Wegen Bluegrass Pick/Weber Strings

[Kierri]

Hi Everyone, sorry for an amateur post here... I bought my Weber Bitterroot 4 years ago and am only now starting to learn with a tutor. My partner has been super thoughtful and bought me a Wegen Bluegrass pick for Valentine's. I've used it today and it sounds beautiful to me, but I saw that it's aimed for guitarists. Being a beginner, I can't truly tell. Is there anyone who uses this pick or are his mandolin picks better for the instrument?

Another question... My Weber Bitterroot (2014) needed new strings and the sound difference is crazy with the new set, way better than before. I wondered what strings they came with initially - as these new ones (EJ74s) are so much easier to fret. Does anyone know if the initial strings were heavier or is it just me?

Thanks for your time, I'm not new to the forum, but it's been nearly 5 years, so sorry if I'm doing everything in the wrong place.

Kierri

[LadysSolo]

Hi! Congratulations on a wonderful mandolin, I have a Weber Bitterroot oval I enjoy. I went through a bunch of picks recently (I wanted to try various picks. Cheaper than mandolins!) I have my favorite Blue Chips (TD 35 and TD 40,) I know those are pretty expensive in the UK. I also have a Charmed Life Casein pick I like pretty well. I prefer pointed picks, and relatively thin picks. You have to try and see what you like best. I have found mandolin picks are usually thicker than I prefer, you may like thicker picks. There is a travelling pick sampler, I don't know if it is allowed to go to the UK, but if it is, you can try a bunch of picks and then send them on. Strings - I am still experimenting to see what I prefer. Nothing I totally hate yet though. You can go to the Weber web site and see what they are initially strung with I think.

[pops1]

Kierri, I have tried many picks, including the infamous blue chip but prefer the Wegen. They are not just for guitar and work well on a mandolin. I like both the TF100 and M100.

Strings are a personal preference and whatever sounds/feels best to you are the strings to use. There are IF"S, if you have a Martin or older bowl back they need light strings. Some inexpensive mandolins also are better with lighter strings.

Have fun

[Greg P. Stone]

Most of the string sonic difference is likely because they were very old rather than due to the type.

I'm in my second week of having a mandolin and learning to play so from one noobe to another, best wishes.

My string lore comes from three decades of playing guitar and just having received a mandolin with strings over a decade old.

[Mandobart]

This (Wegen M200) is my favorite all around pick for mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin, banjolin, resonator mandolin and mandocello. I've tried everything by Jim Dunlop, cassein by various makers, acrylic, bone, horn, wood, all kinds of plastics, the orignal material we don't talk about and bluechip. I usually drill a single 3/16" hole in the center for better grip.

[Br1ck]

Any pick can be used for any instrument. Now there is a specific pick shape some mandolinist so like, with three rounded tips, but for the most part they are just what feels good to you. I find I like thicker picks for mandolin. I personally like Wegen Dippers for their size and shape.

I do have a Blue Chip for my main mandolin, and would have more but for the cost.

Four years on a set of strings? About three years and nine months too long.

[DaveGinNJ]

Kierri, there is a pick sampler that gets sent around here at the Cafe. It has a variety of picks to try. You may want to get in on that. Do a search on "traveling pick sampler" in the forum

[Kevin Winn]

Hi Kierri - I use a Wegen Bluegrass pick with my Weber Bitterroot F and love the tone it produces. I settled on that one after trying out dozens by way of the Travelling Pick Sampler, which is a big bag of lots of picks that makes its way around for Cafe members to try. The thread is here, and includes instructions for getting on the list.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...g+pick+sampler

[EdHanrahan]

String life can be a tricky thing for a variety of reasons: how often & how long we play, how hard we fret, what sound we like to hear, who (and how loud!) we play with, how attentive we are to the -slowly- changing tone of the strings, and (most baffling to many) our individual finger/skin chemistry. As a result of all this, some pros change their strings for every show, most (?) of us amateurs change them every few weeks to every few months, and some of us change them almost never, meaning only when they become impossible to keep in tune... or when the broken windings start to rattle!

