Red bear tortis picks

[rnr]

Hi

I have used these for the last couple of years pretty exclusively - I absolutely love how they bring out a deep, rich tone in my acousitc guitar, and I really liked how stiff and accurate and how they made me feel more in control when I had a Collings MT - well, now I have a Collings MF and the jury is out on using this type of pick - this mandolin seems to resonate and I hear more complex frequencies using my old standby, Fender Tortoise heavies - when I use the Tortis is seems louder, but less complex - make sense? #Maybe the mandolin is still too new?

Thoughts?

[Jim Broyles]

I can't get those picks to sound good on my mandolin at all. I get close when I put a lefty bevel (I'm a righty) on the point, but the rounded ones like the Mondo, which is kind of shaped like a Dawg, or a Golden Gate pick, just sound muffled. I like a Fender Extra heavy on my mandolin but I prefer a heavy on guitar. You'll probably try to force yourself to like the pick on your mandolin, but it probably won't happen. I've been there - you want a 15 or 20 dollar pick to work - but sometimes it just ain't happenin'. Play the pick you like on the mando, and the one you like on the guitar. The twain may meet someday, but don't fret (pun intended) if it doesn't.

[Jim Broyles]

By the way, I highly recommend trying a Dunlop Ultex 1.14 on your mandolin. If you can't find them anywhere, I'll send you one. It's my default pick, although I do use GG-shaped no-name celluloid, Fender and no-name white (can't be any other color) ex-heavies and Wegen TF-140 w/ a lefty bevel. I'm still trying to figure out a way to try a Blue Chip without paying 38 bucks with shipping for it.

[Fretbear]

I use the tri-point heavy. As it comes, I can't use it. I work the points a little sharper and then make the edges of the point almost blunt, nothing like that knife-edge they ship with. They work very well like that, extremely close to shell. I use the Wegan bluegrass guitar pick on guitar as it sounds amazing.
The Tortis picks are very sensitive to how they are shaped, at least for me.

[SternART]

The Mike Compton signature picks are made by Red Bear....VERY nice!

[GRW3]

I use a 'Tortoiseworks' artificial tortoise pick. As they come they're just rounded triangle shapes with no edge break.

For my guitar pick I put varying breaks on each corner. I use a kind of broad curve for rhythm and a more typical guitar pick tip for flatpicking.

For my mandolin pick I shaped one corner to look like a Gibson Teardrop. I've always liked the way the Gibson worked on the string but wished I had more grip.

[woodwizard]

I like the RedBear pick. But I found out you have to be careful that you don't get them wet even a little sweat. I was picken' at a hot sweaty gig not long ago and when we took a break I noticed that my RedBear pick looked like a potato chip you know kinda warped and concave. I threw it in the case compartment and grabbed my Wegen. Finally got the courage to check it out about 2 or 3 days later and it was back to its normal shape. Boy was I releaved. Other than that and the pick being a little slippery at times are the only things negative. I really like the tone I get out of my mando with it. They are great picks. Sure wish I could try one of those Blue Chip pickes too before dishing out the cash.

[rnr]

I thought they were indestructible - then I let one of my 12th grade students at school borrow it for a quick jam - he handed me back 1/2 a pick...:O

[morristownmando]

Dont get too picky picking picks.

[Jim Broyles]

No, they tell you right on their site, and on the baggie the pick comes in that they are brittle and not to get them wet. I exploded one mid-song at a jam. Musta caught it just right 'cause I wasn't playing hard at all.

[Jim Broyles]

GRW - do you mean Turtleworks? I found them but the site links you to Red Bear. Apparently that guy only makes pickguards out of the stuff anymore.

[LoneStarMandolin]

just got a red bear and I just love it... now I'm a newbie so you have to take it for what it's worth. bt I think it's very good. thin and light and really fast - I got the one with the speed bevel. and for some reason the one I tried has a genuine concave shape to it which I love, but is apparently an oddity.

bought mine at smoky mountain guitars in pigeon forge, tn. they were really nice to me, let me try everything and pick on mandolins I'll never afford. the best I could do was a $20 pick ... but it sure makes me and my Eastman sound mighty good!

[rnr]

No, they tell you right on their site, and on the baggie the pick comes in that they are brittle and not to get them wet.

So now I got to read owner's manuals on picks? Heheh

[GRW3]

yep Turtleworks it is. I had to walk four feet from the first time I read it so...

[Chris "Bucket" Thomas]

I have had two break. #One I was literally while adjusting it in my hand and the other while playing.

I prefer to lose them instead.

[Steven Stone]

I had one get broken into three pieces when it got caught in a case hinge.

