Dirtbag Industry Spotlight: InTune Guitar Picks' Bert LeCato
Since the dawn of the new Millennium, an industry power-player has risen to rank. InTune Guitar Picks started from one guy in a garage, producing a few hundred picks per month, and slowly evolved to become one of the top pick producers in the game. Creating custom picks for an impressively extensive list of world-renowned artists, InTune now has a full staff, and a factory that produces tens of thousands of picks per day. InTune Guitar Picks and Dirtbag Clothing have recently teamed up to provide discounted picks to Dirtbag Endorsed Artists, so we had a chance to speak with Bert LeCato, Mr. InTune, himself: Tell us a little bit about your journey.. why did you originally start the brand? It actually happened because I had ordered custom picks for myself and they were terrible. I knew I could do a better job and decided to start my research. With a lot of days off from the Fire House, it didn't take long to create a quality process. What was the tipping point for the business? When did you know it was safe to quit your day job? About 2.5 years in, things started getting pretty crazy. Popular artists were reaching out, orders were consistently coming in and my full time job started interfering with the pick business. Since you started out, how much has your production process changed? The process hasn't really changed, it's just grown. We and our clients are happy with the product, so changes wouldn't likely be well received. The key was to keep up with demand, so we've added more equipment over the years. Your client portfolio is incredible- looking through it, it just goes on forever and ever. What have been some of your favorite custom pick designs to make? There are really too many to mention. The favorites are always the ones that show creativity. Some clients keep it simple and some go above and beyond. Some of the designs we see are just so creative and it's great seeing cool designs go from screen to pick. Are there any new innovations in the industry, or in guitar-playing that you think will affect the future of pick making? There are always new materials and playing techniques popping up. We tend to keep it simple and old school. Novelty picks come and go, but most artists tend to always go back to the basics. Technology has advanced quite a bit in printing over the years and we have benefited from some of it, but our most detailed and durable process is old school and still cannot be beat. The downside to the new technologies is that it makes it easier for people to get a piece of equipment, buy some pre-made picks and offer them to the public. What makes that bad is there is a lack of quality control. The company makes a quick buck and the consumer ends up with a low quality product. Your picks, and the ink printed on them are very durable. How do you do it? Well that is just a big secret! Just for fun, if you had to guess- what’s your total tally on guitar picks produced in the last 18 years? The quantity of picks we have printed over the years reaches well into 8 digits. We definitely can't complain about that. We have great appreciation for our large and small clients who have helped make this happen. The loyalty and support we have received from all of them over the years have definitely been a big part of making this happen. As well as a lot of hard work and a hard working staff here at InTuneGP. ---------------- And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. When your day job gets in the way of your passion, it's time to quit in true Dirtbag fashion. We are honored to be partnered with such an awesome company, and we look forward to seeing all the awesome pick designs created by our Dirtbag Endorsed Artists. If you are a Dirtbag Endorsed Artist, visit our new BACKSTAGE area to order your FULLY CUSTOMIZED InTune Guitar Picks at a special discount. If you are not a Dirtbag Endorsed Artist, check out InTune Guitar Picks' Website.
A FEW OF INTUNE GUITAR PICKS' CLIENTS:
