How much would you pay for a pick?

[Earthwood]

When you buy a $35 pick, it's amazing at how well you are able to track it suddenly.

My Blue Chip is ALWAYS slipped into the strings. I won't lose that one!

[mandobassman]

I love when this subject comes up. People seem to think that a pick shouldn't be expensive because it is small. After all, "it's just a pick". Well, it's a tool that is just as important as the instrument or the strings. All of these combine to create the tone each player is looking for. I have use flatwound strings for the last 15 years, and until a year ago I used Thomastik. Lots of people think it's crazy to spend nearly $40 on a set of strings, but until the D'Addario flatwounds came out, the TI's were the only strings that gave me the sound I was after. The cost didn't matter. Same with picks. I tried a couple of the Blue Chips. Loved the tone and feel, but ultimately used a custom-made Wegen because the BC didn't have the volume I needed. Now, the Wegen I use at $15 each, seems like a bargain. But the cost shouldn't matter, unless of course you can't afford them. If tone matters to you, buy the best you can afford.

[JeffD]

A mandolinner named Dave,
Found a flat rock in a cave,
It was too bulky and thick,
To use as a pick,
But think of the money he saved!

[JeffD]

I wrote a blog on this topic, so I won't report it here, but there is no such thing as a free puppy. It seems to me that if a one time $35.00 for a pick seems onerous, then a one time expense of $500.00 give or take, should have been entirely out of the question. And many of us trying to save a few bucks on a pick have spent much more than $500 on our second or third manodlin.

[guitarpath]

I love when this subject comes up. People seem to think that a pick shouldn't be expensive because it is small. After all, "it's just a pick".

Exactly.

Why people minimize and devalue the impact of picks is beyond me.

This analogy seems apt. A pick to mandolin is like a bow to a violin. Ever price a violin bow?

[mandroid]

So another BC pick thread.. by a different name..

[Cheryl Watson]

The Blue Chips are my limit and I only have four. I buy them by saving up and rolling my quarters and dimes, at least that is my reasoning behind paying so much money for a pick! I've seen stone picks that were gorgeous and much more expensive, but I doubt they have the tone and stone is too heavy, I think.

[Steve G]

I've spent 40 on TS. Bought a BlueChip TPR60 one time and let it go after a bit, just too bright. Like ProPlecs but always go back to my TS for both mando and guitar. I've never completely lost one but came close.

[greg_tsam]

I used to buy the cheapest shoes available b/c I thought they all do the same job. Then I realized not all shoes and boots are made equal and don't mind spending $100 or more on a quality product that save strain on my body, helps me perform better and lasts a long time doing it. I started the same way with picks and now own a BC and knew I had to have one and that it was worth it the minute I played my buddies.

Sometimes I still buy a cheap pair of flip flops for $2, lots of people do, but I know there is something better out there for me and I'm willing to pay.

[foldedpath]

Just having a little fun here, running the numbers....

One Blue Chip pick is roughly .007% the cost of my mandolin (Lebeda F5).

I use the same BC model on mandolin, guitar, and octave mandolin. I usually don't take more than two of that combination out on gigs or jams, but that still knocks the total cost down to .003% compared to the value of any two of those instruments.

If I add the value of my current compact "load it in a Subaru Forester" PA system, then on a typical gig the cost of a BC pick is something like .002% of the total, including two instruments.

To put that in practical, everyday terms for small-time gigging musicians like me, I've done bar gigs that paid barely the cost of 2 BC picks. I've also done weddings that would buy 20 or 30 BC picks for the gig.

It's all relative. I'm fortunate to have nice instruments to play, and enough gigs to keep me in strings and picks... for now. It won't last forever. I'm pushing 60 (next year), and I'll use the best gear I can afford while these hands and ears keep working, and I can still keep playing music.

