# Music by Genre > Celtic, U.K., Nordic, Quebecois, European Folk >  straw poll: what's your favourite pick for trad/celtic playing?

## Jill McAuley

Hey all,
Just curious what plecs folks are favoring for their trad/celtic playing. I was a pretty confirmed Blue Chip user a few years ago, and they seemed to facilitate speed and nice tone on my Webers back then. Since getting the Ajr I've not been as fond of my BC pick, (a TPR35, approx .89mm thick). On a whim I picked up a nondescript Weber celluloid pick that came in the case pocket of my long gone Vintage A. It looks to be about 1mm, and to my ears sounded far better than the BC - I'm using the shoulder end of it since it's teardrop shaped. The Weber pick pulls more volume out of the strings, has a lovely warm almost creamy sound vs. the Blue Chip which seems quieter and a little thin sounding. Aside from the difference in material they're made of and thickness, the BC has a speed bevel and the Weber does not. Part of me was inclined to order a TPR40 but instead I just ordered a variety of picks from Elderly - a few other faux tortoiseshell celluloid ones (D'Andrea 96mm and Fender Heavy), a 1mm Primetone and a three pack of 1mm Wegen picks. Previously I'd always preferred a lighter pick (.88-.89mm) as I liked the feel of triplets/trebles with them, to the point that I felt 1mm picks had a negative effect on my playing. Thinking on it a bit I reckon that I'd just gotten so used to the lighter picks that the difference between them and a 1mm pick seemed extreme. Now on the other hand, having not played much for the past few years I'm as rusty with an .89mm as I am with a 1mm! As a result, making the move to the thicker pick has been easy.

Anyways, just wondering what other folks are preferring these days...

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## Clement Barrera-Ng

Jill - I still use a BC TAD50 primarily on my F-hole, A style mandolin for all playing styles, but lately I have been very fond of the Dunlop Primetone pick (the 1.4mm big triangle variety).  It gives a very close sound to the BC at a fraction of the cost, and it also produces a slightly sharper, and louder tone to my ear.  Dunlop makes all kinds of thickness and shapes with the Primetone so I encourage you to give it a try.

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## James Rankine

I use a triangle Dunlop Primetone 1.4 for all styles. I can't tell much difference between this and Blue Chips but I've only tried other peoples in noisy pubs which is not the best environment for a comparison. I use a .72 Dunlop primetone for the tenor banjo and have experimented with virtually every thickness they make. Strangely enough the thickness doesn't seem to affect my ability to do triplets - I find them difficult with every pick! I prefer the darker sound I get with a thick pick on the mandolin, and the crisper sound I get with a thinner pick on the tenor banjo.

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## foldedpath

Still using a BC TAD40-1R here. I used to play on the rounded shoulder, but now it's always on the point where it feels a little easier to hit those Irish trebles. And the rounded corner is still there if I ever decide to go back. Anything thicker than 1.0mm thickness like this just doesn't work for me with ornaments. To avoid sounding too thin up on the E string notes, I usually put a little more angle on the pick when I'm playing up there.

Another thing I like about this pick is that it works well on acoustic guitar and octave mandolin, where a thicker "mandolin pick" would probably sound too dark. It keeps life simple, with just one pick style and shape to keep track of.

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## BlueMt.

I love the speed and ease of playing with my BC CT55, but I have to admit I get better tone out of my Old Wave oval with a Dunlop Ultrex 1.14.

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## jeho2a

I've been using the Dunlop Primetone 1.4mm plectrums, not the triangular ones but the other ones which are a bit pointier.  I like bit of a point on my plectrum to make the triplets/trebles cleaner and brighter, so I've been experimenting with a nail file to make them even pointier. 

I had Irish trad lessons for a couple of years a few years ago and the teacher was always urging me to try thinner and thinner picks, but I could never get on with them, much preferring the tone and the attack of the thick picks.

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## Jill McAuley

> I use a triangle Dunlop Primetone 1.4 for all styles. I can't tell much difference between this and Blue Chips but I've only tried other peoples in noisy pubs which is not the best environment for a comparison. I use a .72 Dunlop primetone for the tenor banjo and have experimented with virtually every thickness they make. Strangely enough the thickness doesn't seem to affect my ability to do triplets - I find them difficult with every pick! I prefer the darker sound I get with a thick pick on the mandolin, and the crisper sound I get with a thinner pick on the tenor banjo.


James, have you tried using a .50mm pick with your tenor banjo? I use Clayton .50mm ones on the tenor banjo and to me they really lend themselves to playing triplets with ease. I also suspect that because I played tenor banjo first and came to grips with triplets on it, that it made playing them on the mandolin much easier.

