Anyone NOT like Blue Chip picks?

[Paul Busman]

You're charging $250 for a pennywhistle on your web site and out here busting chops because of a $35 pick? You're certainly the expert on all things pricing in my book.

(psssst. It's just a piece of wood and a bit of metal).

Carry on.

Hey, since when does asking a simple question become busting chops???
Second-- that piece of wood and metal takes me about 6-8 hours of my so called free time to make from scratch. That's a LOT of hand labor, and time that could be spent with my family. At $250, these are up in the pretty high end of the whistle world. Maybe not Dude high, but maybe Collings high, percentage wise.
I'd be the last to tell people that they "need" a $250 whistle, and the point is well taken that you can make perfectly good music on a cheap one (although the comment that "all the pros play an $8 whistle" is a bit of a stretch-- some do, others play high end ones, including mine).
Thanks to the relatively few people who actually answered my question, rather than just reacting with ruffled feathers.

[neil argonaut]

Abuteugue's post mentioning $40 strings got me thinking of the plectrum pricing thing in a new way; If you change your strings say once a month, and your plectrum lasts a decade due to you being careful not to lose it, then getting a blue chip will cost less than getting strings that cost just 30 cents more, and will probably make more difference than 30 cents dearer strings, never mind $40 strings.

[Tom Wright]

The question inspired me to contact BC instead of just complaining about the mud-brown floor-camouflage color, but all the bluechippick.net addresses are not responding, including "contact" and "questions?".

Not that I'm a fan of the tone (tried one), actually liking Fender celluloid, but a pick that doesn't wear is appealing, if it were an easy-to see color. Almost any material can be electroplated now; red would be my choice.

[Paul Kotapish]

I like 'em a lot--just not as much as my Wegen's, which are also no particular bargain but worth every cent to me.

I'd take either over genuine tortoiseshell--karmic repercussions notwithstanding--any day, but if you like that real TS sound, the Bluechips come closest to my ear and hand. And they really do seem to be indestructable.

I certainly don't begrudge Bluechip their pound of flesh any more than do Paul's fees for his handmade, labor-intensive whistles.

Bluechip has a great product with an extremely limited market, and pricing them competively would probably result in one-way trip to bankruptcy court.

Same thing with handwound brass or handmade gut strings. They don't work for me, but I've heard them work wonders for others, and I'm happy that someone is out there making them. Selling a few thousand sets a year means the price is going to be high to keep the shop open.

It kind of reminds me of the argument over the price of CDs--remember them? Lots of folks would complain that $15 was ridiculous for a product that only cost a dollar and change to manufacture. But that equation never took into consideration the many thousands of dollars ($10K isn't that unusual for a small project) in recording costs, mastering, session fees, artwork, etc., not to mention the countless hours of coordinating it all. Couple that with realistic sales numbers (a few thousand would be a smash success for many acoustic acts), and that $15 price tag starts to make sense.

[greg_tsam]

Once I tried one I knew I had to buy one. CT55 works for me. I like the way it sticks to my fingers and slides off the strings. It changes the tone of my mando so it's not so bright and combined with my string choice it sounds great. Personal preference is all that matters here. And as long as I don't lose it, $35 dollars for my BC will last me a long time and give me great pleasure so it's a lot of bang for my buck. I even refused to entertain an offer to trade for a tortoise shell pic. I like it that much.

And as a simple disclaimer, I was one of the folks that thought spending so much for a BC was ridiculous but that was before I tried it.

[GRW3]

I can easily see why the BC chip would not satisfy. For instance, in my terms, it's very bright compared to the fat, rounded tone one gets with a Dawg pick. If using the Dawg gives you the tone you hear from the mandolin in your head, you won't be happy with the BC. There are other similar comparisons that can be made, even with 35¢ picks. I lucked out because the BC falls right in with the tone of the syn tortoise I was using. The material is much faster off the strings and I can use the help.

[mandobassman]

Bluechip has a great product with an extremely limited market, and pricing them competively would probably result in one-way trip to bankruptcy court...

