Slickery Picks

[Drew Egerton]

It's amazing what a little soap and water can do for a pick. A little splash of your favorite adult beverage will work in a pinch.

I'm a bit embarrassed to say I haven't really thought about this. I used some dish soap on my Blue Chip last night and it is so much 'grippier'. Feels like brand new again. As a part-time germaphobe, I like the idea of washing it too!

[hucklebilly]

I keep some baby wipes in my case. Serves the same function.

[Randy Linam]

On good advise I began using a Wegen TF-140, 7-hole pick when I bought my mandolin -and I like them !

I was wondering though, whether anyone uses a resin (or anything else) on their pick fingers to keep a firm grip on the pick as they lather up during play?

I use Gorilla Snot. It works great!

[hucklebilly]

I use Gorilla Snot. It works great!

Tried that too, but the problem was that while it made the pick sticky, it made everything else I touched sticky also.

[Al Trujillo]

Follow-up: I bought some Dunlop Primetone 1.5's from Elderly and so far am really liking them. Not slipping as much as the Wegen's do when my hands warm up. I also tried the Blueback and didn't like that much at all.

[JeffD]

The secret to Gorilla Snot, IMO, is to use as little as you can, very very little. Just enough to get the job done and maybe a little bit less.

[Espresso Geek]

Wegen picks are the bomb but I've never have used resin on my fingers. I highly recommend Wegen picks to anyone and they came highly recommended by a pro musician friend to me.

Have used many picks over the years playing guitar, Wegen being at the top of the list as a favorite. Yet to try a Blue Chip, have settled on Red Bear's as my numero uno. Having recently started playing the mando, I go to my selection of Red Bear's for a really awesome tone!! Hard to purchase one, but once you do you will not turn back.
https://www.redbeartrading.com/

[JeffD]

Having recently started playing the mando, I go to my selection of Red Bear's for a really awesome tone!! Hard to purchase one, but once you do you will not turn back.

I would agree. I think it just edges out Blue Chip for tone. I use both, and I use the Red Bear when the tone matters the most. Blue Chip is a wonderful pick, and very similar sounding, but when I play alone, unamplified, in a small venue or single room, playing slow airs and waltzes, the RedBear sounds amazing. For faster tunes I prefer the Blue Chip.

I doubt anyone can hear the difference, but I can.

[Espresso Geek]

I would agree. I think it just edges out Blue Chip for tone. I use both, and I use the Red Bear when the tone matters the most. Blue Chip is a wonderful pick, and very similar sounding, but when I play alone, unamplified, in a small venue or single room, playing slow airs and waltzes, the RedBear sounds amazing. For faster tunes I prefer the Blue Chip.

I doubt anyone can hear the difference, but I can.

Isn't it interesting that people who spend some time with their instruments, be it mando , guitar, etc. can actually tell the difference in tone, feel, attack and what-not? We develop this oneness with our instruments. Then it goes a step further and we actually like different picks, gauges, materials, etc. for the certain styles/genres of music we are playing. Throw some strings in there, different gauges/materials and you have gone to other level of oneness with your instrument. Just amazing how all these factors come together to give us the sound we seek coming out of our instruments.

[pheffernan]

I doubt anyone can hear the difference, but I can.

I can hear the difference when I'm playing. I find that the Red Bear Big Picker H has the fattest tone but the least comfortable handle for me among premium picks. The Wegen TF140 is the opposite, with just about perfect feel but a thinner sound. The Blue Chip CT55 sits in the middle for me in both playability and acoustic performance.

[Espresso Geek]

On good advise I began using a Wegen TF-140, 7-hole pick when I bought my mandolin -and I like them !

I was wondering though, whether anyone uses a resin (or anything else) on their pick fingers to keep a firm grip on the pick as they lather up during play?

Just had another thought on "picks with a grip". Tried a Pick Boy pick on my mando only a few moments ago. Sounds decent and might have the "grips" that you are looking for. I like the nylon 66, 1.0mm gauge. Sounds good and plenty of non-slippage, even when held lightly. http://www.osiamo.com/products/grippicks

[John Garcia]

I used, and liked, the Dunlop Primetone until I got hold of a Blue Chip. The Primetone is a little too bright for my liking, now. I have never had a pick slip out of my fingers yet....

YMMV

[Tobin]

I used, and liked, the Dunlop Primetone until I got hold of a Blue Chip. The Primetone is a little too bright for my liking, now. I have never had a pick slip out of my fingers yet....

YMMV

It's funny - I came at it from the opposite direction. I used a Blue Chip for years until I got a hold of a Primetone. All of a sudden, the volume and clarity were on steroids, but the tone was still there (unlike other picks that brighten it up so much that it sounds terrible to me). I really think the similarity in the bevel shape is largely responsible for most of the tone, and the material mainly effects volume and brightness. At any rate, I still love my Blue Chip picks, but the Primetones are the ones I find myself using on a day to day basis, and especially at loud jams.

Had I come from Primetones to Blue Chips as you did, I might have reached the same conclusion as you. I guess it all depends on where we started, LOL.

[JeffD]

Isn't it interesting that people who spend some time with their instruments, be it mando , guitar, etc. can actually tell the difference in tone, feel, attack and what-not? We develop this oneness with our instruments. Then it goes a step further and we actually like different picks, gauges, materials, etc. for the certain styles/genres of music we are playing. Throw some strings in there, different gauges/materials and you have gone to other level of oneness with your instrument. Just amazing how all these factors come together to give us the sound we seek coming out of our instruments.

Yes.