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## James Rankine

Jill, if .5mm is the answer to playing triplets like you do I'm willing to give it a try! I'm actually the other way round- I had a few years of mandolin playing under my belt before taking up the banjo so I find them marginally easier on the mandolin. Or at least I found them impossible on the banjo for a while, but I've put a lot more time into the banjo over the last couple of years so it's evening out now.

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## Nick Quig

Pickboy..Meta Carbonate 1mm..great tone and sticks to your fingers..though they do wear rather quickly.
Also like Dunlop Tortex Jazz III XL 1mm (blue) and the Dunlop Tortex Wedge 1mm.
Wegen Bluegrass 1.4mm for a warmer tone.

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## Francis J

My pick of choice for mandolin is a Blue Chip CT55.  Since I started using it, I just cant seem to play properly with anything else (and I've tried several.  For Tenor Banjo I use a Dunlop .73 or maybe a D'andrea .60 or .73, depending on how hot it gets. But I haven't played Banjo in public for years!  I notice banjo players tend to use Clayton 0.60, but I've never persevered long enough with those.

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## derbex

Dawa Jazz Grips, not the nylon one -probably the delrin one because it's red and red is always quicker  :Wink: ; or a red Dunlop Jazz III prefer nylon on these.

On the TB I'm using a generic nylon .75, or a tortex one that about the same, think I prefer the nylon.

And a ProPlec 1.5mm on the OM.

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## Shelagh Moore

I alternate between a sculpted Primetone .96, a V-Pick Tremelo, an Ultex 0.73 and an ancient pink D'Andrea of about 1.2 on my mandolins, depending on what I'm playing and on which mandolin, and an Ultex .60 or no-name clownbarf pick of around 0.50 on the tenor banjo. For OM I use a Kasho 1.0 celluloid.

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## Randi Gormley

Pearse jazz picks, but i'm not sure of the weight. Fairly stiff (I think it's the 'hard' vs the 'medium' version) but I just don't like to hold the really thick rounded picks. I use the tip a lot for triplets and the occasional tremolo. My teacher and I did a pick comparison a couple years ago -- he has a bunch, from blue chip to wegen to stuff you get sent free from ordering something on line and the pearse won hands down, with the snake and, oddly enough, with my Eastman.

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## Paul Cowham

I find that if I'm playing a carved top "bluegrass" style mandolin (A or F) then I need a hard pick to get the bast tone out of it whatever style of music I'm trying to play (Bluechip CT55).

For playing on a flattop which I know a lot of people use for Irish music I find that a thinner pick works better, I use a medium, large gibson pick for playing guitar and octave mandolin along to ITM.

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## zoukboy

Clayton Acetal Polymer large triangle.
.063mm for bouzouki/guitar/mando
.050mm for tenor banjo, 
sometimes .080mm for mando and guitar



Planet Waves Duralin Wide 1.10mm (for electric guitar)

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## Eddie Sheehy

Whatever the fella alongside me leaves out of his hand...

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## Jim Bevan

BC TPR40.

(I didn't know that they made a TPR35 -- I think I'll give that a try, considering that I bought the 40s 'cuz, at the time, they were the thinnest TPR that Blue Chip made.)

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## Jim Bevan

I don't see them on the website...

http://shop.bluechippick.net/categories/TPR/

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## fatt-dad

for now it's my BC Large Jazz 50.  I like the Wegan and the CT55.

f-d

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## Jess L.

> ... Just curious what plecs folks are favoring for their trad/celtic playing. ...


Nowadays: generic medium picks. And light-gauge strings.

1960s/70s: extra-super-heavy picks (I don't remember the brand), and heavy-gauge strings on every instrument (tenor banjo, tenor guitar, mandolin, 12-string guitar tuned in 5ths, etc).

Never: thin flexible picks. I could never make them work right.

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## Jill McAuley

> I don't see them on the website...
> 
> http://shop.bluechippick.net/categories/TPR/


When I got mine I emailed the folks at Blue Chip and asked them if they could do a TPR35 (I already had the TD35) and they said no problem, didn't cost extra and I had it within a week if I remember correctly.

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Jim Bevan

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## liestman

Jill, for playing Irish trad on my '23 A2, I use a BC TAD40. On other mandolins, for Irish trad, I use a TAD35 also! And for tenor banjo, I use a BC TAD25 (which is a BC TAD40, thinned down on sandpaper and buffed out to be .50 thick - no, BC will not make a TAD25, but it rocks my tenor!)

