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Thread: Pick observation/ experiment (4 year player)

  1. #1
    Registered User pezdork's Avatar
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    Default Pick observation/ experiment (4 year player)

    Ok first my background. I'm a guitar player who upgraded to mandolin. My preferred pick are the orange tortex .60mm. So basically I just kept using those without thinking. I was at huck finn yesterday and visited the Sorensen booth and was given a pick by Sorensen himself. Not sure the size but it's thicker tortoise shell looking plastic (kinda like the old fender picks I used to play guitar with). It's one of those triangular picks similar to a bass pick but smaller.

    I get a lot of free picks and usually they go in a case but is had an answer to a question from Sam Bush at his workshop in my mind. Someone asked what kind of pick he used and is answer was, paraphrasing a little, "I like plastic ones, tortoise shell color" everyone laughed. But Sam went on that the point was every player is different. What's funny is the guy asking the question had one of those $35 picks and asked sam if he ever tried those and he basically said he liked the ones he was using.

    So my experiment I tried this new pick. Shockingly it was noticible different. It cut a lot of the ringing highs and my chunk gets a tone more base but my volume is a lot lower. It's much easier to grip because of the larger surface area. I had my wife listen to be sure I wasn't crazy she said the same things.

    I'll admit two things now. 1) I don't like the loss of volume. To make up fr that I can attack the strings Harder but that seems unnatural. 2) I also am unsure I like loss of highs in a trade off with the better chunk. But I'm curious if for bluegrass that more mellow sounds might be a more authentic sound. Mom gonna go back and listen closer to some records and see what I hear.
    Johnson A mandolin
    Washburn M118SWK
    Yes I'm a dork and yes I like pez

  2. #2
    Constantly In Search Of.. Michael Bridges's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick observation/ experiment (4 year player)

    You're hitting one of the "Flash Points" around here! LOL Bottom line is, picks are going to sound different to everybody's ear, and different on each mandolin. I had a Morgan Monroe MDM-2 (basically the same as your Washburn, except for minor cosmetics). I had good luck with my Blue Chip, and a V-Pick that was actually 2.75mm thick. It really seemed to drive the tone well. I had a Cumberland Acoustic bridge fitted, and my pick tones really changed. The V-Pick sounded really "brash" after. BC was still great, and I actually got nice tone from my Dawg pick, which I didn't care for before. With my new J Bovier, the BC and Dawg are still good, and my Wegen M-150 sounds better,too.
    Best advice would be to try a number of different sizes/styles of picks. Really an inexpensive way to look for different sounds. In the end, only you can determine what works best on your instrument for your ears!
    Music speaks to us all. And to each of us, she speaks with a different voice.

    J Bovier A5 Tradition

  3. #3

    Default Re: Pick observation/ experiment (4 year player)

    Aargh... I hate to beat a dead horse, but if you buy a BC TAD 40 or 50, or CT 55, you will have the crisp highs and resounding chop that you want, without losing any volume.

    A Wegen bluegrass pick or a Dunlop Tortex triangle will work just about as well for a lot less $...

    I don't understand the appeal of the rounded picks....the tone may be OK as you noticed, but you lose half of the volume and the crisp highs. A famous player once told me that "a mandolin pick has to have a point!"

  4. #4
    plectrist Ryk Loske's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick observation/ experiment (4 year player)

    John Pearse "Fast Turtle". Three different striking points. Choice! What a concept!

    Ryk
    mandolin ~ guitar ~ banjo

    "I'm convinced that playing well is not so much a technique as it is a decision. It's a commitment to do the work, strive for concentration, get strategic about advancing by steps, and push patiently forward toward the goal." Dan Crary

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Pick observation/ experiment (4 year player)

    For me ....the heavier the pick , the louder and rounder the tone. I use a 2 mm .

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