[Paul Busman]

Like everyone, I got a bunch of picks. I do like my blue chip; but to me it's not enough better than the Wegens, GG, and Tortex etc. that I've always played on to go to any special lengths to get more. The price isn't that big a deal to me; none of us can be pursuing this work/hobby/avocation to try and save money. My current favorite pick is a great big thick Dunlop Americana

That's my current favorite too. I have the 3mm. It's extremely comfortable to hold due to it's matte finish and gently arched shape. I'm getting some arthritis in my right thumb joints, and I can hang onto this pick without having to grip it tightly. Yes, I can get a lot of volume using this pick, but I can also play it softly. At $5.99 locally for a pack of three, it's all the pick I need.

[Mando Nut46]

I started with the cheap picks, .35 each. Then I decided one day to try a Red Bear pick and I was blown away with the new tone! I then decided to try a BC pick for comparison and was equally impressed , but the tone to me, wasn't as warm as the RB.
I still like playing with the BC but always gravitate back to the RB.
So for me, if I can get that much more tone,sound out of my mando, the $35 is a small price to pay.
Ron

[journeybear]

I think I have made it clear I don't buy into the extravagant pick mythology, and all the ratios and amortizations people want to trot out are all well and good, but if someone could convince me that a Blue Chip is 100 times better than a Fender or Dunlop, I'll shut up and say no more on the subject. But as Mark Twain said (actually, not some internet misattribution), "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics." And the same statistics can be used to justify both sides of nearly any argument. $35 is two weeks' groceries for me. There's a statistic!

That said, I must confess that whatever I may have o say on the subject may easily be considered mot, as I have never used a BC or RB or any such snazzy pick. I liked the Wegen , but I can't say it provided an appreciable improvement in tone. It was just a solid pick in my preferred thickness range, with a dependable grip. I get all that from a Dunlop and Fender also. And another reason it is quite alright to believe anything I have to say about this is moot - I am predominantly an electric player, and even when I play my acoustic, it is still through the amp and PA, not through a mike. Thus any boon a high-end pick might provide in tone (of which *I* remain unconvinced) would not apply to my performing set-up.

But if they work for you, spend all you want on those picks. It doesn't matter to me. Heck, I won't even buy a gallon of milk unless it's under $3 - and I do mean under $2.99 - just because it ain't right. And I sure ain't about to spend $3 on an artichoke either. Some expenditures just seem extravagant to me, and I can't shake the feeling someone is trying to put something over on me. I'll bet people who throw ha kind of money around are also the ones that the hi-fi stores used to make so much money off of with high-end speaker cables. Sure, you want to have the absolute best, but when marketing and hype outweigh common sense, I just sort of walk away.

Oh, and the least comfortable shoes I ever owned were Doc Martens. That was not money well spent.

[guitarpath]

I think I have made it clear I don't buy into the extravagant pick mythology,, and all the ratios and amortizations people want to trot out are all well and good, but if someone could convince me that a Blue Chip is 100 times better than a Fender or Dunlop, I'll shut up and say no more on the subject.

Unfortunately, price and quality are not necessarily linear.

A Blue Chip is not "100 times better" (whatever that means and however one could quantify such a subjective metric as "better"). The price is what it is. It is up to the individual player to decide for themselves if it is worth the price.

It is the same with mandolins. A The decent Chinese-made mandolin (Loar, Eastman, Kentucky) is 10-times less than a top-tier Gibson F-5L. Is the Gibson 10x better? I think not. But that does not mean that the Gibson is not worth the price to a prospective buyer.

[foldedpath]

I think I have made it clear I don't buy into the extravagant pick mythology,, and all the ratios and amortizations people want to trot out are all well and good, but if someone could convince me that a Blue Chip is 100 times better than a Fender or Dunlop, I'll shut up and say no more on the subject.

Oh, c'mon... I prefaced that post by saying that the numbers were just for fun. The same numbers would apply to spending $35 in trying 35 different $1 picks. Which... come to think of it... I'm sure I've done over the years.

The point was just that the relative cost is inconsequential, if you're playing anything more than an entry-level mandolin. And all the fiddlers will be jealous of the cost-benefit ratio, no matter what pick you choose.