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## Mike Snyder

BC TAD 80 on a Mike Black A4, TAD1R 100 on an F5, Wegen T-140 on tenor banjo. Could be a 120, not sure.

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## Tim Griffin

I keep returning to a Pyramid Heavy.

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## Andy Boden

Bc ct55

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## zoukboy

It's probably worth repeating here that even more important than the choice of pick material, shape, and gauge, is the way it is held and the technique with which it is used. The angle of the pick to the string(s) and the shape of the stroke are what determines the results.

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## Jill McAuley

> It's probably worth repeating here that even more important than the choice of pick material, shape, and gauge, is the way it is held and the technique with which it is used. The angle of the pick to the string(s) and the shape of the stroke are what determines the results.


Yes, I wonder if I'm angling the Weber pick differently from the way I angle the Blue Chip - the Weber is teardrop shaped vs. the Blue Chip being triangular. I play with the shoulder end of the Weber pick but I think I'm holding it slightly differently to accommodate the different size.

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## Bertram Henze

.73,.72 Ultex/Ultem triangles here. I see no escape.

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## Dagger Gordon

On mandolin a Dunlop .88, which I also use for tenor banjo and melody playing on my octave.
For about 30 years I only ever used a white Sharkfin, and I still prefer that on my guitar and for playing rhythm on the octave.

I don't like heavy picks at all.

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## Steve L

I mostly use the green Dunlop Tortex Jazz picks with the sharp point.  I've been trying out the Primetone 1.3 and like it but keep returning to the Dunlops.

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## zoukboy

> Clayton Acetal Polymer large triangle.
> .063mm for bouzouki/guitar/mando
> .050mm for tenor banjo, 
> sometimes .080mm for mando and guitar
> 
> 
> 
> Planet Waves Duralin Wide 1.10mm (for electric guitar)


Forgot to add that I use this one for tenor guitar, Clayton Duraplex .50mm rounded triangle:

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## Colin Lindsay

I use large triangles, about 0.44mm. For fast playing I don't need to be trying to line up a point; with three to choose from if it slips then it's easy to rotate to the next one.

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## Loretta Callahan

For my mandolin, I am using the Dunlop 512P14 Primetone 1.4 mm Triangle Sculpted Plectra Guitar Picks with Grip
 almost exclusively  

For my banjo, I'm using the .76 Dunlop Ultex Triangle, but may go to the a lighter pick as I become more experienced

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## John Kelly

For what it's worth, I generally have been using various picks in the 0.75 - 1mm sizes, teardrop and triangular as preferences, and recently I have been using one of those punches (a gift from my daughter a while back) to punch out picks from old credit cards.  I reshape them from the pointed, teardrop shape to take the point off and give them a rounder tip, and I bevel and polish the edges.  What I like is the fact that by positioning the card correctly in the punch I can get the raised lettering to give me a good, solid grip.  Not a cheapskate  :Whistling:  solution as it takes a bit of time and effort to get the edges shaped and bevelled!

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Carl Robin

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## BBarton

Blue Chip TD40 or TD35 for mandolin.
Clayton Raven 0.50 (teardrop) for tenor banjo.

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## derbex

I like pointy picks, generally small jazz shapes and quite stiff. I have been using the Dava Jazz grips on the flattop and a Dunlop Jazz III on the archtop.

I am using big (for me D'Andrea) triangle on the OM, quite dark but really brings out the bass on the heavy strings, as the strings get older this gets swapped out for something loke a Dunlop orange tortex which is much brighter.

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## Fergus Lester

Dunlop Tortex Yellow 0.7mm. I have a tin full of different ones and thats the best of them so far (new to mandolin)

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## Fergus Lester

and for picking tunes on the guitar, Dunlop Riffs .96mm (flourescent green, easy to find in dark pubs)

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## Fergus Lester

But been trying others today. Dunlop Jazz III is good. Dunlop Big Stubby 3mm sounds good but find it hard to hold.

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## WW52

For mandolin I mostly used Clayton Ultem triangles .72, .80 and .94 for many years, gradually gravitating to thicker ones. I still use Ultems and Ultex, along with a 1.4 brown Primetone triangle, but my main "go to" mando pick is currently a beveled BC TAD60-1R.
For tenor banjo I mostly prefer the Clayton Ultem .72 or .80 triangle, but have used the BC from time to time.

I play with a forward shifted pick angle at various degrees, depending on the tone I'm trying to get, and I like a beveled pick edge.

