Changing picks

[gospelman]

Do any of you guys switch picks for different types of songs in a jam or gig situation? #Do any pros do this? #I can chop chords and tremolo better with a rounder pick, but can get more volume for certain solos with a triangle pick. #This being the case, I tend to use a rounder pick for the slow tunes. #How about you?

[Jim Broyles]

I change picks at home, but when I'm at a jam I stick with one. You are going to want to go from chopping to soloing in the same song, and changing pick is not going to be feasible. I'd say settle on a favorite style and try to pull the tone you want out of that pick. My 2¢ http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Jason Holmes]

I use a Tortis Tri-Tip. It has a sharp point, a beveled point, and a rounded corner (which I got beveled also by Dave at Red Bear). It's like three picks in one, hence the name. I wouldn't trade it for anything (within reason of course).

[John Flynn]

Nope. Same pick for everything. I have tried different picks for different kinds of tunes, but I like the consistency of using the same pick. I change my technique to get different sounds, not the equipment. I can get different tones by where I pick (up near the bridge v. down the fingerboard) and also how, and how hard, I grip the pick. Having said that, I will use different gauges of the same pick design for different string sizes. So with light gauge strings, I will use a lighter gauge pick, to get a more consistent feel.

FWIW, none of the several instructors I have had have routinely switched picks for different effects. But I have no doubt there are probably people who do and more power to them. Whatever works for you.

[mandroid]

I change It by washing both my hands and the pick, with soap and water,
It's easier to hold onto after I do that.

[Tim2723]

I tried using different picks for different effects and techniques, but soon found it too clumsy on stage. Ultimately, I found myself gravitating to one standard pick, but trying all the different ones was a valuable learning experience. At one point I kept three or four different kinds of picks in a holder on my mic stand, but by the end of a set they were all over the floor like autumn leaves, and I had to crawl around like a dinkus picking everything up while the other guys where getting beers. If I dropped or broke one, there was often only the 'wrong' pick left for me to grab, as the others of it's kind were already on the floor.

[Soupy1957]

If I drop it, or break it...I change it.
-Soupy1957

[fredfrank]

Many years ago, at the Grand Targhee Festival, I watched Butch Baldassari switching picks between songs on stage. This was back when he was playing with Weary Heart. I'm glad to see that even the big guys go through the pick dilemma thing!

[gospelman]

Thanks for the responses. It makes sense to me to try to become proficient with the loudest pick I can find (which is my Wegen 140 tri-corner). Jason, I took a look at your tri-tip tortis pick and liked the idea of this very much. I tried to do the same thing with a horn pick that had no bevelling and have been encouraged to keep fiddling around with shaping picks myself. $20 for a pick is too much for me right now (I felt guilty ordering a Wegen).

[Jason Holmes]

I can respect that, gospelman. And if you can fashion one for yourself, all the better. I'm certainly no expert, but I beveled a couple of John Pearse horn picks a while back, and it made a huge improvement in tone and overall playability. Wegens are my second favorite though, so aside from the Tortis, I'd say stick with the TF-140s. I have a couple of those myself, and I think the tone and playability are terrific, though I did soften the edges on one of them for a mellower tone. Better yet, you could modify a TF-140 to make your own home-made custom tri-tip-type thing.

[mingusb1]

The best mando player I have performed with typically used two different picks during a set of songs/tunes.

He would switch to the thinner pick for ones that required more speed for melody/single note stuff.

The pick shapes were not different, but the gauges were.

Z

[Jim Broyles]

The best mando player I have performed with typically used two different picks during a set of songs/tunes.

He would switch to the thinner pick for ones that required more speed for melody/single note stuff.

The pick shapes were not different, but the gauges were.

Z
Funny, I'm the exact opposite. I would use the heavier pick for faster or more single note things, and go thinner, but only to a medium, for open chord strumming kind of stuff, if I changed at all, but I'd probably stick to the heavy for everything.

[MikeEdgerton]

I've changed a few times mid-song when they flew out of my hand and I grabbed another out of my pocket. I only use one type of pick. I'm boring.

[MandoSquirrel]

I find that different styles or instruments may(but not always) prefer different picks, but I stay between 1.21 & 1.6 mm., and NO nylon picks for me, never could accept them.

[devilstone_the_bard]

I absolutely love the Jazz Mando Pro Plec for chopping / strumming / etc but will switch to plain old Fender Mediums in the brown "tortoise" color for picking individual notes or more fiddle style playing.

but I'm pretty much a pup still when it comes to all this...

[Bluegrass Boy]

I typically don't change picks between calendar years.

[mandolinplucker]

I lose picks as fast as a dog sheds hairs. I buy them by the dozen. GHS heavy triangle shape from international luthier supply. Last time I ordered they were around $4 a dozen. I round the corners and bevel them with a fingernail emery board. I get about the same shape as a golden gate or a dawg but I get a little brighter sound and more volume with the GHS, probably because they are a hair thinner.

[JeffD]

I have settled on the Wegen 140 triangular for a large group or a punchy tune, and the Tortis triangualar heavy for waltzes and smaller groups.

I change between tunes fairly often because (this is wierd, anyone else do this?) I find that once a pick reaches my body temperature I have trouble "knowing" where it is. So I have two of every kind of pick I use - one I am always letting cool off - and switching every other tune or so.

I have long wished for a wrist watch style pick holder, so I could switch more quickly.

[G'DAE]

I keep two picks on a pick holder that holds 2 picks and slides onto the strings just above the nut. ( just out of the way.)One pick I use to pull out the tone and some softer playing, the other, I use to cut through when I need to and tends to be the one I prefer. I switch picks during songs regularly, as this very handy devise makes it all possible. Sorry I don't have a picture.
Bob.

[JeffD]

I keep two picks on a pick holder that holds 2 picks and slides onto the strings just above the nut.
That sounds pretty good actually. If you get a chance, take a pic and post it - I think there would be some interest.

[G'DAE]

I'll try to post a picture.