Big Muddy picks

  1. Aiki_Mando
    Aiki_Mando
    Greetings! This is my first post here, and I wanted to let you know that I am a pretty new mandolin player, at 34 years young. I was given an M-4 by my father after thrashing around on some pretty poor imitations of mandolins for awhile, and I simply love this Big Muddy...I already want another in a different wood combo! In fact I worry that I may be ruined on other makers, seeing as how I grew up in Missouri, and that I just love the look, tone and feel of the Big Muddy.

    Anyhow, I am mostly interested in Celtic styles right now, and I wonder what picks you all like with your Big Muddy/Mid-Mo's? I know that there are a million pick posts on the forum as a whole, but I really want to know what people use to help these particular little beauties perform at their best. I have a mixed bag of Golden Gate, Dunlop and Fender right now, and am underwhelmed by them (despite the fact that I've only been playing for about 7 months).

    So...what do you like?

    P.S. I love reading the threads on this group, and want to thank everyone for the things I've already gotten out of it, so thanks.
  2. Dave Weiss
    Dave Weiss
    Welcome to our little group. They are addictive aren't they! I see a Rosewood model in my future...

    Anyhow, I'm also playing around with Celtic and also some American Ballads. I went with slightly lighter strings (actually only the A strings are lighter), Dean Markley lights (11-37) or the Martin Bluegrass (11-38). I've tried some of the other "light" strings out there, but I personally don't care for the 10 gauge E strings. So 11-14-24-37 or 38. I've also gone back to using lighter picks, I'm currently using a Martin .73 (medium). I seem to be able to pick much faster and cleaner with the thinner pick and my ears have adjusted to the "brighter" sound, so much so that thicker picks now sound dull to me, but that's just me.

    Enjoy yourself and please stop by here often. I'd rather "talk" to other Big Muddy owners than getting involved in the B.S. on the general boards.

    Dave Weiss
    Sutton, Alaska
  3. Aiki_Mando
    Aiki_Mando
    Thanks Dave. So I have medium strings...D'addario phosphor bronze, and to my newbie ears they are okay for now. But I will say that I absolutely LOVED the brightness of the new set that I put on 2 weeks ago...I am a bit chagrined by the "mellowing" that is taking place. I think "brightness" is something I'm going for in a pick as well. Everyone told me that I had to use the rounder part of the pick, but in the last week or so I've been pulled to the pointier side. It just sounds better for myself, though I appreciate the darker, so called fatter tones of many other players as well. I'm just trying to figure what works for me, but I don't play with anyone else even though I live next to a bazillion people right now...I'm an ornery sort of loner i suppose...

    Matthew
  4. 8ch(pl)
    8ch(pl)
    The M-4 is a great place to start, it is a bright sounding instrument.

    I own both an m-4 and an M-1 in mahogany. The M-1 also has a nice sound, but is mellower. Be sure to keep the M-4 Hydrated. I have used a Snake type hydrator, for violin in mine. When I first got the M-4, I kept it in a gig bag, under a bed for 6 months until Christmas. About a week or so after Christmas, it developed a 5 inch long crack in the side, starting at a tailpiece screw hole and coming straight along thethe center of the base side bout. Rosewood is susceptible to cracking, far more than mahogany.

    I use the Jazzmando strings on my Mid Missouris and the 1.5 mm Pro Plec picks from Jazzmando. You need a stiff pick for mandolin.

    Hope you continue to enjoy the instrument.
  5. Aiki_Mando
    Aiki_Mando
    8ch(pl), thanks for the advice. I already learned about the hydration aspect,as a tiny crack started to develop....but I caught it right quick and now it's humidified properly. I probably will order a Pro Plec or two to try.
  6. Lesterfer
    Lesterfer
    Hi! i have tried many picks, I am a fan of Wegen pics but I have settled on the PRO-PLEC 1.5mm by D'Andrea, it is a small pic shaped like a square with a triangle tip. only 60 cents a piece, they come in different sizes and shapes, the small square/triangle one that I use, took some getting use to. but I find it gives me a lot of control, and it is easy to play tremolo. i like the sound of the Wegen pics, I have not tried all of them, because they are expensive!!, but try a variety of these D'Andrea Pro Plec pics,, they are cheap, sound good and give you great control once you get use to the small size,,they also make a tear drop shape pic in two sizes, try them both. I like them better than Golden Gate
    Les
  7. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    What I use on the Mid-Mo is the Wegen 1.0 mm bluegrass guitar pick (not the mando one), in black (the white and the black ones do sound different), together with GHS medium phosphor bronze strings, i.e. the strings recommended by Mike Dulak. That gives a strong clear and bright voice, at least with my playing technique. Your experiences may vary.

    Martin
  8. Lesterfer
    Lesterfer
    I would like to try the Wegen bluegrass mandolin pick, I have black and white regular wegen manodlin picks, I got the white so wont lose them. The wegen pick shaped like the Golden Gate pick is leaps and bounds better than the golden gate, they are 3 dollars a piece, but if you get them, you will never use the golden gate again. but again, check out the Pro-Plec picks, I love em. give the small square/triangle one a go.
    Les
  9. Aiki_Mando
    Aiki_Mando
    I made a trip down to St. Louis last week and spent time with my dad. We played mandolin a lot and he let me try out some of his picks, only the kicker is that I did not have my M-4 with me. I used his fantastic early 80's Kentucky to try his BlueChip, which I did like...mostly the way it seemed to "grease" itself and stay put between your fingers. I used one of his white Wegan mando picks, and have to say that I did not care for it's feel or sound. I am willing to give some other style Wegans a test run though. We hit up a little music shop to try out a few things, and I managed to try out a few picks on a used M-1 they had for sale. Man...is that a different sound than my rosewood model! I would have bought it if the price were more reasonable. Anyhoo, I came away with a large triangle shaped Fender heavy that is okay and a Dunlop Ultex 1.14 that I actually like a whole lot....even more so on my M-4 than the M-1 in the shop. Suffice to say, I am looking forward to trying many more, and will order a few this weekend. The major problem as I see it now, is that I REALLY want my dads Kentucky!
  10. Lesterfer
    Lesterfer
    I like the sound of the wegen picks on my my M-4, but give the pro-plecs a try, they glide nicely,the sound is a little on the dull side, not bright sound, the small size of the square/triangel gives you great control...you can order them as well as many other brand online at Big City Strings. they have a large selection, pro-plec is only 60 cents, so you can try all their shapes without spending a lot. I bought them all and did not like at first, but eventually I gave them another go, and now it is all I use. I find that even my favorite pick is a compromise. I love the ease of tremolo that the pro-plec affords me and the control of its small size, but this make is harder to hold when strumming and the sound is maybe not as bright as I somtimes want...anyway..I too dream of more mandolins...I dream of powerball and a Weber F mandolin, or some other f mandolin. But until the powerball rolls my way, Im happy with my Mid-Missouri!! In fact I looked at some breedloves, and I found them to be beautiful and all but not better than than my M-4, at least not enough to justify the extra money, they were too close, however I did look at a Weber (A) and found that it was like like a rolls royce, incredible, the strings pressed like butter,,,So I dont think you can upgrade from a M-4 unless you plan on spending a lot of money $3000 for a F or $1800 for and A, not necessarliy weber, But i not a $3000 mandolin player!!! not yet! sorry for the rant
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