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## Rob Meyer

I've tried a lot of picks of varying thicknesses and materials over the years and I have become a real fan of Cool Picks "Beta Sand" picks. They have sand-textured grips that are a major assets when playing outdoor gigs in the summer. Even when I am sweating like crazy I can still hold onto them. They play similarly to Dunlop Ultex, but have a bit more flex, which I like for my style of play (mixture of melody, cross picking and strumming). As for thickness, I use 0.8 mm for OM and bouzouki and 0.6 mm for waldzither and tenor banjo. That said, I prefer the Dunlop Nylon 0.73 mm standard flatpack for guitar when I am not playing finger style (use my nails then).

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## Bob Michel

I know that many players in this style get excellent results with relatively thin (<1.0mm) picks, but they've never worked for me. The thinnest pick I like is the Dunlop Ultex 1.14. For years I relied mainly on Big Stubbies, especially the 3.0mm variety, and I still use them now and then. There's also a Dunlop jazz guitar pick I fancy; I think it's a 206, but can't be sure, since the number has long since worn off the ones I own.

In recent years, though, I've swung back toward using rounded picks: Golden Gates and Dawgs (I don't know which generation of the latter I have, but they're probably ten or fifteen years old). I find they require a more precise and consistent attack than pointed ones; there's less margin of error, and that's a good thing. Better control, darker tone and greater volume (when I want it, as in a session) all recommend a heavier, less pointy pick to me.

Bob Michel
Near Philly

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## Dagger Gordon

For mandolin a Dunlop .88, which people seem to regard as quite light but it's as heavy as I've been able to use.

For many years I only ever used white Sharkfins, and that is still what I use for guitar and playing rhythm on my octave mandolin, but I now use a Dunlop .88 for melody on the octave.

I've never bothered with expensive picks. I've long since realised that what seems to work for me is certainly not what bluegrass players like. I'm not sure what trad players mostly use, so this is quite an interesting thread.

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## kmmando

Jim Dunlop tortex orange 60m for me on nearly everything, teardrop shaped ones. But I do use the Herdim triangular Appalachian dulcimer picks on my Greek bouzoukis for recording, slightly more warm and jangly.

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## kmmando

these things ....


http://www.clemmerdulcimer.com/store...&product_id=75

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## Beanzy

Bowlback; own shape in 1mm buffalo horn, no one makes the right shape.
Carved top; reshaped Primetone 1.5mm, different take on the shape I like to make.
Dunlop Derlin 1.55mm in similar shape to the carved top.

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## Beanzy

Just realised I forgot to say that last one is for the mandoloncello and I sometimes use 2mm on that.

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## Bren

> For mandolin a Dunlop .88, which people seem to regard as quite light but it's as heavy as I've been able to use.



I use a Dunlop Tortex equilateral .88mm (i.e the green one). Most people who borrow it say it's heavy. I suppose there's thickness and then there's stiffness - two different qualities.



The size and shape I choose is mainly because, through clumsiness or bad habit or whatever, I need  good breadth or I miss the strings altogether. But that green pick does produce a very nice sound when you hit them right.

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## ollaimh

i use different thicknesses for different tensions.   however many picks turn in my fingers while playing, so the brain picks with a textured grip are my favourites. they don't turn while i am playing.   i have a couple of another type i like as well for a heavy pick that have seven or eight holes.  both good sound and don't move while playing.

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## Paul Brett

On mandolin up to lately I used a BC CT55 and sometimes a Wegen I had Michel shape for me. Right now I'm using the Wegen Bluegrass guitar picks and love them.

On tenor banjo I use Clayton Acetal .50 or .63 and on guitar I generally use the same.

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## Jill McAuley

So I sat down with 8 different picks and did a comparison of them all - here's the video of it, and if you want to read my thoughts on them all, here's the post I wrote about it on my blog:  Pick shootout!

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James Rankine, 

John MacPhee, 

Loretta Callahan, 

mikeyes, 

Nick Quig, 

noah finn

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## Nick Quig

Sometimes you just can't beat good quality celluloid!

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Jill McAuley

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## John Kelly

I am pushed to hear a lot of difference on my computer speakers, Jill, but your test is a very useful bit of research.  I too have come to prefer picks about 1 mm in thickness over the past while.  As well as tone I want to have a pick I can comfortably hold.  Elsewhere I mentioned that I have been making my own using a plectrum punch my daughter gave me.  It punches picks out of old credit cards (or current ones if you cannot control your spending!).  The pick needs to be reshaped a bit to take the point down a bit and the edges need bevelling and polishing.  The thing I like too is that the pick gets a built-in grip courtesy of the raised numbers which are on the card.  The generic celluloid ones for guitar are becoming one of my favourites too.

