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Thread: Pick comparison

  1. #1
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    Default Pick comparison

    Hi all, Has anyone compared Blue Chips, Wegens, and Red Bears? What was the verdict?
    Samuel Acus

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    Registered User jim simpson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    I have a Blue Chip that I like for guitar but not mandolin. I have a Wegen that I prefer for mandolin. I haven't tried the Red Bear but I do also like the Chris Thile pick for mandolin.
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    Personally, I’d start with the price!

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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    The Wegen gives me a brighter, nicer, sound on the G string than the BC. Not much different on the rest of the strings. I played BC for a long time before going to Wegen. I loved the glide of the BC, but the Wegen glides thru the strings equally well. Never played a Red Bear.
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  5. #5

    Default Re: Pick comparison

    John riecshman supposedly uses a red bear ...thile used to use a blue chip ..its all about personell choice and some people use different picks when they switch from mando to guitar......its all about you ..in the old days everyone used tortise shell i still have a couple laying around

  6. #6
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    My main guitar pick is a BC TAD40. My main mandolin pick after going through quite a few is a BCTP50. I am not much of a fan of the rounded tip picks thought I have tried them. I like the Wegens I have but find that for my playing they are a bit noisier. I have to say, though, that others have commented exactly opposite to mine… that the BCs are noisier for them. So those are my first choice, however, every so often it is fun to take out a bunch of opicks and listen carefully to how they differe in tone and feel.

    However, I do agree with those above that it is a matter of opinion, style, type of mandolin, genre of music, etc.
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    Don't listen to us, the mandolin will tell you what pick will make it sound the best. I am sure there are mandolins where I would prefer the BC to the Wegen, which is opposite for the mandolins I have.
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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Question Re: Pick comparison

    My verdict : get a basket of various picks and try them, form tour own opinion .



    different picks go with my different mandolins , nobody actually cares if I play them or Not.
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  11. #9
    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    They’re all good, along with many, many others. Just depends on the sound you want coming from the string choice you’ve made.

    It’s a lot cheaper to buy picks, even the $30 ones, than mandolins.

    I’m currently between Red Bear (med and heavy), 3 different BCs, and a 1.2 Wegen. The Red Bear medium is winning

    The other 50+ picks I have are jealous.
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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandolinian View Post
    Hi all, Has anyone compared Blue Chips, Wegens, and Red Bears? What was the verdict?
    I have all three brands. Blue Chip TAD 60, Wegen TF140 I think it is, Red Bear H SB and And also the Primetone 1.4 mm and the PickBoy .75 mm.

    It depends on the venue, the kind of music, and the kind of performance, and which instrument. One pick is best for small intimate venues, another for large noise venues, one is better for a jam, and another for solo or playing alone, one is better for fast notes, another for long beautiful tremolo. One is better for my bluegrasser, where a more deep creamy sound is the goal and another for my bowlback, where a high clear scintillation is what I want.

    The type of mandolin makes a difference, more difference, I find, than with guitar. So I see no reason to settle on one pick. They all have their uses.
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  13. #11
    Registered User grassrootphilosopher's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandolinian View Post
    Hi all, Has anyone compared Blue Chips, Wegens, and Red Bears? What was the verdict?
    I have used all three brands (being inquisitive/nosey/curious). My "verdict" comes with the usual caveat that thereīs different strokes for different folks.

    I would like to point out, that differences between picks are more noticable the better the instrument is. So if you play letīs say an Michael Kelly mandolin, I would not bother to put much thought into the purchase of a potentially pricey pick. If you play a Dudenbostel, Nugget or vintage Gibson A-4 a different pick will make you notice differences in sound. I would also like to point out the "10 questions for Jody Stecher": https://www.mandolincafe.com/news/pu...s_001242.shtml (his post from August 27, 2010).

