New Primetone fan

[Don Grieser]

I've been home with a horrible cold so yesterday I went through all the picks I've accumulated over the years looking for something to replace my BC. Lately, I've felt the BC picks I have (TAD50, TAD501R, CT55) produce some weird harsh overtones on the unwound strings. I don't know if it's my aging ears or if it's real, but it's been bugging me.

Someone had sent me a couple of the rounded Primetones to try, and that's the one I ended up with at the end of the day yesterday. I've been a fan of pointed picks forever, but this one just seems to work. It's not the sculpted one, just the dark brown one in 1.3mm. The rounded edge goes through the string nice and slick like the BC, and it lets me pull some good thick tone without the harshness on the high end.

I've got a dozen on the way for $16. Probably keep the BCs just in case it's the fever in my head and my ears being messed up from the cold. But right now, I'm very heppy with what I'm hearing from the Primetones. We'll see if it sticks.

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

Its probably how I play but I seem to get a harsher tone with the Prime Tone picks.

[Kris N]

I'm a fan of the Primetone 513 1.4mm. It's my #1 right now. I carry one with me in my wallet and have tried it on many mandolins. I just love how it glides, minimizes the pick sound, and brings out the tone.

I've not used a BC pick yet. However, crossing my fingers one will show up on Christmas.

[HogTime]

Someone gave me a Primetone for my guitar and I liked it. Bought some rounded 1.3s for my mando and I like them, too. A brighter tone than the BC or Wegan with more volume. I'd rather take the Primetone to a jam and lose it than the BC.

Merry Christmas to all,

[Paulmazz]

I switched over to the 513R1.4 and I actually like it more than my CT55. When I'm looking for a bit of a darker tone I still use my TF 140

[Don Grieser]

I don't care for the Primetones with points. The rounded ones are doing it for me.

[Willie Poole]

Plus one with what Don posted, no harshness with the rounded Prime tones.....I have more on order also and will try the 1.3 this time...

Willie

[Ivan Kelsall]

IMHO - Having tried 2 different thicknesses & 2 shapes of Primetone picks,i think that they are a terrific pick,especially for the cost.
I use the teardrop shaped '' grippy'' ones 1.5 mm thick & they work for me. The 'smooth' ones don't seem to pull as much power from my mandolins & i think that the reason is that the moulded 'grippy' ones are a tad thicker than 1.5 mm. I tried the smooth triangular ones & they didn't seem quites as good as the moulded ones. I bought the triangular ones in the hope that the larger gripping area would help stop the pick from rotating in my fingers - it didn't. I've now changed the way i hold the pick & it's ''all systems go''. I do have trouble getting my foot up to my mandolin though !!!,
Ivan

[Paul Busman]

I don't care for the Primetones with points. The rounded ones are doing it for me.

I love the Primetone picks. I have the pointed triangles, but have rounded two of the points using a four surface fingernail filing board. The coarse surface takes down the point quickly and the remaining three surfaces progressively smooth the plastic to a nice smooth surface. I'm not crazy about the really rounded Primetones which is why I modify the pointy ones myself. I leave one point intact and round the other two to different degrees. Voila! One pick which can produce three distinctly different sounds with different playing characteristics, all for a very low price.

[WW52]

I have some brown triangular Primetones. They are nice picks, smooth, fast, and have a nice bevel, but for me pick-click was too noticeable in the 1.5, though slightly reduced in the 1.4. I haven't tried a 1.3, but I'm thinking I'd probably like it. Overall I still prefer the tone of my BCs and most recently, a Wegen TF120, to which I've been giving equal time.

[Loubrava]

+ 1 on the PT picks, I started using them about a year ago and at first didn't like pointed ones but now I find the pointed ones very good for certain things on single note runs the pointed picks bring out the bass notes better and the attack/response from them is great. So I end up using different picks for different songs the rounded ones for more rhythm based stuff and the pointy ones to be loud and proud.
Lou

[Lord of the Badgers]

more Primetone love is always a good thing. 1.4 grippy ones here. always one on me. Like it on everything inc guitar

[Stevo75]

I love the Primetone picks. I have the pointed triangles, but have rounded two of the points using a four surface fingernail filing board. The coarse surface takes down the point quickly and the remaining three surfaces progressively smooth the plastic to a nice smooth surface. I'm not crazy about the really rounded Primetones which is why I modify the pointy ones myself. I leave one point intact and round the other two to different degrees. Voila! One pick which can produce three distinctly different sounds with different playing characteristics, all for a very low price.

Thanks for the idea! I just tried this and it sounds great. I always thought the rounded Primetones were way too rounded so I have never liked them. I like the pointed ones but they sound too bright and noisy to me so I usually use something else. But I just took one of the points down to a more rounded shape and it sounds great! I used a coarse and then a fine grain emory board and then buffed it with some 2000 grit wet/dry paper. Then polished it with my dremel tool using a felt pad and some polishing gel.

I started with the dark brown (not the grippy ones) triangle at 1.5 mm thickness. I have a few of these lying around as well as some 1.4s. I'll probably add one or two rounded corners to all of them.

