New Dunlop Pick?

[Skip Kelley]

I've got one coming in the mail! You guys are the best!

[lukmanohnz]

I'm holding out for the 1.5mm triangular and semi-rounded versions. I check Dunlop's web site every few weeks to see if they are in stock. I'm just really curious about the delay. I have a gazillion other picks, so it's not like I'm having a pick emergency. But in this era of rapid product development, I wonder what could be holding these up? A worldwide shortage of Ultex? Perhaps the injection molding machine is on the fritz, or the new auto-beveler Dunlop ordered for this product release was delayed due to a design flaw. Maybe the marketing department was unhappy with the quality of the silkscreening, or wants to change the font size. Maybe the tone-ologists in R&D got the first article samples and rejected them, and now they are frantically re-formulating the red dye to tweak the low end response. That's probably it....

[Shelagh Moore]

Still patiently waiting for my Primetones (from a major UK online supplier).

[Ted Eschliman]

The material is the same as the Ultex. A NAMM show a few years ago, I was asking their product developer about why they never made those in thicker than 1.4 mm, and the answer was this material is extremely rigid and difficult to cut and requires some very special equipment. There was a time when the thicker Ultex picks were unavailable for several months. An educated guess is they've run into production issues for this reason.

[tangleweeds]

There is indeed an Amazon seller who has various Primetone picks currently in stock, but they have entirely different listings than the backordered Primetones listed by Amazon itself. Searching on "Dunlop Primetone" brings them up. I just ordered some triangles and standards, as thick as I could get.

[mandotim1955]

GAK have these in stock in the UK, just ordered some.

[Jim Broyles]

The material is the same as the Ultex. A NAMM show a few years ago, I was asking their product developer about why they never made those in thicker than 1.4 mm, and the answer was this material is extremely rigid and difficult to cut and requires some very special equipment. There was a time when the thicker Ultex picks were unavailable for several months. An educated guess is they've run into production issues for this reason.

I have some 1.4 and 2.0 Dunlop Ultex picks in the older, yellow material.

[Nick Quig]

[QUOTE=mandotim1955;1293354]GAK have these in stock in the UK, just ordered some.[/QUOTE
Ordered! ..thanks for the heads up!
The wait begins....

[Mandolin-Tele]

I have got to say I have one Ultex jazz 111 and it is very warm sounding, loud and very little clicking sound when I hit the florida on my mandolin

It's a very small pick and I normally like large pick for mandolin

[Jim Broyles]

I have got to say I have one Ultex jazz 111 and it is very warm sounding, loud and very little clicking sound when I hit the florida on my mandolin

It's a very small pick and I normally like large pick for mandolin

You would like the Ultex 1.14 rounded triangle.

[Mandolin-Tele]

You would like the Ultex 1.14 rounded triangle.

I was quite surprised that this Jazz 111 pick has so much control and playability

[Jim Broyles]

I use the Jazz III for guitar sometimes, but I much prefer a larger pick for mandolin.

[Nick Quig]

I have got to say I have one Ultex jazz 111 and it is very warm sounding, loud and very little clicking sound when I hit the florida on my mandolin

It's a very small pick and I normally like large pick for mandolin

They do an extra large Ultex Jazz III now.

[tangleweeds]

You would like the Ultex 1.14 rounded triangle.

Hey, that's one of my two favorite picks! (The other is a 2mm "Big Stubby"). That's why I'm looking forward to new Ultex formats in the Primetone line.

[Nick Quig]

Wow! picks arrived two days after I ordered them - hats off to GAK UK
I got the 1.4 triangle with grips - very nice looking, tone-wise - not far off a BC CT55, perhaps a bit 'brittler' in sound and not as slick off the strings (but hey! what is?) overall a great cheaper alternative to the high end picks, this is going be my go to beater which I can keep in my pocket and not worry about losing!

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

I just picked up a pack each of Tortex 1.14mm triangle and Tri Stubby 1.5mm. Like them both. The matte texture on the Tortex is pretty comfortable to hold and they are both stiff enough for me at this point. I have been trying to use a Pro Plec but the points are rounder than I would like.

[Ron McMillan]

I'm in the UK for a couple of weeks from next week. Does anyone know if these picks are finally finding their way to music shops, as opposed to online retailers?

