One pick to rule them all

[TheBlindBard]

Hello, all
I've been poking around recently and look into the different matterials that people make picks out of.
So far, I've seen horn, coconut, ivory, gemstones and a few others inbetween.
I was just wondering: what picks do people prefer and why? If you've used picks of a different matterial than plastic, please tell what you thought of it or if you still use it.
Thanks, just a curious guy here

[jim simpson]

Years ago I discovered the Dunlop Ultex 1.14 pick. It is larger than a guitar pick and has 3 tips to use so long lasting. I don't have to grip it tightly and I never lose one while playing. I believe the thickness and the material it's made from produces more tone and volume than other picks. I actually prefer this to TS and it's not a problem to obtain. I'm glad I found a winner.

[George R. Lane]

I own the 'Pick of Destiny', it is disguised as a Blue Chip TAD50-1R.

[euph_22]

Years ago I discovered the Dunlop Ultex 1.14 pick. It is larger than a guitar pick and has 3 tips to use so long lasting. I don't have to grip it tightly and I never lose one while playing. I believe the thickness and the material it's made from produces more tone and volume than other picks. I actually prefer this to TS and it's not a problem to obtain. I'm glad I found a winner.

I keep meaning to try those. I love their Tortex picks, and they are all around my favorite guitar pick. I'm not just not totally in love with them on the mandolin. One of my other favorite pick is some Clayton bone picks I bought on a whim from amazon (I've gotten in the habit of tacking on a set or 2 of picks whenever I put an order in). They have a nice full tone to them.

Now that I think of it, I have a nickel tipped pick I got a while ago for my electric guitar. I should give that a spin on my mandolin.

[tablaninja]

My sister gave me this thing called a PickPunch last Christmas and I've been having a lot of fun making picks. Here's their website which is full of DIY info and raw materials. The Delrin material works out really well.

http://www.pickpunch.com

I've tried every type of pick I can get my hands on and the one I just can't put down is my Blue Chip CT-55

[Dave LaBoone]

I own the 'Pick of Destiny', it is disguised as a Blue Chip TAD50-1R.

I have the same pick of destiny, and I love it. Why? Great tone that makes your mandolin sound its best. Worth every penny.

[TheBlindBard]

pick of destiny, eh? Do either of you happen to have the bong of destiny, too? :D I was mainly specifically looking into picks with odd materials, like bone and horn or something. The idea sounds really interesting. Maybe they'll have them at the ren fair or something.

[JeffD]

There are lots of threads on picks, with everyone defending their favorites.

The thing is I don't believe there is one pick, to rule them all as you say. I have three or four different kinds of picks I use for different tunes, different venues, different effects, different duet partners, different mandolins. Picks are not so expensive that you can't experiment and see what you like and under what conditions this or that makes the most sense to you.

[euph_22]

Clayton makes both bone and horn picks (I have a pack of the bone, and like them alot and plan on ordered the horn), Amazon has them relatively cheap ($4 for a set of 3). They also have brass, copper, a few different wood picks, and coconut shell. All for $3-$6 for a 3-pack, with free shipping. I've also seen a few similar picks in various guitar stores I've frequented (depending on how esoteric they are).

[Bertram Henze]

[55bar]

Only $5000 apparently they sound out of this world

[Ivan Kelsall]

There's definitely no 'pick of destiny' for all mandolins.We've read exhaustive accounts on here re.which pick for which mandolin with 'x' brand / gauge of strings.Some mandolins will respond to one type of pick better than another & even that is dependent on string gauge, & also on the way the mandolin is set up ie. high or low action. Both my mandolins are set up with a slightly higher action that normal,certainly not a Bill Monroe style 'manly action',but just enough to allow the strings to transmit as much energy as possible without being hard to play. I've found that both mandolins can sound different on different days according to the ambient air temperature. Cool/cold they sound bright & are usually sharp out of the case.Warm(ish), they sound full & woody & are usually a tad flat out of the case. In each situation,i've found that maybe one pick out of one material & with a specific shape can sound better than another. If my mandolins are cold & sharp,i wouldn't use a thin,very pointed pick,that would only enhance the brightness. I'd very likely use a Dawg pick to round off the sharp edges of the tone. If they're warm,i'd use a thinnish pick (1.0 - 1.14 mm) with a slightly rounded off point. I usually carry a couple of Wegen Bluegrass picks,one as they come & one with the point slightly rounded off.The same with acouple of Dunlop 500 1.14mm thick picks & a couple of Dawg picks. That way i try to have a pick for most ocassions. I've tried a Bluechip pick belonging to a friend of mine & a fellow Cafe member,but for me,it has no significant tonal benefit over the picks i use - at least that particular style of BC doesn't. Unfortunately living in a BC wilderness & unable to be able to try them all out prior to buying,i'll have to pass on the BC's. Even so,i can't help but feel that on different days,one of my others might sound 'better' (maybe).
Bertram - Stay well clear of volcanoes !!.
Ivan

