Picks

[GeeBee]

I'm an old guitar player and relative newby mandolin player.

Up until now, I've been playing my mandolin with the same picks I use on my guitar -- Fender 351 Shape celluloid Heavy. Someone recently gifted me a Gravity Stealth 4mm pick. I played around with the new pick for about two minutes and decided that it just felt weird.

Then I looked up the Gravity picks website. Given that people pay $12 each for these, versus the 35 cents that a Fender pick costs, there must be something good about them. Maybe it's a guitar thing, like Brian May's sixpence or Billy Gibbon's peso.

My question then is this: Does anyone here use a really thick pick like this? What do you like about them? Would it be worth my time to play with it enough to get used to it and then see if I like it?

[Billy Packard]

I have several of these as well as several more B.C. made to my specs. This thickness suits me just fine on the mandolin. They are the most amazing picks I've ever used and worth every penny.
https://shop.bluechippick.net/products/CT55.html

Funny thing though, I don't use a pick at all on the guitar anymore. I play rock, country, electric and acoustic with fingers only. The last pick I used on electric guitar was a very thin, flexible one.

Billy

[TheMandoKit]

If you do a little searching here on the Cafe, you will find lots of threads on picks: brands, thickness, size, shape, materials. Many (maybe most?) mandolin players tend toward thicker picks, although there are a fair number of folks who use thinner ones.

Opinions on picks, particularly among mandolin players, are a lot like that one, um, you know, body part--everyone has one.

Best advice: most picks are pretty cheap (there are exceptions like Blue Chip, Red Bear and Apollo, with Wegen and Primetone being less of exceptions), so get a bunch of different sizes, thicknesses, materials, and try them out. Start cheap, and if you find one that you like, there you are. Even if you do opt for one of the more expensive boutique-y picks and decide you don't like it, you can probably sell it here on the Cafe for about what you paid for it.

As always, YMMV, and remember there are few things more individual than pick preference. You should use what feels right for your hand and style, and sounds right to your ears.

[lflngpicker]

GeeBee— I think that those of us who migrated from guitar have a whole different conception of pick variety. That 351 shape in the medium range was what I played all my life, so when I took up mandolin 9 years ago, it took me a while to land on a shape and thickness I liked for tone and ease of play. I think it is a great idea to try as many different pick shapes, materials and thicknesses as you can. You will find favorites and then you will fall in love with another type and so on, until you start to know what works best. I have several picks that I like including, Blue Chips, V Picks, Golden Gate Lg. triangle extra stiff, and Wegens. Lately I have been set on the Wegen 150 in black. It is a medium sized, rounded corner triangle with a 1.5 thickness. Fits the bill for me with most styles of music.

[Kevin Winn]

Check this thread on the Traveling Pick Sampler. If it's still going, add your name to the list and you'll be able to try out a whole variety of different brands, thicknesses and shapes. Chances are good you'll find one that you like.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...t=pick+sampler

[meow-n-dolin]

If you do a little searching here on the Cafe, you will find lots of threads on picks: brands, thickness, size, shape, materials. Many (maybe most?) mandolin players tend toward thicker picks, although there are a fair number of folks who use thinner ones.

Opinions on picks, particularly among mandolin players, are a lot like that one, um, you know, body part--everyone has one.

Best advice: most picks are pretty cheap (there are exceptions like Blue Chip, Red Bear and Apollo, with Wegen and Primetone being less of exceptions), so get a bunch of different sizes, thicknesses, materials, and try them out. Start cheap, and if you find one that you like, there you are. Even if you do opt for one of the more expensive boutique-y picks and decide you don't like it, you can probably sell it here on the Cafe for about what you paid for it.

As always, YMMV, and remember there are few things more individual than pick preference. You should use what feels right for your hand and style, and sounds right to your ears.

I second this recommendation!

[urobouros]

I did the same when I started playing mandolin 'cuz that's what I had on hand. I find I like a more pointed pick for guitar with a lighter guage than the flatter, heavier picks I like for double courses. I've been experimenting with thumb picks from Black Mountain lately but still use Dunlop Prime Tone 1.5 picks for mandolin & family. For electric, I tend to stick with my guitar picks.

[Tom Wright]

I use the 351 shape from Dunlop in Ultex 1.0 mm. That is roughly the same as a Fender heavy but a stiffer material. Powerful and lasts a long time, for cheap.

[Jim Garber]

I think the OP deserves an answer that very few of us mandolin players would use a 4mm thick pick regardless of who made it. Most are playing 1mm-1.5mm or thereabouts. Some Celtic players like thinner since they do some very quick ornaments. The ultra thick 4mm AFAIK is used primarily by gypsy jazz guitar players.

[onassis]

FWIW, I've found that shape and bevel are the most significant factors in whether or not I like a pick, followed by thickness and material. My personal preference is for large triangles with a RH bevel in the 1.2-1.5mm range. Blue Chip and Apollo (casein and PEEK) are my go-to picks, but if I only ever had a Primetone or Fender XH, I'd be satisfied.

[Mitch Stein]

Wegen and Primetone. If you haven't tried them, you can afford to.

[Ray(T)]

I’d second either Wegen or Primetone. The Primetone are probably easier to get hold of and you need to decide whether you prefer the ones with rounded or pointy corners. Ultimately, you should use what you feel comfortable with and I’ve found that different picks suit different instruments.

I’ve yet to be convinced that the really expensive picks are not a case of “The King’s New Clothes”. Mandolin players have got along fine without them for decades and, if you pay upwards of $30 for a pick, you’re bound to think it’s better than the cheaper ones, aren’t you!

[GeeBee]

if you pay upwards of $30 for a pick, you’re bound to think it’s better than the cheaper ones, aren’t you!

I'm a good example of that, right in this thread! I tried the Gravity pick that was given to me, and didn't like it. Then when I found out it cost $12 I thought I should give it another chance. Well, I did, and I still don't like it. LOL

[Rick Jones]

I like thick picks, but 4mm is REALLY thick. I use picks that thick if playing Gypsy Jazz guitar - I even have a 5mm Wegen - but on mandolin they're just too much. That said, I kind of like 2mm or 1.8mm. A good, cheap pick worth looking at are the Dunlop 208s. I've been carrying those around for decades.