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Thread: Pick Thickness

  1. #26
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    A couple of days ago a gent posted here that common picks for some types of gypsy jazz mandolin are 3.5mm - Yikes!

  2. #27
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Quote Originally Posted by maxr View Post
    A couple of days ago a gent posted here that common picks for some types of gypsy jazz mandolin are 3.5mm - Yikes!
    Sometimes I use one as thin as 2.5mm!

    Gypsy jazz style is the only style I use a pick thicker than 1mm.

  3. #28
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Over the years I have collected or been gifted by family these five, all sizes I wanted to try and like. Oddly they all work fine on mandolin the small jazz100 being the oddest to use but I used to love the little stubby and the big stubby. I ordered that one wrong as I wanted the LG jazz 100. The LG jazz is one of my favorites. I found on mandolin I do tend to prefer the tone and attack of thinner ones, on guitar the thicker ones, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the thick one as well. What i have noticed is the BC picks can be thinner and i will like them and I think that is because of their rigidity. I stay mostly on the pointy part of the jazz but am finding I enjoy switching it up. Each imparts its own tonal character but some of that I find is pick grip related to the different size and shape. I tried the XR because some like round and I wanted to know. I won't toss any out because each will eventually find a case to live in with the instrument of its choice and one or two will stay with me because I tend to like it on all. One thing I found is i don't just like the tips on some I like rolling it around to the shoulder or back and the standard jazz size back has the same shape as the XR. I have some gravity picks from Nocturne guitar pedals and amps. I do like them as well. And oddly I still like some of the cheap store bough heavy picks. No clue what mass produced material it is and not all stores use the material I like. But since getting the BC picks I haven't really played the others for me they are a step above and I tend to watch them like a hawk so I don't lose them. Treat them like gold because they cost almost as much.
    Have you other Blue Chip users found that you like thinner BC picks compared to what you used to use? Here are some pictures for a comparison of shape and size.
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    My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A

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  4. #29
    Likes quaint instruments poul hansen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Quote Originally Posted by maxr View Post
    A couple of days ago a gent posted here that common picks for some types of gypsy jazz mandolin are 3.5mm - Yikes!
    On a guitar exhibition a guy sold rock picks !
    Kentucky KM-805..........2 Hora M1086 Portuguese II(1 in car)
    Hora M1088 Mandola.....
    Richmond RMA-110..... .Noname Bearclaw
    Pochette Franz Janisch...5 Pocket............Alfredo Privitera pocket
    Puglisi Pocket 1908........Puglisi 1912.......Puglisi 1917
    3 Mandolinetto ..............C.Garozzo
    1 Mandriola...................Cannelo G. Mandriola...Böhm Waldzither 1921
    Johs Møller 1945............Luigi Embergher Studio 1933
    Marma Seashell back......Luigi Embergher 5bis 1909

  5. #30
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    I use the 1mm Wegen, but I have a couple that I thinned down and they are all I use. I wish they came thinner.
    The Wegens do come thinner but they are not advertised and you have to order them direct from Wegen. I have a couple of 0.85 Wegen black large triangles which I got second hand. They are my go-to picks for all styles and all mandos.
    Anglocelt
    mainly Irish & Scottish but open to all dance-oriented melodic music.
    Mandos: Gibson A2, Janish A5, Krishot F5, Taran Springwell, Shippey, Weber Elite A5; TM and OM by Dave Gregory, J E Dallas, Tobin & Davidson.

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  7. #31
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    I started with a Dunlop pick like David showed above, then moved to a Fender Heavy for a while, then got some Wegens for Christmas one year. Used them for years and still switch up to them from time to time, but my main picks now are Bluechip TAD 40 for guitar (1.2mm I think), TAD 50 on OM, and CT 55 or TAD 60 on mandolin. I play so much mandolin and am so used to the heavier picks that I’ll sometimes use them for flatpicking guitar, too, though they’re really not needed to drive the strings/top on guitar. I also need a point; have to work way too hard to get any volume with Dawg style picks.

    Fortunately, there are a ton of inexpensive options with which to experiment in Dunlop’s lineup. Many here love their Primetones, and they’re very good picks, but they wear much faster than BC and the tone is a little different. But, definitely worth checking out until you find what you like. And, there are plenty among us that still prefer medium-heavy gauge celluloid picks they can buy in bulk for pennies per pick. More power to them!
    Chuck

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  9. #32

    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Quote Originally Posted by John Bertotti View Post
    Over the years I have collected or been gifted by family these five, all sizes I wanted to try and like. Oddly they all work fine on mandolin the small jazz100 being the oddest to use but I used to love the little stubby and the big stubby. I ordered that one wrong as I wanted the LG jazz 100. The LG jazz is one of my favorites. I found on mandolin I do tend to prefer the tone and attack of thinner ones, on guitar the thicker ones, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the thick one as well. What i have noticed is the BC picks can be thinner and i will like them and I think that is because of their rigidity. I stay mostly on the pointy part of the jazz but am finding I enjoy switching it up. Each imparts its own tonal character but some of that I find is pick grip related to the different size and shape. I tried the XR because some like round and I wanted to know. I won't toss any out because each will eventually find a case to live in with the instrument of its choice and one or two will stay with me because I tend to like it on all. One thing I found is i don't just like the tips on some I like rolling it around to the shoulder or back and the standard jazz size back has the same shape as the XR. I have some gravity picks from Nocturne guitar pedals and amps. I do like them as well. And oddly I still like some of the cheap store bough heavy picks. No clue what mass produced material it is and not all stores use the material I like. But since getting the BC picks I haven't really played the others for me they are a step above and I tend to watch them like a hawk so I don't lose them. Treat them like gold because they cost almost as much.
    Have you other Blue Chip users found that you like thinner BC picks compared to what you used to use? Here are some pictures for a comparison of shape and size.
    Click image for larger version. 