I do remember reading an article about Blue Chip when I first found out about them, and in an interview with Matthew Goins he said the reason for the price was because of the incredible cost of the material (a .062" thick sheet of 12x12 inch material costs $1355.63).



He said that although the price was high that his profit margin was not that great. He's not charging that price just because it's a premium pick and he thinks it should cost that much.

[G. Fisher]

The question inspired me to contact BC instead of just complaining about the mud-brown floor-camouflage color, but all the bluechippick.net addresses are not responding, including "contact" and "questions?".

Not that I'm a fan of the tone (tried one), actually liking Fender celluloid, but a pick that doesn't wear is appealing, if it were an easy-to see color. Almost any material can be electroplated now; red would be my choice.

I believe the picks are brown because that is the color of the material they use to make them. In some cases it's not possible to add color to a material.

This is the material that has been mentioned that the picks are made from.

http://www.professionalplastics.com/MELDIN7001

[lukmanohnz]

Such passion! I just recently bought a TAD60-1R. As I worked my way through successively pricier picks (from 35 cent Fenders through $10 V-picks) I kept getting rewarded with better tone so I finally took the leap of faith and bought a BC for $38 (with shipping). It's extremely smooth, loud, and bright. That said, I use my JazzMando v-pick more often when practicing because I really love the feel and tone of that pick. But I will keep my BC and use it for jams when I want the added brightness and volume.

[mandobassman]

I use my JazzMando v-pick more often when practicing because I really love the feel and tone of that pick. But I will keep my BC and use it for jams when I want the added brightness and volume.

Interesting! I had exactly the opposite experience. I found the JazzMando V-Pick to be louder and brighter than the BC, and I was using the XR60, which is very similar in shape and thickness to the JM V-Pick.

[lukmanohnz]

That is curious. I suspect that the bevel plays a big role in brightness and volume. I have a Dawg pick that was my first foray into the mysterious world of picks designed specifically for mandolin, and found it to be very low volume at first. But after playing with it for a few days I started getting much more volume out of it, so clearly the way the pick is held and used to attack the strings also plays a big role in tone and volume. My v-picks don't have much of a bevel to speak of - just a rounded edge. But the BC has a very pronounced and sculpted bevel, and I think that is part of their magic. FYI - I hardly ever use that Dawg pick, but I'll hang on to it. Grisman is one of my all-time favorite players.

[Ivan Kelsall]

No pick on this earth wil make any of us 'better' players.What they will do is to make what you play ''sound different'' according to the thickness & shape of the picking point/bevel.Whether you like the difference or not, is your personal decision.I play as well as i can play with every pick i've tried out,some like the Wegens work on my instruments & some,like the Dawg & Golden Gate picks, don't.The1.0mm Wegen Bluegrass pick is my favourite,but,the Weber picks that came with my "Fern" sound just as good,but a tad more 'clicky' because they flex more. The Gibson 'Pure XH' picks also sound very similar indeed to the Wegens on my instruments.
Ivan

[abuteague]

I'm in the "I think a pick can make you a better player" camp.

I'm no professional, but for me, moving away from this dunlop pick made me a better player. I started with it because I liked its percussive and snappy sound. As much as I had grown to love it, other picks got me through musical phrases with better tone and fewer errors. I could also play faster with other picks. The old big stubby punished imprecision by getting hung up and not sliding well over strings. Too much friction made it difficult to play at speed with others. I started looking for new picks after 13 years because I recognized a problem. The pick was fine for playing slow by myself, but it was holding me back when I started playing out with others. Now I'm delighted that I took this journey. I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying something new to see if they get better performance.

Now if you are like my father-in-law and have a couple thousand fishing lures and I can catch just as many fish with a worm on a hook, well, that is a different kettle of fish altogether.

[Ken Willms]

That was my problem with the BC pick. My right hand played so much faster with it, that the right hand would finish the tune before the left hand finished. (LOL) It has finally caught up but it took awile.
I love my TPR50 for mando and TPR 40 for guitar.

