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Thread: PICKS am i missing something

  1. #1
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    Default PICKS am i missing something

    Hello to all im a newbie on here and i am overloading on all the info available.
    I have purchased my first mandolin a Kentucky KM254 which i am very happy with, i also play guitar so have been using my regular .5mm guitar picks, i see on the forum lots of info about special picks , so what pick should i using for mandolin

    Alan

  2. #2
    plectrist Ryk Loske's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Buy a dozen Pro-Plecs. You're set. But ........ the dark side will lure you to the $50 jobs. But one day you can't find it and pick up the Pro-Plec again and be happy. Wash ~ Rinse ~ Repeat. Or just don't go to the dark side.
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  3. #3

    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Get on the list for the Traveling Pick Sampler. More specifically, start with anything over 1mm. Many of us like stuff in the 1.4 or 1.5 neighborhood.

    I like the BlueChip CT55 and TAD60, but there are tons of cheaper picks that are great, too. Proplec 1.5mm triangle is awesome and about 75 cents.
    Soliver arm rested and Tone-Garded Northfield Model M with D’Addario NB 11.5-41, picked with a Wegen Bluegrass 1.4

  4. #4
    Mandolin addicted...So? Pete Counter's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Hi Allen, Welcome to your new obsession. The thing about picks is, the size, shape and thickness as well as material can give a WIDE range of sound and feel. Thicker picks often bring a darker warmer tone. thinner picks a brighter thin tone. rounder edges bring a fatter sound where points bring a crisper sound. there are as many preferences as pickers so the only advise anyone can give is try as many different ones as possible. start wih the david grisman "dawg" picks or golden gates for the thick round variety and some dunlop prime tone thin pointy ones to start narrowing down which side of the road your on and go from there.

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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    A lot of mandolin players like the sound and feel of a heavier pick, and for a few dollars it's easy to experiment (no need to jump into the realm of $30+ picks just yet!)

    If you like the sound you're getting, stay with it. One of the best mandolin players I know just uses cheap plastic picks with his band name on them, and he sounds great.

  6. #6
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    The important thing is that the type of pick makes much more difference on mandolin than on a guitar. I am not sure why but this oft heard wisdom matches my experience.

    Try stuff out see what you like.
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Go to a music store with maybe $10.00 and try a few of the regularly named affordable picks from the many pick threads you can search for. Buy at least one in the .75 or so range just to see what halfway to the 1mm up feels like. Once you get used to a thicker pick, try a Wegen or two. These are still relatively affordable ($6-8.00) and see if you think they are worth it.

    The thing with mandolin is, you get a better tone with a very loose grip and a thicker pick, IMHO. The precision you need is, I feel, also attainable with a thicker pick.

    The next step is to go over to the dark side and buy a Blue Chip. If you don't like it you can send it back, or play it a while and sell it in the classifieds for a whopping $10 loss. Not all people like them. I like to have a pick for every instrument I own, so only, so far, have one. The rest are Wegens. If there is anything more subjective than picks, I don't know about it, with the exception of mandolins themselves.
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  8. #8
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Probably missing a few hundred past discussion threads on picks .. If you want to search back, ...


    I say you should try many.. shapes brands what they're made of , etc..



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  10. #9

    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    at least initially, don't get sucked into the big dollar pick hysteria. get a variety of standard guitar picks of varying thicknesses and materials and see what appears FOR NOW to be working for ya. and/or make some picks out of a variety of materials and test 'em all out. it's not only the pick thickness, and material, it's also about its shape for both string attack and holding. sand 'em to fit if need be. newbies to anything just need to experiment, and picks are cheap enuf ... unless you feel a need to believe buying into the hype about double digit price tag string picks will make you play and sound SO much better.
    Mandolins are truly *magic*!

  11. #10

    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    As you are in the UK Alan, I would avoid Blue Chip plectrums, to start with at least, because the import duty and Post Office handling charges will make them very expensive - I know this from bitter experience

    I also found that although different plectrums do make a big difference on mandolins I didn't really start to appreciate this until I had been playing for a while, I would recommend standard guitar plectrums to begin with, possibly start with a slightly thicker one.

    Good luck
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Welcome, Alan. I'd just keep trying a variety of picks until you find the one that speaks to you.

  13. #12
    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Try lots of different cheap ones. Gibson XH are not bad for less than $.50. Thick guitar picks of most brands are fine, but often beginners use picks that are too stiff, while they are learning the different between mandolin picking and guitar picking (the strings obviously have much more resistance). Different materials too, in the same thickness, are worth experimenting with. And shapes, which is usually a function of how comfortable they are to hold with the right grip pressure.

