Then again Gibson did make a mandolin pick in 1918.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
"Ted’s the only moderator I have met, when he was at the old downtown store before it closed. We both have a love of mandolins and a receding hairline. I think I have heard one of his talks, he let me play a Rigel G that he had in the store.
I said, “oh, you have that jazz mandolin website”
He said, “yes, that’s me. Anyway, you should keep playing bluegrass”
Funny story. Me too
Thanks, Mike
I still want to look at the book, there were pick options beyond natural products well before the Loar era and I imagine that he, like everyone else, tried whatever the latest innovation was. Shell picks wear and were probably, in the grand scheme of things, expensive then as well. The pictures I've seen of him playing aren't real revealing as to what pick he's using.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Next, folks will be asking about what kind of strings Lloyd Loar used on his mandolin. I am pretty confident that today's options for both picks and strings are equal to -- and likely better! -- than anything that was available in the 1920's.
D'Andrea was the first company to produce celluloid picks and they were founded in 1922. I'm sure it took some time to get production and sales ramped up. By the late 20's their picks were widespread. So, I'd guess this is a bit early for celluloid to be Lloyd's pick of choice.
Steve
According to the book "Picks!" By Will Hoover, now out of print, David W. Barnes of Brooklyn, NY brought out a leather and celluloid plectrum in 1903 that didn't catch on. Aaron Burdwise of Baltimore created a celluloid pick in 1917. There was a cork grip celluloid pick in 1915 that was patented. At the same time Peter Rudesyle of New Jersey was molding celluloid picks with a raised wagon wheel on them to make the grip better. There were a few others.
D' Andrea did indeed start his company in 1922 but he wasn't first, apparently he was the best. I live in New Jersey and have never heard of Mr. Rudesyle but I sure know the D' Andrea name and I learned that when I was young in Oregon.
The book is a fun read and available on the used market. I have no idea what that supposed 1918 Gibson mandolin pick was made of, perhaps the same mystery material as the L&H pickguards were.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
On page 18 of the same book it states - "Celluloid mandolin picks were available by the turn of the century. Back porch pickers could order them for ten cents a dozen out of the 1907 Sears catalog-each pick guaranteed to be 'very pliable and well adapted for tremolo.' By that time, celluloid was already replacing t******* s**** as the primary pick material." (edit is mine)
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Flatiron 1N, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
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After helping create some great mandolins Lloyd went on to experiment with electronic musical ideas.
One of his many less well known endeavors was the "Elektro-Plek",said to facilitate a truly dynamic tremolo,although there were
too many drawbacks to be commercially viable.
I knew what it was called but if I recall nobody could really identify what that was.
The stuff available in Germany may not be the same fiber but it would be interesting to know exactly what it is.
I used to sell industrial casters. One of our wheels was made with macerated canvas. That was hard to identify as well. They said it was a macerated canvas impregnated with phenolic resins. That was forty some years ago and I still can't really explain the process.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I don’t know for sure 100%, but the Hornex company advertises their vulcanized fiber, as it it is still quite traditional. Here is a link:
https://www.hornex.de/html/products/...sed-fibre.html
They write:
”Vulcanized fibre is a natural product. The raw material for vulcanised fibre is a highly absorbent special paper made from a mixture of cotton and cellulose. Vulcanised fibre is therefore a classic product made from renewable raw materials.
As it is a material that has special characteristics, vulcanised fibre is used in the most diverse fields of engineering.”
I recently made a L&H style pick guard out of this stuff, and at least it looks quite similar to the original, with similar grain pattern.
Loar's picks were made out of fairy dust and unicorn tears, just like all the rest of the lore....
No, he got his magic from gryphon's shell picks.
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