[Tavy]

Another PrimeTone lover here: I like the pointy grippy ones myself. Those of you who like the rounded ones should probably take over my discarded ones - they do get "too blunt" and worn for me after a while.

BTW you can reshape these (not just polish them) with nothing more than a felt pad in a Dremel surprisingly easily too.

[DavidKOS]

I use a variety of Primetones, after deciding that it did everything the BC did at a fraction of the cost.

All of the Primetones are pointed, though. I can't play with a round pick.

[Chughes423]

I use the large pointed 1.4 for over a year. Tried Wegen and Red Bears but stilll picked my primetones. Today I purchased the rounded 1.3 in the grip style and I like the brightness. It's affordable, works great and has good reviews.

[Doug Freeman]

I'll share my experience with Primetones. Last year I bought the Sculpted Triangle 1.5mm picks both with grip and without. I preferred the non-grip version, felt like the two picks have a considerably different response, feel, and tone. And the bumpy texture on the grip version didn't feel that great to me. However, I ended up not using either because the material of the non-grip version just feels dry and too smooth to me compared with the feel of celluloid, which I prefer. Also, while I liked the overall volume and response of the smooth Primetone, it sometimes sounded a little brighter and clickier than I liked (depending on the mandolin).

Then the other day a friend handed me a Wegen TF140, which I didn't much care for (haven't liked the material or texture of Wegens that much, either) but I did like the grip holes on it. So I took a smooth Primetone and drilled the same hole pattern in it, including the slight countersink, and I love it. It's easy to hold onto, from almost anywhere the pick ends up in your grip, and it had the added effect—somewhat counterintuitive to me—of making the Primetone a little less bright and more robust sounding.

Here's a pic, drilled Primetone on left, Wegen on right:

[Kalasinar]

That's a neat idea Doug! The grippy ones haven't appealed to me either, i prefer these smooth large triangle Primetones. I really love my Wegen TF140s as well though, so this seems worth trying out!

On the whole i love the large triangle Primetones. I started out with the small tri versions (because at the time, the large tri were very difficult to get in the UK for some reason) but they're much too small. I gave one away and kept the other two as spares. I keep a large tri with me pretty much wherever i go. I keep one each in those little leather pick holder keyrings - one in each case, one on my keys, and one i attach to belt loops on my jeans. Sounds excessive but the music shops here don't carry thicker picks... just thin guitar picks that i'm not keen on using.

I've even been using the Primetones more than my Blue Chip these days, though i do like to switch things up according to my mood. Still, i've made these my standard go-to pick by having them available in pick holders at any time... they're just so good for the money, and you get three at a time ^^

[Stevo75]

Hey Doug, how did you do the countersink? I think I'm going to try this. I have the same issues with the Prime Tones.

FWIW, I also don't like the ones with the raised grip. The tone is not the same as the smooth ones.

[colorado_al]

I mostly use the Dunlop 515P1.3 Primetone Semi-Round. Best pick I have found for my style of playing. I only wish that all 3 points were the same. There is one point that is more rounded than the other 2, and I always have to look at my pick to make sure I am using one of the less rounded points. I'd prefer all 3 to be that way. And the pick would last 50% longer because I could use all 3 points over time, instead of just 2.

[Stevo75]

So I took a smooth Primetone and drilled the same hole pattern in it, including the slight countersink, and I love it.

I just did some online research. Did you have a countersink drill bit?

[Doug Freeman]

I just did some online research. Did you have a countersink drill bit?

Yes, readily available online. Mine looks something like this:


P.S. The Wegen holes are countersunk on both sides, which I did as well.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've used the 'teardrop' shaped Primetones for close to 2 years now (i think). I've tried the smooth ones & the 'grippy' ones & prefer the 'grippy' ones. I have some large,smooth triangular PT's as well - all are 1.5mm thick.

The 'grippy' ones are moulded, & having measured the thickness using a micrometer,they're a tad over 1.5mm thick,which is maybe why i prefer them. They have a slightly more rounded feel in my fingers as well which helps,the flat ones feel thin by comparison.

The triangular ones,aren't as ''pointed'' as the teardrop shaped ones,& again,they don't deliver the sharp sounding, attacking notes that the Teardrop shaped ones seem to give me.

One point - don't countersink the drilled Primetones too much(or at all), or you'll be rounding off the edges of the holes. It's partly the sharp edges which help provide the grip. Anything 'rounded' doesn't grip as something 'sharp'. I drilled a Wegen hole pattern in a Dunlop teardrop pick (not a Primetone), & the holes gripped better than the Wegen because i left the edges 'sharp'
(i used to use the Wegen ''Bluegrass Picks'' 1.4mm thick),
Ivan

[Br1ck]

As far as easy to grip picks go, I have a Wegen Jazz (I think) that is over 2mm thick. One side has a concave indentation that is also ribbed. I used it for quite a while. I should revisit this pick as my skills have improved quite a bit. Thumb sits in the indentation and it's very hard to drop.

[Doug Freeman]

I found the grip to work better after countersinking. The edge stays sharp, albeit angled. The effect is to provide more space for thumb flesh to set into.