David Grisman's Dawg pick

[Gary Leonard]

I've tried rounded picks in general and found I couldn't play very well with them, well I can't play very well with anything, but less well with rounded picks. Now here's the kicker, now and again I unknowingly use the rounded tip on my TAD 1R 60 and I seem to play as well as ever, so my brain is messing with me.

Brick-

I noticed the same almost two years ago. With the Dawg pick (and most other rounded picks), it felt like I wasn't producing any sound, and it felt all wrong. I'd been exclusively playing the pointed ends of the pick. What was really the issue was not fully engaging both strings. I forced myself to use the rounded end of my TAD-1R for over a year now, and it has helped my technique a lot.

[Mandolin Cafe]

Dawg picks may be back, but the webpage doesn’t display properly, at least on my iPad.

The Dawg's site requires Flash. If you can't see it then it isn't enabled on your iPad.

[Ray(T)]

The Dawg's site requires Flash. If you can't see it then it isn't enabled on your iPad.

I’m no computer nut but I don’t think they’ve ever made a version of Flash for iPad.

[Bill McCall]

The Dawg's site requires Flash. If you can't see it then it isn't enabled on your iPad.

Thanks for the info. I deliberately don’t load Flash due to the security risks.

Ymmv

[Mandolin Cafe]

I’m no computer nut but I don’t think they’ve ever made a version of Flash for iPad.

Sorry, it is possible, but keep workin' on that computer nut thing. You might get it.

Same information as what is on the Dawg's site or below.

[Jeff Hildreth]

"The day I need a particular pick for a particular tune or venue will be the day I take up the trombone. "

Ditto

[Ray(T)]

Sorry, it is possible, but keep workin' on that computer nut thing. You might get it.

So it’s possible but I’m right, there’s never been a version of Flash for iPad.

If I wanted to be a nut, I’d start by buying a cellphone!

[RustyMadd]

"The day I need a particular pick for a particular tune or venue will be the day I take up the trombone. "

Ditto

What makes you take a stand such as this? Does a fiddler say such things about their bow? How about a metal guitarist? Do they say similar things about their pedals? How about a saxophonist? Do they refuse to use certain reeds for certain jobs?

I would think being all three myself that the answer is no. A carpenter chooses the best tool for the job, and so do musicians.

Your desire to use or reject a particular pick seems somewhat personal and irrelevant. And even if a thousand of you all agree, I still disagree.


It's a pick, like a pack of strings it's just a tool.
Blessings

PS I hate Shure microphones and by God if I ever had to use a Shure mic for any song or venue, I just as soon quit music and become a drummer. ��

[Ray(T)]

Actually, I think fiddlers are more concerned about their bows than we are about picks! You may be perferctly happy with whatever you choose to use but I for one have tried the Dawg picks but I’ve never yet been able to get any sort of sound out of an instrument using one. I’ve tried them on mandolin, OM, mandola and guitar and the picks sit there unused.

[re simmers]

I have a few Dawg picks. They look great. And it’s my only connection with the Dawg. But I cannot make it work for me. I can’t seem to keep my pick perfectly parallel to the strings, which seems to be required.
Bob

[trodgers]

Here's an oldie, but a goodie.

[Elliot Luber]

I love the Dawg, but I've never had much success with his picks. They seem to work marvellously for him, so I keep them around as maybe I'll grow into them, but at this point of my playing career, ten years or more in, I just don't see it.

[gtani7]

I haven't bought any Dawgs in awhile but if Greg Boyd and Elderly say they have them in stock, I'd order from them. Super rounded points have a darker tone which I think is nice and less volume, which seems to be no go for lots of people

While looking for d'Andrea equivalent, i noticed these "Polyphenylsulfone" picks https://dandreausa.com/product/guita...dex-346-shape/

[Luna Pick]

I have a lot of different picks, but for whatever reason for mandolin always seem to gravitate towards the Dawg/Golden Gate picks.

[varmonter]

I used dawg picks for awhile. But it passed. Cant remember but
i think i found the tone a bit muddy..YMMV.
Right now i use fender extra heavys. the 351 style white ones.
so easy to see if i drop one.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Mine feels like a jumbo Tiddly Wink. It's maybe a year old, so that probably makes it the newer design. It has a warmer sound than other picks. For sound quality, it's my wife's far-away favorite.

Won't be bevelling it. I figure that's the way it's supposed to sound and feel or they wouldn't sell it that way.

As a mainly-guit picker, I find that mando picks, big and small, all have the same problem: They turn in my fingers, so the tip doesn't stay pointed at the strings. Guitar picks stay oriented better, so I usually use those.

My favorite: those nylon Dunlops with the rough slip-proof grip. Since taking up mando, I've switched from mediums to heavies, and even those feel a little flimsy against mando strings.

The Dawg is nice for toning things down, though. Someone above called it muddy, but to me it's just creamier and not as bright as most picks. Good for some tunes.

So I'm still experimenting. Getting there isn't half the fun. It's all the fun!

[Joe DiLorenzo]

I haven't tried one of the 'official' Dawg picks, but there is a company called FauxPicks (presumably because they are imitation tortoise, made of some natural material) who makes very very nice Dawg style picks that come in various sizes from 1.5-3mm thickness. I have been using these picks exclusively for some months now and I really like 'em.

Upon first trying the Dawg style I found them a bit difficult to get used to like some others have posted, harder to maintain a grip on. I was just used to thinner, sharper picks and the way they felt against the strings and my fingers. However, I instantly liked what I heard in terms of tone when compared to my other picks such as the Blue Chip TAD-40: the Dawg style has a smoother attack on the strings and a really nice warm effect on the tone of the second and third positions. I feel like these picks almost act as a compressor does in that they seem to kind of equalize all areas of the fretboard giving it a really consistent and nice tone that is easy to achieve due to the thickness of 'em. My favorite ones are the thickies... in the 2.5-3mm range. Nice and very plucky thick tone. Granted, 1 of these aforementioned FauxPicks cost as much as a 12 Dawg brand picks. I guess I'm good at not losing picks. There is also a company I found on Reverb called Django Guitars who make high quality imitation tortoise picks with vintage galalith in the style of Django Reinhardt's pick (mindblowingly thick at 4.6mm, basically a little rock) and I bought one of their 3mm mandolin picks and I love it.

At the end of the day, yeah picks are all up to preference and not everyone will like the dawg (or any) but I think its a great style of a pick and I'm sure glad I found them because I truly like the effect they have on the tone of my picking.

Happy easter.