More click with the pick

[Bertram Henze]

I am using Clayton Ultems .80, and they make a pretty clicky sound already, but I need to be more audible in loud sessions sometimes. When I start a tune, fiddles join in and run away on me because they cannot hear me anymore. I hope that with more noise at least my timing can be conveyed.

Anyone out there who know clickier picks than Ultems?

Bertram

[Matt Hutchinson]

Hi,

I use Wegen picks and they make a huge difference to the volume of my mandolin. I think the bevelled edges help but their picks in general just really work for me.

Matt

[fredfrank]

I've used about every pick you can name, including Wegen, real TS, etc. For my ear, the Red Bear picks are the best at digging out all the sound a mandolin has to offer. I use the Style C-heavy, and although you might think it would be difficult to play with a thick pick, the edge they put on them seems to glide right through the strings. I actually have to be careful not to speed up on a tune!

[Jim Broyles]

If I understand your post correctly, you are looking for a pick which has a louder pick-to-string click than your Claytons, right? For starters, the .120 Ultems would probably be louder in that respect, but the loudest string-click pick I have ever used is the Wegen TF-140. I can't, however, imagine why anyone would actually want more string click. A heavier pick would probably give you the same desired result - being heard by others at your sessions.

[Meadowview]

I have tried Dawg, Golden Gate, Wegen, Red Bear and who knows what else. The best all around ones that I have found are Fender 346 Extra Heavy. They are hard to find, but I got mine on E-Bay.

[Bertram Henze]

Thanks to all so far, I have ordered two TF140 to give it a try - man these are expensive... I hope they keep longer to make up for the price.

Bertram

The loudest click I've had was with the Jim Dunlop lexan Big Stubby - the purple ones.

[earthsave]

The thicker the pick the less click you are gonna get. The more point the more dig, but also more catching. I like the Wegen shape. Those TF140s are not too bad looking. A little pointy for my tastes, but the extra thickness should help you out.

I've found that it's a rare mando that can compete with a couple fiddles or worse a banjo or two. No matter how hard you play or what pick you use the volume and tone of your mandolin is the most important part to compete with louder instruments and louder players.

[Jim Broyles]

The loudest click I've had was with the Jim Dunlop lexan Big Stubby - the purple ones.

Yes, they are quite loud, especially the triangular ones. The Old original Big Stubby, shaped like a standard pick is not so clicky when I play them. I think the TF-140's are louder.

[mandroid]

... this would be an everybody plays at once problem ?

A rota for the solos would need to be established .



Melody-Banjo, a mando-banjo with 4 strings, is a good voice.

I fussed around with a no-name MB till it sounded good enough.

Speaks right up, it does.

[mandobsessed]

The biggest trick to obtaining more volume is not the pick (it makes a difference but not as much as you would think) but the right hand. I can be a very loud player and have been known to drown out a banjo player on occasion. I get good consistent volume out of any pick of between .90 and 1.5. The heavier picks (Wegen, GG) tend to be a bit quieter and less punchy. Using the pointy end will give you more volume and punch, and you can counter the brightness of the pick by angling it a bit more as it strikes the strings.

For me the trick is to strike the strings with as much force as you can with as little motion in the right hand as possible. "Digging in" doesn't give me any more volume and takes away articulation and fluidity.

[Mandolusional]

The biggest trick to obtaining more volume is not the pick (it makes a difference but not as much as you would think) but the right hand.

It's funny because just tonight I had my first lesson with a new instructor, and one of the first things I mentioned to him was that I thought my mandolin was fairly quiet. Five minutes later and a different angle in my wrist and I started to worry the neighbors were going to call and complain (the lesson was in my apartment). FWIW, I use a Wegen TF140 which is noticeably brighter and louder on the 1st and 2nd strings than my Dawg, Golden Gate, Proplec or plain plastic picks.

[Paul vG]

This conversation, and those last two posts in particular, have been extremely helpful.

I've been staying with an extra heavy pointed fender pick so far - and have tried a dawg pick but found it made too soft a sound.

