$35.00 Vs. $1.00 - Pick Wars

[Uncle Bob]

Hi all,

Just got my new Blue Chip SR40 pick today (by the way, amazing service from the Blue Chip people; ordered on Monday (6/11/12), and received it today, two days later - that's pretty good!).

So, I ordered this Blue Chip SR40 pick to (? replace ?) my Blue Chip TPR45 pick. I really like the TPR45, but I sometimes find myself going back to my old ($1.00) Golden Gate pick, because I like really like its more rounded tip and mellow sound. I thought the SR40 might be alittle more like the Golden Gate's shape but have all the other plus's that Blue Chip picks seem to have that alot of players really like.

Here's how they look side by side:



Bottom line: Do I like the Blue Chip SR40? Yes, it's one excellent pick - great grip, feel, tone, everything. This is one amazing pick!

Is it 35 times better then the Golden Gate pick? That's alittle harder to answer. I still like them both, but this Blue Chip SR 40 is really something special. 35 times better - not so sure about that, but to be fair, my mandolin playing is not good enough to make these kind of judgements for anybody; it's just my newbie opinion.

Just some thoughts I wanted to share with the Forum. Thanks again for express some thoughts!

[dang]

I also got into the Blue Chip SR (mine is a 60) and really like it. I tried many of the different shapes before I ended up with the SR, and it is now my favorite. You said it: Grip, Tone, Feel...

Now I just need to order a backup in case I misplace it!

[mandobassman]

The results of these "tests" are so subjective. Everybody has different tastes. But, I think the big mistake that many people make here is the assumption that Blue Chip charges $35 for a pick because they think it is "35 times better" than a $1 pick. They charge $35 because the material is ridiculously expensive compared to celluloid, which is what I believe the Golden Gate is made of. A sheet of 12" x 12" x 1/16" is over $1300. One thing I think is safe to say is that the Blue Chip will probably last 35 times longer than celluloid. They have the smoothest edge of any pick I have ever used and they are VERY hard to wear down.

[Vernon Hughes]

I must be old school..Been using fender extra heavy for at least 30 years..Have a tort that sounds good on my '21 A-2 but not on any of my other mandos..Somebody gave me a couple golden gates,they seem waaaay too thick and make the mando sound muddy..at least to me..Tried a blue chip or 2 and felt the same way..For 35.00 I can get a 144 of the fenders and loose them at will,wear them out,whatever. just sayin'..to each his own.

[Earl Gamage]

I must be old school..Been using fender extra heavy for at least 30 years..Have a tort that sounds good on my '21 A-2 but not on any of my other mandos..Somebody gave me a couple golden gates,they seem waaaay too thick and make the mando sound muddy..at least to me..Tried a blue chip or 2 and felt the same way..For 35.00 I can get a 144 of the fenders and loose them at will,wear them out,whatever. just sayin'..to each his own.

Fender heavy and extra heavy are hard to beat. I always have a couple laying out handy. I have found the bluechip is pretty fast though. I have a bowl of different picks like probably most people here.

[Dave LaBoone]

I agree with "to each his own," but consider this: you've spent hundreds or thousands on your mandolin. Are you unwilling to spend $34 more to make your instrument sound even better? Yes, I realize "better" is subjective, but the price of a pick is a very small percentage of the price of your mando, and for me, the Blue Chip can't be beat. Just my $.02.

[Mike Snyder]

A sharp pair of scissors and credit card you want to kill= picks for free!!!!!

[terzinator]

I agree with "to each his own," but consider this: you've spent hundreds or thousands on your mandolin. Are you unwilling to spend $34 more to make your instrument sound even better? Yes, I realize "better" is subjective, but the price of a pick is a very small percentage of the price of your mando, and for me, the Blue Chip can't be beat. Just my $.02.

I know there have been a million BC threads, and what difference will one more comment by me make? But the above is kinda my thinking, too. I think they do sound better. You can have a choice: a $2000 mandolin that sounds good, or a $2035 mandolin that sounds better (picks crisper, cleaner, smoother, faster, etc... Like having a great setup.). The BCs feel better in my fingers, too. Tackier, grippier -- without feeling "sticky."

Plus, I don't lose picks anymore.

When I used cheap picks, I figured, who cares if I lose one? And that I did. Never knew where a pick was, either. Always had to hunt one down because I didn't care about any particular pick. Now, with the BC, I ALWAYS know where one is, and if I don't, I hunt it down immediately.

[Ravenwood]

I agree with "to each his own," but consider this: you've spent hundreds or thousands on your mandolin. Are you unwilling to spend $34 more to make your instrument sound even better? Yes, I realize "better" is subjective, but the price of a pick is a very small percentage of the price of your mando, and for me, the Blue Chip can't be beat. Just my $.02.

I'll second that. I play an $800 fiddle with a $900 bow, and an $800 mandolin with a $35 BC pick. Seems like a pretty decent deal on that BC pick to me.

[mandroid]

Wish the 'clown-barf' was still in production.. X Heavy, the rounded big triangle shape.
easy to hold on to, but if dropped, easy to find.. mock-tortoise brown much less obvious.

[foldedpath]

Plus, I don't lose picks anymore.

Yep, that's the subtle extra feature you get with a BC: If you don't already have a good system for keeping track of your picks, you'll develop one, pronto.

