Re: The Traveling Pick Sampler - Anyone Interested?
Evening all,
I've been watching this thread to see how things have been going and looks like all is good. However, there are a couple of updates I've promised that I've been too busy to take on and it's time for me to get back on that horse.
First of all, for my contributions to Sampler #1 I searched for a variety of materials and shapes that were not already well-represented. I ended up adding 4 each of the following:
Fender 346 Triangle Heavy
Dunlop Tortex .73 Yellow. (Thanks to Caleb for the suggestion)
Clayton Duraplex Delrin Rounded Triangle 1.14 mm
D'Andrea 358 Teardrop Celluloid Jazz Shell Heavy
Next, here are my top 18 picks from Sampler #1
I had to find some way to organize my preferences and by shape ended up being the easiest, which is how I ended up with 18 as a nice round number. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the whole thing was I could actually use and like pointed and/or triangle-shaped picks, but the exact shape and material makes all the difference.
Rounded (my preferred style)
1. Dunlop Primetone 1.3 Semi-Round: An easy choice since this is my current #3 after my near-identically shaped BC SR50 and Wegen M150. The affordable backup for all my mandolins.
2. Wegen Rounded: The pick that started this sampler and for good reason. Excellent feel and playability. Good volume like all Wegens. I'll be picking one of these up in the near future.
3. Jim Dunlop 'Manually Sanded': A one-of-a-kind pick with one-of-a-kind tone and feel.
4. Dawg: A classic. C'mon, it's a Dawg. Another for the purchase list.
5. D'Andrea ProPlec: Another Cafe favorite. Easy to see why. Nice tone but a little lacking in volume for me.
6. Gravity Axis Std 1.5: Not a huge fan of the tone, but one of the easiest picks to play out of the whole lot. Grip is unsurpassed.
Triangle
1. Hawk SB: Wow, an excellent pick. Great volume and tone, easy to grip and good options due to different tips. I'll be buying one for sure.
2. Buffalo horn: I've tried a number of horn picks before and been underwhelmed. This was a great all around pick and I'll probably never find another like it.
3. Bluechip CT 55: No it didn't make me Thile, but I liked it better this time around. Won't buy one but wouldn't turn one down.
4. Clayton Duraplex Delrin Rounded Triangle 1.14 mm: One of my contributions and of the four I added my favorite. Easy to grip, easy to pick, and a tone unlike most of the others. I think it's the only Delrin pick in the bunch so that is probably why it stands out.
5. Dunlop Primetone 1.5 Triangle no grip: I had an extra one with grip lying around so I replaced the one that had gone missing but this one confirmed I prefer the Primetones without grip. It also reinforced my opinion that PT's are a great choice for those who don't want to fork out for a BC. This one is so close to a CT55 it's unbelievable.
6. Fender Heavy: Another one I added. The standard shape of these picks was the breakout star for Sampler #2 and the triangle shape should be no different on this sampler. This style was actually my first preferred pick and I still grab one every now and again to remind myself I could have saved a ton of $$ and just stuck with it and been perfectly happy. A great all-around pick.
Standard
1. Clifford Essex "Buffy" horn: Second most surprising pick for me. First because of the material (as mentioned above I've had less than great luck with buffalo horn) and second the shape. Perhaps the sharpest point in the pile but still easy to play, with clear tone and good volume. Will be seeking to add one of these to my personal inventory.
2. Dunlop 207: Good tone and the rounded tip made all the difference for me in playability, but it was just a little too small for my taste.
3. Chicken Pick: 3rd most surprising pick. The tone was rather thin, but the playability was excellent. It was almost as though I had become a shredder, knocking out licks at the speed of light. If the tone had been there I would be unstoppable.
4. Planet Waves Nylpro: The most surprising pick of the while shebang. The one that changed my mind about my not being able to play pointed picks. Smooth and quick picking with an unusual but not horrible tone. Not really a mandolin pick which is why it's down on the list.
5. Dunlop Tortex 1.5 Purple: The last of these added to this sampler by Timbofood. Hope this one sticks around because it definitely belongs. Nice picks for mando, especially from the shoulder.
6. Dunlop 204: Double the size of this pick and it might just become a strong contender for a top 5 favorite.
Lastly, I'll be updating the recipient list in another post to follow.
C.
Northfield F5S Amber #347 - 'Squeeze'
Mann EM-5 Hollow Body - Gimme Moore
Kentucky KM-270 - Not just for whisky
Flatiron 1N Pancake - Not just for breakfast
Epiphone Mandobird IV - Djangly
Cozart 8-string e-mando - El Ch(e)apo
Lanikai LB6-S Banjolele (tuned GDAE) - Plinky and the Brane
Bookmarks