IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Spring 2016 | Page 17

past the stage of figuring out how to hold it to
“Oncesettheythegotpressure
gauge, they found it quite useful.”

WORKING
PROTOTYPE

explains. “We also use an array of force sensors to measure how hard
the guitarist is squeezing the pick.”
The team now has three working prototypes and plans on having the
device commercially available by mid to late 2016.
Murawski, who now lives in Weirton, W.V., took the Pickatto to
the National Association of Music Merchants convention at the end
of January, where he received an overwhelmingly positive response.
While there, he recorded 40,000 plucks on the device with perfect
pressure 96 percent of the time.
“We put it in a lot of players’ hands,” he said. “Once they got past
the stage of figuring out how to hold it to set the pressure gauge, they
found it quite useful.”
A player himself, Egler says he joined the project because he sees
how it could have helped his practice sessions.
“I’ve been playing guitar for almost 20 years off and on but have
never put in the effort to be great at it,” he explains. “When [Murawski]
reached out to me to describe what he wanted to create, I understood
immediately why it was important and how it would have helped me to
be more effective.”
Murawski sees the device being tailored to beginning to
intermediate guitarists. He says he will offer upgrades to the software

Smartphone app tracks data
in real time.

and hardware every 18 months, based upon customer feedback. He
expects that the device will cost consumers around $55-65.
“Ultimately, it will be about the same as the cost of two or three
guitar lessons. I want it to be affordable for all players,” says Murawski.
However, “this isn’t the type of pick that you’d toss out into the crowd
at a show,” he adds with a laugh.
For more information about the Pickatto, visit pickatto.com. n

Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 15