Different Picks for Different Instruments

[banjoboy]

I've been hacking away at mandolin for a few years. I recently purchased a guitar and am working on trying to be a passible rhythm player. I was just wondering, do any of you folks use a different pick for mando playing vs playing guitar?

[gtani7]

I use big triangles for mandolin and large jazz 3 types (actually a gravity sunrise gold is current favorite, but basically that shape) on guitar, Propik fingerpicks and bluechip JD crowe thumbpick on banjo

[Mandoplumb]

Yes. A guitar string is not as "tight" as a mandolin and for that reason I use a thinner more flexible pick, not a floppy too thin but not as thick as I use on mandolin.

[Ryk Loske]

You won't like this ...... but to play good RHYTHM GUITAR you need high action and at least medium gauge strings. (I use heavy.) A pick at least 1.5mm. Depending on the situation i'll use Dugains which are 4mm.

Rhythm is what i do on guitar.

Ryk

[LadysSolo]

Depends on if I'm strumming or plucking. If I'm strumming, same picks. But there is not much difference for me. I use 0.75-1.0 picks either way.

[Jim Garber]

I've been hacking away at mandolin for a few years. I recently purchased a guitar and am working on trying to be a passible rhythm player. I was just wondering, do any of you folks use a different pick for mando playing vs playing guitar?

First of all what genre(s) of music are you playing or what would you like to play? That may or may not make a difference. Actually I am not even sure that you are talking about acoustic rhythm guitar. More details might help.

You won't like this ...... but to play good RHYTHM GUITAR you need high action and at least medium gauge strings. (I use heavy.) A pick at least 1.5mm. Depending on the situation i'll use Dugains which are 4mm.

Rhythm is what i do on guitar.

Ryk

I assume, Ryk, that you play bluegrass. I can certainly see why you would prefer to have high action and medium gauge strings but that works for you in whatever type of music you play. I honestly don't think there is a hard and fast rule though I would certainly agree that if you are primarily playing acoustically in parking lot picking sessions you want to be as loud as you can. OTOH if you are playing folk music I doubt you would need to go heavy on the strings and high on the action. Once, again, it depends. In an onstage performance situation you usually have a PA for volume and balance.

I play primarily old time music and for years I have used light gauge strings and sometimes I even play small-bodied guitars.

As for picks, for rhythm guitar I use a BC 40 TAD and I use a more rounded slightly thicker BC or Wegen for the mandolin. I would suggest to the OP that he try as many picks as he can afford or borrow and see what he likes. What one player likes is very different from what someone else uses.

[pops1]

As Jethro Burns once said, I play with a low action, and am as loud as I need to be, why would you want to work harder than you need to. Rhythm guitar need not be played with high action and heavy picks unless you feel the need to work harder than you need to.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have 3 mandolins & use a 'different' pick for each :- A) Lebeda "F" style - DR MD11 strings / Dunlop Primetone 2.0 mm teardrop shaped 'grippy' pick. B) Weber "Fern" - DR MD11 strings / Dunlop Primetone 1.5 mm Teardrop shaped 'grippy' pick. C) Ellis "A" style / GHS A270 strings / Dunlop Primetone 1.5 mm 'smooth' pick.

Each pick suits the string brand & mandolin that it's used on,but dependent on the temperature,that can & does change. Sometimes,i'll find a different pick sounds 'better' on any single day,so i'll use that one,
Ivan

[Br1ck]

When I started playing mandolin, I used my favorite Wegen, the Dipper, in a 1.2 thickness. Then I bought some in 1.4 and then in 1.8. The thickest picks for mandolin, the thinner for guitar.

[Shelagh Moore]

I use different picks for most of my instruments... I've settled on different BCs (1.25, 1.4 and 1.5mm) for my mandolins and mandola. For guitar (including rhythm playing) 0.88 to 1.00 Primetone "grippies". Tenor banjo takes a 0.60 Dunlop Ultex. I have a tin with others, e.g. V-picks, Wegens, Proplecs and others which get retried on regular intervals. My best sounding pick (to my ears) on mandolin is an ancient pink D'Andrea Spectrum Sharp 1.4 and I'll often use that if I'm recording something.

[Ryk Loske]

[QUOTE=Jim Garber;1574409]"I assume, Ryk, that you play bluegrass. I can certainly see why you would prefer to have high action and medium gauge strings but that works for you in whatever type of music you play. I honestly don't think there is a hard and fast rule though I would certainly agree that if you are primarily playing acoustically in parking lot picking sessions you want to be as loud as you can. OTOH if you are playing folk music I doubt you would need to go heavy on the strings and high on the action. Once, again, it depends. In an onstage performance situation you usually have a PA for volume and balance."

