Thinking of switching to a Pro-Plec

[OldSausage]

...because I just dropped my Blue Chip on the floor behind my desk and there's a lot of junk down there. I have lots of pro-plecs to hand. Your view?

[Fred Keller]

Same reason they're my standard, every-day pick. The tone may not be quite as good as a $50 pick but it a great balance between solid sound and not having to search the campground grass/crawl under the deck/wait for your dog to...umm..."process" it.

[Ivyguitar]

+1 for the pro-plec-- I really like them plus it's nice to have a pick that you can give away to a friend without having to fabricate an explanation when you go back home.

[mandotrout777]

I tried them again after I saw Mike Marshall has switched back. They feel "spongey" to me, after using the Blue Chip. Plus, when I use them there is a strange little squeak on the strings that has always annoyed me. My preferred pick before the Blue Chip was a Wegen or Golden Gate, so I like the rounder pick anyway. I'll be staying with the expensive brown picks.

[Ken_P]

Pro-plecs are a solid choice, but at this point I couldn't imagine using anything but a BC - there's nothing else that can match either the sound or the feel. Of course, I've never had a problem with losing picks, so I never worry about being out $40.

[Glassweb]

I agree with Mike Marshall that the Proplec delivers the overall best tone, (whatever that means) but I'm still going with the BC 55 as it's just a bit bigger that the PP and does not slip out of my hand as the PP, at times, does. All woes concerning its price notwithstanding the BC pick has really helped bring my game to a new level... a very versatile tool!

[Chip Booth]

I use the PP as well. It's a good basic pick with lots of warm tone. The BC pics are just too bright and plasticy sounding for my taste.

[Gerry Cassidy]

If it wasn't for the BC pick, I would be using ProPlec.

[Nick Quig]

I really like the 'pick click' sound you get with Proplecs or any thick celluloid pick- great for quiet practicing or even recording?
at the risk of going off the subject- does anyone use a different pick for recording than for playing out?

[Chip Booth]

I really like the 'pick click' sound you get with Proplecs or any thick celluloid pick- great for quiet practicing or even recording?
at the risk of going off the subject- does anyone use a different pick for recording than for playing out?

Interesting, for me the PP comes pretty close to eliminating pick click, one of the things I like about it. I hear more string and wood and less plastic pick sound.

As for recording I have a TS pick that I often use. I get a little bit more brightness and a slightly more "organic" tone from it. I go through phases where I don;t record at ll then I tend to record a lot all at one time. When I come back to it one of the first things I do is start listening carefully to my favourite professional recordings to get that sound in my head. I am always amazed at how bright modern recordings are, and as a result I sometimes choose a pick that gives me an unnaturally bright sound, but one that works better in the mix.

[JeffD]

...because I just dropped my Blue Chip on the floor behind my desk and there's a lot of junk down there. I have lots of pro-plecs to hand. Your view?

:disbelief:

I left my L&H assymetrical two point out in the back of the garage, and there is so much junk out there I will just play my $35 ukulele, because, well, its at hand.

:)

[Nick Quig]

[QUOTE=Chip Booth;1052882]Interesting, for me the PP comes pretty close to eliminating pick click, one of the things I like about it. I hear more string and wood and less plastic pick sound.

I couldn't agree more! 'pick click' a bit misleading on my part!

[MandoSquirrel]

I haven't tried a Blue Chip, but I tried some Red Bear Tortis & Wegens, as well as V pick, and found the Proplecs are as good as any of them at a fraction of the price.

[Beanzy]

Just started with a BlueChip CT55 this week. Not as clear a sound as my Wegen T140 picks, it loses some of the top end brightness that the Wegen has, but if I'm being careless with my picking the BC lets me get away with worse pick techniquie (so maybe a good one for hacking or jams). I like the sound from both they're really just like differences in brush-strokes on the basic canvas I'm painting on. However in UK£ I'm getting two T140s for £14 and one CT55 for £30 so it's not living up to the hype/$ when compared with other offerings.

Maybe the answer is to go to your ProPlec for the moment and use this as an opportunity to work the best tone you can from that. Then when you do get around to the cear-out you'll be able to get even more form the old BlueChip one.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

I keep a ProPlec nearby and return to it often, but while I love the tone as much as a Blue Chip, I've been noticing that the PP seems to have a bit more resistance when it hits the strings. It feels like as if the PP material is softer, and flexes just a bit more than the BC. In any case, seems like I'll be sticking to BC in the foreseeable future.

[JGWoods]

I'll help you move your desk.

[onassis]

Your view?

I always advocate the path of least resistance.

[OldSausage]

:disbelief:

I left my L&H assymetrical two point out in the back of the garage, and there is so much junk out there I will just play my $35 ukulele, because, well, its at hand.

:)

I like your thinking.