[Bob Bronow]

I picked up a pack of three of the Semi-Round at NAMM in January.

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/pri...emiround-print

I haven't picked up my BC since!

[Mandolin-Tele]

I picked up a pack of three of the Semi-Round at NAMM in January.

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/pri...emiround-print

I haven't picked up my BC since!

If you try to buy it says not available on line yet

[tangleweeds]

There is indeed an Amazon seller who has various Primetone picks currently in stock, but they have entirely different listings than the backordered Primetones listed by Amazon itself. Searching on "Dunlop Primetone" brings them up.

I'm just popping in quickly to say that the picks I ordered from this Amazon seller arrived today, and appear to be the real thing. I haven't had time to play with them yet, but I wanted to confirm that this is currently a functional purchasing option, at this time when most stores don't seem to have them in yet.

If you load an Amazon search page for "dunlop primetone", the listings by this seller, SNC stores, show an image of a package of three picks. In contrast, the non-functional official Amazon listings show an image of a single pick.

[John Hill]

Hey Tangleweeds, thanks for the info, just placed an order for the standard shape 1.5.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Tim - Many thanks for the info.re.GAK in the UK. I just ordered1 pack of .96mm smooth & 1 pack of 1.3mm with the 'grip'. The Dunlop 500's that i use now & again are smooth & stick to my fingers like glue.It'll be interesting to see how the 'grippy' ones work out,
Ivan

[Ivan Kelsall]

The Dunlop 'Primetones' arrived this morning & i've spent a good 2 hours playing with both types on both my mandolins,which have very different tonal qualities,hence the purchase of 2 different thicknesses of pick.
I've been using 1mm Wegen 'Bluegrass' picks for a couple of years now,with the odd excursion into 'Dunlop 500' territory.
Compared to the Wegens,on my Lebeda, which is a larger than standard sized instrument & which currently sports DR MD12 'heavy gauge' strings,both the .96mm & the 1.3mm produced a slightly brighter but more powerful sound. These picks are stiff !. Even the .96mm is very rigid,the 1.3mm is un-bendable, whereas the 1mm Wegens do flex a tiny bit. I found very little difference in tone between the 2 thicknesses,maybe on account of the stiffness of even the .96mm one. The smooth .96mm picks stuck like glue to my fingers,no slipping there !. Ultimately, i felt that the 1.3mm thick pick with the 'grip' was 'the one', as it added just that bit extra 'punch',which was what my Lebeda & the MD12's have been waiting for.
On my Weber,i found that there was little or no difference in tone between the Wegen & either of the Dunlops.The Weber is already a brighter sounding instrument,but not overly so. I did find once again,that there was an added 'punch' to the sound,with either thickness of pick,making the instrument even more powerful than it has been even with the DR MD11's on it - & they were a revelation indeed. Again,i decided to opt for the 1.3mm pick for my Weber.
I feel that the differences between the Wegen & the Primetone's is all down to the rigidity of the pick material more than the actual thickness,although going to the much thicker ones,as with the Dawg or Golden Gate picks,i could see a 'rounding off' & softening of the tones.
Right now,i feel that as good as the Wegens have been for me,these Primetones have,to use my own phrase - 'a more pleasing difference' !,. If you can buy some,for the small cost outlay,they deserve to be given a try,
Ivan

[tangleweeds]

I've had time to try my new Primetone picks out now, and I'm very into the 1.5 mm triangle shape. It's like one of my previous favorites, depicted below, except that it has a textured center that makes it effortless to grip without its slipping around. Like the Ultex, it gives my mando a nice warm sound.

So my new favorite Primetone triangle is basically a thicker, grippier version of this one:

You would like the Ultex 1.14 rounded triangle.

I also got some normal guitar-pick shaped Primetones, but I don't think that shape works as well for me. I may play around with reshaping them to my preferences.

What I really really want, is a pick shaped like the 2mm Big Stubby, but made of this warmer sounding Ultex/Primetone material. I like the Big Stubbies a lot, but they work best (for me at least) when I want a brighter sound.

[Jim Broyles]

Primetone brown = Ultex. The black ones are a different material, but Dunlop says these are Ultex. I have some .96's coming. but They will likely be too thin for me.