Outrageous Price of Picks

[allenhopkins]

What? No strap?

You'll laugh (well, your smiley actually did already), but I went to a local craft store, purchased a piece of scrap leather for less than a dollar, punched a couple holes in it, and called it a strap. It's now migrated to my Gibson Army/Navy Custom, and the Strad-O-Lin is sporting a length of leather thong, probably 50¢ worth, from the same craft store.

Biggest investment was a decent hardshell case, after the tan canvas bag that came with the Strad-O-Lin was certified unrepairable. The Strad's played innumerable jams and sing-arounds, been recorded on two CD's, and serenaded a few festivals, including the crowds waiting to get into the White House Easter egg roll. Best $25 I ever spent.

[journeybear]

The debate about picks reminds me of the quest audiophiles go through for the ultimate speakers. That's something that gets into some bucks ...

I was thinking something very similar the other day. I remember when audiophile magazines started touting the virtues of high end speaker cables. They had comparison charts with ratings and everything. One advocate propounded his belief that every other component of a hi-fi system was state of the art, and the only thing left to improve was the wires. My take was that they'd gone around the bend and have never looked at another such magazine.

I am blissful in my ignorance of the effect a high end pick can have on one's sound. Maybe someday I'll check one out, but I don't get it. I don't hear any difference even between a regular pick and a heavy or extra heavy one, but I feel a difference, and use extra heavy ones because of the quick response, not any difference in sound. Thinner picks produce more pick noise, and that I hear, and that will be transmitted by a microphone, but I don't think this will show up through a pickup.

I'm all for progress, and tweaking every detail of a mandolin's capabilities to achieve optimal performance. And maybe the wizards at Wegen, Blue Chip, Red Bear, etc have got something there that I don't know about. The bottom line for me, though, has always been musicianship, and whatever pick you use you still have to play your instrument well to make it sound its best.

[JeffD]

I am blissful in my ignorance of the effect a high end pick can have on one's sound. :

I have not seen a better summary than this:

http://jazzmando.com/tips/archives/000718.shtml

[journeybear]

That is good - thanks for sharing. Ted really took some time to clarify the different characteristics or picks and how variations influence the sound. I would like to hear some sound clips for comparison, but that's all right. I may spend a little time putting a bit more bevel on my Dunlop just to see - that's the aspect that appealed most to me.

[JeffD]

That is good - thanks for sharing. Ted really took some time to clarify the different characteristics or picks and how variations influence the sound. :

Yea. Its one thing to say, as I often do: "Hey try a bunch of picks and see what you like." Its quite another to have it explained what to listen for.

[Shelagh Moore]

Well my Wegen TF 100s arrived and, I have to say, I like them very much indeed... even better than my faithful Kashos. They sound a little different to the celluloids but I can get a good range of tones and good volume with them and they feel good in the hand.

Not sure I can afford BCs but I'm working my way up... certainly a worthwhile €15 for two.

[wogster]

A $25 mandolin is not a bargain, it is the first step in a life time of expenditures. Its like a free air conditioner, or the preverbial free puppy.

Sometimes it is a lot cheaper to just walk away. Or, more importantly, once you have decided not to walk away, don't fool yourself, your gonna spend money.

Had a free kitten once that cost $850 in vet bills, in the first year... Although if you did get a $25 mandolin, and it was in decent condition, paying $45 for a pick would seem kinda stupid, but if you got a fully custom hand built mandolin that cost $25,000, then $45 for a pick would seem very reasonable.

[mando on the side]

I recently got a blue chip. It brought out frequencies my mandolin did not know it had. It opened up like it has never opened up before and I've had the mando for at least 3 years now, with at least an hour's worth of playing every day. The sound is warmer, crisper, chunkier, thunkier, louder. It was the best $35 I've spent!

[JeffD]

Although if you did get a $25 mandolin, and it was in decent condition, paying $45 for a pick would seem kinda stupid, but if you got a fully custom hand built mandolin that cost $25,000, then $45 for a pick would seem very reasonable.

