Who would have thunk it?

[blindboy]

OK... I have been playing music for many years mostly acoustic, but mostly guitar up until about 4 years ago when I picked up the mandolin. I had always thought that a pick is something that you use to play your instrument and short of gauge they are pretty much the same(a ####### piece of plastic). Anyways... call me stubborn, but when I started hearing of all these $10 plus picks I thought these people are crazy! Anyways... a few month ago I broke down and bought some wegen picks($15.00 for 2!). After playing with them for a bit and getting used to them I started to compare them to my 25 cent picks. MAN! what a difference. I would have never thought that a pick could make that much of a difference in tone. Always thought it was the mandolin and the player(which obviously does make a difference as well :) ). Anyways... I guess I'm always the skeptic and late getting on board(hey... I just bought a George Forman grill :) ), but the bottom line is... these picks do make a difference ! Yet to break down on the $35 blue chips... can they sound twice as good as the wegens?

[Mike Snyder]

Some folks think so, and I'm not arguing with them. It's really a "to each, his own" type of deal. My ears say the Wegan and BC are too bright. I prefer the Red Bear xtra-heavy and (especially) the Freakishly Large V-Pick, for darkness and volume. The V-pick is a cheap experiment at $4 to $5 a pop. I'm thinking that I'm in the minority, as a whole bunch of guys love the Wegan and BC. A 35cent Dunlop 207 makes a good mando pick, too. So, ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chance. There is a great deal of tonal difference from pick to pick. What sounds best on your Ellis may differ from what sounds good on your Stanley. You lucky dog.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've found that on both my Mandolins, which are tonally quite different,the thinner the pick i use,the brighter the sound. This can be reduced by rounding off the picking point. The ultimate proof of this to me,was when i bought a very thick (to me !) Golden Gate pick with a very rounded 'point' (can you have rounded point ?), which totally destroyed both the volume & tone of both instruments. I modified the tips of all my Wegen Bluegrass picks.The ready-cut bevel simply didn't work for me,so i removed most of it with a nail file. I rounded the points off slightly & the resulting tone was to my ears,better than it had been,
Ivan

[mandolirius]

<Yet to break down on the $35 blue chips... can they sound twice as good as the wegens?>

What I'd say about BC's is that they may not *sound* twice as good. They are good-sounding picks but their worth comes from how they feel, the way they contact and move over the strings plus the feel of them in your hand. They are really comfortable, don't move around on you and they feel kind of effortless, compared to other picks. I say this never having tried a Red Bear. I have totally stopped thinking about my pick and can now concentrate on technique and other things unimpeded by pick doubt.

[Malcolm G.]

I bought a BC 50 recently, and asked a very knowkedgeable friend to try it out as well. My pick is beveled for right hand, and he's an evil southpaw, but I figured we were looking more for tone here.
We both have Martin D28's and found a "woodier" tone. Not much change on on his Larivee parlor or my 000 (certainly no degradation!). Different and interesting tonal change on his Eastman 515, while my Morgan Monroe was really happy. I have a Sega A style kit mandolin with a spruce back.
Again a very different (bigger?) tone.
I should mention at this point that I was comparing the BC to a Dawg and a Dunlop 2mm Ultex - both very different in their own rights.
My friend mentioned that if he were to order a left handed BC version for his mandolin, he'd go heavier - to a 60. (Just about what I was going to get initially - and may yet.) I see zero wear on this example after some very vigorous playing, and I'd say it's like adopting a puppie - it's for life.
We both enjoyed the feel of the pick and it's smoothness on the strings.
Conclusion?
'fraid everyone will have to draw their own, but from what we can see so far, dreadnaughts really benefit from tone, everything (glides?) very well, and the pick really stays put - a big plus for ol' finger-picking me without years of flat-pick technique. Actually, I'm more apt to pick now than ever before.

Cheers!

[Douglas McMullin]

Yet to break down on the $35 blue chips... can they sound twice as good as the wegens?

Personal preference. If possible find one to try before you buy. I was sucked into testing Blue Chips, but as it turned out, for my playing style I vastly prefer the sound and feel of my Wegens. I still pick up some other high end picks from time to time, but for me the M150 and T140 cant be beat.

[Rob Gerety]

There really is only one way to find out - you have to try them all. I love my BC. I'll use other picks from time to time. I don't like my BC on guitar, just mandolin.

[dgrolem]

It is like anything else, the price vs. performance is very steep at the high end. I play BC picks, but, no, they do not produce 3X+ the tone of the Wegens. It is a perceptible difference, but not a big one. But the price is 3X. It is the same with mandos. Want a little more tone, or a little more bling? The price soars.

Want another 10% in clock speed on your Intel processor at the very top? Your gonna shell out a lot more $$$.

[AlanN]

This thread brings the pick cost thing down the road called 'Double the price should make me sound twice better', which is exactly the same 'argument' on another thread about instrument cost. It can't be quantified that way, IMO. There are loads of picks out there. Not every great picker uses a BC, or Wegen, or (insert name). Find one for you and make the music fill the valleys.

[sgarrity]

To be the best mandolin player possible you need to play a Gil with a Blue Chip. Just sayin'..... :mandosmiley:

[mtucker]

I use a bread bag clip on my Gil ... :)) Off to buy a chicken for a needy homeless person. :confused:

[JeffD]

I use the Wegen, Red Bear, and the Blue Chip. I switch around between them, as each has its advantages for particular types of music or playing. There is no one pick for everything, and there doesn't need to be.

