Red Bear picks -- minor problems with "chipping" and "molding"

[scgc.om]

I've owned a Red Bear (model "C-LGT-SB" for a few months now. Compared to my usual Wegen 1.0 Tripoint, I find the RB to be slightly faster/smoother -- the RB just seems slip through the string rather than pluck the string -- as a result, playing faster, with accuracy, is a bit easier.

However, I have noticed 2 downsides with RB: When a jam lasts a few hours, I find the pick heats up and begins to mold its shape -- no longer a flat pick but rather a curvy pick. Seems to retake original shape by the next day, though.

Also, I have developed a small chip near one point -- quite noticeable if I use that point. Also, near the chip is a rough area -- seems to have scratch from contact with the wound strings.

I've seen guys (e.g. John Reischman) with real Tortoise shell picks working on them with very fine nail files or nail buffers -- apparently this is quite normal. Is it also required with RBs? i.e. Are RBs prone to chipping and scratching?

Thanks for help.

[Santiago]

I haven't had this problem. Maybe I'm not practicing enough. I just think they're overpriced.

[fredfrank]

I have also noticed this re-shaping phenomenon after a bit of body heat is transferred.

I have never had one chip. But I have re-shaped and polished them with emery boards and buffing compounds. They are very workable. I have reshaped the Blue Chip picks too. But they are so tough, it requires power tools.

[Meadowview]

I have to agree with Santiago, they are way over priced. They are no better than "Dawg" or "Golden Gate" picks. I had one that I carried in the "watch pocket" on my jeans and it broke. I will never buy another one.

[Potosimando]

The only pick that I ever broke (broke by accident) was a Red Bear, and I hadn't played it that much, as I was not overly impressed with it--couldn't believe it just broke on me, as it was "almost new" at the time and I didn't realize that I was putting any undo pressure on it when it broke. Important to say in the Red Bear's defense however, that my broken Red Bear was a "second", so it had already failed Red Bear's quality standard for some reason or other (in other words maybe mine breaking isn't a valid complaint).

Now the Blue Chip...very, very impressive, and well worth the $38 in my opinion. In a personal informal side-by-side comparison to two Golden-Gate-sized/shaped real-Tortoise-Shell picks, the Blue Chip TPR60 with rounded (not beveled) edges was clearly superior in tone to the real-Tortoise-Shell pick (again, that's very, very impressive).

[Santiago]

I have to agree with Santiago, they are way over priced. They are no better than "Dawg" or "Golden Gate" picks. I had one that I carried in the "watch pocket" on my jeans and it broke. I will never buy another one.

I have to disagree. I can't stand the Dawg or Golden Gate picks, and I love the Red Bear. The sound, feel, etc. is like day an night to me... but we agree they're overpriced at least.:))

[Greg H.]

Well, I guess I disagree with both of you somewhat. I do feel like it's a significantly better pick than either a Dawg or a Golden Gate Pick. In fact I feel like the Red Bears are the closest things I've found to tortoise picks (and these are legal). And, in that price, it doesn't seem unreasonable.

I guess how reasonable or unreasonable it is is simply a matter of how badly you want it. In my opinion it's quite reasonable to pay $25 for a Red Bear rather than paying $65 for an illegal tortoise shell pick (and the Red Bear sounds awfully close . . .I have even had friends thinking it was a tortoise).

[Meadowview]

Well I guess the old saying, " different strokes for different folks" is true. The Red Bear pick I had was not a second and it didn't come near a tortoise pick. For $25 I can buy a whole case of "Extra Heavy Fender" picks which beat the Red Bear picks hands down and they won't melt down or break just carrying them in your pocket.

[fredfrank]

I didn't see anywhere in the original post any reference to whether the Red Bear picks were overpriced. If you don't think they are worth it, don't buy it. Pretty simple, really.

[JeffD]

I haven't had that problem. Typically I change picks as soon as they warm up to my hand. Just a habit, I like the pick a little cooler so I can feel it better. My Red Bear picks seem to last for ever, I have an old one that shows zero wear and looks as nice as a new one.

I am not going to leave folks thinking there is a consensus here that they are over priced. Far from it, you will find on other threads many folks who think they are worth it.

For the improvement in tone I get I would be willing to pay a lot more than the cost of a Red Bear pick.

[scgc.om]

Just to underscore JeffD's post above, I think of it this way:

I know the "LIFT" I get from restringing -- your instrument sounds so much better. More tone, more volume!

When I 1st started playing with a Wegen pick, I felt I got as much or more LIFT as from changing strings . . . LIFT that did NOT go away gradually (as with strings) . . . Unless, of course, you lost your #######' pick, in which case the LIFT would go away immediately and permanently!

At about 3 times the price of a string set (i.e. 3 string changes), a Red Bear seems good value by comparison -- unless you are a pick loser . . . .