OK you get your $25 mandolin in decent (no structural issues) condition. Of course that is a real, real great deal. Likely needs a new set of strings. ($6)

You take it to the shop and get it set up, neck and bridge adjusted to get lower the action at the 12 fret. ($75) Intonation is now great, sound great. Your not gonna carry a mandolin in a sack right, so a case from Musicians Friend or where ever. ($30). And you need a strap. ($10)

So our $25 mandolin is now up to $146. And since we aren't talking about a previous mandolin you may already have (whose cost might justify the high end pick), you probably need a tuner. ($30).

So we are into this for $176, (which on the face of it would justify the cost of a high end pick), and we haven't even considered such things as an instrument stand to hold the thing while you get coffe, some tunebooks, a music stand, a metronome.

OK we won't count an arm rest, tone guard, or damping grommets, microphone? amplifier?

Then there are lessons? No? OK how about weekend festivals, week long mandolin camps, gasoline to and from the jam session and fast food or stopping at the diner on the way home. None of those expenses would happen if you walked away from the bargain mandolin.

Point is, that $25 mandolin that comes into your life is gonna cost you a whole lot. Compared to which the high end pick is peanuts. If one is concerned about the cost of the pick, one would have to have to question the propriety of the whole musical endeavor, and that piece of dutch apple pie at the diner every week after the jam.

A fellow could go broke saving money on picks.

[Charley wild]

Jeff, are you still dispensing perverted logic over here??

[journeybear]

A boat is a hole in the water you throw your money into.

An instrument is a hole in the silence you throw your money into.

Maybe in smaller quantities, but still ...

[300win]

I recently got a blue chip. It brought out frequencies my mandolin did not know it had. It opened up like it has never opened up before and I've had the mando for at least 3 years now, with at least an hour's worth of playing every day. The sound is warmer, crisper, chunkier, thunkier, louder. It was the best $35 I've spent!

I'll second that ! Never in all my 40+ years of playing have I found one single item that enhances the tone of a instrument. It worked on my mandolins, it worked on my guitars. Really until I tried the BC pick I was as skeptical as thay come, I thought no way is a pick made of any material going to be better than tortise, of which I have some very old ones, but man was I proven wrong. I have a 50 for my mandos and a 40 for my guitars. I will be getting more BC's, not because the ones I have are wearing, on the contrary they have not worn at all, but because I would hate to lose the ones I have, so I'm getting more just in case that does happen. I don't feel that $35 is such a streach to play for something that makes your instrument sound it's best, and on top of that the BC is the only pick I've ever held that did not want to slide around in my hand. All others that I've had the point I begin playing with on a tune I would end up with a differant point. That does not happen with the BC, the point you begin with is the point you will end with, no slipping and sliding at all. The ultimate pick to hold. The ultimate pick in my opinion period !

[JeffD]

Jeff, are you still dispensing perverted logic over here??

I know I know. Its that new artificial sweetener I put in my coffee. It affects my thinking. For example: A couple of weeks ago I fertilized my front lawn, and now I am complaining that I have to mow it again.

[Steve G]

I have to agree with 300win 300%! BTW, I sat on the fence for a year watching the thread on BC's get bigger. I can only imagine the cost and time that went into designing these pics. I noticed that right out of the envelope. No problem with the $35. Best mandolin pick I've ever used. I still like my $1.25 Gibson EXH teardrop for guitar though.

[300win]

I have to agree with 300win 300%! BTW, I sat on the fence for a year watching the thread on BC's get bigger. I can only imagine the cost and time that went into designing these pics. I noticed that right out of the envelope. No problem with the $35. Best mandolin pick I've ever used. I still like my $1.25 Gibson EXH teardrop for guitar though.

Steve you shopuld try a 40 or the new 35 that he has for guitar, I believe you would like the results. I always used a Clayton 1.20mm on guitar until I got my BC 40, a world of differance in the tone/volume/playability/overall sound.