A few minutes ago Golden Gate clown barf picks arrived at my house. They are in stock in 3 different shapes at https://store.banjobenclark.com/collections/picks
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A few minutes ago Golden Gate clown barf picks arrived at my house. They are in stock in 3 different shapes at https://store.banjobenclark.com/collections/picks
I like the triangle shaped ones. I had used the Ultex picks forever (and still alternate with them) but I find I have to wet my fingers to maintain a better grip with the clown barfs. I didn't have that issue with the Ultex. I've never tried the Gorilla Snot grip stuff. I wonder how that is to use?
hey Jim! You ever try violin rosin dust? Put that on your fingers (i.e., the finger tips that touch the pick) - no water - just dust.
problem solved!
f-d
saw those on banjo bens site the other day. How's the sound?
I like them, bright, clear, articulate and good volume.
I take my pick into the WC and wash it and my hands , together .. now there is a lot of handwashing going on..
I added an order for several - although I usually use a BC, these will go in my pick pouch on my keychain. Harder to loose if you drop them!
Since I needed some strings, I ordered through Banjo Ben's and added some of the tear-drop ones, a couple different thicknesses. In times such as these, how can you say no to clown barf?
I bought 3 of the X-stiff rounded ones. Love the tone, the colors, and the name.
Having spent 30 minutes on my hands & knees trying to find my Bluechip last night, I've put a couple of these in my practice space! They work well enough and can be found on the oriental rug. I'm gonna spend more covid time today trying to find the BLuechip, however!
Looks like they're out of the x-stiff ones in both sizes. Hopefully they'll be able to restock soon.
Got an email that they were back in stock, and I ordered a few in the rounded and large triangle, X-Stiff, and would have preferred XX-Stiff if available. The arrived in pretty short order. Comparing them to the tortoise Golden Gate mandolin picks I have, they are slightly thinner - 0.055" vs. 0.060". They sound only slightly brighter, which could be the thickness or the material.
The pattern is not exactly like the originals, and I don't have any of the originals to compare tone. The large triangle is a bit more pointed in the tip than I prefer, but I expected that. The tone is much brighter with the pointed tip. I modified one a bit, splitting the difference between the stock pointed tip and the rounded mandolin pick. I like the result. I don't expect they'll become my daily player picks, but they do sound good and they're fun to have around. It never hurts to have options in sub-$40 picks to carry in your pocket just in case a jam session breaks out. Thanks for the heads up on these!
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I just tried to order the lg. triangle shape in 1.03 mm and they are sold out. I find that the Pick Boy 1.00 mm fine for guitar but prefer thicker for mandolin.
Last week I received my order of the large triangle clown barf picks in X-STIFF. They are listed as being 1.3mm in thickness but in fact all the ones I received range between 1.44 to 1.5mm, a little heavier than expected, which is A-OK by me. I also have recent Golden Gate large triangles in tortoiseshell and they're interchangeable. For myself I round off one of the edges of the large triangle to match the rounded Dawg style pick and use that as my primary picking edge.
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Thanks for the link. I ordered some large triangles in the 1.0 thickness and like them a lot. The sound is good even after the points get rounded off a bit.
Are these the same material as celluloid picks?
As Russ says, they are celluloid, but not all celluloid sounds and feels the same. Some types are harder or softer than others, which affects the tone and feel. Even different batches with same general look can sound and feel different. You can also tell a difference when you shape it. IME the harder examples have a stronger smell of camphor when worked.
Clowns are an endangered species these days and their barf can only be harvested during certain seasons. This is why these picks are so rare. :)
:))