Blue chip picks

**yankees1** · Jan-28-2010, 8:12am

The more I read, the more I want ( need) !

**jim_n_virginia** · Jan-28-2010, 8:57am

Originally Posted by AlanN

I contacted Mr. Blue Chip, and together, we speced out what eventually came to be a larger Jazz pick, .

uh oh I can see it now ... BC pick customized for each individuals hand ... and next ... distressed BC picks only $99.00 plus shipping!

**wildpikr** · Jan-28-2010, 9:08am

Originally Posted by Big Joe

One of my BC picks has two more pointed ends (though a bit rounded) and a round end. It is one of the larger triangles. I never pay attention to which end I'm using. It is not that much different to me. When I used picks that moved around in my hand I would find myself using just whatever part of the pick it was on at that moment. I may have started at one point, but who knows where I would end up. One of the reasons I like the BC is that it does not turn in my hand. Still does not matter which end I use though I suppose I probably have a slight preference to the pointed end. I do NOT like the Grisman picks. Way too small and way too rounded for me.

It seems we use the same shaped pick for much the same reason - it doesn't turn in my hand. I tend to use the rounded end.

**Ole Joe Clark** · Jan-29-2010, 4:10pm

Received my second BC today and I still don't play any better.

You'd think that for the price, Matt could at least put a little talent in each pick. In my case I need a lot!

Joe

**...and Master of None** · Jan-30-2010, 6:34pm

Oh, my! I thought we guitarists were obsessive, 927 posts about a pick? You folks are nuts!

(Says the guy who is even now opening a link to the BC web site in another window even though his first mando hasn't arrived yet - what have I gotten myself into

)

John

**jim_n_virginia** · Jan-30-2010, 6:35pm

Man I ordered my pick and it was delievered so fast that I am pretty amazed. Orderd it in the afternoon and it was in my PO box day after next. This is the second time too. I can't get a letter delivered across town that fast.

Say what you want about the picks good, bad or indifferent but the customer service is great and the communication is good too.

I wish the sellers I deal with on eBay were half as responsive!

**gregjones** · Jan-30-2010, 7:09pm

Originally Posted by ...and Master of None

Oh, my! I thought we guitarists were obsessive, 927 posts about a pick? You folks are nuts!

(Says the guy who is even now opening a link to the BC web site in another window even though his first mando hasn't arrived yet - what have I gotten myself into

)

John

As the hook sets.........

**Jim Garber** · Feb-03-2010, 8:26am

I finally broke down and bought one of these babies: Jazz 35. Very nice. I have been playing with small Gibson black teardrop heavies and recently scored a bunch of new old stock ones since they are no longer being made. The BC is just a small notch better than the Gibson. Of course, I have also heard that they don't wear down so it is my pick of choice for non-classical.

**jim_n_virginia** · Feb-07-2010, 10:51am

Woa! Almost had a heart attack this morning! Gonna be jamming tonight at a Super Bowl Party when not watching the game and checked on my mandolin and opened up the case and my BC pick wasn't in the strings where it was supposed to be!

ARGGHH!!! I started to panic ... but I lifted up the instrument and the pick was under the mandolin in the case!

This is what a $38.00 pick will do to you!

**Ole Joe Clark** · Feb-07-2010, 12:53pm

Yea, I keep track of mine. I have one in the strings on each Martin, that way I don't have to keep one in a pocket and loose it. If they only cost a quarter, they would still be keepers.

Joe

**Miss Lonelyhearts** · Feb-07-2010, 5:30pm

The more I use my BC pick, the more I enjoy it. Finally feels like a pick up to the job it's supposed to do. Which got me thinking....

I don't feel that $35 is exorbitant or even steep at all for these picks. Instead, I think it was plain silly and unrealistic to expect a $0.25 pick to produce all the tone my nice mandolin can deliver.

**GRW3** · Feb-07-2010, 8:20pm

Oh gee! This thread almost fell off the first page. I was wanting to see how long before there was a new discovery thread about BlueChip Picks...

