Dawg picks

[Willie Poole]

I use Dawg picks and they do cut down on the loudness but also cut down on the shrillness that many mandolins have. my real go to pick is the Prime-Tone 1.5 with rounded corners, good volume and a nice sound on my mandolins...No one pick will suit everyone or every mandolin, that's for sure...A lot of pickers keep changing brands of strings when they should be checking out the different brands and sizes of the picks that are offered.....Some picks cost more than a set of strings but they last 20 times as long as strings so they are a good investment...

Willie

[WoodyCTA102]

I use other picks too, but my favorite for years/decades is the Dawg. Loud volume doesn't mean a lot to me, warmth is most important. No really a bluegrasser, although like it. Had a CT Bluechip until I lost it, it was OK and worth the price, but still wasn't as good as the Dawg overall. I use thin to thick picks in various shapes to vary the sound.

If all else fails, the Dawg pick will give me a good warm, thick sound on just about any mandolin or mandola.

[CES]

If I had to pick only one pick to use I would go with the Bluechip CT 55. It’s my go to pick for mandolin. I like TAD 50 on ‘Cello, and 40 or 50 on guitar. My next favorites are Wegen TF 140s for mando, 120s or 140s for guitar. I didn’t like the Primetones when I first tried them, but have been using one on my Eastman 315 for the past couple of weeks and am coming around to their virtues. I don’t keep a Bluechip in the 315’s strings or case because it’s my “beater” and goes places where pick load is a higher likelihood...

[mandroid]

Still have the ones I got in the 80's, but now I have more than 1 mandolin and each mandolin has a pick I use

349 on some BC on others.

[DHopkins]

Dawg, 95%; Dunlop Primetone, 5%

[CES]

Pick loss, not load. Geez, Siri can be annoying...

[EricLopez]

For me, they’re great if I want to practice extremely quietly. Seriously, I can’t pull volume out of that pick shape. There are a lot of pickers who love them, though, so you’ll have to check them out. I believe the original ones were made out of a different material than the current product, but I’m not 100% sure, and can’t recall when the switch occurred...

Both the originals and the new ones are made from celluloid, but they have a different hardness. The celluloid used for the current ones is actually the identical celluloid used for the D'Andrea Pro-Plecs, so experience with those may tell someone how they'll feel about the Dawg Picks, and vice versa

[mandolin tony]

thank you guys for your help. I made a list & I am going to order a few different kind of picks.

[MontanaMatt]

Tony, it seems you're looking for suggestions of ones to try...
I've recently been trying the John Pearce Fast Turtles, it's a casin pick, not too spendy, and has a lovely feel, both in the hand and on the string. Quite buttery. Thin and medium work great for hard Bluegrass pickin.
I am also considering trying my hand at shaping my own picks. Seeing how much the few sellers of high tech picks charge, with plastics like Vespel and PEEK, which are kinda cheep, it seems like a way to get a pick fix for less than $40. Have any cafe members tried working with those materials? Anyone want to cooperative work on a pick project?
P.m. me fellow pick nerds!

[mandolin tony]

thanks guys, I made a list of picks to try. I hope Elderly has most of them.

[Zach Wilson]

Some fun brands to consider (no financial interest)

Vpicks (I like the "jalapeno")
Gravity picks
Timber Tones (they have all kinds or exotic martials).

[David Lewis]

I'm a V-Pick man through and through. I'll occasionally use Prime Tone and Jazzmandos (which I have to protect, because I don't think they're made anymore). But the V-Pick Jazz Mando gives a consistently great tone on my mandos.

[EricLopez]

I am also considering trying my hand at shaping my own picks. Seeing how much the few sellers of high tech picks charge, with plastics like Vespel and PEEK, which are kinda cheep, it seems like a way to get a pick fix for less than $40. Have any cafe members tried working with those materials? Anyone want to cooperative work on a pick project?
P.m. me fellow pick nerds!

Pick making is a lot of fun, and every player should try it at least once. It's really satisfying to watch them gradually take shape from a chunk of raw material.
However, Vespel and PEEK are far from being cheap materials. A square foot of PEEK in appropriate thickness costs me hundreds of dollars from reliable distributors, and the yield per sheet is always less than what you expect it to be. Additionally, it's a very unforgiving material to work with due to its hardness, so all of the labor involved in making each pick has to be considered. A square foot of Vespel is about $1,500 per sheet (more for thicker sheets), so Blue Chip isn't charging $35-75 per pick because they think people will pay that, it's because they need to make a least some profit (and they aren't making much per unit) for producing an extremely well made pick that will last a very long time. Knowing the work and routine hidden costs that go into making picks, I have a lot of respect for what other pick makers like Blue Chip, Wegen, etc have been doing for years.

[Tate Ferguson]

I made some rounded-triangle picks out of a discarded CD-ROM disc a few years ago. Very useable. A nice resilience to this plastic, not dissimilar to a Fender Heavy, my favorite.

[goose 2]

I like both renditions of the Dawg pick. I love the fat tone they give me and I find them to have a ton of volume. Maybe it’s just that my right hand technique suits the Dawg very well. Sharp cornered picks sound too bright and thin in my hands.

[V70416]

Like most pickers I've tried just about all of them. BC and Wegens work well for me;but,my very favorite pick is an extra heavy Red Bear "E". The speed bevels will wear/get rough;the can be smoothed out easily enough.

Red Bear picks are hand finished by only two people;so,one must wait until they do a run of picks that you favor. Not optimal
but the quality and feel of RB picks is the best I have found for my style of picking.

I am waiting for another run of the RB "E" style picks in extra heavy(worth it to me). In the meantime I bought one of their Tuff-Tone
"E" style picks with holes/grips. It is a very nice pick but only comes in Med. and Heavy;so,not thick enough for me. Way more durable than their casein picks.

I want to try some other brands of casein picks. Main drawback to them is that they don't get along with moisture,
will wear out quicker than most other type picks/need maintenance. One trip through the washing machine
and they are toast.

Dawg and David Grisman signature picks do not work for me. I'm spoiled on thicker picks with speed bevels. Between the two types of Grisman picks I like the older/originals best. Not saying much.

[mandroid]

Q: What is the Dawg pick shaped Blue Chip?

[Zach Wilson]

An update from me:

Since the thread began I went back to try my Dawg pick and really give it a chance. I've found that my pick taste buds change from time to time and I have re-discovered many picks that I did like at first.

Im actually really digging the Dawg pick on my "the" Loar LM 170. It makes a mellow but super fat tone that sounds just right for folk, folk-rock, and obviously folk-jazz styles. It's one draw back is as my hands warm and sweat the pick spins around and I find I'm picking with a rounded corner.

I'm very curious to how the Dawg pick will work with my new flat top Red Valley due in March...

On my Weber. I do not like it.