[55bar]

Ivan,


JP guitars in Bristol stock a few bluechip picks that's where I get mine now, just thought if let you know in case you weren't aware http://www.jp-guitars.co.uk/sales/pa...ound_Clawpicks

[Phil Goodson]

Now that's just Precious.

[Londy]

Um, it's the player not the pick.

[Bertram Henze]

Now that's just Precious.

[JeffD]

Specifically I have tried wood, horn, glass, and wheat. As well as most of the standard types.

There is a lot more to pick choice than material, however. The classic resource on this is here.

[UsuallyPickin]

OK... as said above. It's what you personally like feel and tone wise. And of course you are the only person that can figure that out for your playing. So grab your trusty steed and head down to your local music store and ride some picks. Some you will probably have to buy to try out if you don't know someone that already owns one. C'est la vie.... I've used punched out sheet Brass / Copper some alloy .... which was terrible. Ivory which produces a nice tone but chips and gets ragged on the edge too regularly and is now very hard to get. Horn which had a good tone after a tailored edge is added, but I still didn't like the feel and I couldn't find the shape I prefer. Wood .. which is pretty but that is the best thing about it. Dunlop Ultex and Tortex which work well and are not so expensive that you want to cry when you lose one. Standard plastic Fender medium , heavy and gauged picks which work OK but I like a shape that they don't provide. Kevlar, which I like tonally and feel wise is available in shapes I use made by both Wegan and Blue Chip. Wegan picks aren't cheap at , locally, seven dollars each and they come two to a package. Blue Chip which are very pricey and have to be ordered online around here. Red Bear , which is a polymer very close in feel and tone to natural Tortise shell , good picks , but they break and at the price ...... Natural Tortise shell , which is my favorite, but hard to come by as it is illegal to import under the engangered species act. Some are still being handmade from tortise shell material already "in country" but they are very pricey and you have to find the craftsperson. I have tried other picks over the yeras... too many to name here , but I think I have hit the high points ... Good luck in your search... R/

[Tobin]

Specifically I have tried wood, horn, glass, and wheat. As well as most of the standard types.

There is a lot more to pick choice than material, however. The classic resource on this is here.

Every time my farrier comes to trim my horse's hooves, I look at the curled up shavings of hoof wall laying on the ground and wonder what they'd sound like as picks. Probably too soft, though, and wouldn't last long enough to be worth the effort of shaping them.

[bratsche]

Peter Picker picked a peck of perfect plectrums...

There is no one perfect pick. For me, I choose the one that allows me to play the piece I am playing, on the instrument I'm playing it on, with the best articulation and tone, and the least superfluous audible noise. For each of my instruments, I tend to choose from three or four picks, depending on what I'm playing at the moment.

bratsche

[xSinner13x]

I've been getting Clayton's Bone picks, the need a little finishing, so I sand the tips, and polish them up, I like them over synthetics or horn.

They have a brighter attack over synth/horn, I use them for mando and Guitar.

[Michael Bridges]

Translation from the original Elvish (The runes are elvish, but it is in the language of Monroedor):
One pick to rule them all?
One pick? Not really
One pick can't make you play
and sound just like Chris Thile!

[roberto216]

I like polymerized animal protein........Red Bear.

[TheBlindBard]

I'm going to browse through the mandolin's store list of picks and see if I can find anything to experiment with.

[Lee Callicutt]

I keep returning to the Golden Gate.