Super-glue worked wonders! Put it on a piece of wax paper during gluing and it will be almost as good as new.

[JeffD]

just got a red bear and I just love it...

Same here. I use the heavy, style C, speed bevel. It is my goto pick when playing alone or in small groups, or a lesson - nothing better.

At a large jam or performance I go to the Wegen - the tone is a little less warm, the sound is louder and more punchie, but I need that to cut through in a jam.

I have been using the Red Bear picks now for a couple of years - I never get them wet so they never warp or weaken, I never put them in my pocket so they never accidently end up in the wash, and I have never had one break on me. I use a heavy though.

[Greg H.]

I've had my Red Bear for over two years and it's still doing fine. Now I too use a different pick for guitar so I suspect that the two instruments are different enough to requre different picks for the best sound. That said, when I first got my Red Bear I felt that I liked the old fenders better UNTIL I recorded the two from about 5 feet away. At that point the fenders sounded weaker and less full. If you can't record it get someone elses opinion (or get someone else to play with the two while you listen). I've probably also adjusted my picking technique for using the Red Bear instead of the Fenders (not intentionally, but we all adjust our picking technique to get the best sound from what we have).

[Tim McTigue]

Dont get too picky picking picks.

I concur, but then I'm an oddball in a lot of other ways, too. For guitar, I tend to favor the Fender medium picks that look like tortoise, don't know why, but there it is. I can't recall ever having spent any money on pics... on the (very rare) occasion when I buy a guitar, I'll get them to throw in 10 or so. I last bought a guitar in 2003 (Takamine Ltd Edition), and got a bunch of picks, still have most of 'em. I'll normally use a pic for at least a year, maybe longer (yes, I do play regularly). However, the mando does NOT get played regularly, and I'm still using a heavy black pick I got at Steve's Music Store in Montreal over 30 years ago. Ditto on my strat, although in that case, the pick is well-worn (and not a heavy). I guess I'm just not too picky...

[Philphool]

I like the RedBear pick. But I found out you have to be careful that you don't get them wet even a little sweat.... my RedBear pick looked like a potato chip .....

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I've had the same experience with sweat making the Red Bear picks warp.

Steven is correct about the usefulness of superglue. I broke a medium pick and superglue repaired it and it hasn't broken on over a year.

Superglue can also be used to coat the part of the pick where your fingers touch. This makes them waterproof. Works for me.

[JeffD]

I played a Collings MT at a music store, with a pick they supplied me. It sounded good and played really nice. I switched to my own Red Bear Tortis style C heavy with speed bevel (which I never go into a music store without), and the MT just sang. Just beautiful.

The Red Bear picks, when you get the right one, with the appropriate bevel, really an unbeatable sound. Like I said, except when I need that extra punch, for which I trade off a little warmth of tone, I go to a Wegen TF140 (also a fantastic pick).

There are other higher end picks out there, we all know about, but sound and the feel of the Tortis just does it for me.

I know (from my other life) that there are many many new materials out there, and it is possible in many cases to to get materials designed to specifications, i.e. with the exact properties desired - this kind of strength under compression, under tension, this kind of strength along this axis and not along one, this kind of brittleness, this kind of flex. Woo hoo!! Most of this stuff has not been tried for plectrum material. The next several years will be very exciting in the pick world, I predict.

Tortoises all over the world are breathing a sigh of relief, as some of these materials will beat real TS in all but the mojo factor.

[Capt. E]

I lined up about 10 different picks and tried them all on my new Bighorn...the medium Weber included in their paperwork produced a nice sharp tone...all worked, but in the end, the Goldengate pick won out. There seems to be a tone dampening effect with the heavier pick, fewer high overtones and less pick noise, though it is a bit easier to produce a buzz. It is endlessly fascinating how different picks produce a different sound on the same mandolin. Soft, gently plucked lyrical lines do best with a thinner pick. Hard played Bluegrass needs a thick pick.

[Jim Broyles]

Funny, I think the soft, gently plucked lyrical lines sound best with a heavier pick on my mandolin. Nothing sounds good with a thin pick on my mandolin. I use grip and muscle control to get the tone s I want depending on the song.

[JeffD]

On brand new strings I find the Red Bear pick mellows out the brassiness just wonderfully.

[Capt. E]

I'll have to kind of agree. I wasn't really talking about thin picks. To me, "thin" is medium to most people. I'm going more and more to thick picks with a rounded edge. Gotta be rounded, as a sharp edge produces a scrapeing sound that is not pleasant. Point shape also has its effect, as does the angle you hold the pick and the angle of attack. It's a learning process for me right now. All these subtle factors contribute to an individual player's distinct artistry.