Outrageous Price of Picks

[papawhisky]

The pick discussion is similar to the Tonerite discussion. There is a camp that believes that certain accessories are worth the asking price and some even pay the price. There is another camp that doesn't think it (pick, Tonerite, etc) is worth the money; and then further seems to believe that it shouldn't be on the market, can't perform as advertised, exemplifies a poor value, and should not be purchased--by anyone.
It's all good. It's a free market and a free country. I am glad that we have the choices available to us of the $30 pick and the $0.30 pick, the entry level mando and the multi $1000 mando. I like getting to make the choices myself.

[Charley wild]

The pick discussion is similar to the Tonerite discussion. There is a camp that believes that certain accessories are worth the asking price and some even pay the price. There is another camp that doesn't think it (pick, Tonerite, etc) is worth the money; and then further seems to believe that it shouldn't be on the market, can't perform as advertised, exemplifies a poor value, and should not be purchased--by anyone.
It's all good. It's a free market and a free country. I am glad that we have the choices available to us of the $30 pick and the $0.30 pick, the entry level mando and the multi $1000 mando. I like getting to make the choices myself.

I love these threads! I'm in neither camp! I have joked about the picks and the Tonerite. Both are a waste of money in my opinion. BUT, like you I believe in a free market. Absolutely! Don't put me in the camp that thinks that they shouldn't be sold. I'm just rendering my opinion. But as I stated in a previous post far be it from me to tell anyone how to spend their money! That's their business.

[Jimmy Kittle]

$35.00 for a pick, $75.00 for Tone guard, $5,000 for a mandolin, I consider that cheap compared to the 4 cars I've worn out driving places to learn how to play it.
For many of us it's a great hobby, like any hobby you spend what makes the enjoyment just a little bit better to you.

[CES]

There's no way I could afford these boutique picks. When I finish a show, picks are scattered on the floor like autumn leaves. I'd be bound to loose $100 worth a week. If someone were to supply me with them for an endorsement, sure, but otherwise, I got a living to make. I buy picks by the gross. Seriously.

Man, between the mando-smashing and the flying picks, I gotta see one of your shows!!

I'm a cheap pick guy...nothing against the expensive ones, but I'm not good enough to justify them yet...I don't lose many, and usually when I do they turn up in another instrument case, the wash, under furniture, etc...the main thing I need to improve my tone, though, is more practice...If I did this for a living, though, I go for the best tone I could get for studio purposes (and still use cheap picks for shows)...



Edit: Sorry, JB, didn't realize you beat me to this punch...should have read on before typing...

After reading further, OP, I'm with you. I believe that good equipment makes you sound better, maybe even play better (assuming better set-up, neck feel, touch, etc), and have no objection to folks maximizing their tone/progress any way they see fit. But, I'm basically a cheapskate at heart (none of my instruments cost more than 500 bucks) and not good enough to justify any greater expense. And, no, while my Kentucky sounds surprisingly good, I don't think it's better than Gibson/Collings/Breedlove/Rigel/private builder. I'm a cheapskate, but not an idiot!! If I won powerball, though I'd probably try a Wegen, just for fun...

[mandroid]

the Placebo effect works.

[Charley wild]

$35.00 for a pick, $75.00 for Tone guard, $5,000 for a mandolin, I consider that cheap compared to the 4 cars I've worn out driving places to learn how to play it.
For many of us it's a great hobby, like any hobby you spend what makes the enjoyment just a little bit better to you.

Well, Jimmy, you did it! Good man! I knew somebody would. You brought me right back down to earth. At my age I've had many, many interests. I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of them! At one time I shot competitive trap and skeet. Talk about a hobby you can spend some real money on!! That was just one interest. I could go on and on but won't. And all things considered I've probably spent more money on gas and replacing worn out cars than any other expense involved in all my hobbies combined. Why is it that we always leave cars, motels, food, etc. out of the equation?

[allenhopkins]

Dumbo's "magic feather"? Buy a $50 ZoomeyPik, and any mandolin-playing elephant can fly?

[300win]

I've played mandolin, guitar, and banjo for the past 44 years. The Blue Chip pick is the BEST pick I've ever held, and trust me I've held a bunch. I was sceptical when I ordered mine for the mandolin, had always though that turtle was king. It didn't take me but 2 minutes to realize that the BC was the ultimate pick. I've never owned a pick that did not twist in my hand until the BC. I'd never owned a pick that pulled the tone like the turtle, but even better than it is. I've had mine for the mandolin a year and a half, it looks like it did the day I got it except for the lettering thats faded somewhat. I've had mine for the guitar for 7 months now, again no wear, and like the mandolin it pulled the best tone out of my guitar I've ever heard. I ain't rich, heck just the past couple of months was I able to get a F-5, but I can tell you this, if somebody made strings that sounded as good and lasted as long as the BC for $35, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

[Duane Graves]

Hi, once again. My thread has some bight in it I think. Good to hear everyone mostly defend there their lack of value verses quality. With all the positive responses here I have to say and agree that these new picks wegen, blue chip, etc. have good quality. It's the price they are charging for them that really gets me. It's come to the point where a blue chip mandolin pick is just to expensive (not to mention embarassing) to ask for a birthday gift for instance from one of my kids (just think about that for a minute...to expensive for a birthday gift....we are talking about a "mandolin pick"). Maybe I'll wait for Christmas and buy it for myself from my wife....I wouldn't dare tell her what it cost. Better still, I think I should wait for the boxing day sales as they might be on for 10% less.

