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Dave Skowron 51 Ely, NV, United States: 5gf8p6unu5jb; Share

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Discussions (8)

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Red Bear Pick Users (52 members)

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Dave Skowron's discussions

Guitar Strings and picks

I tend to drift toward the Red Bear picks myself. :-) At 1mm they are considered light gauge though. Our heavies are 1.3 to 1.6 or so.

Replied Jun 17

Guitar Strings and picks

Hey Dave, Try working your way up to mediums (.013 on the 1st string to .056 on the 6th). Getcha a set of 12's and string up that Epi. and see how you like it. You'll notice more volume and punch ...

Replied Jun 16

Email Alan "Cams" Campbell at cams@celticguitartalk.com. He's the postmaster of Arran. He's a very good friend of mine and a very good picker. He'd love to pick some with you, I'm sure. Tell him I ...

Replied Jun 1

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Profile

Favorite Flatpickers: In no particular order
The Doctor
Brad Davis
Arty McGlynn
Emory Lester
Bryan Sutton
Russ Barenburg
Tim Stafford
Scott Nygaard
Jim Hurst
Chris Newman
Rice Bros.
Yngwie Malmsteen
Kenny Smith
Roy Curry
Jim Nunally
Dan Crary
Brian Setzer
Steve Mougin
(how much disk space do we get for this one?)

Favorite Flatpicking Tunes: All of them. Some favorites are Big Sciota, Blackberry Blossom, Monroe's Hornpipe, Beaumont Rag and Wheel Hoss. But there are so many more. There's no way to express my favorite tunes. It depends on the day.

Favorite Guitars: My Kimsified Martin D-18GE and my new Osthoff AS

Tell us more about yourself (place a Bio here if you wish): I was born in the 50's in a small town in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. I studied electronics and electrical installation in high school. I went to college for about five years after I got out of the service (Air Force and Army) and now I make guitar picks. My wife and I own the Red Bear Trading Company and our guitar picks are considered by many to be the best alternative to genuine turtle shell.

I find musical inspiration for my playing in a lot of places. My musical taste is pretty diverse. I like a good listen to fusion, rock and classical as well as bluegrass, folk and country. I love the sound of a Strat through Marshall stacks, and I love the sound of my D-18GE on a nice afternoon out in the yard. I'm a huge Les Paul fan (both the guitar and the man) and I also love the sound of a Gretsch hollow body with Brian Setzer behind the pick.

I live on the edge. I tear off mattress tags without regard.

I like sitting in a little boat on a little lake catching big trout. Fortunately, I have all three available to me within a minute's notice. We have a little aluminum boat, there's a little lake about 15 miles from here, and that lake has some seriously big trout. I like to try and catch them when I'm not making picks, which is most of the time, it seems. Anyway, if you're ever in the vicinity of White Pine County, Nevada, come on over to Ely and we'll pick a few, then go fishin!

Oh, I forgot to mention - I'm a HUGE Red Sox fan. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, and I have always been a BoSox fan, good times or bad . . . and the good times are nice indeed! Damn those Yankees!

Do you have a website?: http://www.redbeartrading.com

My Gear

I have a great Martin D-18GE that my pal Bryan Kimsey performed his magic mods on. I also have a new guitar made by John Osthoff, a New England luthier. This guitar is like a large OM. It's really a superb instrument. Pics of it are below. I also have a Strat, a Bourgeois OM-V, a Taylor 355 a mahogany/addy dread that I made myself, and a little Kentuky mandolin. My amp is a mint 1966 Vibro-Champ.

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Comment Wall (34 comments)

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At 3:59am on July 18th, 2008, Shaun said…: Hi Dave, I don't know if John Osthoff has told you, but he and Bear have been in contact with each other and are working to get a article in Guitar Maker magazine. Also, we trying to work on a time to go over to John's place. We're all looking forward to it. Thanks for the connection. Shaun

At 5:38pm on July 14th, 2008, Shaun said…: Hi Dave, What a great looking guitar. The wood on the back is awesome looking. I checked out John's website and I am very much looking forward to meeting him one day.

At 3:08pm on June 26th, 2008, Bill Jensen said…: The 'Great White North' is wonderful. Lots has happened since the camp. Steve and I traveled all over the place with our Bluegrass/Writing instruction initiative. I have been playing in a bluegrass band for a couple of years (The Foggy Memory Boys) but left recently. I was playing mandolin, and although I love the instrument, I am a guitarist. I traded my mandolin straight across for a Martin D-42 and I am a happy guy.

Really good to connect again. Looks like this may flower into a wonderful site.,

At 1:18pm on June 26th, 2008, Bill Jensen said…: Dave,

How are you? It has been a while. Remember a few years ago at the Kaufman camp, you and Steve Good and I spent a drunken night writing the s**t song? It is good to find you here.

At 4:21pm on June 21st, 2008, Dave Skowron said…: This cut of Blackberry Blossom was done by Bryan Clark of Nashville. There are a host of great players on the cd with him.

At 2:41pm on June 13th, 2008, Dave Skowron said…: I won't be at Kamp. Too busy making picks! Maybe next year I'll pop in for some evening jams at Carnegie or Beason, but not as a student.

At 2:11pm on June 13th, 2008, Terry Lowe said…: Hi Dave, great to hear about the New Port Richey connection. Looking forward to seeing you at Kaufman Kamp.
Terry

At 7:39am on June 13th, 2008, Mojo1 said…: GREAT cut of Blackberry! I love the mode mixture and alt. chords at the end of the tune! Some FINE pickin' all the way around! I don't really care who these folks are... I just want to hear more!

-Mojo