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Thread: Alternative Pick Materials

  1. #1

    Default Alternative Pick Materials

    So I'm a fan of my cheap Dunlop Ultex & Tri-Stubby picks, but I was poking around Etsy and found a set of three picks: one ebony, one bone, and one horn. I bought them, because they worked out to about $6.50 each, and I like experimenting with different picks. (They also look really cool.)

    Anyone have any experience using picks made of natural materials and want to chime in on what I should expect in terms of tone?

  2. #2
    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Probably 50 previous threads on this subject. SEARCH is your friend.
    Phil

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  4. #3
    Registered User Rodney Riley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    I tried a wooden pick once. No volume. Just felt weird. Wasted $5...

  5. #4

    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    No need to get snarky, Phil. I did search; I found a lot of "My pick is better than your pick" threads and threads about what materials one could use for making one's own picks. I didn't see much relating to people's experiences with the tone of different materials, which is why I asked.

  6. #5
    Registered User mandobassman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Quote Originally Posted by Rodney Riley View Post
    I tried a wooden pick once. No volume. Just felt weird. Wasted $5...
    I bought a wooden pick from Etsy once for $20. It was made from pink ivory. Large triangle shape. About 3mm thick in the center, but it tapered off to a very sharp, thin edge. Horribly bright and irritating sound. I threw it in a drawer almost as soon as I first played it. Wasted $20...
    Larry Hunsberger

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  7. #6
    Notary Sojac Paul Kotapish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Hey Restless,

    In my experience, the shape (thickness, profile, point, bevel, etc.) of the pick has about as much impact on the tone as the material itself. To a point, anyway, the same material will deliver very different tones if you alter the shape.

    I'm guessing you'll find the ebony a lot warmer-verging-on-duller compared to an identically shaped plastic or nylon pick. Depending on the type of horn, it might sound pretty good, but will wear out quickly. The bone will probably sound a bit bright--maybe even harsh.

    Among the "natural" materials I've tried, in roughly ascending order of brightness:

    ebony
    hoof
    horn
    vertabrate shell
    mullosk shell
    agate
    marble
    granite
    brass
    nickel
    stainless steel

    I always end up back with plastic for both the mandolin and the guitar.
    Just one guy's opinion
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  9. #7

    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Thanks, Paul, that was the information I was looking for! I'm not expecting to be a huge fan of the brightness of the bone, but I am intrigued by the concept and excited to try the ebony and horn on a couple of my instruments.

  10. #8
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    I play really great with a delirium pick.
    writing about music
    is like dancing,
    about architecture

  11. #9
    Registered User David Rambo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Brossard makes some very interesting picks. I've tried several, but have gone back to Blue Chip.
    "Put your hands to the wood
    Touch the music put there by the summer sun and wind
    The rhythms of the rain, locked within the rings
    And let your fingers find The Music in the Wood."
    Joe Grant and Al Parrish (chorus from The Music in the Wood)

  12. #10
    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Quote Originally Posted by restlesscourage View Post
    No need to get snarky, Phil. I did search; I found a lot of "My pick is better than your pick" threads and threads about what materials one could use for making one's own picks. I didn't see much relating to people's experiences with the tone of different materials, which is why I asked.
    Sorry restless..
    I didn't mean to be 'snarky'. But there have been MANY threads where multiple materials have been discussed ad nauseam.
    Hope you get some good answers.
    Phil

    “Sharps/Flats” “Accidentals”

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  14. #11
    Registered User Cheryl Watson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    I like the sound of horn picks but they wear very quickly. Stone is too heavy and sounds "wrong" to my ears, and wood is too soft and mellow and the attack is slow. Ebony was the best of the wooden picks I tried, for me anyway, but still not fast or cutting enough. I have tried a coconut pick someone gave me but the pic was too small for me--it sounded pretty good though. I love Red Bear picks first (for tone) and Blue Chip 2nd. I always record with Red Bear and I perform live with either. Also the thickness, point, and bevel matter as much as the material.

