David Grisman's Dawg pick

[darrylicshon]

I work as a stagehand and guitar tech and i have been cleaning up and i found a old box of picks from shows and i found a Dawg pick from David Grisman concert , i have heard good and bad things about them so i have been using it the past few days it seems ok but not what i am used to. I use a dunlop delrin .96 the Dawg isnt as bright as the dunlop i keep going back to my dunlop.

What i wanted to know is everyones opinion about the Dawg picks.

I am still going to use the Dawg got to give it time maybe i will become use to it , no matter what i am going to keep it cause David Grisman used it.

[mandobassman]

Wondering which Dawg pick you're referring to. The original Dawg was more rounded and I never liked it at all. Could never get a decent tone from it. The newer version has more of a "point", although it is still very rounded compared to most picks. I like the tone much better than the original, but still can't use it because I could never get any volume and felt as though I had to push the instrument really hard to get any volume. Not a big deal when you're picking by yourself, but much more difficult when playing live with a band.

[Mark Christensen]

I bought a set of the original Dawg picks when they first came out (12 I think), never really liked the tone until I got my file out and some sand paper and added a bevel and point to one corner. Really brings out some volume and brightness when you do this and since the modification I use the Dawg picks often. They work well and last a long time, I still have at least 10 of these in my pick container unused. The same applies to the Golden Gate pick.

[darrylicshon]

It is an older Dawg pick

[Ultra Turtle]

I've been looking for one of the multicolor, or "clownbarf" Dawg picks.

[OldSausage]

I think Dawg picks must be designed to be sanded to shape by the end user: I could never get much out of them as they come, but if you can be bothered to polish a nice bevel on them they are as good as anything until the bevel wears off a few weeks down the line.

[journeybear]

I used to have one. Don't remember how I came by it or where it went. It was one of the old ones, triangular with rounded off corners. I never cared for it much, and thought it odd Il Maestro preferred such a clunky thing. I like a good point on a pick, and like the OP, am fine with Dunlops, though I prefer them thicker, 1.5mm - 2mm. Though there are times I'll rotate the pick to use a flatter edge for certain effects, nearly all the time I use the point, keeping at it until it's worn down to the extent that it's even with the other two corners, rather resembling a Dawg pick. Then I discard it. I don't see the point in starting with a pick at that point. BTW, my hazy memory or its arrival and departure is evidence of how I just didn't care about it. But as always, YMMV.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have used Dawg picks in the past,but for a very short time only. I had to file more of a point on it & sand & polish a decent bevel on it for it to sound any good. As it came,it was so thick & rounded that it slid over the strings without producing any volume & the tone was simply bad. I soon returned to my Wegen Bluegrass picks,now sidelined because of the arrival of the Dunlop Primetone picks
which are the best i've ever used,
Ivan

[Paul Busman]

I'd say to use the pick as-is and see if you come to like it. If not, just leave it in your mandolin case and maybe some Grisman mojo will rub off.

[crisscross]

The Dawg Pick seems to take the trebles out a bit. If that's your goal, you might like it.
A similar pick to the old Dawg, but made from a little harder material is the Golden Gate.

[Astro]

I have a few Dawg's and Golden Gates.

Don't like them. Big round no points. Hard for me to think of people being able to pick with one but I know people do. Does Dawg file his down ? The variability on what we like is amazing.

[Timbofood]

Never used a dawg, they always seemed too round for me. I was a winner of the "V" pick giveaway and so far I really like the "jalapeño" quite a bit, shape is good the holes provide good "traction". I have not use it a lot yet but, first impression is very positive!

[notepicker]

My usual pick is a ProPlec 1.5mm but I also use a Dawg as well as others from time to time. I may pick up the Dawg when I want a duller or perhaps a more mellow sound. It is usually not long though before the ProPlec is back in use.

[Ken Scarbrough]

Hey Ultra, Check your PM I have a pick for you.
Ken

[John Ritchhart]

Too "dark" for me.

[Ken Scarbrough]

Hey Ultra PM me I have a pick for you.
Ken Scarbrough.

[journeybear]

Tell ya what, Tim (and everyone), you can hardly find a pick with a better grip than the Dunlop 2mm, also the 3mm Big Stubby (more a club than a pick ). These have enough material in the grip part to have dents for your thumb and forefinger to fit into. Also, the points on these are really sharp. These are real, practical reasons why they are on the top of my list. Plus there's an aesthetic reason - they're purple.

[lenf12]

Plus there's an aesthetic reason - they're purple.

Yeah, they emphasize the "bluesier" side of the tonal spectrum........

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[journeybear]

I was thinking purple is the color of magic, and mystery, and creativity, and coolness, and royalty (mandolin is the king of stringed instruments), but, yeah ...

[darrylicshon]

I have a few Dawg's and Golden Gates.

Don't like them. Big round no points. Hard for me to think of people being able to pick with one but I know people do. Does Dawg file his down ? The variability on what we like is amazing.

No Dawg doesnt file his down atleast not the one i got from him

[Perry Babasin]

I use Dawg picks, definitely the newer ones, directly from his website. I really like them because they produce a rounder tone, not so brash or harsh and are particularly good for tremolo. The newer ones do have a corner that comes to more of a point, and mine develop their own bevel pretty quickly. Dawg uses them and I have always admired his tone and attack, and strove to duplicate it in my own style of playing.

[Timbofood]

Until I got the personalized set, I had used Dunlop Tortex purple normal shape for twenty years, still have a gross of them(+/-)

[journeybear]

That's a lifetime supply, for yourself, your kids, and your grand-kids.

Perry, I don't know for sure. but I'm inclined to believe it's due more to his skill and talent than pick choice. I'm still baffled by the original design. Perhaps they are made this way to be difficult for mere mortals like us to use, so we will strive harder to achieve truly good tone. And they serve a dual purpose, that of giving The Master a handicap, to sound more like a mere mortal, so he would not cause us who listen to his playing to go deaf or stark raving mad from experiencing his brilliance in its purest, truest form.

[Perry Babasin]

I wish I could play like David, or Chris Thile, or Mike Marshall, or a dozen other folks - but - I play like me, and I like my tone better with the combination of my instruments and Dawg picks... It gives me more control to produce the tone and subtleties I'm looking for. He designed this pick for a purpose, and I'm exploring that purpose. Co-incidentally I have also tried many other types of picks through the years including an actual tortoise shell, and just recently a new Jim Dunlop rounded corner. The Dunlop is pretty cool, especially on my oval but frankly I still like the Dawg better for the ff hole and oval, for my style of playing. You asked if people like it, I like it...

[journeybear]

Interesting, well-considered explanation there. I've always chosen picks because of practical considerations - thick because I want quick response, pointed because I want accuracy, hard because I want longevity - and have never given much thought to aesthetic considerations. I've long been baffled by some of the analyses offered in pick threads, saying this pick produces this tone and so on. I've always thought the user produced the tone by how he used the pick, not with which pick he used. I did make a foray into this area once a while ago, going through my current collection at a gig, where I hoped to be able to hear the differences through the PA, and was surprised to hear some after all. This included Blue Chip pick kindly offered by a member so I could see - or hear - what I was missing. (Really must get that back to him ... ) I still think it's more up to the player to get the best sound out of his instrument with whatever tools he has at hand, or in his hand. I believe I do just fine with the Dunlops. My main problem with the Dawg is its shape. If I came across one with more of a point I would check it out.