The Traveling Pick Sampler - Anyone Interested?

[Mark Gunter]

JeffD, I believe the picks are on their way to Tel Aviv, Israel . . . or may already be there . . . to Sevelos. My suggestion to you would be to contact hossamassey, as he is next on the list. Send your picks to him and ask him to add them to the sampler when it gets back to him from Israel.

[Sevelos]

Just received the picks!!
Will send them to the next person in a week+. Will probably add 5 new ones.

Arie

[Timbofood]

Sevelos, I am curious as to how long the shipping time was?
Have a wonderful time experimenting!

[jhowell]

Sevelos, I am curious as to how long the shipping time was?
Have a wonderful time experimenting!

Tim--

Looks like two weeks, give or take. Priority Mail would have been about half the time, but would have pushed shipping to around $50 US. Its a really good week having all of these picks to mess about upon my mando..

Best --Jim

[Emmett Marshall]

When the sampler gets to me, I'll be adding the new Fender "Tru-Shell" pick. I ordered a few of the extra heavy in 346 style. I've got others to add, but just don't know which yet.

[Timbofood]

For something "NOT priority" that sounds pretty quick for shipping, that's very cool.
Emmet, hat do you think of the "Tru shell"?

[Emmett Marshall]

For something "NOT priority" that sounds pretty quick for shipping, that's very cool.
Emmet, hat do you think of the "Tru shell"?

I'll have to get back to you that. The Fender picks haven't arrived yet. It should take about a week or so. The shipping was $2.95. They call it a small parcel rate because I only ordered the picks. I figure it'll be a couple months or more before the sampler makes it to North Dakota.

[Timbofood]

Alright,now I am going to have to wait?! Emmet, you floated that fly right past and I took it! You are evil.

[Emmett Marshall]

I'm not evil Timbo. And to prove it, I'm willing to send you 5 brand new, silver engraved picks that were gifted to me from the little glass pudding dish at the check out counter in the ABC Music store in Chugwater, TX in 1984 (now out of business - bankrupt I think?). Just send me your shipping address and enclose a $12.43 handling fee.

[Timbofood]

Will you take a third party out of state posted dated payroll check?
Enabler!

[Sevelos]

Thanks to everyone contributing to the Traveling Pick Sampler and especially to "jhowell" for sending me the picks!
I finished testing them and sent a private message to "hossamassey" who is the next on the list, asking for his address.

I have added 5 new picks:
- Dunlop Gator Grip .71 - my current favorite pick, which I use on my Godin A8 and Tasos Katsifis Greek Bouzouki.
- Dunlop Tortex .50 - my former favorite pick, which I used for 28 years when playing my Romanian Portuguese style flat-top and my grandfather's (may he rest in peace) 1950 Russian Bowlback.
- Prodigy Klassikh M + Prodigy Laiki M - very popular Greek-bouzouki plectrums.
- Dunlop Gator Grip 0.59 - the pick Avi Avital uses

All these picks are thinner than the picks in the Traveling Pick Collection and I believe will give a different perspective on mandolin playing to people testing the collection in the future.

My impressions:
I play "flat-top" mandolins and Greek bouzoukis and like them to ring. Unlike most people on the Mandolin Cafe who seem to like thick picks, I feel that very thick picks mute the sound (especially when playing tremolo and double-stops) and some of them make precise playing uncomfortable for me.
In the past I spent some money ordering from the USA various special picks that people recommended on the Cafe, including Wegens, Primetones and V-picks and didn't like them very much. I'm glad I had now the opportunity to test the BlueChips and Doug picks without having to buy them.

My favorite pick from the Pick Sampler was the Big Stubby 1.0. While it is thicker than what I am used to it is still not so thick as to mute the sound and has a sharp point which helps the string to ring. The Big Stubby 1.0 produces a fuller sound than the V-pick ULP (also in the Collection and also has a sharp point). This V-pick produces a very "thin" sound unlike the Big Stubby, perhaps because the slopes toward the point are more round in the Big Stubby. The Big Stubby is very hard and doesn't stick to the strings or between them.
It would have been nice if the Big Stubby was slightly Bigger, don't know why it is called "Big". Its big brother, the Stubby rectangle (1.5), was just a bit too thick for me.

Other finalists: Dunlop max-grip 1.0, Dunlop 0.96 (pink), Cool heavy 1.0.