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Size:	559.2 KB 
ID:	191409
    Click image for larger version. 

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Views:	77 
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ID:	191410
    Click image for larger version. 

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Views:	69 
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ID:	191411
    I’m right there with you. I’m only a couple of years into playing mandolin but I’ve played guitar for decades. I have collected a number of guitar and mando picks and if I had to go with one right now for mandolin, it would be a Blue Chip TD. I don’t know the thickness but it’s definitely thin and might be their thinnest one. I get brightness with it that I just don’t get with thicker picks. That could be a product of the point and bevel too, but aside from that, I think it’s the thinness and rigidity of the BC, along with an appropriately rounded (not too pointy, not too rounded) point, that appeals to me. I have a thick David Grisman Dawg pick that just makes my mando strings sound dull. Its point and edge profile is far rounder than my thin BC, of course, so it’s better for tremolo, but I’m getting better and better at that with my BC. From what I’m seeing and hearing, the big factors in picks for me are thickness, point shape, material and bevel (or edge “profile”), in that order.
    Thoughts?

  10. #33

    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Wow. That seems really thick to me. My favorites seem to be 1mm or less. But I’m no more than an “early intermediate” at best.

  11. #34
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Quote Originally Posted by esslewis View Post
    I’m right there with you. I’m only a couple of years into playing mandolin but I’ve played guitar for decades. I have collected a number of guitar and mando picks and if I had to go with one right now for mandolin, it would be a Blue Chip TD. I don’t know the thickness but it’s definitely thin and might be their thinnest one. I get brightness with it that I just don’t get with thicker picks. That could be a product of the point and bevel too, but aside from that, I think it’s the thinness and rigidity of the BC, along with an appropriately rounded (not too pointy, not too rounded) point, that appeals to me. I have a thick David Grisman Dawg pick that just makes my mando strings sound dull. Its point and edge profile is far rounder than my thin BC, of course, so it’s better for tremolo, but I’m getting better and better at that with my BC. From what I’m seeing and hearing, the big factors in picks for me are thickness, point shape, material and bevel (or edge “profile”), in that order.
    Thoughts?
    I agree, although I find one pick in particular has a sound I like I find using them all has increased my pick handling ability. I find I really like pointy and thinner with the BC picks but that I also find rounder easier to use. I do think that by using all of them I am learning how to get a tone I like from each. I really like switching between them on the same tune and seeing how my technique changes a bit. This might seem odd but I have also noticed I prefer a different one for different types of music.
    My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A

    Creativity is just doing something wierd and finding out others like it.

  12. #35
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    I've been on the same hunt recently, Bernie2, and I'd now say everybody here is right! It seems like the sound and feel of different picks is unpredictable. For example, I got some Dunlop Ultex picks in regular shape Sharp (pointy) and triangular shape (bigger, less pointy) and a variety of thicknesses from under 1mm to 2mm, to try. Ultex is a very stiff material with quite a bright sound. However, if they didn't have thicknesses printed on, I'd swear that the Triangular 1.14mm is at least as thick as the Regular shape 1.40 - it's very nearly as stiff as the Regular shape 2.0, maybe just because it's a lot wider (?). That Triangular Ultex 1.14 was working for me till I tried a Black Mountain captive thumb pic, which looks like a regular black flatpick with a red spring clip on the back, and it stays on your thumb without mashing it. The 1.5mm (I think) plastic blade doesn't look like anything special, but on my mandolin it produces a fatter, warmer sound than anything else I tried, while also keeping the higher frequencies, dumping pick noise, and producing that satisfying 'plunk' noise, like water dripping into a bucket. My budget Eastman 305 is pretty bright, so this pick may sound muddy on a deep body 'Celtic' style mandolin, I dunno. It also makes my jangly 12 string guitar sound more full.

  13. #36
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	192183I find this an interesting observation this morning. Playing around with these picks the difference in tone is subtle but to me present. I like them all. The Gravity actually sounded decent but a bit brighter to me on my old wave. Now here is where things got interesting, trying some tremolo I found the round, obviously, was very easy for that. The rest worked well with a bit of change in my grip but oddly the small BC Jazz100 with the pointy end performed as well as any of them and as well as the XR. I assume the thickness allowed the pointyess to more easily glide over the strings.
    My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A

    Creativity is just doing something wierd and finding out others like it.

  14. #37
    Gibson F5L Gibson A5L
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    Default Re: Pick Thickness

    On picks .... there are three or four things to consider when looking into picks. Shape from small teardrop to large triangle. Thickness from .6 mm to 3.0 mm. Material from cheaper plastics to natural materials to casein to space age composites. Pricing #4, ranges from a few cents each to tens of dollars each. So I recommend Tortex picks as they come in a large variety of shapes and thicknesses and are relatively inexpensive. Once you figure out the shape and thickness you prefer then you may get into the different materials which is where costs escalate rapidly. Most of us likely have a jar can or bag of picks we no longer use or just didn't like. I settled on a Blue Chip TAD 60 for guitar and a BC CT-55 for mandolin. They are virtually indestructible and easy to hand on to. Enjoy the process. R/
    Last edited by UsuallyPickin; Feb-20-2021 at 10:45am. Reason: A few more words
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

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