You know, I can remember many years ago when I was a kid some of the old timers back then would predict that there 'might' come a time when we would have to pay for a drink of good water. I thought that was perposterous. But that time is here and has been here. So, I look at the price of some of these picks and I cannot believe it and once again I find myself thinking this is perposterous that I need to spend around $50 Canadian for a "better than your average" mandolin pick. At this price there will no doubt be "seconds" up for grabs or used blue chips at 50% off showing up on e-bay or the like. Yes, I'll get one I suppose but I'll wait for a while. Maybe I'll get lucky and find one. Who knows.

Just to say, the quality might be good (I've know doubt that it is really) but you can't tell me that the price of the blue chip is $49 BETTER than lets say a Fender Extra Heavy. They are ripping us off with our eyes and wallets wide open.

All the best, Capo.

[Tim2723]

Yeah, the point usually gets lost. There are two of them: Are they better than other picks, and are they worth more than other picks. Even if they are, for a particular player, the best picks the world has ever known (point one), should they cost as much as they do (point two)?

If they cost a $.50, there would be those who like them and those who don't, and no one would get very interested one way or the other. But price them at $30 a shot, and it becomes controversial.

I think those who have said free market have got it right. There are choices, and you're free to make yours.

[Charles E.]

All I can say is those Blue chips must be awsome. Can you test drive them?.....rent to own?

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

Just to say, the quality might be good (I've know doubt that it is really) but you can't tell me that the price of the blue chip is $49 BETTER than lets say a Fender Extra Heavy.

I don't know that anyone can tell you that, because what does $49 better even mean?

For a significant number of people, the BC pick (and other picks for other folks) do sound better. Even if it's slightly better to a player, it's still better. End of story; price has nothing to do with deciding if something sounds better than something else. I've tried a number of pricey picks that I didn't like better than what I was using. Now I use a BC after going back and forth for a week with my old pick, and playing it for people and asking what they thought, and listening to people try my mando with and without it. It was consistently better in several respects, so i use it. Not true for a number of other picks. Was it $35 better? Again, I don't know what that means. But it was better enough. I play a lot of mando, so I don't mind incrementing the quality of my sound in this way.

If someone started making platinum picks encrusted with tiny diamonds and selling them for 2 grand, unless they sounded better than anything else, I doubt they'd be popular, just because they were expensive.

Cheers
MRT

[journeybear]

... I had always though that turtle was king ...

... I'm looking forward to a material with the right type of slipperyness that can out-tortoise tortoiseshell too ...

I'll tell you, one of the side-effects of having my mandolin stolen was that stuck in the strings was a homemade tortoiseshell pick made by my local luthier from a shell he had found washed up on the beach. He was selling them for $25 but he gave me that, just 'cause I'm such a nice guy - I mean, 'cause he's such a nice guy - OK, both, whatever. The point is, it was really nice - had the stiffness I like while being a bit thinner than a Dunlop of comparable stiffness. Would I have shelled out $25 for it? Probably not. But it was nice to have, and had quickly become my #1 pick.

Man, between the mando-smashing and the flying picks, I gotta see one of your shows!! ...

Edit: Sorry, JB, didn't realize you beat me to this punch...should have read on before typing...

'S'alright, great minds think alike. Tell ya what, next time I'm heading north I'll swing by and we can go up to NJ and see what all the fracas is about. At the very least, I can about guarantee that quaffing a few with Tim will be a very entertaining and enjoyable experience!

[SternART]

All I can say is those Blue chips must be awsome. Can you test drive them?.....rent to own?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is a money back (if not satisfied) guarantee, to encourage people to try them. I know he will exchange for other shapes & thicknesses, no questions asked. I doubt many go back.

[MikeEdgerton]

A year or two ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon the holy grail of picks, those that we cannot and will not discuss because of the endangered nature of their source. I bought 6 if I recall. I do like the way they play and sound. They do not however sound all that much better than the Golden Gate picks that I buy for less than a buck each in bulk. Chances are the only person that hears a marked difference in the pick you're playing on is you. That doesn't mean I'll never buy another tricked out pick, it just means I got certain results from my unscientific tests.

[woodwizard]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is a money back (if not satisfied) guarantee, to encourage people to try them. I know he will exchange for other shapes & thicknesses, no questions asked. I doubt many go back.

I think you're right about that. They are the best picks I've ever used and if I lost mine I would quickly order another but then I like my toneguard too. How much better dollar-wise are they than the much cheaper picks I couldn't say except that I beleave they are better. That's good enough for me. How much better dollar-wise is a Loar mando than a Dude , Gil, Monty?