I made a quick, informal inventory listing of all the picks in the sampler:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. PLEC USA Andrea 1.5 (triangle)
2. Dark Wooden Pick
3. Jim Dunlop 204 (small, thick, black, very round tips)
4. Jim Dunlop 207 (black, thick)
5. Jim Dunlop 208 (Black thick)
6. BlueChip TPR-50
7. BlueChip CT-55
8. Dawg
9. Golden Gate
10. Acoustic Music Works
11. Jim Dunlop (manually sanded?) – big, triangular, dark brown
12. V-Pick Medium R
13. V-Pick Red-colored (Triangle, very thick)
14. V-Pick Large ULP
15. V-Pick Ultra Lite medium
16. V-Pick (Thick, white pearl colored)
17. Gravity Striker XL 3
18. Chicken picks 2.1 Triangle (White)
19. Chicken Picks 2.2 (White)
20. Dunlop Tortex 1.5
21. Wegen Black Triangle
22. Wegen White triangle with round edges
23. Wegen Regular shape white
24. Ultra Cool Heavy 1.0 mm, black rectangle
25. Unknown, pointed, Black, 1.5 mm, with grip dots, black
26. Jim Dunlop Big Stubby 1.0
27. Jim Dunlop Stubby Triangle 1.5
28. Dunlop max-grip 1.8 (nylon)
29. Dunlop max-grip 1.14
30. Dunlop max-Grip 1.0
31. Dunlop Primetone 1.5 Triangle (grip)
32. Dunlop Primetone 1.0 (grip)
33. Dunlop Primetone 1.3 round edges
34. Dunlop primetone 1.4 triangle
35. White and Hard - unnamed
36. Dark and Hard – unnamed
37. Dunlop .96 pink
38. Nylpro 1.4 green (D’addario)
39. Planet Waves x-heavy triangle 1.25
40. Fender Med metallic
41. Cool Heavy 1.0
42. Jim Dunlop Nylon .73
43. Cool heavy 1.0
44. (ADDED) Dunlop Tortex .50 (My favorite)
45. (ADDED) Dunlop Gator .71 (My favorite)
46. (ADDED) Dunlop Gator .59 (Avi Avital)
47. (ADDED) Prodigy Klassikh M (Greek Bouzouki Plectrum)
48. (ADDED) Prodigy Laikh M (Greek Bouzouki Plectrum)

[Sevelos]

Hi Guys,
It has been a week and 3 private messages since I first asked hossamassey for his address. I didn't get an answer and meanwhile the pick sampler just lies there, sad and unused.
If I don't get his address until Tuesday, I am going to send the pick sampler to the next in line. I suggest that if hossamassey appears later, he could get the Sampler from the next person, without waiting in line.

[dschonbrun]

Sevelos, that seems more than reasonable. Suggest you just move on to the next person in line.

[Roger Moss]

Yes you can only do so much then it is the responsibility of the next person to respond. It is only fair to everybody else to move on to the next person. He can always jump back in line.

[soliver]

Thanks sevelos for the inventory!.... I intended to do that way back when I had the sampler but never got around to it.

[Sevelos]

hossamassey - thanks for sending me your address, however you didn't write me your name.
I'm not sure whether sending without the name is a good idea. Could you please get back to me?
(I also sent a private message)

Thanks,
Arie

[Sevelos]

The Picks were finally sent on their way to Hossamassey.

[Diz9000]

Joining this discussion late,
Is this pick sharing limited to the US only ?? Or would it depend upon added generosity of the sender to send them to the UKor elsewhere for that matter ??
If possible I'd like to be added to the bottom of the list, hoping that is a few months away ��. So my playing improves from Squealing Cat to at least rusty door hinge , so I can tell if the picks suddenly turn me into a mandolin virtuoso ��

[darrylicshon]

Look at the post before you, he is in Israel and the sampler is on its way back to the usa

[tangleweeds]

So my playing improves from Squealing Cat to at least rusty door hinge, so I can tell if the picks suddenly turn me into a mandolin virtuoso ��

Sounds like you're working with fiddle bows, not mando picks!

I don't think anyone is actually maintaining the list. It used to get copied and repasted with each new person adding their name at the bottom, but that stopped a while back.

I've meant to go through and re-create the list adding the new names, but we've been in a home hospice situation here so I'm spread thin. Yet the lack of an up-to-date list irritates my inner administrator. If anyone else wants to step up and update the list, I'd be hugely grateful.

[Timbofood]

Tangleweeds, I wish you the best through your hospice stage. They are incredible people but, it's still a very tough time. Play when you can and keep well hydrated!

[wooq]

Sounds like you're working with fiddle bows, not mando picks!

I don't think anyone is actually maintaining the list. It used to get copied and repasted with each new person adding their name at the bottom, but that stopped a while back.

I've meant to go through and re-create the list adding the new names, but we've been in a home hospice situation here so I'm spread thin. Yet the lack of an up-to-date list irritates my inner administrator. If anyone else wants to step up and update the list, I'd be hugely grateful.

A side of me loves maintaining lists and spreadsheets and data... take care, "hospice situations" aren't any fun.

Sevelos (sent)
hossamassey (en route)
Kback
Northwest Steve
tangleweeds
Mike001
Paul South
Chris Bowsman
MandoMN18
Emmett Marshall
wooq
Paul Merlo
Upis Land
Roger Moss (new since last list)
Diz9000 (new since last list)

If I missed anyone, feel free to holler at me.

[Mark Gunter]

Diz9000 (see post #393 above)

[wooq]

Diz9000 (see post #393 above)

Thanks! Edited to include the aspiring rusty hinge.

[Mattslouch]

As its coming to the UK for Diz, I guess this is a good time to try and get myself added to the list!