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There's still two good sides to that thing!
That's not broken! It still has two good corners.
;-)
PJ Doland
1923 Gibson Snakehead A
Ok, if this works correctly, then the pic of my broken Blue Chip should appear.
Seriously, manufacturing something always comes with a tolerance for defects.
A bad product has much output outside the tolerance, a good product has little, but it is never zero. The probability that just the one you bought is outside tolerance maybe small, but it is never zero. People even win the lottery or get hit by lightning, improbable as it all may be, but it happens. Improbable is not impossible.
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Hmmmm, looks like the break could have been caused by sliding the pick under the strings. Over time, it caused score marks which made it weak and then, SNAP! Just a hypothesis.
Maybe if he'd been using TPR80 instead of 40 he would have broken only one?
Actually, it's more likely he would break a string (or a finger) before an (any shape) 80 broke while picking.
I show no mercy to my three TPR60s, but they only ever require a smoothing and buffing of the bevels. For one to break, wouldn't it have to be from a defect in the material?
I am a little surprised that BC has not responded here, or at least to the OP.
I've called to speak with them before. Spoke to the owner's son but forgot his name by now. He was very friendly and helpful. They're running a machine shop, the BC shop and there was a person handling their mailings. They seemed busy and I did have to call several times. Persistence pays off.
Breedlove Quartz FF with K&K Twin - Weber Big Horn - Fender FM62SCE
Wall Hangers - 1970's Stella A and 60's Kay Kraft
Whether you slow your roll or mash on it, enjoy the ride.
One of my blue chips broke on me a little over a year ago..took it to the red white and bluegrass festival and took it to the BC booth and the guy quickly took it out of my hand threw it under the table and told me to pick out another one. I posted a pic here in the forum when I it happened. They exchanged it with no questions asked though.
Here's the link to my post when my BC broke: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?82700-Anybody-else-had-this-happen&p=1024871
I am pretty surprised to hear this (and also the others that were mentioned here). However, everything can be broken if you try hard enough and put pressure in the right place. It is only a 55 and that is pretty thin for a BC. One of the reasons BC's hold up so well and play so well is that they don't hardly flex at all, very rigid stuff. But the downside is that rigid can also mean brittle because it does not flex. Chances are your son wanted to see how much force it would take to flex it. I just picked up my TD-60 and I believe I could generate enough force to break it the same way, but I am not gonna try. I do not believe these picks are sold as 'unbreakable (ask Matthew about the national class banjo player he gave a pic to for testing, the guy broke it before he even played a note, then did the same with another one).
I know what these picks are made of and because of that I take good care of mine. With proper care, it should last forever. Contact Matthew at BC and he might make good on it, but it sounds more like abuse to me. Sorry, just MHO.
Good luck with your next one.
Jafo
Wow, I've used a Blue Chip TAD50 (guitar) since 2008 and I play hard and I play a lot. I've seen a small amount of wear (finally) but have never had any problems. I'd suggest you save the pieces and if you can get to a festival or show where Blue Chip is set up, I bet you could get some satisfaction. Matthew has always been good about doing what's right. I do know he is primarily a machine shop business and may be hard to reach, depending on how much work they have going on at any given time. Anyway, good luck.
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