I started with a Dunlop .73mm but it was too stiff.
Next grade down at the local music shop was .60mm so I bought a couple.
Seems to work better but when hammering through some triplets they start to feel rather soft.
I started with a Dunlop .73mm but it was too stiff.
Next grade down at the local music shop was .60mm so I bought a couple.
Seems to work better but when hammering through some triplets they start to feel rather soft.
I use a Golden Gate "stiff" .91mm, but i'm too new to have a valid opinion. joe
I have just been using my usual mandolin picks (Wegen TF140)… should I be trying something thinner?
I don't use a different pick going from Mandolin to Octave, either prime tone 1.4 or prime tone 1.5, and recently I have been using a Blue Chip CT 55 which does just fine.
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hmm, those are all much stiffer than .70 or .60mm.
Maybe i'm moving in the wrong direction.
Funny thing is I just purchased a CT 55 compared to my CT 40 - On my Gibson f-2 1914 it really brings out volume and feels much better.
On my OM though, I am finding I prefer the CT 40. I like the lighter pick as it seems to make the sound come clearer from the notes compared to the heavier pick.
Interesting things!!
I use stiffer picks on mandolin than on octave mando because of the scale length difference. Shorter, therefore less flexible, strings make the stiffer plectra essential while longer, more flexible strings of octave are more compatible with thinner picks with a little more flex to them. So on mandolin I usually use 1.3-1.5 mm and on octave it’s 0.8-1.3 mm. I have a range on hand and I occasionally try others but mostly I use Dawg, Primetone 1.4 and clown barf 1.3 for mandolin and the same clown barf 1.3 or a couple mystery picks (0.8 or 0.9) from my collection on octave.
A couple years in, now, and still learning!
Ratliff F-style Country Boy
Eastman MDO-305 Octave Mandolin
Kentucky KM-272
I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
I use a Blue Chip TAD40-1R (speed bevel right hand) which is 1.0mm thickness.
I use that same pick on octave mandolin, standard mandolin, and acoustic steel string guitar. With the Irish and Scottish trad I mostly play, thicker picks are more difficult for me to hit treble ornaments on mandolin or OM. Anything thinner tends to lose too much energy bending the pick. As it turned out, this particular pick also works fine for guitar, so it keeps things simple. Fewer picks to keep track of.
I did a lot of experimenting years ago and ended up here. Maybe there is a better pick out there, but once you settle in with something that works, the motivation to keep experimenting tends to disappear.
Lebeda F-5 mandolin, redwood top
Weber Yellowstone F-5 octave mandolin
Wegen 150 pick. triangular shape with grooved indentations in the center. does not shift or slip away or rotate when playing. (would use the 250 and 350, but they have too much friction). strings are thomastic flat woulds (guitar strings custom set).
I use Blue Chips - Jazz 60 and Jazz 50 on electrics and IBJ 55 on acoustics - on most of my guitars, but I like 2.5mm Wegen Twins on my Mandola and Octave Mandolin.
1.33 shell for my Randy Wood F 5. A slightly heaver one for guitar.
I use Red Bear heavy picks for all my instruments & vary the shape depending on the style. I do like a slightly thinner pick for acoustic guitar strumming but still in the 1.25-1.5 range.
2020 Northfield Big Mon
2016 Skip Kelley A5
2011 Weber Gallatin A20
2021 Northfield Flattop Octave Mandolin
2019 Pono Flattop Octave
Richard Beard Celtic Flattop
And a few electrics
On mandolin my favs are TAD 60 and CT 55 or similar (so 1.4-1.5 mm). Have some thicker but those are my go to picks. On OM I use a TAD 50 or a Wegen TF 120. I will occasionally use something heavier on OM (sent a vid to my brothers using a Toneslab 1.4 mm on Monday just cuz it was out), but tend to stay a little thinner on OM, especially if I’m mostly playing rhythm. I don’t feel like I need so much pick with the OM’s longer scale length and floppier strings.
But, do what works for you. I started off using a .73 Dunlop, even on mando, because I had them and didn’t know any better, then moved to Fender Heavy, then up to Wegen TF 140 on mando, 120 on guitar and OM, then just kept falling down the rabbit hole…
Chuck
I use the prodigy 2.0mm from Ernie Ball. They got a nice shape and feel good in my hands. Slimer ones don't do it for me - I dont like the sound they produce.
Recently tried the 2mm from Gator, but they got a way to rough surface.
I've tried just about every brand and shape of pick. I've gone from 1.0 mm up to 3.0 mm thickness. For years I felt like 2.0 mm was the absolute best thickness for every plectrum instrument I play. Now I've backed off to 1.5 mm, mainly because my favorite picks (original Gravity Gold PEEK) aren't available in 2.0 mm - just 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm, and I found 2.5 mm to be too thick.
I use the same 1.5 mm Gravity Gold on all my mandolins, mandola, octave mandolin and mandocello. I still like my M200 (2.0 mm) Wegen's also.
I use a Blue Chip CT 55. I'm happy with the feel and sound I get with the CT.
"Put your hands to the wood
Touch the music put there by the summer sun and wind
The rhythms of the rain, locked within the rings
And let your fingers find The Music in the Wood."
Joe Grant and Al Parrish (chorus from The Music in the Wood)
After trying a bunch of different picks over the years, I’ve settled on BlueChip TD 35 for playing tunes and a Primetone .73 for strumming. They have the right amount balance between stiffness and flexibility that suits my playing style. Anything much thicker and I find trebling more difficult. I like their longevity as well.
Rob
I use a Wegen 140 large triangle. I have also used the BC equivalent. Both work well for me.
I just got some work done on my OM and I ordered a Tone Slab TS 3 Tri Round which came the day after I got my OM back. It is right hand speed bevel and 1.5mm thick. I love it. It grips well, is slick on the strings, loud, clear, and responsive. I absolutely love it. I previously played a Blue Chip CT pick but I don't like it nearly as much as the Tone Slab.
I use a much more rounded pick for the mandolin and a pointier one for the OM.
I use the Primetone 1.5mm picks on all mandolin family instruments. Works well for me.
Gibson 2016 "Harvey" Fern
Collings MT Mandola
Weber 2017 Bitterroot A20-F Octave Mandolin
Crump BIII Irish Bouzouki
Petersen Level 2 Irish Bouzouki
Eastman MDC805 Mandocello
Collings 0002H
Five & Six String Banjos
Lots of other Guitars
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The Hal Leonard Irish Bouzouki Method:
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