What pick?

[DocT]

I am sure these questions have been asked ad nauseam, but I am also sure I am not the only beginner with these questions. 1] What is the best thickness of pick? 2] What is the best shape of pick? 3] Is there a best brand? 4] Any other advice?

[Ivan Kelsall]

You might start by buying a few shapes / sizes / thicknesses of a well liked pick - the Dunlop 'Primetone' picks. Picks do sound different one to another, & they also produce different tones on different mandolins - so try as many as you feel you want to. Eventually,like most of us,you'll find 'the one' !!. Also,try a few different string brands & gauges on your mandolin as well,something else that i suspect that we've all done. Somewhere down the line,you'll hit on a string / pick combo. that really makes your mandolin sound it's very best.

I've found that thicker picks with rounder edges produce a softer tone,whereas thinner,more pointed picks (1.3mm - 1.5mm) produce a brighter,stronger tone.

There are many other brands of picks in a great many shapes & thicknesses - you may care to try a few of those,but the Primetones will be a good starter (IMHO)
Ivan
https://www.jimdunlop.com/category/products/guitar+picks/primetone.do

[G7MOF]

Try a few and whichever feels the most comfortable/easy to play with use that one.
I've tried loads and only use a Dunlop Stubby now as it's great to play with and I don't drop it whilst playing but then again it's only my choice.

[DocT]

I am amazed at how much difference in sound there is in the picks and what side of the pick you use, as well.

I have an Alice .71mm; Dunlop Big Stubby 1.0mm; Dunlop Stubby 2.0mm; and Dunlop Stubby 1.0mm. My hands are kind of large (2XL glove at least) so the Stubbys are a bit small, but sound good.

[jhammond]

Oh my...
Are the samplers still floating around?

[Paul Busman]

Mandolin players usually prefer thicker,stiffer picks. Over the years I've tried many,including the ones in the tour sampler,and have pretty much settled on the molded Primetone, 1.5mm. They're inexpensive and the grip is terrific which lets you play without clenching the pick in your fingers. I use the large triangle, and I use a four sided fingernail emery device to round off and polish one corner slightly. I find that this makes tremolo easier. The rounded and pointed ends sound fairly different so you have basically two picks in one.

[peterleyenaar]

Here is some info on picks:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/threads/142332-Picks

[Buck]

I tend to play Blue Chip and TS picks, which are relatively expensive. I prefer the Bluechip TPR shape in either material. My BC picks range from 60-80, with my favorites being 75 and a new 70 I just got.

The best "cheap" pick IMO is the Dunlop 207. I've played virtually everything available and those are the ones I prefer over all others - two very expensive and one inexpensive. If my expensive picks were suddenly unavailable, I could happily play for the rest of my life with just the 207's. Give those a try and once you adjust to a heavier pick in general, I think you'll love them.

[DavidKOS]

I am sure these questions have been asked ad nauseam, but I am also sure I am not the only beginner with these questions. 1] What is the best thickness of pick? 2] What is the best shape of pick? 3] Is there a best brand? 4] Any other advice?

From my observations, the choice of pick is largely based on the style of music you play and the type of mandolin you use.

Classical and Italian players, particularly those using bowlback and other non-Gibson style instruments would likely recommend different picks than pickers at a Bluegrass session.

So to answer your questions, what style music and type of mandolin do you use?

[Chuck Leyda]

I've settled on Wegen Bluegrass 1.4 . I use them for guitar, mandolin, octave and bouzouki. I like to get used to a pick and use it on everything if possible. Others like to have a different pick for each instrument. No right or wrong.

I like the Wegen because
-At $15 for 4 I won't cry if it goes through the floorboards of a wooden stage.
-Lasts a long time. I've never had one wear out.
-A bit brighter than the other contenders at that price. It's not harsh at all but the extra volume (especially on the treble strings) lets me play with a lighter grip and get the same volume.
-Easy to grip

Here they are:
https://www.stringsandbeyond.com/weblgupiseto.html

[Rdeane]

Yes, contact Chris Daniels to get on the list.

[UsuallyPickin]

Picks ..…. shape , thickness, point , material ….. from .25$ to 30.00$ …. Some wear out some don't depending on how hard you play. A good place to start is with Tortex picks because they are not too expensive and usually available at a local music store. They are manufactured in a large number of shapes and thicknesses. They are made from a material that you can reshape if you want to experiment with the point. Once you decide what shape and thickness and point you prefer you can move on to materials. That is where things can become expensive. Enjoy the search...… it's just like strings . There is a set out there you will prefer. You just have to find it..... R/

[dhergert]

The pick is just the final conduit for your picking hand to produce tone and volume. Music comes from your mind first, then through your body and finally hands and fingers. It is always best when music flows freely. So the right pick and the right hold for the pick will be different for every person's mind, body hands and fingers.

Some picks will mold to the hold that you use as you use them over months, usually this is only a slight change in the pick, but it's enough to feel and sometimes even see the difference between a "broken-in" pick shape and a new one of the same type. Other picks remain pretty much the same shape permanently. Some of this you get used to, some of it you never get used to, again based on how well your mind and body accommodate to the feeling of holding a pick.

I'm in the camp that likes a pick that shapes to my hold, I like the feel of a thicker pick, and lastly I prefer a pick that I can easily replace whenever I loose them. So I use a standard Fender Heavy pick. They are nice and thick and stiff, they cost very little and they shape nicely to my picking hand and fingers over a month or two of playing -- ironically this shaping quality makes my "broken in" Fender Heavy picks my favorites, and when I loose one I feel a deeper sense of loss than if I had paid $50 for it.