I've only managed to lose one BC in the couple of years since I switched, and that was under circumstances that won't happen again because I've changed how I manage my picks. One main BC and a backup in the case is all I need, instead of the dozens of Fender Heavies that used to lie around the house and get stashed in cases. There is still a Fender Heavy that lives in my wallet for emergencies, or for loaning out at jams when someone needs a pick.

Wish the 'clown-barf' was still in production.. X Heavy, the rounded big triangle shape. easy to hold on to, but if dropped, easy to find.. mock-tortoise brown much less obvious.

I don't ever drop picks while playing (knock on wood), but I've fumbled a few while doing something else like adjusting the PA or a recorder, or messing with charts. That brown BC color is perfect for disappearing against a wood floor or dark carpet. I wish they actually were blue.

On the overall theme here... my S.O. is a fiddler and in that world you're supposed to spend at least half as much on a bow as you do for the fiddle. A $35 pick is nothing by comparison, if you can manage to avoid losing it. And it doesn't even need re-hairing!

[John Flynn]

Well based on the fiddle (dubious) logic of spending half the price of the instrument on the bow, and on the (equally dubious) logic that the price of the pick should not be on how much better it is, but what the materials and fabricating cost, then I think everyone with a really high-end mandolin should be playing with one of these. The Starpic, made in Australia from meteorites. $5,000 AUD ($4,674 USD) apiece.

[George R. Lane]

Well based on the fiddle (dubious) logic of spending half the price of the instrument on the bow, and on the (equally dubious) logic that the price of the pick should not be on how much better it is, but what the materials and fabricating cost, then I think everyone with a really high-end mandolin should be playing with one of these. The Starpic, made in Australia from meteorites. $5,000 AUD ($4,674 USD) apiece.

John if I use one of them will my playing sound out of this world?????????

[John Flynn]

John if I use one of them will my playing sound out of this world?????????

Yes, the sound has been described as "cosmic" and even "heavenly." Since the pick is made from meteors, your playing will be "high impact," although if you're not careful, your mandolin won't just have pick marks, it will have craters!

[Jeff Budz]

Blue Chip isn't 35x better, it's probably 1.3x better, but that extra .3x costs you $34. It's like a Loar isn't 250x better than a The Loar, quality doesn't increase linearly with $$.

[if6was9]

Wish the 'clown-barf' was still in production.. X Heavy, the rounded big triangle shape.
easy to hold on to, but if dropped, easy to find.. mock-tortoise brown much less obvious.

PM'ed you

[pjlama]

Great, just the mention of BC picks and I just forked over $105 to Matt while he's sleeping.

[Mark Seale]

In searching for the tone a playability between the BC and Dawg, I found these at Greg Boyd... I'm hooked.

http://gregboyd.com/accessory_detail...ssory_key=1112

[dang]

Blue Chip isn't 35x better, it's probably 1.3x better, but that extra .3x costs you $34. It's like a Loar isn't 250x better than a The Loar, quality doesn't increase linearly with $$.

Whew, I thought I was going to be the nerd to point out the non-linear relationships

I would guess logarithmic but now I am just speculating that it is not simply correlative.

[Paul Busman]

.... The Starpic, made in Australia from meteorites. $5,000 AUD ($4,674 USD) apiece.

With that 6 pointed grain pattern on the left, it should be a Jewish Starpic...

[Brutus1999]

On the overall theme here... my S.O. is a fiddler and in that world you're supposed to spend at least half as much on a bow as you do for the fiddle. A $35 pick is nothing by comparison, if you can manage to avoid losing it. And it doesn't even need re-hairing![/QUOTE]
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I tend to use Chia seeds in a watery paste on my picks -- within a few days, it's easier to hold, although it has to be mowed twice a week.

By the way, I also have available some Fender Mediums that have been coated with a special Cremona varnish from that great 17th century Italian luthier, Lloyd Fibonacci -- what a wonderful tone -- available in a six pack for $200,000, and if you order twelve, I'll throw in a Thomastik string (a $5000 value!). Order now!

(Just discovered Plecs -- I like them, but everyone's hands, mandos, playing ability, and ears are different!)

[Mandolin Mick]

I've been told that there are 2 things in life where you get what you pay for ... toilet paper & razor blades ...

[billkilpatrick]

money talks - same as it ever was. whether that talk is worth listening to or not is debatable, but $34 for a thumb-sized sliver of high-tech plastic is definitely saying something.

[Corin]

Well based on the fiddle (dubious) logic of spending half the price of the instrument on the bow, and on the (equally dubious) logic that the price of the pick should not be on how much better it is, but what the materials and fabricating cost, then I think everyone with a really high-end mandolin should be playing with one of these. The Starpic, made in Australia from meteorites. $5,000 AUD ($4,674 USD) apiece.

To be fair, I think the general standard is the bow should cost 10% of the price of the instrument. But you definitely have a point!

[RootsMusicVirginia]

It's interesting to note the "tone" of some of these comments. Those having positive views about Blue Chips sound fairly matter-of-fact, addressing the topic at hand. On the other hand, some who object to BC prices seem inclined towards put-downs. It truly would be a shame if we all played Rogues, ate at McDonalds every day, and drove Yugos. Whether or not you like "high end" gear, live and let live, and play nicely with others ...