Help! I am breaking picks...

[aiko73]

so in the last 2 months I have developed a new habit. Breaking picks in half. Not so great in the middle of a show. This saturday I went through five in an hour set. I use Fender heavy picks and D'darrio J-75's. Any feedback on what I can do differently? Thanks for any help.

[ronlane3]

Don't dig in so hard, it sounds like.

[jim simpson]

I've never broken a pick before but have broken a lot of strings. I think I would try switching pick brands. There are other good choices for a heavy or stiff pick.

[aiko73]

any specific suggestions on picks? thanks again.

[jim simpson]

I used to use the Clayton 1.26mm in the guitar shape - these were white with the eagle symbol. My favorite now is the Dunlop 1.14 Ultex pick. It is a sort of triangular shape with 3 points - it is a clear amber color with a Rhino symbol. This one has been a long term favorite and it's hard to imagine finding a replacement.

[Emoore]

Yikes! Sounds like you really need to use a heavier pick if you're going to play that gage of string. I use D'Andrea Pro-Grip 1.21 mm with J-75's...Used them for years despite the color. If you are used to the tear drop shape, I'd give them a try. I'm also fond of the Golden Gate picks, but they may be a bit of a leap in thickness and shape. Of course, it won't hurt to try many different picks like Jim suggested. Spend $5 and go wild with your selection - Just make sure you're over the 1mm threshold of thickness.

It will take a little time to get used to a heavier pick, but your tone will improve dramatically and your wrist will have to loosen up to compensate for the inflexibility of the pick. You'll get faster, pull better tone and won't have to play as hard. Good luck!

[Dave Hanson]

Try Jim Dunlop as heavy as you can get, you would be very hard pushed to snap a nylon pick.

Dave H

[dabowsa]

If you're breaking Fender Heavies, maybe you should try strumming with the rounded shoulder instead of the triangle tip. Much more meat up there.

[Jacob]

The late Danny Gatton and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top have used coins as picks.
Pre-1965 quarters are reputed to have better tone than the modern sandwich models.

[jmcgann]

Dunlop Tortex 500 Series 1.5

If you break that, I want what you are havin' for breakfast! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Keith Erickson]

Matt,

You will get tons of opinions (all which are valid). Personally I use 1.5 mm Proplec and I have used the same one for the past 13 months http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Try the above suggestions and whatever feels the best for you.... ...just run with it http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Greg H.]

I use the same strings and pick as you, and I've had picks do the same thing (though very rarely--about once in the last 3 years). Not being there I can only speculate what's going on, but my guess is that it's the pick angle. You've got the edge of the pick angled into the string so the string is actually sawing on the pick as you play. Try and flatten the pick out somewhat so the pick is more even with the string and I think that will resolve you're problem.

If this is the problem, then heavier picks may lesson the breakage but it won't resolve it (unless you go for metal picks. . .) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[GTison]

I'd bet you are gripping the pick too tightly. I've broken a few picks but usually medium guage. You are prob. beating the fire out of the mando to break a pick also. Listen to a recording of a concert and see if your tone is good or if it sounds too hard or overplayed. There's a lot of variables in a show, like volume you hear yourself playing vs. everyone else's volume, style, ... I used to break strings like a mad man too. I haven't done that in a long time now that I'm in a band that uses a 1 mic set up. We all try, TRY to keep the volume down. Also the mandolin cuts like a knife on our mic.

[Celtic Saguaro]

Probably a bad batch of plastic in the picks or possibly your picks have been exposed to a solvent somewhere. I don't know how you could break a good Fender heavy without losing E strings.

The only picks I've ever broken (a different brand) were just a matter of the edge crumbling, and again I think it was a case of a bad batch of picks.

[bluegrassjack2]

go with dunlp 207. I suspect u cud never break them.

[sgarrity]

Wegen Wegen Wegen Virtually indestructable I use the 1.5mm mando pick

[glauber]

Probably a bad batch of plastic in the picks or possibly your picks have been exposed to a solvent somewhere.
I agree. Throw them out, buy another batch from a different store.