My wife flatpicks guitar and she really likes the Blue Chip pick, which are also very well liked by a lot of folks here. These are somewhat near the opposite side of the pick spectrum, they are extremely stiff and stable and don't shape at all over time, and because they are so stiff they can also be pretty thin. I've never personally preferred her Blue Chip picks, but I love the sound of her flatpicking and she clearly has found a good match for her. I got her a bunch of them for Christmas a few years ago, with her name embossed on them and she hasn't lost any of them.

As has been recommended by others here, try a lot of picks... Good music stores would be a good place to start. There's even been a nice "pick sampler" floating around between Mandolin Cafe members for a while, if it isn't still available perhaps it's time to start one up again. I know I've got some Fender Heavy picks that I'd be glad to contribute.

[DocT]

Thanks folks! I will give some of these picks a try. I never realized how hard it would be to get a simple (seeming) pick!

[V70416]

I say just plan on trying every shape,size,thickness,and brand. Keep them ALL. You may change your mind later.

Try Monel strings.

[MontanaMatt]

Be careful...I have a small box of my favorite picks, that I had out for a jam...I almost left it at the end of the night when we all packed up to leave. There are 15 picks in it and I figure the price to replace them would be about $300! Some have griped about dropping one, but I'd be lost without my collection, which has taken years to refine.

[Br1ck]

This has to be your personal quest. First I'd buy three or four shapes of the same brand and thickness and decide which shape and size you like best. Then buy different thicknesses of that same pick. Then buy as many versions of that pick as you can.

I find I like Blue Chip, Wegen, and Primetone. I'd love to try all the $30 picks out there. Not going to happen.

[RustyMadd]

A thick pick, usually .73mm or heavier. Lighter strings can use lighter picks, but a pick that is too light or thin is prone to making unpleasant pick noise. Much like white noise, it detracts from your clarity and musicality.

Which shape or material you will like best is entirely subjective and a product of many variables. Only you can decide.

Dunlop
Wegen
Dawg
BlueChip
Clayton

are all fine places to start, but please note that the BlueChip is very unusual and expensive. Not necessarily better. And I agree totally with Br1ck's choices above. Those three are especially nice and I rotate between the three depending on many considerations.

Sign up for the traveling pick sampler and you will find your pick of picks. Blessings and good luck.

[Br1ck]

I can't play with a pick thinner than 1.2. The 1.4 or 1.6 has become the norm for me. But it has been a gradual incline as I've gained speed.

[yankees1]

To "MY EARS" different brand picks and thicknesses produce more different sounds than string choices do. Again, this is to my ears ! I can tell the difference between picks much easier than I can strings. But, this is just me ! The only way for you to determine which pick is best to your ears is to try a variety of picks and I think you should start with all the least expensive picks first. Eventually you may work up to a BC as I did and to my ears a BC produces the best sound to my ears ! Ears vary however !

[DocT]

To "MY EARS" different brand picks and thicknesses produce more different sounds than string choices do. Again, this is to my ears ! I can tell the difference between picks much easier than I can strings. But, this is just me ! The only way for you to determine which pick is best to your ears is to try a variety of picks and I think you should start with all the least expensive picks first. Eventually you may work up to a BC as I did and to my ears a BC produces the best sound to my ears ! Ears vary however !

I have noticed the remarkable differences in sounds between the picks that I have. I would never have thought that a pick would make such a difference.

[kurth83]

I went through the pick thing on guitar (mando was not my first plectrum instrument), and it went like this:

Played on a .60mm dunlop for a year, that's a floppy, forgiving pick, but affords little control once you develop skills, meaning it cannot dig into strings, all notes will sound the same, tinny and trebly and pick flapping noise is a part of your playing.

Once I had some meager skillz, I did the pick thing, ordered everything (semi-cheap) I could find, rapidly found I liked triangles over teardrops. And discovered the joy of thicker picks - while an adjustment to get used to them - they gave me much more control over the tone the instrument produced.

I ended up on primetones and ultex triangles for a while. Tried many picks, they still came out on top.

Then bought a BC, as close to the primetone as I could get, but minus the bevel because I was looking for a darker sound. TP-60, it was love at first pluck. Been playing on that one ever since. BC's give a slightly darker sound, and glide more smoothly over the strings for a comparable shape in other materials (of the ones I tried). But at $30 ea you can't just try them all, you have to do that with the cheaper versions to determine what you like.

If I need a slightly brighter sound, to cut through, I still carry the primetone 1.4 (opaque dark version) triangle, it is my second fave, still. I should get a bevelled TP-60 though, I think it would accomplish the same thing and give me that extra smoothness that Bc's have. I find the smoothness affects endurance and ease of play more than anything else.

I never ended up liking rounded points (although many mandolinists use them).

Every once in a while I go back and play on the picks from the pick collection (all of them fit in a pretty small tupperware-like container), and nothing has changed, my reasons for liking my current picks are still valid.

[mandos&turtles]

Try a few and whichever feels the most comfortable/easy to play with use that one.
I've tried loads and only use a Dunlop Stubby now as it's great to play with and I don't drop it whilst playing but then again it's only my choice.
I'm also a fan of the dunlop stubby triangle. I find it easy to hold and I like the tone it produces. Local guitar shop sells em for $0.70/each so thats nice too. But if santa is good to me, I may finally be trying a BlueChip soon