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## Jill McAuley

Yeah, I wasn't anticipating much difference due to several of them being of the same material (celluloid) and all barring two were the same thickness. The ones that are noticeably different to my ears are the BC TPR35, the Wegen M100 and the Mandolin Store picks.

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## BBarton

For mando playing (Celtic), I mostly use a Blue Chip TD35 or TD40, and occasionally if I want a bright, snappy sound, I'll use a Dunlop Ultex standard 0.73. For tenor banjo though, I'm pretty much stuck on Clayton Black Raven standard 0.50 as they are just a bit stiffer than than the usual red Dunlop Tortex 0.50 that many TB players use. For me, nylon picks (like the Dunlop Nylon 0.60) are kind of flimsy and tend to get soft after a couple of hours of session playing.

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Jill McAuley

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## chris storz

For a really bright sound I like the V-Pick Screamer. The Chicken Picker for a slightly mellower sound. The Pachelli (V-pick, 4.75 mil) gives an interesting sound.

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## MikeyG

Three credits to Jill for starting this topic.   :Smile:    Here are my current favorites for playing traditional Irish & old-time tunes on mandolin.  I scoured the replies & found that neither of these has been mentioned.  My current favorites are the Pyramid picks I found at stringsbymail.com:

https://www.stringsbymail.com/guitar...id-picks-3065/

The heavy (or sometimes extra-heavy) sound the best to me, depending on the instrument.

My other favorites are the Pickboy Vintage T-Shell Classics 1.20mm.  These are available from Amazon.com from time-to-time and are very reasonably priced there:

http://www.amazon.com/Pickboy-Vintag...ilpage_o09_s00

I have NFI in either outfit.  I cited the sources for the convenience of those who might want to try the picks. 

MikeyG

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Jill McAuley

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## vernob

I started using Clayton picks a while back. They sounded good. I use the same picks for cittern, zouk and guitar.

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## mikeyes

After seeing Jill's comparison, I did one too.  I don't have an AJr but I do have an early Gibson oval hole.  The first pick I used was a Primetone and the "Clayton" Bluegrass pick is really a Wegen M300 like the one that Jill used.  
A lot of these picks sound the same and part of that is the technique and the sound of the instrument covering up little differences.  There are some noticeable differences however.  I was trying to learn the passage that Jill used just to make sure to eliminate one variable.  I screw it up in the beginning but come close in the end.  Here is the video:

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Loretta Callahan

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## Jill McAuley

I guessed both Bluechips straight away, and was surprised by the V-Pick, it was warmer sounding than I expected - thanks for the comparison Mike!

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Bob Schmidt

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## blackbeard

Having gone through a bunch of different picks, I thought I'd settled on 1.5mm Primetone triangles. But after watching Jill's and Mike's videos I might just have to get hold of a Wegen...

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## Tim Griffin

If had replied with the Pyramid Heavy earlier. I still like them best.

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## dustyamps

My favorite 3 picks sampler.  I modified the bevel and grip on all these and despite the price difference they all sound about the same.  In random order, a Wegen, Gilchrist ivoroid pick and a BlueChip TP40.

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## Jill McAuley

Lovely tone as always! Can I ask what you used to modify the bevel on them?

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## dustyamps

The BlueChip originally had a left hand bevel which I filed away and created a right hand bevel, first using a 2 sided emery board and then a 2 sided fret polishing stick.  The Gilchrist is my oldest pick which I altered by sanding a point down quite a bit thinner and then shaping the picking edge rounder and without a bevel.  The Wegen is the slipperiest of  picks and required a lot traction to hold on to.  Only minimal rounding of the picking edge to soften it up a bit.  This is a beautiful melody.

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Jill McAuley

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## James Rankine

Beautiful tone dusty. 
Frustrated by my triplets I once took a piece of sandpaper to a dunlop primetone. It didn't work - the pick went straight into the bin. I must say it takes some guts to start modifying a BlueChip.

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## mikeyes

Here is another pick comparison, this time with my Gibson F-5 and eleven different picks ranging from a .63 Clayton to a 100 Blue Chip.  You can decide which one suits the instrument the best, I'm having a hard time choosing.  I found that the pick I use for bluegrass music is not as suitable for Irish music probably due to the difference in technique and the fact that I often play in second and third position in bluegrass.

