Hi all, or I'm back

  1. Trav'linmando
    Trav'linmando
    Hello everybody. I have decided to check in and say hello. It has been awhile since I have been here. Life changes. So I am rebuilding my calluses and putting new strings on my herd. Mostly have been playing my Eastman 504. Just love that oval hole tone.

    For the folks new here, let me introduce myself. My name is Larry and I drive a semi truck for a living, hence, trav'linmando. I mostly pick fiddle tunes and old tyme (love that typo) with some rock and country in the mix.

    I'm glad to see several familiar faces here as well as many newbies. We all learn and share together in this community. My current weakness on the mandolin is the same as it always has been. Playing chords and rhythm. So it has been a area I have worked on the last few months. Melody picking is pretty good on a dozen or so tunes and improving on others. Currently I am learning Whiskey Before Breakfast.

    Play on! Larry
  2. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Hey Larry! Glad to hear from you. I have been wondering how you are doing. So it's good to know you are still kickin and pickin.
  3. Mark Gunter
    Mark Gunter
    Good to hear from you again, Larry. Keep on truckin'.
  4. Louise NM
    Louise NM
    Good to hear from you, Larry. I had wondered where you were and how you were doing. Glad you're back around and getting back to playing.
  5. bbcee
    bbcee
    Ha! Just thought of you the other day when passing a truckstop, Larry. Glad to have you back on the site!
  6. Trav'linmando
    Trav'linmando
    Thanks for the warm welcome my friends. One of life changes is that I have settled in up in the Pacific Northwest. Not the wet and green part like where Henry is though. Far eastern Washington 30 miles north of Oregon. Still driving, however I am home every night.

    My first question is about picks. I discovered Wegen pick have a wonderful tone on most of my mandolins. However the techniques used with them seems a bit of a challenge for me. The Wegen picks are more rounded than I am used to using, which gives me grief when picking melody at reasonable speed especially when it comes to 8th note runs. This is mostly happening on G and D strings. Easier for me with a pointy tip. I get such a full and rich tone I'm not willing to give up the pick, but looking for any ideas for exercises or mental gymnastics to get past this relatively small issue.
  7. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    The Wegens I have are the large triangles. I think they are TF-100, TF-120, and TF-140 . I'm not entirely sure of the designation. Some are white, some are black, and they all have six holes arranged in a hexagon with one more in the center. They have a bevel that seems less rounded than other beveled picks I have. That means there is a sharper corner where the bevel joins the flat face of the pick. It seems to me that that "corner" tends to make noise on the G and D strings.

    I have found two ways to use the picks that eliminates most of that noise. One is to experiment with the angle of the pick as it strikes through the strings until you minimize or eliminate the scratchy noise. Then practice until you can find that angle subconsciously. Another way is not to use the bevel at all and pick through the strings with the pick face absolutely parallel to the strings. I prefer the other way but Caleb Klauder does this sometimes when he wants to be really loud (and he uses a Wegen pick). I had a front row seat watching him play for several hours about a year ago at an in-home concert and I watched his picking technique in particular.

    FYI, Caleb was using a white Wegen, looked like maybe a TF-100 or 120. He also uses a thumb and two fingers to grip the pick, which is probably good since he picks so hard. I am guessing that his pick had a left handed bevel on it because when he had the pick angled to the strings, it was almost always in a reverse angle.
  8. Trav'linmando
    Trav'linmando
    So I did some looking through my collection of picks. The one I have been working with is a M-150. I found a TF-120 and played with it last night. Much easier to play, I really do prefer a pointy tip. Still a bit thinner than the 150 but close. I am going to order a pack of TF-140 to experiment with.
    The suggest about pick angle and parallel to the strings was very helpful Henry. Thank you. I found that I was keeping my wrist/arm planted, so I begin to work on moving the wrist up the body of the mandolin to keep the pick in line or parallel to the G strings. In addition, when you mentioned Caleb and his hard picking, I looked at my attack of the strings. Found that I was not as aggressive on the G and D strings. Hmmm lots to work on.

    Play on! Larry
  9. Ellsdemon
    Ellsdemon
    Larry! Good to see you on here again, I've been absent too but haven't stopped playing otherwise. I'll agree with Hank and the angle will help, which you might have to adjust your arm position or movement. Again, glad you're still at it.
  10. Stacey Morris
    Stacey Morris
    Hi Larry. I still hang around here and am still plunking away. I'm glad you are back and are still playing also.
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