Picks?

[mmuller]

I dunno, I just use my guitar pick. Is that stupid? Is there a super duper specially designed mandolin pick?

[Gruntfish]

There are some expensive picks available. I use a thick Dunlop nylon guitar pick, and I don't use the point usually. Round side seems to give me better control on tremolo, but I like the pointy end better... I would say get something thick and comfortable. Play the crap out of it and you will know whether it works for you or not.

[DavidKOS]

It depends greatly on:

your mandolin type
your playing style
what you think is a "good tone"
what you can learn to use

We do not all agree.

I use a plain sharp ultem/ultex pick, about 3/4 mm but very stiff - and some traditional small pointed Neapolitan picks that no BG player would dream of using.

Other opinions will differ greatly.

[onassis]

Any pick will do the job, but it's fun to experiment. And pretty cheap, if you stick with the typical Dunlop/D'Addario fare. You can try out dozens of shapes, thicknesses and materials for +/- $0.25 per. Personally, I use the crazy expensive ones, but I'd only be about 4% less satisfied if I was using ones that cost about $1. I actually switch around between the expensive and the cheap quite often when practicing, just depends on what my ear likes that day. Gigs usually get the expensive pick, just because I know I'll be satisfied with the sound. YMMV.

[Mike Snyder]

People love to gripe about the cost of Blue Chip picks and the other premium cost picks. I cannot take a date out to dinner for what a BC CT 55 costs. I get the tone and volume I want from BC and Red Bear picks, but I encourage you to experiment. Go to jams and festivals and see what folks are using. Borrow a few, if you’re able. Your ears, your mandolin. So find your pick of preference.

[Roger Moss]

Search for the "pick sampler" (it's around somewhere) and get on the list. Eventually you will get a chance to check out more different picks than you knew existed. You try them out then send them on to the next person. I tried them all and realized I liked my good old Fender 346 mediums. At least you will know for sure what works best for you.

[B381]

I use Golden Gate picks.

[sblock]

No, using your guitar pick on the mandolin is not stupid. It could work out perfectly well for you! On the other hand, the mandolin is more tightly strung (higher tension) than a guitar, with less string relief, so you might benefit from using a somewhat stiffer pick, depending upon your personal playing technique. And if you enjoy tremolo, you may benefit from a somewhat more rounded point -- again, depending on your playing technique. You just have to try different picks and see how they work out. You may discover that you still like the guitar pick best. Or, you might find something that works even better for the mandolin.

[Denny Gies]

I use the same pick for both guitar and mandolin. Seems to work for me.

[Mark Gunter]

We do not all agree.

Truer words will probably not be spoken on this subject!

I think it's definitely not stupid to use a guitar pick on the mandolin -- or even to play the mandolin "like you play guitar" -- in the beginning.

If you go off into a romance with the mandolin, you'll study more though about how to adjust some technique and get some different stuff out of a mandolin than you do from a guitar. And on the subject of picks, you may find it wise to experiment with picks other than what you're currently used to, to see if you like something else better.

There is a thread under general mandolin discussions about a "Pick Sampler" - I got on the list to receive that sampler a couple years ago and it was an eye-opening experience to try out all those different picks. I eventually even changed my preference for guitar picks after 50 years of playing guitar.

So IMHO, experimenting with different picks is a good thing.

[DavidKOS]

And if you enjoy tremolo, you may benefit from a somewhat more rounded point -- again, depending on your playing technique.

Back to my post, that would depend.

If you were playing Italian music, you need the stiff pointed Neapolitan (or Roman!!!) pick. On a short scale very lightly strung bowl back or similar flatback European style mandolin.

If you play Bluegrass or other "roots" music on a Gibson style long scale mandolin with somewhat heavier strings, you're on your own because I don't play that way

But most other folks on this forum do!

Frankly to me, that's one big difference in the mandolin world.

Do you like the old school Italian sound, or do you prefer the sound of Bill Monroe or David Grisman?

for that matter.....

Do you listen to Jacob do Bandolim or Sam Bush? ( or both?)

Do you plan on playing traditional Irish music?

Dave Apollon?

Klezmer a la Andy Statman?

You can play any mandolin music on any type of mandolin.

Some styles favor a certain design, but the instrument can do whatever the player wants it to do.

Back to the pick thing.

The OP asked about "guitar picks".

The real answer is not what pick do you use but what does the music sound like?

[Mark Gunter]

If you were playing Italian music, you need the stiff pointed Neapolitan (or Roman!!!) pick.

The genre doesn't matter as much as the sound you get, and how you get it. Tremolo has been a difficult thing for me to learn to do well, and I still struggle with it sometimes ... but I get the best results with a pointy pick, which goes against most advice in the bluegrass world.

