Wegen round bevel

[atbuckner21]

Good afternoon! Does anybody know if Mr. Wegen has made the Tf-140 with a round bevel? I have emailed him about a custom order for me, but have not heard back yet and wondered if anyone knew anything about this Thanks!

[mandobassman]

Good luck with contacting Michel Wegen. He ignored 4 of my emails before we finally exchanged some heated words.
I vowed to never buy from him again but in the end compromised by ordering from Janet Davis Music. He does do a round bevel but considers it a custom order and doubles the price because of that. I like the Wegen material very much but never liked the bevel. The rounded edge is a perfect fit for my mandolin so it is worth it to me. So the standard TF140 which is normally 2 for $15 cost me $15 each.

[Pete Braccio]

You can get the round bevel Wegens from Greg Boyd Music. There are a couple of different options. The BN-120 and the CF-140. Both are $15 for 2.

The BN's are more rounded, but are only 1.2 mm thick.

Pete

[mandobassman]

You can get the round bevel Wegens from Greg Boyd Music. There are a couple of different options. The BN-120 and the CF-140. Both are $15 for 2.

The BN's are more rounded, but are only 1.2 mm thick.

Pete

If the OP is interested in the TF140 with a round bevel, then custom is the only way to go. The CFversion is much smaller than the TF and it does have a speed bevel. The BN, as you pointed out, is thinner and has a more rounded point. I tried the BN120 because I thought the more rounded point would sound good. I was so wrong. It sounded terrible. Thin and offensively bright. The pick I ordered is basically a TF140 with a rounded bevel and it is 1.8mm instead of 1.4mm, (which I guess makes it a TF180). I have been extremely happy with this pick. I have tried several other types of picks, and some sound very good, but I keep coming back to this custom Wegen. I have been using it for about 3 years now and there is no sign of wear at all.

[mandobassman]

I have emailed him about a custom order for me, but have not heard back yet...

I'll explain the situation I had with Michele Wegen. When I was thinking about trying a pick with no bevel, I emailed him to ask what the cost would be. I waited 2 weeks with no response. Over the next month I emailed him 2 more times again with no response. The 4th time I put in all caps in the subject line "WHY ARE YOU NOT RESPONDING?". He answered and was very nasty with his response saying that he could not respond to every email he received and operated his shop by himself. Anyway, the tone of his email made me feel like I wasn't worth his time. Well, I could have been the customer who wanted to order 50 picks for all he knew. Terrible customer service in my opinion.

[Pete Braccio]

Hi Larry,

Sorry that you had a bad experience with Michele.

I personally use the BN-120 and like the sound.

Also, the easiest way to get the TF140 with a rounded point is to get a couple of them slowly sand down the points with sand paper and touch up the bevel with an emory board.

Pete

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've had 'less than polite' e-mail response from Mr Wegen as well. I have to say that i used the Wegen Bluegrass picks for ages,but after trying out the new Dunlop Primetone picks,there's no going back. I prefer the teardrop shaped ones,but the OP might like the
more rounded style,available in these 2 finishes flat & smooth,or with a 'grippy' surface
Ivan

[Lord of the Badgers]

Ivan you inspired me to investigate the above picks - thanks again!

[mandobassman]

Hi Larry,

Sorry that you had a bad experience with Michele.

I personally use the BN-120 and like the sound.

Also, the easiest way to get the TF140 with a rounded point is to get a couple of them slowly sand down the points with sand paper and touch up the bevel with an emory board.

Pete

It just shows that everyone's experiences are different. I guess what I didn't like about the sound of the BN120 is the extreme difference in the thickness of what I've been used to. After all, I've been using a 1.8mm for a long time.

Hopefully the OP will correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that he is asking about the rounded "edge" of the pick and not a rounded point. Almost all of the Wegen picks come standard with a "speed bevel". I thought he was asking about ordering a pick with a rounded edge, which is what I did, only it doesn't have a bevel. The pick I ordered is still the exact same size and shape of a regular TF140. To take a TF140 and round the point, as you suggested, would change the shape.

I was also going to suggest that the OP ask at Greg Boyd about ordering the BN pick in the 1.4mm thickness. The BN seems to have the least-pronounced bevel of the standard Wegen picks. It has a slightly more rounded point than the TF, but it is probably the closest thing one could get to a TF without a bevel without custom-ordering. Then again, Michel Wegen would probably consider that a custom order.

