View Full Version : Tortis Pick
Doug Edwards
Jan-14-2005, 4:04pm
I got one of the new Tortis pick for my birthday, $20 from FQMS. IMHO it's not much different than most any of the popular choices. I compared it to a Golden Gate, Dawg, Dunlap 207, horn,& 2 tortise picks. They were all fairly close in tone and playabillity, save the tortise picks. The tortise aren't fair'cause they're much thinner and easier to play.
glauber
Jan-14-2005, 4:37pm
I had a Tortis "Mondo" pick. I tought it was pretty similar to the Dawg; perhaps a little brighter. I thought the small difference in brightness wasn't worth the big difference in price, but that's just my opinion. If it serves you and your style of playing, it's still only $20, it's not like you're having to sell the house to buy one. They do have them in all sorts of shapes, not just the Dawg-like "Mondo".
Dave Caulkins
Jan-14-2005, 10:39pm
I'm not sure how much better they are than any other pick (save that I really like mine) but at $20.00 - I'm damn certain not to loose my current favorite pick (this is worth alot, and those who usually lose picks like me understand, I'm sure).
Dave
I just got the new Tortis Style E in heavy thickness. Almost identical in shape and size to the Wegen mando pick. The Tortis pick is a nice product and if I hadn't already been using Wegen's I might find the differences between the Tortis and other less expensive picks more noticible. However, I was somewhat underwhelmed after all the positive comments online. Not worth double the price of a Wegen to me. The material is easy to sand if you want to change the contours. However, about the same tonal range as my Wegen Mando 200 and just a tad less volume. It does make the bass tones a little more distinct but I couldn't tell that it improved my picking speed/attack etc. I'll use it but it doesn't have any distinct advantages to me over the Wegens. The Wegen's barely wear at all already so even durability isn't a real selling differential.
erick
Jan-17-2005, 12:39am
I use a modified tortis mondo that I sanded one corner of to be exactly like a wegen. When I need to play faster I use this point., otherwise I play with the other edges. I think the tortis picks have a slightly sweeter tone and a nicer grip to them than the Wegens. They are a bit quirky at times, and sensitive to moisture. Your mileage may vary...
kudzugypsy
Jan-18-2005, 3:55pm
try the wegens, they are not cheap either, but you will get a might fat tone from them. they WILL take a while to get used to, but hang in there.
i tried one of the "old" tortis picks a year or two ago and thought it was a dud, i think they have since changed them.
keymandoguy
Jan-26-2005, 1:47pm
I had one that i lost but to me the 1.02 Dunlop sounds just as good so Im not cryin. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif
Don't break it if you buy one. I broke mine while trying to make it flat once it started warping. The material is very brittle compared to other picks.
Jonathan James
Jan-28-2005, 8:12pm
Freaky, Nolan. Wish I had read your post about an hour ago. The exact same thing just happened to my Tortis. Twenty clams down the drain...
mmukav
Jan-28-2005, 8:33pm
Sorry to hear about your 'breakeage'!
Only pick I ever bought that actually came with instructions!
They are brittle, but I like the sound. Brighter than the 'Dawgs' to me. More like a Wegan.
Lane Pryce
Jan-29-2005, 7:59am
You guys should try the Dunlop Ultex 1.14mm part# DU421P114.I could not tell any difference between it and the tortis.Lp
Saving the 20$ seems the more reasonable thing to do. I think you can get 6 dawg picks for $6.25. I've heard only good things about the Dawg's. 20 for a pick seems crazy.
glauber
Jan-29-2005, 8:28am
Tortis is like the old tortoise shell picks. It's sensitive to moisture. If it warps, it probably has to be "cooked" back in shape. There's a thread a month ago, maybe, about cooking tortoise shell straight.
The Clayton and Dunlop ultex and ultem picks are pretty close to real T/S. They even "clink" the same when you toss them on the table. #
I like my tortis picks. To me they sound better than the wegens. Although I prefer the sound of the dawg picks, which to me have a warmer sound, i can play quite a bit faster with the tortis than i can with either the wegens or the dawgs. I use all three in addition to a couple i have made of horn depending on how i feel.
I have problems using a pick made out of part of an endangered species. To me the tortis pick is a nice and relatively cheap alternative.
-gary
futrconslr
Feb-02-2005, 2:55pm
I have a mondo stylr in medium that I like and a "C" heavy that I dont like. If anyone has a Mondo in heavy they want to swap for my C....send me the old P.M.
Nolan
Feb-08-2005, 12:50am
I just got another Tortis pick in 1.3 mm, the Tri-Tip it's called.
It has the dawg point, regular large triangle point and a point with the wegen type edge to it. I really like it. I put my T/S away this weekend after getting it and couldn't be happier. Now I just need one pick and I get all the different picks rolled into one and the tone is as good as my T/S picks.
I'll be REALLY carefull with this one not to break it!
mpeknox
Feb-17-2005, 2:04pm
Just got a style "B" medium with the speed bevel (somehow speed bevel makes it sound more like a $20 pick). Anyway, I've been comparing it to my Wegen bluegrass pick and find the Tortis seems to slide over the strings easier, if you know what I mean. The Tortis also seems to give a little brighter tone. I think I like it but sure wouldn't want my wife to know how much I gave for it...she'd have a fit. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
gnelson651
Feb-17-2005, 2:44pm
Saving the 20$ seems the more reasonable thing to do. I think you can get 6 dawg picks for $6.25. I've heard only good things about the Dawg's. 20 for a pick seems crazy.
While it may sound crazy to buy a $20 pick, put into this perpective, I recently bought a $150 bow for my daughter's $800 violin. A pick, like a bow is the voice for your instrument. So how much did you spend on your mandolin: $1,000,$2,000 $5,000, ? A $20 T/S pick is far cheaper percentage-wise (less than 2%) than you think. We are too use to using cheap 50 cent picks to realize that if a more expensive pick improves your sound, then it might be worth the price.
Of course, a voilin bow is more expensive by virtue of its construction and material. The same is true for the Tortis picks which I have watch been made before my eyes. It is very labor intensive, not counting the cost of the material.
Disclaimer: No financial insterst.
Picks that slide over the strings easier tend to make a brushing sound. -Just compare to a pointed pick. The pointed pick gives so much more of a cleaner tone.
Plus if I play too fast to keep up with some folks, I start missing the string.
I'm still searching for a nice compromise.
Mando4Life
Feb-17-2005, 3:13pm
The same is true for the Tortis picks which I have watch been made before my eyes.....It is very labor intensive
I can't speak for the Tortis, but it took me a long, long time to make one of my two TS picks. #The other one was just a bit of reshaping and polishing (got smart after the first one and found a used one).
I had both the old and the new Tortis picks in the past. #I liked the older ones better the new ones sound to bright to me. #The old ones would have great if they weren't prone to warping so easily.
WBL
cameron
Feb-17-2005, 9:04pm
I keep my Tortis picks in the same little ziplock they came in(Style "E" 1.75mm and 2.00mm with speed bevels on all 3 corners). For transport I put these ziplocks inside an old cigarette case. They may need to be babied a little but are well worth the trouble. I use a little Pro-Grip if my right hand gets sweaty. No warpage of these yet. I seem to be able to get more power from these Tortis picks;yet they are easy for me to tremolo. Both the Wegens and the Tortis with speed bevels are teaching me to keep the pick more at a right angle to the strings. Then learning to control them comes into play.......there seems to be a learning curve.