And it takes time. It takes a lot of time playing and listening and adjusting and playing and listening. At first a lot of these distinctions are invisible. Or hidden behind bigger differences of staying in tune or bad intonation, or needing a set up. We have bigger problems to solve than tone and volume control, at first. Its only after you don't have to think about what note comes next and where the heck is it on the board - only later, can you really dig into how can I make this a thicker tone, how can I avoid thinning this out when I go faster.

Knowing your instrument, and how to adjust for all its idiosyncrasies, and how to get the most of this part and get more out of that part and how far we can push the volume here, all that knowledge comes from playing the same mandolin for a long time. I am not arguing against MAS or against upgrading, but there is a particular joy in getting to know your instrument really really well.

And then you figure out what kind of pick makes this or that easier or better under these particular conditions.

[mandroid]

I watched a show, Here, played by Evan Marshall, he glues the pick to his index finger..

[Espresso Geek]

Yes.

And it takes time. It takes a lot of time playing and listening and adjusting and playing and listening. At first a lot of these distinctions are invisible. Or hidden behind bigger differences of staying in tune or bad intonation, or needing a set up. We have bigger problems to solve than tone and volume control, at first. Its only after you don't have to think about what note comes next and where the heck is it on the board - only later, can you really dig into how can I make this a thicker tone, how can I avoid thinning this out when I go faster.

Knowing your instrument, and how to adjust for all its idiosyncrasies, and how to get the most of this part and get more out of that part and how far we can push the volume here, all that knowledge comes from playing the same mandolin for a long time. I am not arguing against MAS or against upgrading, but there is a particular joy in getting to know your instrument really really well.

And then you figure out what kind of pick makes this or that easier or better under these particular conditions.

So , so true. All of what you say!!!

[Al Trujillo]

A little help here...I peeked in the Red Bear website and found a whole bunch of picks to look at. What size / thickness are you guys using?

[JeffD]

I like the Style C Heavy with speed bevel. I also have some of their Roman style picks, not shown.

Their picks are made of a hygroscopic material, so don't let them get wet. Don't leave them in your pocket when you launder your jeans.

Folks have complained that if it gets too wet and you try and break them, they snap in half. I believe the same is true of your mandolin, actually, so its not a big deal to avoid.

[Espresso Geek]

A little help here...I peeked in the Red Bear website and found a whole bunch of picks to look at. What size / thickness are you guys using?

Of course size and gauge is a personal preference. The Red Bear picks I have been playing around with - style "F" medium gauge and the "Classic II" light gauge. The following is from the site: Light 0.9 - 1.10mm, Medium 1.11-1.30mm or thereabouts, Heavy 1.30 - 1.65mm, Extra Heavy 1.65 to 2mm or so and Gypsy Jazzer 2.5mm to 4.5mm or so. All these gauge specs are approximate. The picks may be plus or minus a few tenths of a millimeter. Also, as far as sizes go, that can be found for the picks on the web site. The sizes are approximate. There is a variety of styles to choose from. Of note, I generally do not play my guitar or mando with the "pointy " part of the pick, I use the rounded edge on the top because I like the tone better with that part of the pick. I get dual use out of the pick that way. If I go into a flat-picking frenzy on my Martin, I use the pointy part. Rounded edge is more for strumming. Same goes for the mando. There are a few styles at Red Bear that most mando players would probably find useful and I think those would be the - Big Picker, Little Picker, style E or the style Mondo. Also of note, I take files and put my own bevel on my picks. The thing that makes Red Bear's currently hard to get is the do not take orders for certain styles. The open their store , usually once a week , and offer a variety of a few styles and you just have to hope their is something available that you want. And no matter what they have, they sell out quick. But I think if you were to send Dave and Monica an email for a certain style you want, they might work it into the rotation. The customer service at Red Bear is top notch. Have only good things to say about Dave and Monica. Last posted at the site: The online shopping cart will be open this Friday, July 3, 2015 at 10AM Mountain Time. Please check back on which flat pick styles will be available! Hey, just noticed you are from Southern Colorado. I live in the Boulder area. Great having some fellow Coloradan's in the forums.

[Buck]

One reason (not the only one) people have trouble holding onto picks is that they are using "too much tip". By that I mean too much of the pick is extending past the thumb and finger. It hangs up on the strings and tends to move around. Backing that up will help improve technique and tone. I only have about 1/8" of the pick extending past my thumb. I have relatively dry skin, but never have trouble losing control of the pick.

IMO Dunlop 207's are the best inexpensive pick out there, for mandolin or guitar. I carry a 207 and a TS or BC in my pocket most of the time. While I've played most every thing out there, these picks suit me best. Oddly, they're at opposite ends of the cost line.

[DavidKOS]

I usually don't have much problem with pick slippage, but the new mandolin picks I ordered seem to have a handgrip built in:



Delrin, should have a nice warm tone, not rounded on the tip. Fred Kelly, .96mm, 36 for $9.99.

[AlanN]

I watched a show, Here, played by Evan Marshall, he glues the pick to his index finger..

Interesting.

I know of only one other picker who did that, a guy at the old M&M Hall in Old Bridge, NJ, whose arthritis was so bad, it was the only way he could hold onto a pick.

[Al Trujillo]

Ok....I've been playing with the Primetones for several days now and the Wegens are on the bench. I've been playing outside in some warm weather and the Primetones don't slip at all in my hands - liking them quite a bit. Thanks for the comments here on M C.

[JEStanek]

I've drilled holes in other ones... It helps.

Jamie

[djeffcoat]

The Wegen mandolin picks I use have fine lines scored in them and do not slip. They are the same size as the Dunlop Primetones or Americanas.