[mandobassman]

Hi Larry,

Sorry that you had a bad experience with Michele.

At first I thought I had just caught him on a bad day. Everyone has one of those and maybe treats people differently than they normally would. However, he was really rude and later I found out I wasn't the only one who has email issues with him. See Ivan's post above. I remember corresponding with Ivan after that experience and was dumbfounded at how a business owner could be so rude to a customer. It's just not a good way to treat your customers if you want to keep them.

[Ron McMillan]

Ivan you inspired me to investigate the above picks - thanks again!

I bought my Primetones in person at GAK in Brighton, but I know they do mail order, which sorts out the difficulty in finding the darn things. I got the larger, less rounded 1.4mm version that the link connects you to. The others in the line-up are accessed at the same page. I think it's the best pick I ever used.

ron

[mandroid]

Thinking a neutral Bevel maybe a Good change , since I often play with my arm on the tailpiece cover ..

BC do that too ? I usually see Rt Handed ones changing hands in the classifieds, it seems

OK, if you are holding instrument at an angle, armrest in usual place on the Rim..

[mandobassman]

Thinking a neutral Bevel maybe a Good change , since I often play with my arm on the tailpiece cover ..

BC do that too ? I usually see Rt Handed ones changing hands in the classifieds, it seems

OK, if you are holding instrument at an angle, armrest in usual place on the Rim..

The rounded bevel does change the tone pretty dramatically, which is why I ordered one in the first place. The bevel makes the tone too harsh for me and the rounded edge softens that a lot. Blue Chip does offer right bevel, left bevel and rounded as options and does not charge extra for it, unlike Wegen. When you order from Blue Chip you select the bevel option on the web site.

[Stainless]

Blue Chip makes a pick with one rounded corner. I agree the sound with any rounded corner is significantly different, but with the BC 60-1R you can easily move from rounded to more pointed quite easily.

[mandobassman]

Blue Chip makes a pick with one rounded corner. I agree the sound with any rounded corner is significantly different, but with the BC 60-1R you can easily move from rounded to more pointed quite easily.

The conversation here is about the bevel, not the point of the pick. The OP asked about buying a Wegen pick with a rounded bevel, which refers to the pick edge. Everyone knows that a different point will change tone, but not everyone is aware of how much of a difference the bevel makes. The first Blue Chip I bought was a TAD60 with a right handed bevel. Sometime later I bought the exact same pick, only this one had a rounded edge. What a difference. Significantly warmer and smoother tone, IMO. Same thing with Wegen, except with Wegen you have to place a custom order to get a round bevel.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I contacted Mr Wegen after reading on here that one dealer was saying that his picks were made from 'Kevlar'. It was a polite e-mail & i wasn't asking him what the 'secret' material was,but his reply was not nice !. As it is,at least for me,the 'Primetones' are in a different league (IMHO),
Ivan

[atbuckner21]

Thanks for your input everyone. I emailed Mr. Wegen last week and still have not heard a reply. I appreciate your help!

[mandobassman]

After my experience with Mr. Wegen I tried a few other companies to see if someone would custom order for me and Janet Davis Music was who I used and the were very helpful. It took about 5 weeks, as I recall, to receive my order. I ordered two and lost one somewhere along the way, so I'm thinking of ordering a couple more just as a back up.

[mandobassman]

Thanks for your input everyone. I emailed Mr. Wegen last week and still have not heard a reply. I appreciate your help!

He told me he receives about 80 emails a day and cannot answer all of them. Poor excuse as far as I'm concerned. Well, my boss receives about 150-200 emails a day and he reads every one of them.

[Lord of the Badgers]

I bought my Primetones in person at GAK in Brighton, but I know they do mail order, which sorts out the difficulty in finding the darn things. I got the larger, less rounded 1.4mm version that the link connects you to. The others in the line-up are accessed at the same page. I think it's the best pick I ever used.

ron

about to find out Ron... they're here. I'll put the oven on for a quick meal, then a cuppa, and then... let's see.
Also, Ivan, the GHS arrived and sound great (you're so right about their superiority to my previous strings). Next set will be DR though!