But now I spent some time paying attention to the angle I was holding it and find that the same dawg pick can really punch out.

Thanks

[mandobsessed]

With my students I usually spend a lot of time working with pick angle and pick striking technique. Unfortunately there aren't really any rules as everyone has different hands and body rhythms. My right hand technique may not work for any of my students.

I try to get my students aware of economy of movement (be as frugal with right hand movement as possible while still getting the desired tone) right hand positioning(how the arm, wrist, hand, fingers and even the way the mandolin is held all interact to create tone) pick angle, and the force of the picking.

[billkilpatrick]

this and other recent, picky threads caused my to buy two of the dunlop "big stubby" picks. the 1.0mm is ok; doesn't make too much of a "click" but the 3.0mm - while very comfortable to hold - sounds like i'm playing with glass. both improved when the edges were smoothed down with one of those pink sticks women use to buff their fingernails.

anyone try the 3.0mm, nylon "big stubby?"

<< anyone try the 3.0mm, nylon "big stubby?" >>

Not yet but I'm probably going to. I like everything about the 3 mm big stubby in lexan except for the very loud click.

[Bertram Henze]

I have tried the Wegen TF140. They are not bad, but their tone is still too smooth for me.

However, their shape gave me this idea: I bought thicker Claytons, which are normally not very clicky because of the quite round edges, gave them bevelled edges (just like the Wegens have) with a file I otherwise use for my fingernails. Believe it or not - it worked. The result is quite near to what I wanted.

By the way, the dust created by filing off looked exactly like what I get when filing my fingernails - so that's what they are made of...

Bertram

[Ted Eschliman]

Respectfully, I'm surprised a player wants more "click" than string. I used the Dunlop Ultex (similar to the Clayton Ultems) for a long time, but swiched to the Proplec, for the purpose of getting more of the string fundamental than what I considered to be an obnoxious high-pitched pick percussiveness. I wanted music out of my mando, not the sound of squirrels scampering across the top (...granted, in rhythm).

To each his/her own...

[Avi Ziv]

I am using Clayton Ultems .80, and they make a pretty clicky sound already, but I need to be more audible in loud sessions sometimes. When I start a tune, fiddles join in and run away on me because they cannot hear me anymore. I hope that with more noise at least my timing can be conveyed.

I'm afraid that this is an "occupational hazard" of the mandolin in a session...No pick is going to solve this problem and the harder you play, the less control you have and the worse the quality of the sound. Several fiddles and boxes will easily down out the mandolin. I've been run over by the best of them and I've had sets hijacked and taken to places I never intended them to go.... Over time I developed ways to deal with it but they have nothing to do with the instrument. First - I learned to accept the reality. Once I stopped feeling so bad about it, it helped increase my enjoyment. I also realized that I didn't need to stand out, but rather blend. I also started bringing new tunes to the session. This gives me the opportunity to play solo or with only one or two other people - a very pleasant experience. This lasts until the rest learn the tunes, of course.

I used to play thinner picks but recently went back to thick ones since I simply like the sound better.

And....I starting learning....tenor banjo....

Avi

[Bertram Henze]

...I also started bringing new tunes to the session. This gives me the opportunity to play solo or with only one or two other people - a very pleasant experience. This lasts until the rest learn the tunes, of course....

And....I starting learning....tenor banjo....

Avi

Solo tunes are what I also do, even some the fiddlers will never learn (tunes written by mando players present unexpected problems for them, e.g. try Rick Gagne's "Indian Summer"). So standing out is cared for, but sometimes I like simple timing discipline. This might be more than just a pick can provide, though - I am hoping for plan B involving foot-tapping and hard shoe heels, being not too much of a surprise since the session is also attended by step-dancers...

Tenor banjo is what I used to play 20 years ago, and I know its power, but I also know its downsides - chords and double stops are just not the same on a TB.

Bertram

[mandroid]

jdunlop #208, is thick and pointy, got one ,
and now all the other 'Dwarves' are fussing,
may have to get one for the others, too.

Grumpy is the worst