[journeybear]

Well, if someone wants to loan me a Blue Chip so I can check it out, I'll be happy to give it a whirl and write a review. And send it back in a timely fashion. I just don't see how a pick can really be all that, nor for that matter why it should cost that much. But I must admit I am curious - just not enough to shell out for one. I don't really have a horse in this race, I'm just trying to sort this out from what I see as a common sense viewpoint.

And yes, it's quite true that picks and strings are the least expensive components of a mandolinist's gear, so if one is looking for ways to improve one's sound, that seems an obvious place to start. hen again, there's always working on one's technique ...

BTW, I spent $35 today on getting my amp fixed. No problem there - that was money well spent!

[raulb]

While I have bought things like Alaska Picks, I tend to get my picks from the free picks given out in guitar stores and at the Winter NAMM (avoid the biodegradable picks, they don't last). Other than that, when I do buy one (haven't for a long time), I spend less than a buck. I played a Blue Chip once and I still cannot understand why it was worth $35.

I remember when I first took up the dulcimer (30+ years ago) people used to agonize over the same thing, what kind of pick to use. When it came out that Jean Ritchie, first lady of the mountain dulcimer, made her own picks out of coffee can lids, the discussion kinda stopped.

[pjlama]

Well, if someone wants to loan me a Blue Chip so I can check it out, I'll be happy to give it a whirl and write a review. And send it back in a timely fashion. I just don't see how a pick can really be all that, nor for that matter why it should cost that much. But I must admit I am curious - just not enough to shell out for one. I don't really have a horse in this race, I'm just trying to sort this out from what I see as a common sense viewpoint.

And yes, it's quite true that picks and strings are the least expensive components of a mandolinist's gear, so if one is looking for ways to improve one's sound, that seems an obvious place to start. hen again, there's always working on one's technique ...

BTW, I spent $35 today on getting my amp fixed. No problem there - that was money well spent!

PM your address and I'll send you one, keep it a while, I have more than a few. I don't think it'll prove anything though, it's a matter of priorities. Priorities are different for each of us and not one of us can comment for one another. But for kicks I'd be happy to send one out for a month or two. BTW, I like my proplecs nearly as much so it's all a bunch of who-ha, let's do it for fun, I'll be interested to get your impressions.

[journeybear]

Cool beans! I must say, I do have this overreaching curiosity that gets me into some pretty odd situations. But life is about discovery, so I poke my way along and hope for the best. In this case, it will be worth it to find out once and for all what he fuss is all about; if I decide it is well-founded, then we will have succeeded in getting me to shut the #^¢% up about at least one thing. It would be a start!

[shortymack]

Hey, Ive never played any other f hole mando except for my MK. If I say how much all other more expensive ones could never be 100 times better, will someone send me theirs to play so I can change my mind???

[journeybear]

It's worth a shot. Might want to brush up your delivery, though. Just a touch. But you never know ...

[bmac]

Two picks for a dollar is about right, I'd say. I like the green ones with the turtle. The sound is amazingly better than the yellow picks. But I'll have to admit the red picks sound decent. Just don't lose one!!! they cost 50 cents each.

[greg_tsam]

Two picks for a dollar is about right, I'd say. I like the green ones with the turtle. The sound is amazingly better than the yellow picks. But I'll have to admit the red picks sound decent. Just don't lose one!!! they cost 50 cents each.

There's a joker in every crowd and this crowd is full of 'em.

[Earthwood]

So another BC pick thread.. by a different name..

Actually, I was just curious how many people will actually pay premium prices for picks. As I said, I have been considering buying some different materials and making some picks, but was curious how big the market actually is for them, and if it actually was a worthy venture.

I figure if I can make some great picks out of some great materials and offer them at a more affordable price, it would be a win win situation. I was curious how many people would be willing to pay more than $1 for a pick, and how many people are already buying picks for $20+ that might be interested in the same quality materials at a lower cost.

[Earthwood]

And I'm not trying to bash more expensive picks either. I have a Blue Chip CT55 and it is hands down the best pick I have ever used before.

I play faster and smoother with it and love the tone I get from it. It really eliminates the metallic sound and lets the wood do the talking