[JeffD]

He said that although the price was high that his profit margin was not that great. He's not charging that price just because it's a premium pick and he thinks it should cost that much.

I don't care. Let him make a good buck. His product is well liked and apparently sells well at the price he charges. The market can bear it. He would be a fool to charge less, even if he could make a profit at a lower price.

That being said, when I am asked why I charge so much for what I do for a living I usually say the same types of things. Customers like to hear that.

[JeffD]

Everything I do on the mandolin that sounds great is my raw talent. Everything that sucks is because of the pick, or the mandolin, or the strings, or the sound man, or the change in humidity, or the magnetic field, or the end of the Mayan Calendar. (Why didn't they just buy a new calendar by the way - they have quite a selection at Barnes and Noble.)

[Kip Carter]

Why didn't they just buy a new calendar by the way

From what I've heard it was a Friday afternoon and had been a long week. They had Finished up on the future Mayan year and opted to cut out for an early weekend before proceeding with the following year on Monday. As he was walking home there was a solar eclipse and he fell off a cliff and broke his neck. All the other stone cutters took this as a bad omen and ran off to join the Mayan military and were consequently executed when they tried to fight with their chisels. If only they would have used their hammers the world might be going past this year!

At least.. that's what I heard...
Kip...

[Paul Kotapish]

[QUOTE=JeffD;1016788]Everything I do on the mandolin that sounds great is my raw talent. Everything that sucks is because of the pick, or the mandolin, or the strings, or the sound man, or the change in humidity, or the magnetic field, or the end of the Mayan Calendar. . . QUOTE]

Me, too!

[mandroid]

Doubt the Mayans were on Julius Caesar or Pope Gregory's calendar.. what year is it really ?
say on the Pagan calendar of 13 lunar cycles, rather than numbers according to a nemonic,
30 days hath september, april june and.. , etc..

by the way I can play the same notes on my instrument with what pick I have in my hand..
never was into 64th notes anyhow..

[Jim Garber]

As I mentioned in my post above, the raw materials alone to make these are incredibly expensive, so I can believe that the profit margin may not be very high. AFAIK the plastic is some formula of Meldin. You can see on this web page that a 1/16" X 12" X12" sheet cost over $1300. I would also imagine that it is not that easy to form and cut this stuff. It is pretty tough material.

So for those who want to try their had at making their own...

[JeffD]

I tried the DAWG picks and I was not able to get much volume with them. They did enable me to pick a little faster, but I found it harder to pull a good loud tone with them. That shape is just not pointy enough for me.

[Brent Hutto]

Yeah, when I first started mandolin lessons I showed the teacher a couple different picks and said I found the "Dawg" style pretty easy to play. My teacher's comment was "Might be easy to play but you're not getting any sound out it". So I went back to the picks with a bit of a point.

[Ignatius]

I would also imagine that it is not that easy to form and cut this stuff. It is pretty tough material.

I don't know about cutting a piece up, but I can say that I managed to ruin one of the picks quite easily with just a handful of well-placed strokes from a common emery board when I tried to change the bevel. I had assumed that the pick would be more resistant to me than it was, and the results were much more than I expected.

Ignatius

[Markus]

the end of the Mayan Calendar. (Why didn't they just buy a new calendar by the way - they have quite a selection at Barnes and Noble.)

They did. I believe this is the end of the 12th cycle of the `Mayan' calendar.

It's those north of the border who seem unaware that it's prophesizing a trip to Barnes and Noble, not fiery doom. You don't hear stories out of the Mayan regions of Mexico of bunkers and the like ... I'm betting it's party horns, extra food, and having people over.

[bratsche]

I have one (TAD60) that I ordered unfinished, as in with just a blunt edge, and then beveled to (my sense of) perfection. However, it is collecting dust for the most part these days. The main reason is that I seldom use that shape of pick anymore, preferring the elongated Roman plectrum shape, which I have to make from scratch due to their rarity. But even when I do go for the triangle, the Blue Chip is just too bright for my taste.

bratsche