Actually Jim .... i play very little Bluegrass. High action and heavy strings does give you the option of more volume. But "just because you can doesn't mean you should". The same set up serves when i'm playing in a contra band to move dancers, a Quebecois party or backing up someone singing a beautiful Irving Berlin song like 'Always'. Unless it's a duet sort of thing, whether i get heard out front isn't the goal. Good rhythm guitar plays for the band. It sets them free in a solid rhythmic context.

Take good care of that Brentrup!

Ryk

[CES]

CT 55 or Wegen TF 140 on mando, TAD 40 or Wegen TF 120 on guitar. I'll occasionally use the thicker pick on guitar, but don't feel it's "necessary" for me like it is on mandolin. Emphasis on the "for me," there. YMMV...

[Johnny60]

I'll echo what everyone else has basically said. Around 1.5mm large triangles on mandolin (Blue Chip TP60 and/or Large triangle plain brown Dunlop Primetone 1.5mm).

Primetone plain brown teardrop .96mm or Blue Chip TD40 for guitar.

I personally find that if I use a thinner pick on mandolin it accentuates the highs too much. Conversely, if I use something like the TP60 on guitar it just muddies the tone too much.

Plus, as Ivan pointed out, different instruments can also respond differently to different picks (and even strings).

[UsuallyPickin]

Well .... use what works for you, for your music. Try different sizes, material and shapes. I used shell picks for years and then in defense of the Hawkbill species I moved on to man made products. I settled on Blue Chip products. I actually use a slightly thicker pick on guitar. On mandolin I use a CT 55 and guitar TAD 60. I play hard and like a medium stout large pick. Enjoy the search. R/

[goose 2]

I use a dawg shaped 2.0 mm pick on guitar and mandolin. For banjo I play mostly claw-hammer style and am pickless on that instrument. I feel that thicker/stiffer picks are easier for me to control the tone and volume.

[David L]

I use a heavy Dunlop "Jazz" 207 on all of my mandolin family instruments, but a Golden Gate on my guitar. Fender heavy on electric guitar.

[Dave Sheets]

Mandolin has infected my guitar playing. I"ve gone from Fender heavies to Primetone 1.5 picks on electric guitar. For acoustic rhythm parts on a 12 string, a bit lighter pick, and medium strings.

[JeffD]

I play a tenor guitar and I embarrass myself on a regular guitar. I haven't noticed that the type of pick makes as much difference on guitar as it does with mandolin. So I use Fender mediums and heavy for the most part.

[MediumMando5722]

I'm using a TAD60 or CT55 on both guitar and mando right now, but I want a thinner BC for guitar, maybe a TAD50. The TP48, which Bryan Sutton uses, looks interesting also.

[Denny Gies]

I use a large shell triangle pick for both mandolin and guitar.

[Dave_KC]

This is an interesting discussion for a newbie to the Mandolin. On acoustic guitar, I tend toward thinner picks, but have been unsure on the Mandolin. I'm hearing a lot of people here prefer thicker picks for the Mandolin. I guess I may have to try some and see. Any suggestions for a good Mandolin pick?

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Dave above - "....prefer thicker picks for the Mandolin.". ''Thicker'' is simply a comparative term when it comes to pick thicknesses. I was using 1.0 mm thick Wegen picks at one time,then moved up to 1.4 mm thick ones. My first 'Primetone' picks were 1.0 mm thick & then i decided to try 1.3 mm thick ones & they worked ok. I then moved up to 1.5 mm ones & they seemed 'better'. I'm now using 2.0 mm thick ones on my Lebeda mandolin,but still 1.5 mm thick ones on my Weber & Ellis.

Some folk's ''heavy picks'' are another person's ''mediums'',in comparison to what they've used in the past. If you've been using 0.8 mm thick picks,then 1.2 mm thick ones are 'thicker',but are still considered pretty thin by some folks.

However - it's not so much about the actual 'thickness' itself for me,it's all about whether a ''particular thickness'' works well with my chosen strings on the individual mandolins. So try different thicknesses by all means,but,if 'thinner' ones work best for you - use thinner ones,that's what it's all about,& it's fun !!,
Ivan

[Fergus Lester]

wow no-one ever says that you need high action on any instrument. Not out loud anyway

[mandroid]

I have found so.. it works for me..

[Dagger Gordon]

This is an interesting discussion for a newbie to the Mandolin. On acoustic guitar, I tend toward thinner picks, but have been unsure on the Mandolin. I'm hearing a lot of people here prefer thicker picks for the Mandolin. I guess I may have to try some and see. Any suggestions for a good Mandolin pick?

Hi,

I tend to use a .88 Dunlop on the mandolin, which most people here might consider pretty light but it works for me.

I have a loud guitar (a Lowden) and I am continually trying to play it a bit softer. I am currently trying to move from a white Sharkfin (Swedish plectrum) to a red Sharkfin (which is lighter).

I realise this is probably different advice from your bluegrass friends, but that's what I do.