[KristinEliza]

It's the same in the bowed string world. Most people are familiar with the instruments that cost millions of dollars (Stradivarious, Guanerius, etc) but not with the bows that cost sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars (Satory, Tourte, etc). The object (be it pick or bow) that produces the sound on the instrument is VERY important.

I learned this about 6 years ago when I bought my new viola. I had a nice bow that played and sounded fine on my old viola but sounded awful on the new one (it has been renamed 'the club'). I had to find a new bow to match my new instrument.

So besides personal preference, I'm sure pick choice also has a different effect on different instruments. I am not blessed as to have multiple mandolins, but it might be interesting to hear from someone who does and how one pick sounds on different instruments. Many people certainly use different picks when they play different styles, there is obviously a reason for this!

[JeffD]

but it might be interesting to hear from someone who does and how one pick sounds on different instruments. Many people certainly use different picks when they play different styles, there is obviously a reason for this!


We live in a golden age of picks, with all the new materials and bevels and holes and what not.

I use the BC, and RB on my Gibson A2, to enhance its creamy tone, when I am playing alone. In public at a jam or performance, I use the Wegen, as it has a little more punch to it, though not as intimate a sound.

On my Weber Aspen II, I stick to the RB, as it gives it a darker tone.

On my bowlbacks, I find that I like the good old Gibson or Fender Heavy picks, for some reason they bring out the ringyness I like. I am working with the new "Roman" style RB pick on the bowlbacks, without much success.

My Paris Swing has that fretboard extension, so I tend to play closer to the bridge, and I use the BC to shave off a little of the brassiness.

The BC picks are the fastest picks I have, so I might use them for the fast fiddle tunes. The RBs are the best tone, to my ears, so for waltzes, slow aires, and high lonesome cowboy heart songs, that is the go-to pick.

And in a group, where the subtleties of tone are not appreciated, but being heard and sounding good is - I like the Wegen.

So, yea, its a mixture.

[Rob Gerety]

Off to buy a chicken for a needy homeless person. :confused:

That was uncalled for.

[Mike Bunting]

I use a bread bag clip on my Gil ... :)) Off to buy a chicken for a needy homeless person. :confused:

That's just mean.

[KristinEliza]

JeffD

That was such an awesome post! :)

Very informative!

I can understand people asking about picks to get a starting off point...and when they get pricey...but in the end, it's always going to end up depending on the instrument, style and player.

Simply...there is no ONE pick. Good thing they aren't as pricey as bows!

I'm finding more and more that I'm going back to my RB pick over my *ahem* reclaimed natural pick. The 'natural' pick has a darker tone that I like, but I'm just more comfortable playing with my RB - it's well broken in and the bright tone is okay by me.

Thanks again for the great post!

[mtucker]

Sorry, I really didn't mean it and that's not who I am. My sincerest apologies to everyone. I am feeding a number of homeless folks this Xmas through three shelters here in Los Angeles that I have been involved with and supported for over 20 years. It's very bad times right now for many folks and I hope that everyone will try to do what they can this Holiday season to help out.

[Rob Gerety]

It happens. Lord knows I've said some really dumb things in my day. Glad to hear you are helping some folks out.

[Mike Bunting]

Sorry, I really didn't mean it and that's not who I am. My sincerest apologies to everyone. I am feeding a number of homeless folks this Xmas through three shelters here in Los Angeles that I have been involved with and supported for over 20 years. It's very bad times right now for many folks and I hope that everyone will try to do what they can this Holiday season to help out.

Now I feel like I over reacted, you are doing good work and thank you for it.

[gregjones]

My pick is beveled for right hand, and he's an evil southpaw

The right hand/left hand bevel thing can be confusing. It doesn't matter if you are right or left handed or if you play a left or right handed instrument.

It is determined by how you "pick" the string---whether the headstock or bridge "side" of the pick is up or down.

The Red Bear site has the best explanation of this that I have found.

[JeffD]

Best explanation of the magic of the pick. Armed with this information, go forth, try different picks, and enjoy.

http://jazzmando.com/tips/archives/000718.shtml

[blindboy]

My original intent of this post was that I really found it surprising that a pick could really make that much of a difference in my tone... I just never put much thought behind the fact that the material of what is actually striking the strings could make that much of a difference... I guess I was so focused on my technique I never thought it through. OK... I'm a slow learner :)

[mcgannahanskjellifetti]

I bought a Red Bear medium a couple nights ago and have been comparing against a couple of Dunlop 1.0 Ultex guitar picks I have. I have to say I like the tone a lot better from the Dunlops. They are brighter and seem to pull out more of the mandolin-- a woodier sound. I use the shoulder of the pick, not the pointy end. The Red Bear produces a very strident tone, very midrangey, and louder.

The funny thing is, the two Dunlops produce different tones too. So even two of the same picks can sound different!

[stevenmando]

Hi I have tried many picks and a friend turned me on to fender extra heavy for me they work great and they bring out the sound of mandy my mandolin but I have ended up over the years with a box of lost picks , ones that I have tried but did not work what does one do with these lost picks like the land of lost toys what does one do with theses? beside pasting them on the wall .