A small epiphany on playing faster/cleaner

[erick]

I've never liked sharp-tipped picks, and couldn't understand how anyone ever got anything but tinny, edgy tone out of them. Never liked real round edges like the dawg picks or Golden Gates, either. The edge I'd settled on was essentially the middle point of a Tortis tri-tip, which is somewhere between the sharpness of a standard Fender guitar pick's two edges.

The other night, on a whim, I tried using the sharpest point( you could draw blood with it) of a Tortis Tri-tip heavy to see if I could make it sound decent. I discovered that if I really relaxed my pick attack, the strings sounded almost as rich as when I picked them with a harder attack on my duller-edged pick. The difference with the sharper point is that I needed much less effort to make the string express sound, and much less hand movement ( and hand fatigue)to play a sequence of notes.

I played a gig tonight with my swing band using only the sharpest tip for every song, and while it was sometimes difficult to stay relaxed enough to get the right tone, I found the my soloing was smoother and easier. Playing fast runs was significantly easier; I felt like a had a millisecond more time to get to each note with the pick, and that was often enough for me to get away with stuff I'd never tried before.

I still don't like the sharp edge for slow rhythm playing. It may be that I haven't learned how to work it, or maybe these tunes just need a duller edge to bring out the sweetness of the instrument. I'd be curious about you r experiences in these areas.

Eric Kilburn

[Alex Fields]

I had an experience fairly similar to yours a few years back and switched from using golden gate shaped picks to Wegen TF shapes. Have never looked back. I still have tons of problems finding individual picks I'm happy with though.

[Andrew Lewis]

Back before I settled on a pick I like, I found the same thing. I just couldn't get the right combination of sound and fluidity with the rounder edged picks. I never made it to the super pointy edge, but I found happiness with the Tortis Heavy C.

[jim_n_virginia]

I have found that I can pick cleaner and faster with a somewhat sharper point. But it doesn't sound good chopping. When I chop with a sharp point it just sounds too clicky (for want of a better word) so I like chopping with a more rounder pick.

Obviously switching picks in the middle of songs is a bad idea so what I have found that works best for me is I like those extra heavy Cool brand picks that have sandpaper on them for a better grip.

They are shaped just like the standard guitar pick shape and I use the pointy side when I am picking and swivel it around and use the shoulder for chopping. I can switch back and forth pretty fast with the rough sides on the picks.

I really like the picks after the pointy side get just a bit blunter then they are perfect for me for about 6-10 months of heavy picking until they start looking like a Dawg pick and I toss them.

And I have a number of tortoise shell picks I have shaped but I just like they way they sound when chopping.

[Tom C]

I've stated before why I was switching to a pointy pick. But still, if playing in front of people -when it counts, I goes back to the wegan. It's more forgiving on tremelos.

[billkilpatrick]

It's more forgiving on tremelos.
a video camera for youtube - maybe - at a much later date ... but playing in front of people doesn't enter into it. #

i've noticed that tremolo is more difficult with a pointy pick, as well.

i'll persevere with it ("heavy" cellulloid - 100mm) because it seems to be the only pick i've tried so far that doesn't impose its own sound on the equation - instrument/strings/picks all producing subtle variations on the total sound.

[Andrew Faltesek]

Ditto jim_n_virginia's comment on the cool picks.
I used an ultracool heavy for a few months when I first got my mando, and now even after getting some wegen and other styles, I've gone back and used the ultracool a few times. Seemed easier than using the 1.0 mm - 1.8 mm ones.
I'm still getting used to the thicker and rounder picks.

[Zako]

With my Hyalite, I tried a large black Dunlop and a blunt tortoise shell pick. The tone seemed to become more subtle and sophisticated, but I found that I had lost a lot of speed and volume...maybe pointy picks work better for mahogany.

[steve in tampa]

The Dawg picks work best for me. I find myself changing the angle I touch the strings with to get the different effects. Turning it slightly inward makes tremolo easier, and slightly outward helps with single note attack. Might not work for everyone, or be a "proper" technique, but works for me. I really can tell if someone is using a thin or pointy pick, and, to me, it makes the sound lack that "fullness" I am used to hearing from a thick, round pick. I have met several mando players that simply cannot get the Dawg pick to work for them, but I think it is the best one out there!

[JeffD]

I have tried the golden gate, and using the rounder corners of the traditional shaped Fenders and Gibson picks, and I keep going back to the pointier end. In my hands the rounder points just sound muddy.

I don't chop much anyway, but if I did I might try the rounder end.

[Snakebeard Jackson]

it seems my pick of choice just gets more heavy as time goes by.

[bluemtgrass]

I've noticed when I turn the pick sideways and brush the strings a bit the sound is much more mellow. Turn it straight and the sharpness comes back every time. Trick is to find the one pick you can pull it off with.

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