It can be a method book or an actual thing, like… the stylus pick! I think the inventor was trying to side-step the code instead of cracking it. The tip was strangely shaped to act as a pick slant of sorts, but it was just too awkward to implement. I bought one in the 80’s and it didn’t work for me. I should have gotten my money back.
This is what it looked like, and it appears they’re still selling them these days:
That one works. Troy Stetina endorses them. It’s a tool to train you to pick accurately with the very tip of the pick.
I stand corrected. I couldn’t get it going when I tried, but I was like 15 and probably gave up after a few half-hearted efforts.
I totally understand why people would think it doesn’t work. The stylus pick is a bit tricky to get used to and if you already were used to picking with the very tip you wouldn’t see that much benefit from it. In my opinion it’s more for beginning guitarists.
Argh that looks uncomfortable! I like to dig in with the pick, so this is definitely not for me 
Hey AGTG, Awesome name for a thread! Post gimmicks you tried down the years that didn’t work, Ha Ha!
I guess the first thing that comes to mind was a metal pick that I tried, I got it because I had been using fender extra-heavies and this was an even stronger pick! The problem was that it was also incredibly noisy! The only thing it was good for was using it for doing pick slides.
And they rip through strings like crazy! I used to practice with one and it would grind the windings down to the bare wire on the E and A strings after a couple of hours.
Anyone try one of those PocketStrings or Shredneck things?
This gimmick actually DID work. It maybe look silly to many people, but I was always playing with it all day long. It makes your pinky superhuman. As a matter of fact, I’m going to reorder one right now, brings back good memories 
THIS gimmick however, didn’t work. It will drive you mad. Stay away from it.
I got the Planet Wave Varigrip last week based on recommendations from this thread. I can’t comment on my progress yet but I love the device so far. I was also a bit surprised to learn thanks to this device that my non-cooperative finger was the third one and not the pinky!!
Thx for the tip kounistou! The Varigrip seems even better than what I used.
here’s a gimmick I practiced for years that didn’t work too well - alternate picking everything with no awareness of notes per string or pick slanting, but just tensing up as much as possible to try to push through a low ceiling max tempo 
What is your main complaint abut the Metal Zone pedal? I have one and I’m not saying it’s for everything, but it’s good for some sounds, like the “scooped” sound Metallica used on Ride The Lightning through And Justice For All. It’s less useful for midrange tones. Do you agree?
I have heard those do work. I need to invest in one they’re so cheap.
I used the GripMaster hand exercisers for a few months, as part of an exercise routine to help me recover from tendinitis, due to typing. I don’t feel that playing guitar requires significant hand or finger strength. I think most adult men would have sufficient strength, they just need to train the neurological pathways.
I’ve never owned an official Stylus Pick (I briefly tried one belonging to a friend), but I’ve cut divots into the sides of my picks as training tools, to ensure I was picking with a shallow pick depth. I must have already had good control over my picking depth, I rarely snagged the strings when practicing with them.
I’ve never invested in bespoke picks, like V-Picks, Blue Chip, etc. I usually lose my EJ and Ultex Jazz IIIs before they show any significant wear, and I’m completely satisfied with the tones from both picks.
As for purchases that have worked for me, buying a looper pedal has helped improvisation and composition, and Transcribe! software helped me learn more music by ear. Neither can really be described as “gimmicks” though.
How do you use it Ace? In front of an amp? And if so which amp? Or in a different way?
I used to have a Marshall Valvestate 8280 when I was younger and it sounded pretty good. One of my guitar playing friends liked the way the distortion channel sounded and because he couldn’t afford a Valvestate at the time he decided to buy the Metalzone and hooked it up to his Peavy practice amp.
He did all this without discussing it with me 
Then the next day he asked me if I could help him with dialing in his pedal.
I went to his house, even took my Valvestate with me. No matter what I did, I couldn’t make the pedal sound “good”—good meaning: like a Marshall.
The distortion sounded fizzy, it lacked bottom end, the sound was compressed, etc.
Having said that, it might have been inexperience or even that the pedal simply can’t sound like a Marshall, especially through a shitty Peavy practice amp.
I was also a bit joking around. Maybe there are applications where this pedal shines, I just haven’t heard them. For example, the Tube Screamer just works if you know how to use it. With this pedal, I don’t know.
What is your experience with it?
I use this as an overdrive on a Marshall 8100 valvestate and the EQ is phenomenal.
For gimmicks I tried the Stylus pick too, but I didn’t get along with it. It is very frustrating to use!!
@uglijimus any clips of your Metal Zone into your Marshall? I’m a sucker for people getting good tones from notorious pedals!
go to around the 1:30 mark. this was recorded with a poor quality camera so it doesn’t sound great. But I think it sounds pretty good in person. I do have a recording I can up upload later when I get home that is only like 30 seconds long.
Sounds pretty decent, nice violin like tone on the single string lines.
This is a great way to get the same effect without shelling out money for a novelty pick. I still learned the “pick depth” lesson from toying with the Stylus Pick, but if I had been as resourceful as you were, I could have done it much cheaper!