    I would also like to point out that the same pick material might sound different on a mandolin than on a guitar. Iīd like to quote Norman Blake who said that he uses a plastic pick on the guitar because he just gets some "scratching" out of a tortoise pick on a guitar but might use the material as a mandolin pick, whereas we know that Tony Rice used tortoise shell picks on his guitar. Note that they are illegal. These quotes are here just for instructional purposes.

    I find that casein picks (Red Bear, Hense Happy Turtle and the likes) sound the most like tortoise shell. Therefore I like them a lot. They hold up pretty well. If they get wet or if they are being flexed (too much) they deteriorate/break. I like a fairly stiff pick. I like the sound of these picks on my guitars (my least expensive, yet first "good" guitar is a 1990 Martin D-16M). This kind of pick also works very well on my mandolins (my first mandolin was a 1030ies Strad-O-Lin that is fantastic). For different reasons I do not use casein picks (I prefer Hense Happy Turtle picks because of their much lower price as compared to Red Bear picks, that I also like much) on all of my instruments. I use casein picks on on of my expensive guitars (and would use it on my other expensive guitar if that hadnīt allready had been played with a Wegen pick...).

    I had found out about Wegen picks a long time ago when a Lloyd Loar mandolin owner told me about them. At that time I played a 1,1 mm Clayton Tortex Ultem pick on my D-16M and my Strad-O-Lin (I still play this kind of pick on my Strad-O-Lin). I tried the Wegen picks out and was immediately sold on them. When you rationalize cost and sound they are the go to pick for me. They are significantly less expensive than Blue Chip, Red Bear and other brand of casein picks. They donīt slip your fingers. They hold up extremely well! And they sound very good. They give a little different timbre to the voice of the instrument. I would say the make the instument sound a little slicker (modern?).

    When Blue Chip picks hit the marked I couldnīt resist. I had to try them out. I was not impressed. I do like their stiffnes. I do like that they practically donīt show any wear. I do like that they donīt slip the fingers. But I do not like the soound. The only instrument that can tolerate a Blue Chip pick is my D-16M (where the BC pick resides now). All other instrument sound degraded. They sound much (!) better (cleaner, more alive, more individual, vibrant) with other picks (Wegen, Red Bear/Hense Happy Turtle and also illegal materials). Also the BC pick is the most expensive of the bunch. I know a (different) Lloyd Loar owner who plays/played his mandolin with a BC pick. So clearly there are different preferences.

    All of my picks are teardrop picks of around 1,2 mm that I play with the pointy side.

    I do currently play a Dunlop Primetone pick on my Duff F-5. I was curious about primetone picks when they hit the market. I do not like it on my other instruments but itīs okay on my Duff. It brings out a very clear tone, almost brittle. My preference for my Duff F-5 is a Wegen pick, no doubt (in a tie with a casein pick).
    Olaf

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  15. #12
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    I don't know if the pick sampler is still making rounds (post-Covid,) but if it is, you could get on the list and try a lot of different picks to see what sounds best on your mandolin. Alternatively, you could buy a lot of different types (which is what I did) and see what you like best. I have settled on BC, Charmed Life (not on your list,) and PickBoy picks. The PickBoy are for my bowlbacks, and the Charmed life and BC are for my other mandolins. Depends on what I am playing (as some mentioned above,) in a jam, or classical, or folk, or Celtic. I use a different pick for most types of music, but in general I use a 0.7-0.8mm pick. YMMV, you have to see what does best with your style and your mandolin.

  16. #13
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    1) Get an assortment of picks and then do your own comparison.
    2) Find your favorite(s) and use it.
    3) And don't be surprised if your opinion changes again and again over time.

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  18. #14
    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    Don't forget Apollo picks...

    https://www.apollopicks.com/

    I like them better than the Bluechip and Wegens.
    Charley

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    Default Re: Pick comparison

    Hi everyone, thanks for all the input. I think I'm going to go with a Blue Chip and a Red Bear, and compare them to my current Wegen. I'll update to compare them later.
    Samuel Acus

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