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## Bren

I've just received a set of Wegen picks, 2 each all 3 sizes (1mm, 1.2mm & 1.4mm) in the TF range. Very good communication and service from Michel Wegen.

Michel describes them as his thinner picks, but they are thicker and stiffer than what I'm used to (JD Tortex green triangle .88) . 

They give a good sound but I'll have to try them in a session to see if they help projection as much as I suspect they will.

I'm hooked on large triangle picks, like the old Gibson ones, due to general bad habits and big hand/short fingers. Wegen's TF range are 32mm across, very similar to the JD triangle at 31mm. Any shorter and I tend to swipe and miss.

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## Werner Jaekel

Gibson pure XH. my favourite

I use the pointed or the rounded side,depends.

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## Jill McAuley

> Here is another pick comparison, this time with my Gibson F-5 and eleven different picks ranging from a .63 Clayton to a 100 Blue Chip.  You can decide which one suits the instrument the best, I'm having a hard time choosing.  I found that the pick I use for bluegrass music is not as suitable for Irish music probably due to the difference in technique and the fact that I often play in second and third position in bluegrass.


Finally got a chance to sit down and watch this - I really liked the D'Andrea 1.4mm and the Blue Chip 60 meself!

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## Werner Jaekel

Regarding thickness of pick. Transparent mando sound to dull muted sound. What is the best thickness or material or shape of the pick ?

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## Bren

Well, I took my Wegen TF100/120/140 picks to the Orkney folk festival and got involved in a number of sessions of varying sizes over the four days.

It took me a while to get used to them. 

Although they're nominally thick for a "Celtic" mandolin, they are bevelled down to a thin edge with most of the bevel on the "upstroke" side (presumably why Michel Wegen asks whether you're left or right -handed when ordering) .

I think that might make them "self-sharpening" if they wear, but other players assured me that they "never wear out". 
Possibly a slight exaggeration.

So: tone.
Using Werner's terminology, I'd say they lean towards "transparent mando sound" on my round hole carved-top-and-back "Celtic" mandolin. However, once you get used to them, you can "feather" the strings while picking for a more muted sound.

At first I found them stiff and over-bright-sounding. As I got used to them over the weekend my tone improved and triplets & tremolo improved.

They certainly aided volume and projection and I could be heard and hear myself even in the noisiest sessions.
At one stage I borrowed a friend's F-hole Flatbush , a "bluegrassy-sounding" mandolin, and the sound that leapt out of it with the Wegen was truly incredible. It's only time I can remember stopping a busy room just by playing a tune on mandolin!

The above comments apply only to the "TF" range.

I mentioned other players:

I was quite astonished to see how many other mandolinists and guitarists were using Wegens. Either I'd never noticed it in previous years or they have really caught on. 

The really thick ones were popular with guitarists and then quite a lot using the TF range like me, which have even acquired a nickname "pepperpots" because of the hole pattern in them.

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## AMandolin

Hey all,
Nashvillepicks.com he makes the best picks.
I am using a buffalo horn triangle that is fantastic .
I've been using a bronze pick for my guitar playing, I just got a peso pick.
Dustin came out with these formica picks that are thin and don't wear down.
He hand bevels all of them, great stuff.
Master artisan picks

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## Jill McAuley

> Well, I took my Wegen TF100/120/140 picks to the Orkney folk festival and got involved in a number of sessions of varying sizes over the four days.
> 
> It took me a while to get used to them.


This inspires me to revisit the Wegen picks I purchased recently. While I loved the sound I was getting with them, it was the feel of them on the strings that felt odd to me, like there was more friction between pick and string than I experience with Blue Chip/Primetone/celluloid picks. But maybe it's just a case of needing to alter my pick angle and attack.

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## Jill McAuley

Just got a Blue Chip Kenny Smith off the classifieds - it's the one that's like a TPR40 but smaller. I have to say my initial impression of it is great! It has a right hand bevel, isn't as thin sounding as my TPR35 with the right hand bevel, and feels faster and smoother than my TPR40 with rounded bevel. It might not be many folks cup of tea due to it being fairly small for a mandolin pick (the size of a quarter) but for me it felt really good, almost as if the smaller size is easier to play relaxed with since there's barely anything in your hand! I'll record a few clips over the weekend of me using it.

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## Jill McAuley

On a whim I dug out the Wegen M100 to try with my Collings MT-O, and I'm loving it! I hadn't really clicked with it on the A-jr as there seemed to be resistance traveling over the strings - I'm now realizing that it was because I was playing the A-jr with a much heavier hand, whereas the MT-O responds to a much lighter touch. I had been using the Blue Chip Kenny Smith 40 and really liked it with the A-jr but it just wasn't doing it on the MT-O. Moral of the story: don't be too hasty to part with picks that aren't working with one mandolin as they may be a perfect match with another one!