Or, switch to decaf. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[testore]

Go with a Wegen.If you can brake one of those you should join the WWF http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[ronlane3]

I agree with Shaun, go with the wegen. If you break one of those, while playing, then you need to seek professional help.

[8STRINGR]

I've always used Dunlop "Tortex" .88mm (green) standard picks. They're about Medium Heavy. But if you'd prefer, they come in even a heavier thickness (purple I think) but I've never had to go that route in thickness to get the sound (projection) that I want.

Plus, if you're laying down a track in the studio, they (in my past experience and personal opinion) provide a smoother sound in your breaks opposed to the "clicking" on the strings that you'd hear when using a standard "plastic" pick. I've also used for years GHS PF270's (Bright Bronze)and on occassion A250's (Phospher Bronze). I've had pretty good luck with them holding up as far as a pounding goes. Plus, they stay in tune once you've "pre-stretched" them when changing out strings.

Hope this helps you. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[c3hammer]

I can't imagine how anyone could break a heavy Fender. There has to be a problem with the material for that to be possible. Try a Butterfly, Wegen or Dawg pick. You'll never be able to break any of those no matter what you do.

Cheers,
Pete

[Scotti Adams]

I use the same strings and pick as you, and I've had picks do the same thing (though very rarely--about once in the last 3 years). Not being there I can only speculate what's going on, but my guess is that it's the pick angle. You've got the edge of the pick angled into the string so the string is actually sawing on the pick as you play. Try and flatten the pick out somewhat so the pick is more even with the string and I think that will resolve you're problem.

If this is the problem, then heavier picks may lesson the breakage but it won't resolve it (unless you go for metal picks. . .) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
I totally agree w/ Greg..You need to re-visit your point of attack....your pick angle is your worst enemy in my opnion.

[Dagger Gordon]

Hi,

I play Scottish music, and I found I couldn't get through even one set of reels without it tearing. Can't remember what I tried - the usual selection of picks in music shops.
However I've used Sharkfin picks, from Sweden, for many years and they never break. I use the white ones (different colours for different thickness). I get the feeling that in America people don't seem to know them, but they're widely available in Britain.
I should say that I don't play bluegrass, and my approach seems to be completely different from what many contributors hear suggest. These really hard picks (and I've even heard of coins being used) aren't what I'm looking for at all. The white Sharkfin is my idea of a pick that has enough firmness to get volume but enough bendiness to give some flexiblity. I like the tone this gives me.
It's a different appraoch, perhaps, but it works for me. And I broke heaps of picks before I discovered them.

[cgwilsonjr]

I use the Wegen and the Dawg pick. Both have great tone and feel and I can't imagine that you could break one.

[fatt-dad]

I just stumbled on the Dunlop 206. It's exactly the type of pick I would never use, but the looks - small, just bigger than a drop of rain with a rose-thorn tip. You know what, I kind of like it and I guarantee you (that's a lifetime guarantee), you'll never break one of these.

f-d

[Jakester]

My guess is that you can't hear yourself. When the sound is whacked your gonna break things, strings, picks and maybe even cut a finger or two.

If it's not the sound then I recommend the Wegen. If you break one of those your gonna pull the strings off the instrument.

Also, let the pick move in your fingers. As though your finger, your thumb and the pick were a three way hinge with lots of oil.

Butch Baldasari says to have the pick control the string not the string control the pick.

Good Luck

[250sc]

This thread has run for quite a while without hearing back from aiko73. I wonder what he thinks the issue is?

I am suprised that most people have advised him to get a different pick and only a few commented on how hard he is playing.

aiko73, you out there?

[DryBones]

250sc,
I wonder the same thing on many posts here. Somebody asks a question, they get a boatload of replies (some asking a follow-up question) and the poster never replies again. If the issue was important enough to ask the question wouldn't you think they would come back and check their post for answers and thank the folks for any info they shared? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[kww]

Hit-and-run posting is a feature of nearly every electronic discussion group. Aiko73 has mastered the art: he has started 6 threads, responded to results in two of them, and has never posted in a thread that he didn't start.