Etymological observation about Adamas picks

[Jon S.]

Perhaps someone else has noted this previously but it only now came to me and I think it's cool!

My band is finally working up Dark Star so I'm working on both the guitar parts and the vocals. To get as fully as I can into the lyrics, one thing I did was I re-read The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. That's where I saw:

Diamond

Cirlot has this to say about the symbolism of the diamond:

"Eytmologically, it comes from the Sanskrit dyu, meaning 'luminous being.' It is a symbol of light and of brilliance. The word 'adamantine' is connected with the Greek adamas, meaning 'unconquerable.' In emblems, it often indicates the irradiant, mystic 'Centre'. Like all precious stones, it partakes of the general symbolism of treasures and riches, that is, moral and intellectual knowledge." (p. 81)

So Adamas graphite picks, which share the element carbon with their crystaline counterpart, the diamond, also share the Greek etymological root, adamas.

I tip my top hat to whoever chose the name.

[waldo041]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovation_Guitar_Company

check out the design of the soundhole wing and the back of the pick.

http://www.ovationguitars.com/guitars/category/adamas


~waldo

[Jon S.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovation_Guitar_Company

Fascinating!

Ovation used spruce for its tops (soundboards), reflecting its engineers familiarity with sitka spruce, which was used in helicopter blades. In the 1970s, Ovation developed thinner sound-boards with carbon-based composites laminating a thin layer of birch, in its Adamas model, which has been viewed as one of the most radical designs in the history of acoustic guitars.

check out the design of the soundhole wing and the back of the pick.

http://www.ovationguitars.com/guitars/category/adamas

~waldo

WOW! Thanks for sharing.

[Mr.Burns]

I tip my top hat to whoever chose the name.

Agreed. Charles Kaman was a genius and only recently (last year) passed away. He was likely the brains behind all the composite material and radical design departures at Ovation. The man invented dual inter-meshing helicopter blades that turn in opposite directions and he was the first to put a turbine on a helicopter. Wow.

I wonder if he also came up with the idea to use graphite? He was an avid guitar player...

[Yankee Tim]

I can say this. I used to use Adamas strings on my acoustic. Not so great IMHO.

[Rusty the Scoob]

I can say this. I used to use Adamas strings on my acoustic. Not so great IMHO.

That makes me wonder if they sound really good on Ovations. They're certainly not voiced the same as traditional acoustics.

[Yankee Tim]

You might be right. At the same time, the Dean Markleys I've used most of my life sound great on wood but awful on plastibacks.