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## Dan Adams

Was playing at a farmer's market, affectionately known as the zucchini tour, when I looked down and picked up a white, heavy, Peavey pick at my feet.  I didn't know Peavey make picks?  Sound really good with my pancake Flatiron.  The pick and mando have been to Ireland performing as a duet.  Zucchinis are green after all!

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## Jim Bevan

I'm glad this thread resurfaced, 'cuz I want to update my choice.   :Smile: 

Now that I'm not touring at the moment, and have a choice of mandolins for different gigs, I find that I'm almost using pretty much a different pick for each one. I suppose it's 'cuz I'm trying to get "my" sound out of each mando, and since they're all different, they all require a different pick to get that sound.

That said, the most commonly used pick is a BC TAD-3R 50.

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Jill McAuley

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## mandocrucian

Thickness: Extra-Stout.  (For Strength)

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Bob Schmidt, 

Jill McAuley

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## WW52

Trying to find a BC pick I like for tenor banjo, but no luck yet.  I'm thinking a custom order TAD30 or 35 might work better than the heavier ones.  Usually use clayton ultems, but the BCs are much easier to grip.

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## John Kelly

> Thickness: Extra-Stout.  (For Strength)


And those serrated edges are just the thing for playing fast triplets and trills.  But remember, they take a long time to settle down, being made by Guinness!  :Mandosmiley:

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## jeho2a

I've moved on since I last posted my plectrum choice, from primetone sculpted 1.5mm to clayton small teardrops in ultem. Finding the right plectrum seems to be an endless but thankfully not too costly search.

I haven't decided whether I prefer the 1.07mm or 1.2mm yet, but I really like the shape to hold and the strong crisp tone they produce. They're a bit rough when you get them and sound likewise, so need some polishing of the edges to get a good sound.

I'd be very interested in trying a Blue Chip plectrum in this size, shape and thickness if one ever became available.

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## Jim Garber

Lately, I have been diving into playing Irish-style tenor banjo. I say Irish-style tho I have dipped into the repertoire on and off over time I pretty much play old time fiddle and mandolin. In any case, for years on mandolin I was using BC Jazz LG picks from 35-50 on mandolin and switched maybe 6 months ago to alternate between Wegen BN120 and BC similarly shaped.

I wonder tho why the tenor banjo would play better with a thinner pick. I didn't have many thinner picks in my pile so I bought a few Dunlop Ultex .73 standard Fender shape from my local GC and that is all right. I just took out the BC35 which is a little thicker and that seems to work fine. I have a feeling that the key to playing triples and triplets and the like is keeping the grip fairly loose and since I have been playing fretted instruments for over 40 years should be pretty adept at this without reverting to a super thin pick. 

The Vega Style M I have is very responsive and I think I have the right gauge strings (John Pearse heavy Irish tuning .040 on the bottom) so I suppose it is just a matter of trial and error.

BTW I do like ITM and have been having a blast playing jigs and I have been listening to ITM banjo players. I also bring the TB to old time sessions and since most of the folks are friends (even the 5-string players) most don't give me the stink eye. We also have a contra tunes session which I plan to go to and try out the TB there.

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## gortnamona

dunlop prime tone 1.3 for me at the minute, not much difference between them and a bluechip as far as i can see....other than price of course.

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## Jim Garber

I know it for a fact but I till cannot figure out why my mandolin playing "asks" for a thick pick and the banjo "asks" for a thinner one. Strange. After playing the banjo withe the BC I reverted to the .73 Ultex. Any clues out there? Less tension on the strings and the single string courses?

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## zoukboy

> I know it for a fact but I till cannot figure out why my mandolin playing "asks" for a thick pick and the banjo "asks" for a thinner one. Strange. After playing the banjo withe the BC I reverted to the .73 Ultex. Any clues out there? Less tension on the strings and the single string courses?


Yes, and yes, and the fact that the banjo really requires a different pick stroke from wooden double-strung instruments. For many, playing the TB with a relatively lighter pick is a way to ensure against overplaying (that is, if you overplay with a thinner pick the pick just gives way - overplaying with a heavier pick means that your overplaying results in (usually) playing too loud.

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## foldedpath

> I know it for a fact but I till cannot figure out why my mandolin playing "asks" for a thick pick and the banjo "asks" for a thinner one. Strange. After playing the banjo withe the BC I reverted to the .73 Ultex. Any clues out there? Less tension on the strings and the single string courses?