[Mike Snyder]

My only beef with the Red Bear (Mando Heavy) is that it has taken on a VERY slight curvature. I think it was stored in the case with some pressure from my tuner. So slight that it is barely noticable, but it has caused me to always use the same point with the same side up. The cost thing has been beat to death, guys. If it bothers you, don't buy it. I know that the tone I get with the RB is noticibly fuller than with the Dunlop 208, and the Dunlop beats the GG hands down. A year and a half, and no visible wear. And I haven't lost it!

[onassis]

Yeah, the "over-priced" shtick is getting pretty old. Funny how we'll shell out 3K+ for an instrument then balk at $35 for a pick! (So says the guy with the $200 mando and fifty cent picks!LOL). Seriously though, and no diss on gear buyers, but I hate it when I get caught up in the gear game. When I buy something with the thought that it will make me a better player, 99% of the time it's a bust. The only thing that seems to have made a difference is practice and experimentation with the tools and materials I already have.

[clarksavage]

Having seen Jeff D handle his picks ... if anyone would break one down, it's that guy :-) I love my (several), I broke one in half in my pocket once and glued it back together with super glue and its doing fine.

Clark

[Ken_P]

I'm a big Red Bear fan - use them for both guitar and mandolin. I do find they require a little maintenance, though. I usually touch up the edges every couple months to keep them smooth. I did discover my mandolin pick was starting to warp a bit, but it seems to have recovered now.

I use the $4 "pick maintenance kit" they sell on the website, which includes a few different files and a fine polishing cloth. You can use anything really, but that works for me. I even got a freebie thrown in with it! I guess they occasionally throw in seconds if they're not going to sell them.

[Meadowview]

Yeah, the "over-priced" shtick is getting pretty old. Funny how we'll shell out 3K+ for an instrument then balk at $35 for a pick! (So says the guy with the $200 mando and fifty cent picks!LOL). Seriously though, and no diss on gear buyers, but I hate it when I get caught up in the gear game. When I buy something with the thought that it will make me a better player, 99% of the time it's a bust. The only thing that seems to have made a difference is practice and experimentation with the tools and materials I already have.

A note to the guy with the $200 mando and a fifty cent pick---the Red Bear is still going to make the mando sound like a $200 mando. They are not magic like some would try to imply. As to the ones who don't want to hear that they are overpriced------------I thought this was what the message board was all about-------------to share our thoughts and experiences.

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[Greg H.]

Ok, granted, it's still a $200 mandolin, but in my hearing it sounds better with the Red Bear than it does with the Fender Heavy. So then in my . . . . $X,000 mandolin I feel it well worth the extra money for the better sound with the Red Bear pick (which, by the way, I've had for the last 2 1/2 years). And in my mind that's the determination. If to you there's no improvement. . . .or worse still that the Fender Heavy sounds better, then definately don't spend your $25 for a pick you don't like. It's just for many of us it does sound better with the Red Bear.

[LoneStarMandolin]

RBs are just wonderful - haven't had any trouble with chipping at all and it just plays flat out great.

[Bob Stolkin]

I've been on a bit of a crazy pick sampling lately, looking for the just the right one. I've tried just about everything in the book in terms of brand, shape, thickness, etc. Unfortunately for my wallet, the two I like best are Red Bear and Blue Chip. I really didn't want it to turn out this way, I'd really hoped one of the cheaper ones would be the one, but lo, didn't happen. Yes, the Red Bear does seem to curve some during a long, hot jam. Not the end of the world.

If I didn't have these to try, I would have been perfectly happy with a Pro-plec. But, many of us are trying hard to pull the best tone we can. I spend real $$ on an instrument, and many, many hours of hard work in pursuit of tone, so if the $20 (or the $35) pick gives me the best advantage, personally I have no regrets. But, someone else may be getting their best tone from a cheaper pick, and so why would they need to spend the extra money?

It's all about what works for you.

[JeffD]

Yes, the Red Bear does seem to curve some during a long, hot jam. Not the end of the world.


I never get through a jam on a single pick. As I mentioned above, as soon as a pick gets as warm as my hand, I switch it out. Then also, I use different picks for different tunes and different ways I want to sound.

For example, if its a crowded jam, I might use the Wegan because its a little more percussive. As the folks leave and the jam becomes more intimate I will switch to Red Bear, as the sound is to my ears more inviting and intimate. And I will throw more tremolo in there and those Red Bears with the speed bevel just deliver tremolo.

I am one of those who you see at a jam, walk around for awhile, come back, I am still there, sit and play a while, get up get something to eat come back, I am still there, getting dark, lanterns on, folks going to the main stage or to recover a lost folding chair, I am still there jamming with who ever shows.

So during all of that, a single pick? Not me. :mandosmiley:

[Bob Stolkin]

So during all of that, a single pick? Not me. :mandosmiley:

Same boat for me. If there's a banjo around, I often use a Blue Chip. If not, usually a Red Bear.