The X Pick: a revolutionary new invention, or pseudoscience?

Guitarists have been heavily criticising a crowdfunded guitar accessory, the X Pick, which claimed to offer a range of effects using magnetic fields.

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The X-Pick was described as less of a pick and more of “a remote control for your pickups”. Using magnetic fields to interact with your guitar’s strings and pickups, it was said to offer a range of effects such as sustain, slide, wah, delay, and tremolo.

The original Kickstarter page for the X Pick was launched in 2022. It is now still being funded on IndieGogo. The site states that £34,507 GBP has been raised by 802 backers, with £19,661 GBP also funded by 366 backers through its previous platform.

Despite the impressive claims, backers have started to receive their picks – and are sharing their disappointment, as many are unable replicate the promised effects.

The actual mechanisms for how the pick achieves some of these are unclear, too – for example, what would actually create the filtering needed for a wah effect when waving a magnet over your guitar’s pickups?

So far, backers on the fundraising page for the X Pick have been leaving disappointed reviews, with YouTubers such as Forlorn Hope and Samurai Guitarist also criticising the pick.

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