Since we're talkin' trad/celtic here... are you playing the tunes as written (or heard) with just the notes? Or are you adding ornaments? 

On both banjo and mandolin, that would typically be a "treble" ornament: a quick three-note flick of the pick. On mandolin you might supplement that with hammer-ons and pull-offs, but on banjo that's the one ornament that's typical of the style. 

Your mileage (and everyone else's) may vary, but for me, that puts a limit on how thick the pick can be when playing melody. Thick picks are harder for me to flick quickly across the strings to get that rapid treble ornament, so I use a pick thinner than a Bluegrass mandolin player would. Currently that's a BC TAD40-1R, about 1.0mm thick.

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Jim Garber

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## Bad Monkey

I'm using the Dawg style that I stick a piece of sandpaper on the thumb side. The sandpaper lets me use a lot less right hand finger pressure and the plectrum never moves around. Much more comfortable at the end of set 4.

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## Mike Snyder

I cannot play tenor with a thin pick. I got a BC 40 big triangle which works, but the Wegen 140 has the feel and has been on that banjo so long that it just belongs. Triplets are there, but one must concentrate to get them consistent. Spoiled, I am, by thick picks on the mandolins, so mute I must. I've got two sock monkeys living in there and an alternate stuffed bug for quiet little jams. Surprisingly, the tone of the banjo (Orpheum #1) does not suffer. No resonator to suffocate the monkeys, but I have to constrain the enthusiasm or the volume becomes an issue. I'm more old-time than ITM and I go for more plunkiness than the ITM guys, much more, so I make my own bridges and have a piece of duct tape inside the head under the bridge. And monkeys, but I've dialed in exactly the tone I want. The bluegrass folks get a kick out of it when a tenor player kicks it. .........Usually.............

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Jim Garber

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## Bren

I use a yellow JD Tortex large triangle (.73) for TB, and fairly heavy strings to get tension on a short scale.

Pick diameter is important to me - if i use a teardrop shape i tend to miss the strings, especially if they have less tension. 

I'm wondering if putting a backside bevel on the JD corners similar to what Wegen and JD Primetone do would help me with accurate treble/triplet picking. Or would the material break easily?

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## Jim Garber

> Since we're talkin' trad/celtic here... are you playing the tunes as written (or heard) with just the notes? Or are you adding ornaments? 
> 
> On both banjo and mandolin, that would typically be a "treble" ornament: a quick three-note flick of the pick. On mandolin you might supplement that with hammer-ons and pull-offs, but on banjo that's the one ornament that's typical of the style. 
> 
> Your mileage (and everyone else's) may vary, but for me, that puts a limit on how thick the pick can be when playing melody. Thick picks are harder for me to flick quickly across the strings to get that rapid treble ornament, so I use a pick thinner than a Bluegrass mandolin player would. Currently that's a BC TAD40-1R, about 1.0mm thick.


I have been inserting where I can and when proper triplets or trebles. I also got as copy of Enda Scahill's Book Volume 2 to see what wisdom he can impart. I like the sound and style of the ITM TB but am also experimenting with applying that style to OTM and to the contradance music, each of which, I believe requires a different approach. My BC LG Jazz is 35 so even thinner than yours (.89mm thick ). 




> I cannot play tenor with a thin pick. I got a BC 40 big triangle which works, but the Wegen 140 has the feel and has been on that banjo so long that it just belongs. Triplets are there, but one must concentrate to get them consistent. Spoiled, I am, by thick picks on the mandolins, so mute I must. I've got two sock monkeys living in there and an alternate stuffed bug for quiet little jams. Surprisingly, the tone of the banjo (Orpheum #1) does not suffer. No resonator to suffocate the monkeys, but I have to constrain the enthusiasm or the volume becomes an issue. I'm more old-time than ITM and I go for more plunkiness than the ITM guys, much more, so I make my own bridges and have a piece of duct tape inside the head under the bridge. And monkeys, but I've dialed in exactly the tone I want. The bluegrass folks get a kick out of it when a tenor player kicks it. .........Usually.............


I have a skin head on the Vega and a towel to mute it a bunch tho I do like the sock monkey concept. Does that duct tape also mute the overall tone of the bridge. I would also love to see what you are making for a bridge and how it would differ from a more standard one. I have a *Farquhar 4-String banjo bridge* that I used for my Gibson TB-Junior and got one for the Vega tho I have not put it on the Vega yet.

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