Oh, well, next time...

**Rob Gerety** · Feb-07-2010, 8:40pm

I have a confession to make. I am physically and emotionally addicted to my Blue Chip pick. I had an anxiety attack just reading Jim's post above. My diagnosis is BCS. It is a terminal illness. Please keep me in your thoughts.

**bratsche** · Feb-07-2010, 8:54pm

I got mine... a TAD 60, for those who are curious... and have finally had enough time to shape it (I ordered it unbeveled) and play with it long enough to get past my first impressions.

Long story short, I'm glad I got it. It's not my favorite pick, but it's one of my top three at the moment. (Odd that of the other two, one is handmade - by moi - and the other came free with a set of JazzDola strings. ;-)

I gave it a smooth, gradual but not knife-sharp bevel, the way I like them - evenly honed on both sides (none of this right handed so-called speed bevel stuff works at all for me!) I left one point as is, and rounded the others ever so slightly. While working with it before even touching it to the strings, I was stricken by the similarity between it and ivory. The BlueChip sounds very much like an ivory pick when I drop it on a wooden table. It even responded to the sanding and polishing process very similar to the way ivory responds, yet it is a synthetic material. It smells a lot different though.

Playing it, I am impressed by the extremely minimal pick noise it makes in the upper register. Can't say quite as much for the lower register. It's the thickest one they have, yet for the lower register (and for volume of quality tone overall), I have to give the edge to the ivory pick with similar shape that is slightly less thick. However, I can play slightly faster without tiring with the Blue Chip. It has a very bright sound, though. When I must have a very dark sound, I turn to the tri-corner JazzMando pick.

Ah... tradeoffs. As others have said, at least picks cost less than bows!

bratsche

**Rob Gerety** · Feb-07-2010, 8:59pm

Originally Posted by bratsche

It has a very bright sound, though.

Wow, I gotta say my feeling is just the opposite. Guess it all depends on your frame of reference.

**bratsche** · Feb-07-2010, 9:06pm

Originally Posted by Rob Gerety

Wow, I gotta say my feeling is just the opposite. Guess it all depends on your frame of reference.

And what instrument you're playing it on, too, most likely...

bratsche

**Mark Levesque** · Feb-09-2010, 2:40pm

I thought I had lost two Blue Chips at a gig but they turned up in the dryer.........whew!

I have found that the TD40 brightens up my dark sounding A4 perfectly, but the thicker TD50s add a lot more tone to many of my students' less expensive mandos.
I also have a TD60 that I haven't experimented with yet.

**Link** · Feb-11-2010, 8:00am

When are they coming out with 2mm picks?

**SHORTY** · Feb-11-2010, 8:36am

I haven't pimped long enough to pay the BC price. I enjoy the JazzMando three cornered pick over my Tortoise pick. I am courious how the JazzMando pick would be at 2mm.

**Barry Platnick** · Feb-11-2010, 10:06am

Just ordered a TD 50 after trying everyone else's at the jams.
Hope I can hang on to it!

**Rob Gerety** · Feb-11-2010, 10:17am

My feeling is that if I'm broke in a bar but I have my BC in my pocket I'll be ok because I could easily trade it for dinner and drinks.

**JeffD** · Feb-12-2010, 9:40am

Originally Posted by Rob Gerety

My feeling is that if I'm broke in a bar but I have my BC in my pocket I'll be ok because I could easily trade it for dinner and drinks.

Imagine what you could get for your mandolin.

**Rob Gerety** · Feb-12-2010, 1:00pm

Originally Posted by JeffD

Imagine what you could get for your mandolin.

Hmmm.

**jim_n_virginia** · Feb-12-2010, 6:44pm

Originally Posted by rob gerety

i have a confession to make. I am physically and emotionally addicted to my blue chip pick. I had an anxiety attack just reading jim's post above. My diagnosis is bcs. It is a terminal illness. Please keep me in your thoughts.