Devin Townsend x Acoustik Attak Press Release

ACOUSTIK ATTAK ANNOUNCES NEW DEVIN TOWNSEND SIGNATURE GUITAR PICK SERIES

Bonita Springs, FL -- March 24, 2023 

During the summer of 2020, the guitar pick store Acoustik Attak was formed when guitarist Michael DePietro (CEO) and bassist Mark Labbe (Chief Product Officer) joined forces. Despite DePietro and Labbe residing over 1,000 miles from each other in their natives New York and Florida respectfully, their vision for the music world coincided — and this was to supply musicians with a new level of sound-making.

Acoustik Attak guitar picks are designed, each with their own shape, grooves and indentations, to produce different sounds for the musician’s experimentation. With only one strum, guitarists and bassists alike can achieve enhanced sound waves through multiple strikes of the string.

Labbe and DePietro achieved such engineering through their own exhaustive research, plus collaborations with world-renowned musicians like guitarist Brian Goss (The Noise, Warzone) and sound engineers like Jason Mariani, a Grammy-award winner for his work with Mumford & Sons. 

"After playing with the new Piks for a while," says Goss, "I went back to a regular pick and it sounded dull by comparison." Without using pedals, guitarists and bassists can now alternate between multiple sound waves and the choice between a darker, overdriven tone or a rounder bottom-end sound. In just the short space of 2 years, Acoustik Attak’s profile amongst guitarists and bassists alike has grown steadily. 

One artist in particular who has been taken in by the Attak Piks catalogue is Canadian metal guitarist, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend. As a passionate and skillful performer, Townsend’s instrumental inventory requires thoughtful design and so the intricate format of each Attak Pik was, quite literally, music to his ears. So much so that he decided to attach his name to one of their products.

The new, signature Devin Townsend design is a flat, triangular plectrum in the 1mm range. It features three playable tips, however, one is altered to create a brighter, yet grittier tone. This is achieved using a version of the Company's patented tip technology and injection-molding process, present in other models, that caters to Townsend's unique specifications.

Townsend's latest album Lightwork, a ruminative look into personal growth during the challenging Covid-19 era, is his first recording using Acoustik Attak Piks. On this record Townsend peruses everything from progressive metal to ambient styles, as he has done in his back catalogue of previous work.

His 30-year career in the spotlight started when he sang lead vocals for the 1993 album Sex & Religion and on the subsequent tour, by former Frank Zappa guitarist Steve Vai. Lightwork is Townsend's follow-up to Empath, his critically and commercially successful release from 2019. That album and tour featured another Zappa alum, guitarist/keyboardist Mike Keneally.

In-between these career landmarks, Townsend’s releases under his own name (including the Devin Townsend Band and the Devin Townsend Project) and those by his bands Strapping Young Lad and Casualties of Cool, have likewise pushed the envelope of creative sonic capabilities.

The same can be said of Acoustik Attak, making this the perfect new partnership. The company introduced the popular Attak and Ambush pick models in the summer of 2020, giving guitarists and bassists an alternative to standard flat picks via its scientific, textural designs.

In 2021, the company introduced its Blade, Blade II and Surge models, following up later in the year with the popular Stealth Pik. With its curved-bevel tip and ergonomically-designed concave grip, Stealth sold more than 100,000 units in its first year as Acoustik Attak's popularity spread through more than 70 different countries.

In 2022, the larger Stealth XL and Juggernaut designs, plus the glow-in-the-dark Radium model, preceded the Devin Townsend pick.

Fans can expect more products from the world's new signature pick company in 2023.

Head to attakpik.com/pages/DevinTownsend, to join the mailing list and receive updates on the signature pick release.