[Mike Bunting]

Just to say, the quality might be good (I've know doubt that it is really) but you can't tell me that the price of the blue chip is $49 BETTER than lets say a Fender Extra Heavy. They are ripping us off with our eyes and wallets wide open.

All the best, Capo.

The way you make your statement leads me to believe that no one can tell you anything. I don't care what pick you like and I don't really want to hear why.
I like 'em fwiw.

[John McGann]

The steel guitar great Jerry Byrd used to say about this kind of thing:

If you can't play, it doesn't matter, and if you CAN play, it doesn't matter.

If you play them and hear the difference and like it, great!
If you play them and can't hear the difference, and/or don't like it, great!

Grousing about price is silly. Why listen with your wallet?

The material for the Blue Chip is evidently quite expensive- Capo, you can read about it at their website.

It's true that pro fiddlers think nothing of spending upwards of $5-10k for a bow... which is also not going to make much difference if the fiddler can't play...but it can make a big difference if the fiddler can use it to it's potential.

If Blue Chip, Wegen or any other modern picks don't do it for you, stick with whatever you can find and enjoy it, but realize that your sound is determined by a bunch of things, starting with basic musicianship and technique and ending with the thing that makes the actual sound- the instrument, setup, strings and pick.

Enjoy playing regardless- it's a short spin around the block!

[Charles E.]

A year or two ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon the holy grail of picks, those that we cannot and will not discuss because of the endangered nature of their source.

A couple of years ago I helped dismantle an old piano destined for the dump. We salvaged the sound board, braces, ebony keys and the ivory off the white keys. I made a pick out of one of the ivory pieces and it was VERY stiff, very bright and made alot of pick noise. So no danger in the popularity of ivory for pick material!

[Glassweb]

no financial interest here, but i'm completely won over with my Bluechip TAD50. fits my bill perfectly in every way... and it seems pretty much indestructible... as Mr. Natural sez, "get the right tool for the job!"

[swampstomper]

A lot of traction on this post, and I would just like to add: (1) the pick is where the "rubber meets the road", it is where the sound starts -- John McGann has written some nice words about this, it's our "voice" like a wind player's breathing; (2) different picks have different sounds (I have quite a collection); (3) the right pick will help get the right sound, given your right-hand technique and instrument's quality; (4) it's a free country and as long as the advertising makes no fradulent claims (hey, Chris T really does use them... and we're not talking about Dumbo feathers) it's your choice as a consumer; (5) if you think the price is too high, and there's a good market at a (to you) more "reasonable" price, go ahead and start a competing business yourself.

(for the record, pick of choice D'Andrea Pro Plec 1.5 large triangle).

[UsuallyPickin]

I play with several types of picks on several different instruments. Nobody makes me spend 50.00$ on a pick, I choose to. The least expensive pick I use is a Tortex next is Golden Gate after that Wegen 1.2 and 1.4. Tortise is still my favorite but harder and harder to find legally (remanufactured materials) more and more expensive and don't ever take them out of the country. I tried Blue Chip but was not impressed enough to spring for one, don't care for the texture of the Dawgs. But the hunt will continue. I mean, why not? Aren't we having fun? R/

[JeffD]

No, and I won't unless somebody lends me one. Seriously, Jeff, it's question of price versus value to me. For $30 I can buy 90 Fender heavy or extra heavys. I'm 68 years old. I ain't going to live long enough! I use all three sides. I'm using the same pick I have used on my Tele for at least five years. In fact the rounder it gets the better it becomes for the mandolin. So it boils down to: Fender=30 cents, Blue Chip= 30 dollars. Is the Chip going to make me sound that much better? I don't think so.!

We are going to have to agree to disagree.

Some think it sounds better / plays better, some don't. Some think the better is worth the more money, some don't. Some feel the value is there, some don't. I guess the point is, not everyone thinks the price of these picks is outrageous, or thinks it outrageous to spend that much on a pick.

I seriously would never tell anyone how to spend their money, and I would never tolerate someone telling me how to spend mine.

And, I guess, we are probably not going to understand how each other spends their money either.

The important thing is that we can play together. And if we ever find ourselves playing together, I will personally buy the first round of adult beverages.

[CES]

'S'alright, great minds think alike. Tell ya what, next time I'm heading north I'll swing by and we can go up to NJ and see what all the fracas is about. At the very least, I can about guarantee that quaffing a few with Tim will be a very entertaining and enjoyable experience!

Can't argue with that assumption!

"If someone started making platinum picks encrusted with tiny diamonds and selling them for 2 grand, unless they sounded better than anything else, I doubt they'd be popular, just because they were expensive."

Get Taylor Swift to use them on tour with her studded guitar, and 7-16 y/o girls everywhere would be clamoring for them!!

[Steve G]

I know a music store in town that gives them away. They have the name of the store and number so it's free ad. My BC TPR60 was 38 and I'm a happy player. I'll get BC thumbpick for guitar, I think they're 60. I use Gibson exH flatpicks on guitar, those are a buck twenty and I love them. Yea, any pick's a lot less than a bow! And look at it this way in Canada. If you flick the pick and it takes out an eye, it's covered!