, but at the same time stay on the fingers without falling off or moving while playing. I must have spent 25 tries in those early years to get it right.
“The picks produce extremely good sound and because they flex, are very comfortable. They are carefully pierced from a sheet of the finest quality sterling silver and processed to a hardness that wears quite well. The interior of the picks has been textured to grip the finger instead of squeezing the finger. This makes the pick very stable and comfortable, letting the player feel the string. This is also implemented on our thumb pick as well.
I have shipped my Ellington Picks all over the world, including countries like England, Ireland, France, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, and of course the US and Canada.
I have attended a lot of US and Canada festivals giving my picks to banjo players to try; many were skeptical. However after playing with the picks, a sale was almost always made with a money back guarantee. I never had any orders come back to me.
Some of the notables that have and use my picks on stage are Earl Scruggs, Sonny Osborne, J.D. Crowe, Ronni Stoneman, Geoff Stelling, John Hartford, Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Peter Rowan, Doc Watson, Dave Talbot, and many more. They all play banjo at least as a second instrument.
Sonny Osborne wanted me to sell him the rights to my finger picks, but I turned him down. Geoff Stelling of Stelling Banjos also wanted the rights to produce the picks, and after many discussions we decided that I would make the picks for his company and put the Stelling logo on each pick. This turned into another great friendship between Geoff and me, spending many times in Afton, Virgina with Geoff which opened even more doors.
On Thursday March 29, 2012, I received an email from the funeral home director assisting the Earl Scruggs family, requesting silver finger picks celebrating Earl’s life. I was of course overwhelmed and made a drawing of the design to be approved before making this honor.
The approved design was like the man himself; the engraving not flashy, the lettering clear as his notes, and made of the finest silver. I made 11 sets of these picks for the pallbearers and immediate family members. I even made a set of earrings (mini finger picks) for Emmylou Harris to wear. It got to be while in the States and when meeting someone new for the first time, the response was ‘oh you’re the pick man from Canada.'”
John has a personal story and many communications with the who’s who of first generation bluegrass artists, including the time spent with John Hartford and Dave Talbot at Earl Scruggs’ home, and the home of Bill Monroe, who not only said, “so you’re the pick man from Canada,” and “oh yeah, the Dixie Flyers!'”
“I also saw a need for a simple yet effective way to bend – adjust metal picks, so I developed a ‘Pick Stick’, which works very well and enables players to adjust angles.
I have made two banjos, one fretless and one Gibson Mastertone.
The Gibson Mastertone is made from original all-Gibson parts. When researching for the best tone ring I was given the name of Bill Sullivan, Gibson banjo maker in the US. Bill, along with Doug Hutchens and Greg Rich, had just completed a reissue Mastertone series for Sonny Osborne, J.D. Crowe, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, and Bobby Hicks.
I later visited Bill, by then a lifelong friend, to see about a tone ring. Bill not only guided me on the proper way to fit a tone ring into the pot, but also I was able to buy all the Gibson parts, take them back to Canada, and build a 1989 Gibson Mastertone banjo to specification of that historically accurate banjo.
Now I only do a little custom goldsmith work and make quite a few high end violin bows which sell very well.
My business card now says: John Ellington Bowmaker.”
Ellington’s Silver Picks can be purchased online.
