Tater bug picks in. ( mike compton.)

[Kbone]

Mike gave me the go ahead to inform you that his 'Tater Bug' picks are in and they're half gone already. Just email him & he'll get back to you. taterbugmusic@gmail.com

[Eugene]

I thought I knew a bit about mandolins and mandolinists, but what exactly is a "'Tater Bug' pick"?

[NoNickel]

Similar to tortoise shell, 'cept made of an extract of potato starch and dung beetle.

[Eugene]

Errr...

[tin ben dur]

Thanks for the heads up Keith.

[Don Grieser]

The Taterbug pick is made of Tortis, the closest synthetic thing to real shell in feel and sound, and is shaped like the ProPlec large triangle. Not as pointy as the standard Tortis Triangle and probably around 1.5mm thick. It's got Mike Compton Taterbug Special laser engraved on it and some tiny holes to help you hold onto it. You can see and read more about Tortis at the Red Bear Trading Company website.

[Eugene]

Thanks so much, Don. Ah yes, I know Tor-Tis well. I have a Red Bear large triangle that I like for my Gibson. I even tried to pursuade Red Bear to put the older "Neapolitan" plectrum profile into regular production. (No dice, I'll have to custom order them if I want them.) I was half hoping the "Tater Bug" might actually be a more traditional Neapolitan or even Roman design. Ah well...

[Alex Fields]

Mike told me he gets them in 1.0mm and 1.2mm...not 1.5

[Mike Bunting]

What I like about them is that they have no "speed bevel". They will also break fairly easily although the Taterbug is thicker and a little less prone to breaking than its little brothers back at the Red Bear trading post.

[NoNickel]

Eugene, sorry for the humor, or attempt at it anyway. If you know Tortis picks, they are made of that material with a Proplec shape and Wegen-type holes in the middle for grip. I thought I heard that Mike just got them redesigned so they may have some differences now.

[Eugene]

Say, I like humor, and yours was particularly humorous.

[Jerry Byers]

Thanks so much, Don. Ah yes, I know Tor-Tis well.

Tor-Tis is not the same as Tortis.

Tor-Tis is made by John Greven at TurtleWorks.

Tortis is made by Dave Skowron at Red Bear Trading Company.

[Eugene]

Isn't it chemically the same material simply licensed by Red Bear from Greven? I was pretty certain it was.

[Jerry Byers]

It might be derived from the same material, but Tor-Tis isn't like Tortis. My Greven Tor-Tis pickguard is flexible. My Tortis picks are not. Of course, Dave may be using something to chemically alter, or hardened, the Tortis material.

Maybe if Dave sees this topic, he could weigh in.

[Eugene]

I think th stiffness is a function of thickness.

[Jerry Byers]

My pickguard is thicker than my picks.

[Jerry Byers]

I went to the source and got this answer:

No, these are totally different plastics. Not interchangeable as to function.
John Greven

[Mike Crater]

I picked up a tater bug pick at last year's symposium, and haven't used anything else since. All those wegen and other tortis picks just sit idle.

[Eugene]

Ha, today I have learned something. Thanks, Jerry.

Now if only I can persuade somebody to produce quantities of the profile of picks people actually did use on bowlbacks...

[jasona]

Eugene, how thick do your bowl back plectra tend to be?

[Gutbucket]

Tater starch and poop? Sounds like a great fiddle tune.

[Eugene]

Eugene, how thick do your bowl back plectra tend to be?

Depends, but I usually start with 0.8 mm Clayton Ultem Gold as "raw material" to make my own Neapolitan-style plectra. #A vast long time ago, I had corresponded with Dave at Red Bear about having some Tortis custom made, but that's a whole heap of money for a pick and I haven't taken that plunge yet. #I do really like the Tortis material.

[buddyellis]

I've been hunting for a source for Casein plastic for a while, but it's hard to come by evidently. I've even experimented with making the stuff myself (it's essentially pressed cheese cured in formaldehyde, although in production environments I'm sure they use industrial casein granules) with a little success.

[Don Grieser]

Eugene,

You can buy unfinished Tortis blanks from Dave to shape for yourself. If you're already shaping your own picks, you could be using the Tortis material. At .8mm it may have a significant breakage issue though.

I, too, have a couple Taterbug picks and like them a lot. I did round the corners a tiny bit and bevel them slightly, but not the speed bevel.

[earthsave]

How about a nice pic of those picks?