My personal experience, on both guitar and mandolin, is that my finger chemistry is fairly benign and the strings rarely show signs of wear. To me, they just keep on sounding "good" even as they lose tone & volume, especially when playing alone or in moderate-volume groups. It's usually in bluegrass, going against banjos & fiddles, where the loss of volume and crisp attack becomes obvious. As a result, I've sort of guilted myself, on the most-often played instruments, into changing strings once a year whether they need it or, uhmm, not. Your mileage may vary.

I'll withhold comment on picks except the say that I've been experimenting with Wegens lately, after having settled on D'Andrea Pro-Plecs for mandolin over the past 6 or 8 years.

And, oh yeah: Welcome!

[pops1]

If you want a guide to when to change strings take your fingernail and slide it under your wound strings. If you feel a bump where the frets are it's time to change.

[Ryan Fish]

Your mandolin came with John Pearse strings.

[Ray(T)]

Thw Wegen bluegrass pick isn’t my favourite for mandolin, I prefer something more rounded. A more rounded pick tends to glide over the strings better whereas the pointy “bluegrass” pick can tend to stick. It’s all a matter of personal choice but, if you want to get an idea of how the more rounded Wegens sound/feel, simply turn it round and try one of the back corners.

I would add that the pointy end can add a little more life to dead strings.

[Kierri]

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I started with a Hawk SB signature pick, as my mandolin tutor is the aforementioned Simon Brady, but I'm enjoying the Wegen Bluegrass. Question is... If I was to try the Wegen M's or T's mando picks.... which to try first? I don't think my better half will let me incest in both at once, not understanding my love affair with the mandolin! I will have a look at the pick sampler and see if I can find it. You're all so helpful and knowledgeable. Thank you for always keeping the inspirational flame alive in all of us

[pops1]

If you like a rounded pick get the M, if you like a pointed pick get the T. Gauges are a whole other question. I like the 100 most like thicker picks.

[Chuck Leyda]

I use the Wegen 1.4 Bluegrass for mandolin, mandola, octave, guitar, and bouzouki. Right sound, right price. It feels good to have settled on something

[Gabriel Wiseman]

String life can be a tricky thing for a variety of reasons: how often & how long we play, how hard we fret, what sound we like to hear, who (and how loud!) we play with, how attentive we are to the -slowly- changing tone of the strings, and (most baffling to many) our individual finger/skin chemistry. As a result of all this, some pros change their strings for every show, most (?) of us amateurs change them every few weeks to every few months, and some of us change them almost never, meaning only when they become impossible to keep in tune... or when the broken windings start to rattle!

My personal experience, on both guitar and mandolin, is that my finger chemistry is fairly benign and the strings rarely show signs of wear. To me, they just keep on sounding "good" even as they lose tone & volume, especially when playing alone or in moderate-volume groups. It's usually in bluegrass, going against banjos & fiddles, where the loss of volume and crisp attack becomes obvious. As a result, I've sort of guilted myself, on the most-often played instruments, into changing strings once a year whether they need it or, uhmm, not. Your mileage may vary.

I'll withhold comment on picks except the say that I've been experimenting with Wegens lately, after having settled on D'Andrea Pro-Plecs for mandolin over the past 6 or 8 years.

And, oh yeah: Welcome!

Spot on about the strings.

it's defiantly an individual instrument and player thing... just try different ones until you find what you like. There are a lot of makers, lots of materials, coatings, gauges, etc to try. One trick to try is to record each different set soon after installing them but record using the same set up (audio equipment, phone, mic, whatever), or as close to it as possible and record playing the same thing (song, tune, chords, etc) and after trying lots of strings, and or picks out go back and listen to them and see if you hear any differences... be sure to state what your recording in the beginning of each one.....