Maybe you should just experiment.

[Luna Pick]

Blue Chips are great, but for whatever reasons for mandolin I keep drifting back to Golden Gate/Dawg. Some like them for guitar too, I use Pro Plec 1.5 for guitar. I switch around sometimes, not a lot.

[Kevin Winn]

Definitely sign up for the Traveling Pick Sampler. I was using my guitar pick when I started out which worked fine. But I was amazed at the different tones produced just by using a different pick. I finally settled on the Wegen as my main pick, but I also have Golden Gate and Pro Plec in the case as well.

[DavidKOS]

Tremolo has been a difficult thing for me to learn to do well, and I still struggle with it sometimes ... but I get the best results with a pointy pick, which goes against most advice in the bluegrass world.

However, it is exactly how the Italians, who invented the mandolin, play tremolo!

[westquote]

Insight from a relative newbie: when I was starting out and didn't know what pick to use, I just used what I had. A year later, I tried a few other picks out, and had a good context to appreciate why one worked better for me than others. Two years after that, I knew exactly what I didn't love about the pick I was using, and I posted on here with specific goals, and got amazing suggestions.

For now, I would say that if you don't know what is "best" for how you play your mandolin, maybe pick up a sample of a few very cheap picks of different shapes and thicknesses, and see if one clicks for you. That's not to say that a guitar pick isn't absolutely perfect for you, but there is some value in getting a sense of what's available to you.

[ukenukem]

I started with guitar picks as well, I have scads of them. But lately have tried some other materials and the "slicker" materials (and/or better polish) do make tremolo easier. I stick with standard guitar pick shapes because I use pick holders glued to my straps. Then whichever pick works best on that instrument stays with it on the strap.

Otherwise, I don't seem to go for thicker picks but like a bit of flex. We do have loads of choices!

[allenhopkins]

...Is there a super duper specially designed mandolin pick?

Oh, God, yes!

Never a "pick" thread that doesn't hit 30 posts. There are custom-designed, scientifically-tested picks that cost more than several sets of strings, and each brand has its fierce and fiery partisans.

I grab a couple Dunlop Ultex picks out of the bin at the dealer's, and try not to get emotionally involved. There are enough tribal divisions in our society already, IMHO.

[Paul Busman]

Blue Chips are great, but for whatever reasons for mandolin I keep drifting back to Golden Gate/Dawg. Some like them for guitar too, I use Pro Plec 1.5 for guitar. I switch around sometimes, not a lot.

Luna-- you're just prejudiced towards the Golden Gate pick because you live in the SF area. Hmmm...I wonder if there's a Chesapeake Bay Bridge pick.

Mmuller-- I've tried a lot of pick, including the ones in the traveling pick sampler, and I've settled on the Dunlop Primetone large triangle 1.4mm with grip. It does everything I want a pick to do at a really reasonable price. The grip is fantastic, which is important. If you have to hold your pick in a vise grip (your fingers, not the pliers),you can't play freely and can get fatigued. The sound is nice and clear. To make tremolo or triplets easier I slightly round off one of the corners with an emery board, matching the bevel. This gives you a pick that can produce two distinctly different sounds. This is the one:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Dunlop/...4GC-adType^PLA

[mtucker]

This admin don't need no stinkin' pix!

[MontanaMatt]

This admin don't need no stinkin' pix!

I smashed my thumb a long time ago and damaged the nail bed...now I have a permanent split in the nail that loves to snag and tear! I’m jealous of you hardy nails!
Happy pickin

[Bob A]

I must have well over a hundred picks of one sort or another, ranging from the forbidden TS to odd items found in old instrument cases. I've come to the conclusion that different mandolins prefer different picks. I've spent countless hours going thru the pick collection, looking for the one that makes the difference.

I have an H4 mandola that refuses to sound good unless I use a 1960 vintage Kay nylon pick. I lived in terror of losing it, until I found a few on ebay to keep in reserve.

The great thing about picks is they're a relatively cheap way of improving your instrument's sonic output, unlike violin bows, which can range in price up to the cost of a modest house.

Never tried a BC or Red Bear. At this point, I don't see a need. YMMV, of course.

[MontanaMatt]

My new favorite is a Hense casin triangle. I have lots too; bc, itone, D’Andrea, dawg, Wegen, primetone, j.pearce, most exotic materials...the tone palette it fun to try out. I figure all have their place for live and recorded sound.


Anyone have other casin pick recommendations other than J.Pearce and Hence, that are in the 1.1-1.5 range?

[mmuller]

OK thanks. I'll just use my guitar pick.

[mee]

I have used my medium guitar pick on my mandolin but prefer the sound of a much heavier triangle mandolin pick. If you like the sound of the guitar pick, there is no law against it.