[OldSausage]

I keep a ProPlec nearby and return to it often, but while I love the tone as much as a Blue Chip, I've been noticing that the PP seems to have a bit more resistance when it hits the strings. It feels like as if the PP material is softer, and flexes just a bit more than the BC. In any case, seems like I'll be sticking to BC in the foreseeable future.

Yes, I'm inclined to agree. But on the other hand I only played with the pro-plec for a half hour or so, decided it required more right hand effort to get it to ping nicely off the strings, and then got down on my hands and knees for a rummage. Maybe if I lost the Blue Chip for longer it might be a different story. I'm probably sticking with the BC, but there is something undeniably alluring about the pro-plec's tasty darkness. It tempts me with the promise of gliding over the strings better, and offers the fatter sound that only a fatter pick can give. Hmmm...

[mtucker]

double post.

[mtucker]

I have lots of pro-plecs to hand. Your view?
i assume you're referring to the 1.5mm triangle ..i like them best including BC, but they do wear easily...at $8 bucks per dozen, that's okay. Ted sent me a few free Jazzmando (pro-plecs) ... d'andrea may be making them to his spec, they seem to have slightly more bevel to them, which is a good thing.

[greg_tsam]

Yea, Sausage, I feel your pain. Just like JeffD does. This one time I was on break at a gig and realized I had left my drink on stage and I was sitting at the bar. So what could I do? I had to order another one. This reminds me of a time last month were I dropped my BC in the middle of the East Texas woods. Took my an hour and 45 minutes but I finally found it. I was going to start a thread about it and post a pic but my mouse fell down behind my desk and I never saw it again.

[OldSausage]

Yea, Sausage, I feel your pain. Just like JeffD does. This one time I was on break at a gig and realized I had left my drink on stage and I was sitting at the bar. So what could I do? I had to order another one.

It's heartening that so many are able to change their lives by embracing happenstance. Although, rather than ordering another, you should probably have swiped someone else's martini.

[David Surette]

What a great thread. So many voices, so many stories, including drinking tales and financial advice. I dig Pro-Plecs for the mandos, by the way, but I also use Ultex (mostly for guitar, rounded corner) and green Tortex picks for my cittern (for that Celtic sound). And I like IPA. And I'm too cheap to pay $40 for a pick.

[Michael Eck]

I have just recently started using Pro-Plecs again, in my search for a one pick fits all for guitar and mandolin. My Wegens feel too bright too me lately, and I find the PPs closer to a Blue Chip (I currently use a TAD60) than the Wegens. I will say this, the Blue Chip, pricey as it is, is the one pick I never have to think about while I'm using it.

[craig.collas]

I have rebevaled some PP,s with satisfactory results

[Phil Sussman]

I was using a Wegen but went back to the Pro-Plec for that slightly darker tone. Agree that the feel is a bit different. The PP does fly out of my hand more than the Wegen. Unlike the rigid Kevlar of the Wegen, the PP I'm using seems to have acquired a curved shape after some use. I don't have a Blue Chip. As for losing a pick, when I got the Wegen, I bought several of them, on the theory that if I have more than one, I won't lose the one I'm using. It's worked so far. But there's a big crack in the floor of the pub where we jam, and I'm just lucky the pick hasn't fallen through that yet. And I've got a bag of PPs just in case. None of this magically improves my playing. Where's that subliminal CD?

[John Adrihan]

This is a very interesting thread. The users of BC- PP - and Wegan seem to have the same results or issues. Most like the PP for its value, but it is harder to go through the strings and hold on to. The Wegan has better grip, mabey a little more money but most perfer the tone of the PP. Then there is the BC. most perfer the tone, but do not like the cost/ Mostly for the reason of the chance of loosing it. And the grip is good.

I too have been trying to use the PP because of price. I also have a Wegan mandolin pick.

I have a TPR 60 and TAD-3R 60 which I feel are the same as the PP just one is smaller. I keep going back to them. They do sound the best and glide through the strings. For me though the best one for grip is the Wegan. The BC's are slippery in my hand just like the PP.

[Pribar]

8668586686

I never have a problem with losing a pick, the buggers are breeding on me, at least thats what I am telling the old lady :grin:

[drbluegrass]

...The BC pics are just too bright and plasticy sounding for my taste.


Chip,


Which BC pick are you talking about? There are a crap load of models. I can't imagine they all sound "too bright and plasticy". OTOH, maybe they do to your ears? And, that's OK.


Tom

[Mike Bunting]

Chip,


Which BC pick are you talking about? There are a crap load of models. I can't imagine they all sound "too bright and plasticy". OTOH, maybe they do to your ears? And, that's OK.


Tom

I can see where one may hear that with the speed bevel models. All speed bevels sound like that to me. I like to have some meat where the tire hits the pavement to get the tone out.

[JeffD]

I am waiting for my BC picks to open up.

Oh.... never mind.

[greg_tsam]

I hear someone is working on a mandopickvoodooo process for that.