    I have a huge collection and play about 4 different kinds with regularity, just to not feel 'pick dependent'. You got to be able to play if you lose your favorite pick.

    Never ending search for me, there is no 'one'. But I think Pro-Plecs are awful. YMMV
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    for a bolder less twangy trebly tone, try a quarter ... or a nickel, penny, or dime.
    Mandolins are truly *magic*!

  15. #14
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Here is a good article on how the differences between picks. http://jazzmando.com/tips/archives/000718.shtml

    Its part of the adventure. One size doesn't fit all. In fact I find that picks aren't universal. Certain picks have advantages when I play in certain venues etc.

    Enjoy the journey.
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  17. #15
    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Not sure why some MC members seem to feel compelled to tell a newbie to avoid a truly excellent pick like the BlueChip. Granted, these picks are more expensive than most, but they still pale in comparison to the cost of a mandolin! Furthermore, as others have pointed out, you can buy them new and sell them used, if you don't happen to like them, and easily recoup 75% (or more) of your investment, making them quite affordable to try out. They are great picks, and a great many players here on the BC swear by them. And we don't go around dissing picks like PrimeTones and Wegens, but still, some folks feel a compulsion to go around dissing BlueChips. This is plain silly!

    It strikes me that these whiners must feel some kind of a constitutional objection to buying an expensive pick, and purely because it is expensive -- and not because it is an inferior pick. Well, that would seem to be an irrational objection borne of prejudice.

    I don't like shelling out any more money than I have to, either, but I've come to believe that BlueChip picks are worth every penny. I invest a whole lot more in my music than the $30 I paid for a BlueChip. Like so many of my mandolin brethren, I have paid thousands for my mandolin(s), and (over the years), thousands more have gone towards music festivals, concerts, recorded music, instrument accessories (cases, mikes, stands, amps), sheet music/tab, and the like.

    Yes, a newbie can start with many different picks choices in the low-end category. Popular choices include ProPlecs, Wegens, Golden Gates, Dawg, Fender, PrimeTone, and more. But if you can afford it, why not try out a BlueChip, too? You might like it. You might not. Picks are very personal items, and tastes for pick qualities change over time, too. But I would never advise someone not to try some nice equipment just because it cost a bit more. This is NOT "the dark side."

    As has been discussed before, BlueChip picks are expensive mainly because the space-age polyimide plastic from which they're made (Melden) is so expensive. They are not some kind of a scam or rip-off, and I wish folks would stop treating them as if they were. Honestly, they don't deserve this level of prejudicial treatment.

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  19. #16

    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    Not sure why some MC members seem to feel compelled to tell a newbie to avoid a truly excellent pick like the BlueChip...
    I'm a little torn on this one. I KNOW the BC picks improved my playing. Looser grip = relaxed right hand/arm = better playing. With that, I feel like saying every mandolin sold should be marked up $35 and include a BC.

    On the other hand, had the BC been the very first pick I ever used, I don't know that I'd appreciate it.

    As far as dogging BC or the people who claim to benefit from them, that's absurd. People recommend upgrading the instrument when the current one is holding you back. If we believe a better mandolin will allow you to play better, why don't we believe a better pick will do the same?
    Soliver arm rested and Tone-Garded Northfield Model M with D’Addario NB 11.5-41, picked with a Wegen Bluegrass 1.4

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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    I think that trying this and that to see if it helps your playing is just part of the hobby.

    OTOH, my buddy has been a professional musician for 30+ years and to my knowledge he has never bought a set of strings or a pick, he just "borrows" them from other people. He has played the same two guitars and one amp for the whole time I've known him. I gave him one of the guitars. I guess that makes me an enabler......... He is one of the rare people who does not suffer from MAS (or GAS). I would estimate over his entire "career" he has less than $500 invested in equipment -- hard to do. To his credit, he is brilliant and everything he does is about the song. I guess like a pen and paper are to a writer.