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  16. #12

    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Here's a nice general overview. The natural stuff is at the bottom of the article.

    http://pickcollecting.presspublisher...onduit-of-tone

    .

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  18. #13
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Frankly, outside of the Blue Chip picks I generally favor, my favorite overall is the Ultem/Ultex ones. I prefer the BC esp for guitar for both the tone and the wearability. I play rhythm guitar pretty hard and my Ultem large triangles wear down pretty quickly. I have been playing the a similar BC for a couple of years with virtually no wear.

    I have made some picks of unusual sizes from a sheet of Ultem I purchased and they do work quite nicely.
    Jim

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  19. #14

    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    I do really like my Ultex large triangles. I must still be a relatively timid player, because mine don't seem to wear down much.

    Thanks for all the information, everyone! I'm even more excited for the picks to arrive now. If nothing else, I feel like experimenting with things like picks and strings that change the tone is a great and relatively inexpensive way to get to know one's instruments better.

  20. #15
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    My Ultex/Ultem picks don't wear much on mandolin. I was only referring to guitar. I often play rhythm guitar for dances and truly punish my picks and strings.
    Jim

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  21. #16

    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    Ah, yes, that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.

  22. #17

    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    For the sake of anyone who might search this in the future:

    I actually really like my new Brossard picks. (NFI) I might actually buy a couple of others in different shapes to experiment further.

    I haven't really used the bone pick: I don't like how it feels in my hand, so I didn't really give it much of a chance. I think if I still played electric guitar, I might try it out on that, but I don't, so I have an extra pick lying around.

    The ebony pick sounds AWESOME with my OM: it brings out the dark, moody voice of the instrument and gives it a much rounder tone than it had before. The pick click when strumming will take a bit of getting used to (it's not really noticeable if I'm playing melody), but I don't think it's going to be an issue. It is a lot louder than the .88 Ultex I was using before, but that's to be expected since it's so much thicker and denser. Not a bad thing, I'm just not used to making so much noise when I play.

    The horn pick I love with my regular mandos. It's not too bright, but it's not dull, either. It's bringing out nice round, ringing tones. It sounds much more alive than it did with my Ultex or Big Stubby picks.

    I personally like the idea of using organic materials, both from an ecological standpoint and from the standpoint that the pick should be a sort of extension of the player. To my ears, they really do make the instruments sound more "alive." YMMV.

  23. #18
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    maybe .. Corium, an alloy created in reactor melt down is a new one,
    accidentally man-made ..
    Uranium with a little bit of Zirconium .

    You can find it in a few places , now. though the alloy % ratios
    are not controlled well ..

    either..

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_(nuclear_reactor)

    [USN SSB(N) 1967,8,9]
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  24. #19
    music with whales Jim Nollman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    I have used the same buffalo horn pick for over 3 years with my BRW 3 point which is a jazz mandolin. Obviously, I disagree with someone's comment here, that they wear out.

    When I bought my current F5 last summer, I also bought another buffalo horn pick. At a gig a few weeks later, the guitar player handed me a bone pick made by the same company. It was noticeably louder on the treble end than the buffalo horn. But it had a rather sharp point which I kept getting stuck between the string pairs while playing at speed. I did buy one, and then, with dremel tool, I filed down the point and reamed out a proper thumb crater, so it works for me now. I only use it on my F5.

    My favorite plastic pick has always been a Dunlop stubby, which i used for many years before I got hooked on the buffalo horn. I still use the stubby on my electric Godin.

    I've also tried Wegen picks, but they don't quite do it for me, partly because I kept dropping them while playing. I don't have any interest in the much-discussed $35 pick, because sincerely, I have better uses for $35.
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  26. #20
    Infrequently Smelt Gregory Tidwell's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alternative Pick Materials

    I have some mammoth ivory picks. I like how they sound, save for pick-click. I also have a few of those Gilchrist ivroid picks, and those are what I use mostly. I know that is not a natural material, but they just sound right to my ear. I also have a blue-chip. I hated it at first. It sounded too quiet to me, but the more I play it, the more I like it.
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