Hi friends,
I had a rainy Saturday at home this weekend and I started wondering how much difference pick choices made in the sound that an audience member hears through a microphone. I decided to record the different picks while removing as many variables as possible: same instrument, same player, same tune, same hour, same tempo, same strings.
After doing the recordings, it occurred to me that others might enjoy seeing for themselves what different picks sound like, especially blinded so you don't know what you're hearing. The first page has all the recordings presented with serial numbers but not IDs; the second page has the answer key.
http://www.holliseaster.com/p/mandolin-pick-comparison/
I've been playing mandolin about a year, so I'd ask you to be gentle in your comments on my performance, but the pick sounds are there. Mistakes are (obviously) mine.
Picks tested:
A: Dunlop Primetone Sculpted 3 mm
B: Dunlop Nylon 1 mm
C: Dunlop Ultex 1.14 mm
D: Dunlop Ultex Jazz III 1.3 mm
E: Dunlop 204 2.0 mm
F: Dunlop Stubby Triangle 3.0 mm
G: Dunlop Jazz III XL 1.3 mm
H: Dunlop 1.5 mm
I: Wedgie 1.0 mm
J: Pickboy Nylon 1.00 mm
K: Pickboy 1.50 mm
L: Pickboy Edge Carbon Nylon 1.00 mm
M: Pickboy Classic Rainbow 1.00 mm
N: Pickboy Classic Luminous 1.00 mm
O: Golden Gate mandolin 1.4 mm
P: Gibson USA X-H 1.1 mm
Q: Unknown (Saga?) “tortoiseshell” 1.4 mm
R: Unknown (Saga?) “tortoiseshell” 1.3 mm
S: Cool Heavy translucent yellow 1.0 mm
T: Cool Heavy black 1.0 mm
U: Cool Heavy white 1.0 mm
V: Martin H 0.6 mm
W: Wheatware H 1.5 mm
X: Wheatware 2.0 mm
Y: Stylus Pick
Z: Fender Heavy 0.9 mm
AA: Dunlop Jazz III black 1.3 mm
BB: Dunlop Tortex 0.88 mm
Have fun! If you've never done this sort of experiment, I'd encourage you to try it. The tone I hear when I'm playing turns out to be quite different from what the microphone (and thus the audience) hear.
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