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  23. #18
    Registered User jim simpson's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    I find shape is very important to me, with a triangular shape, I get 3 points to choose from making the pick last a long time. My go to has been the Dunlop Ultex for mandolin and guitar. I agree with Brick that a thicker pick seems to draw the best tone and a loose wrist for relaxed playing. I never seem to drop them while playing.
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  24. #19
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Hello from Manchester UK Alan - You might care to try one of the Dunlop Primetone ''Sculpted'' picks that are available from GAK in Brighton.
    Quite a few Cafe members such as myself,like them very much indeed. They're relatively cheap & very available. They come in different shapes & thicknesses & can be either ''smooth'' or ''grippy'' :- https://www.gak.co.uk/en/guitar-plectrums They're half way down the page. On mandolin,i think you'll need 1.0 mm +, as the strings as you'll know, are under more tension than guitar strings.

    However,don't limit yourself to one brand / style of pick,try different ones when you have the chance - it was only by doing that, that i discovered that the Primetones were right for me / on my mandolins / using my preferred strings. On that note (no pun intended) try different string brands as well. Eventually,you find a string pick combo. that brings out the best in your mandolin,
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  26. #20
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    I don't care, nor do I even comment if you use a BC, but I don't want you telling me I should. Someone even said every mandolin should come with one. I have tried them ( borrowed from a friend) and I don't see the advantage. Yes they are good picks and from what I know if you don't lose them they will last forever or at least a long time but I just don't see them making my playing better or easier than a pick costing a quarter as much ar less. In fact I don't see much if any advantage over a Fender extra heavy, and if I lose a Fender heavy I've lost about 50 cents. I would spend the $40 dollars or 2or3times that amount if it made me play better but I don't see it. So while you are condeming those that tell people not to buy them think about the hype you are using to sell them, and it isn't even money in your pocket. Don't tell me I am cheep or " a whinner with a constitutional objection to spending money on a pick" just because I don't see this pick as worth what they cost. You spend $40,$50' or $100 on a pick it's your money and I don't care, I'll continue to play and have fun with my $7 or my $0.50 pick. Thank you

  27. #21
    Registered User NEH57's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Hi Alan, I'm new to the Mandolin too and Uk based. I'm new to anything that isn't whistling, in truth so no expert on anything much, but, what I have found - for what it is worth - is that playing predominantly picked melody can be more akin to classical playing, as opposed to Bluegrass and that some of the thicker picks, whilst giving a great 'fat' / thick / woody....call it what you will, tone on chops and doubles stops and chords etc, for some sorts of music, may not be the best for 'picking' english folk tune melodies if that is what you are into.

    My favoured noobie pick of the pops is the Dunlop Primetone in the teardrop ( as opposed to big triangle ) shape from Ebay Uk - they come in three's, various weights, at the price advertised which isn't high. If you are a Bluegrass chord chopping fan, they probably wouldn't suit you so well. NB If you are a Bluegrass fan, Kemble in September - Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, isn't far.

    But as I say, I don't know much and I'm not very good .....but I'm trying!

  28. #22
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Bowsman View Post
    Get on the list for the Traveling Pick Sampler.
    Link to the Sampler thread: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...one-Interested
    ...

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  30. #23
    two t's and one hyphen fatt-dad's Avatar
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    I'd agree 0.5 too thin. I like a large triangle. Something over 1 mm. Thile uses a Wegan. I'm currently using their TF140. Other big triangles are similar.

    f-d

    p.s., I also like Blue Chip.
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  31. #24

    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    Agree with Fattdad that 0.5 is way too thin for mandolin (and guitar, to be honest). My go to acoustic guitar pick was always a .96 teardrop, so that's what I first used when I first started learning mandolin. It was only when I borrowed a couple of thicker picks in jams that I realised that 1.5 (or thereabouts) sound much better on mandolin (in my opinion). There are a lot of trebles on a mandolin and a slightly thicker pick will help to tame them, and will also add some mids and bass and should generally give you a richer sound.

    As to shape and size, that's up to you and what you're comfy with - I personally like a large triangle on mandolin, but prefer a teardrop shape for guitar.

    Blue Chips are fantastic picks - if you get the right size and shape and thickness for you and your mandolin. However, at this early stage I'd heartily recommend Dunlop Prime Tone - you get 3 in a pack for less than a tenner and they're seriously good picks.

    Enjoy the journey!

    Cheers,

    Johnny

  32. #25
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    Default Re: PICKS am i missing something

    I have used BC picks for years and while I like them a lot the sound is not right for my mandolin so I have gone to Wegen T or M 100. Another good pick I like is as others have said the prime tone, but I like a .73 in a normal sized pick. I have the 1.3 in the rounded triangle and while I like using a rounded pick I would only use these for quieter playing or playing with a pickup. The .73 works well in that it can be brighter using the pointy part or using the rounded corners warmer. It does double duty.
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