PICK COLLECTION
S&M2 Pick Breakdown
What follows is a breakdown of the difference between the live S&M2 picks and the ones that came in the deluxe box set. Some picks are easy to tell apart, others less so.
One thing that's true of all of these picks is that they are all the same thickness - 1.0mm. There is no difference between any of the picks - live or otherwise, based on my caliper measurements.
We looked at each of these picks up close, under a magnifying glass, and under these high resolution scans to determine if any patterns could be found. Read on for what we found for each pick.
September 6
These picks, as have been reported, have strong differences between the live and box set versions. The box set versions have a rougher texture, the background images are lower quality and far more red/orange, and the print is lower quality.
I had 2 different live picks to compare here (the box set pick is the same in all photos). Click any image to zoom in.
September 8
These, like their September 6th counterparts, are easy to tell apart for the exact same reasons.
I had 3 different live picks to compare here (the box set pick is the same in all photos). Click any image to zoom in.
Silver S&M2
These picks are incredibly difficult to tell apart. The ink quality is slightly worse compared to the live ones, but not by much and not in a way that would be easy to determine without a side-by-side comparison.
I had 5 different live picks to compare here (the box set pick is the same in all photos). Click any image to zoom in.
Silver Violin
Like the other silver picks, these are quite difficult to tell apart. The ink in general seems to be cleaner on the box set version, which is unusual. The exception is the S&M2 logo itself which seems cleaner on the live picks. But the violin, the "M", the Metallica logo and the date are all noticably cleaner and better quality on the box set picks.
I had 2 different live picks to compare here (the box set pick is the same in all photos). Click any image to zoom in.
Tuxedo
This is by far the hardest pick to tell apart, if there's even any differences at all. The only consistent thing was that the box set pick seemed to be darker than the live picks, but that could be a function of the wear and tear of live picks. I could find no printing difference that was consistent across all the samples.
I had 4 different live picks to compare here (the box set pick is the same in all photos). Click any image to zoom in.
Hopefully that helps you all not get duped and collect the right picks!
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