I am waiting for my BC picks to open up.

Oh.... never mind.

[Jeff Budz]

Try messing around with adding bevel to the pro plec, you can really make the a lot faster and brighter. I also drill weagan style holes in them for grip, grip cream from elderly solves everything. But I keep going back to blue chip, they just add this little bit of magic...

[OldSausage]

I hear someone is working on a mandopickvoodooo process for that.

What you do is mount them in an old electric toothbrush so they get jiggled back and forth at Monroe velocity. The blue chip material 'remembers' so you'll never have problems with 16th notes again.

[Mandoviol]

8668586686

I never have a problem with losing a pick, the buggers are breeding on me, at least thats what I am telling the old lady :grin:

:whistling: That's a lotta picks!

[Chip Booth]

Chip,


Which BC pick are you talking about? There are a crap load of models. I can't imagine they all sound "too bright and plasticy". OTOH, maybe they do to your ears? And, that's OK.

Tom

I have used the CT55 and the TAD-1R 60, both have a bevel. I like the rounded corner of the TAD best. I agree the BC picks are "faster" and smoother on the string, but the tone is not what I am looking for. I admit, the differences are relatively subtle and I will occasionally grab a BC and be perfectly happy. But overall I still prefer the simpler ProPlec.

[Jim Broyles]

I have to be honest, I do not get how some folks would use a ProPlec if they didn't have a BC. To me the tonal difference is immense. BC is what I would call normal - balanced over the frequency range of the mandolin and fairly loud, whereas the ProPlec is very dark - to the point of muted or muffled, and not near the volume of the BC. Of course, as I have said many times, the BC is a great pick but no better to my way of thinking, playing and hearing than my go-to Dunlop Ultex 1.14. I can't use the ProPlec for the reasons already stated plus the fact that the material is soft. To me, the strings dig into it causing my playing to be inhibited.

[OldSausage]

In the past I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly, Jim, but recently I think my pick grip has become looser, and I've started to feel more pro-pleccy. I'm still sticking with the bc for now, but try the pro plec every now and then, and I find the drive it gives to the strings inviting.

[pjlama]

It took me a while to figure out which pick the Proplec is and then I remembered my love affair with that dark lady. I got my first one from Ted via a late night Jazz Mando shopping spree. Once turned on I couldn't get enough and bought tons of them just incase I lost one or some. Finally some other pick of the month came along and here I am not able to even remember my beloved Proplec. Ahh, picks they're fickle lovers indeed.

[JeffD]

and I've started to feel more pro-pleccy..

:)) This is the best justification for going with a pro plec. Really, there is no other reason.

[JeffD]

8668586686

I never have a problem with losing a pick, the buggers are breeding on me, at least thats what I am telling the old lady :grin:


I see the beginnings of a separate hobby here.

[Justus True Waldron]

I lost my Blue Chip (CT55) after playing at a nursing home right before Grey Fox. At first I was mortified, as I had been playing it exclusively for the past 6 months. While there I bought a Wegen TF140 and ended up really liking it, especially the grips (I believe Chris Thile once referred to them as "speed holes" in a radio interview) However, two months later I was back at the nursing home and was handed back my BC! I guess the janitor found it and saved it... And my joy at being reunited soon turned to sadness as It now felt strange under my fingers, and oddly bright as well. I stuck with my wegen for another month or so, until two weeks ago I was practicing for a real gig with the guys and realized I wasn't getting the power and speed I needed, and the mando didn't seem to have the edge it did before. I switched to the BC on a whim and haven't looked back since - it just seems to give me that little bit extra "something" I demand when performing, an extra bit of clarity and punch and volume. I'm happy to have it back, and this is just an example of how a pick that doesn't seem to be working in once situation might be great in another (although I only ever play one pick, I don't change based on what I'm doing). It's also proof to me that if there was ever an outright ban on blue chips I could move on and play mandolin just fine - but thankfully I don't have to! I'm quite happy with mine, and now that I've started playing a ton of guitar lately my CT55 is still my favorite pick for that as well...

[Wolfmanbob]

Pro plec is a great pick and I use it most of the time. On the other hand isn't it fun to spend lots of money on experimentation with fancy pics? In reality, I think most of the tone comes from how you play and this is also a function of your comfort level with how a pic feels. I used a fender extra heavy for years, also a great pic. I think some of the fancy expensive pics are made to duplicate the tortise feel which I never really liked. I like a little resillience or "give" rather than a stiff rigid pic. As I said, it's a personal thing, and if you can play, you're gonna sound good with almost anything that feels right in your hand.

[LarryMando]

I must not be very sophisticated because I can't tell much difference between picks - especially after a few measures into it.

[George R. Lane]

Jeff,
You need to have a garage sale.

[Alex Orr]

Meh...I've had the same Wegen for years, and it's all I care to use.