tone, pick thickness, and pick noise

Jazzaferri

Try picking at a bit more of an angle before you give up

Michael.Armitage

I don't intend to discredit Blue Chip Picks as others swear by them. The TD100 offers great speed and articulation, but for me, tone is the most important thing and it was just way too thin sounding, no matter what hand positions or angle of attack I tried. I did get a decent sound with the rounded corner so with practice I'm sure this would improve but it still lacked something that I like about the Wegen which I think comes down to thickness.

I may have chosen the wrong pick but it is the one Blue Chip recommended when I mentioned the Wegen GJ pick. They make another large triangular pick that has less acute angles and could be more suited to GJ but at that price I can't afford or justify experimenting. They did offer to exchange it if I wasn't happy with it but I'm sick of worrying about gear and want to just focus on playing with my current setup.

I'll keep it as an alternative as it has a very articulate attack that would be good for different sounds when recording flat top acoustics or nylon string but Ithink I'll stick with the Wegen for GJ.

Jazzaferri

I went back and tried all my Wegens tonight. The difference is pretty dramatic with me playing my Dunn.

Michael.Armitage

I did the unthinkable and took to my $75 Blue Chip TD100 with a file until I'd created a rounder tip, similar to a slightly used Wegen, then buffed and polished it back to a shine. The result...... awesome!

Even at 2.5mm it produces a nice rich tone, darker than I expected for the thickness with more clarity than the Wegen. Perfect for a soloist. It is fast and clean over the strings and I found I could play tricky passages more accurately. It was also fine for rhythm but it would require more accuracy and a bit of practice. I still prefer the Wegen for rhythm but time will tell.

The verdict from my perspective.....Bluechip picks seem to have a lot going for them but they don't make a pick specifically designed for GJ and they are expensive. Having said that, it was pretty easy to customise mine and it now sounds amazing and certainly improves right hand technique. If it lasts as long as they claim it will then it will be a worthwhile investment.

Shawn

Interesting to hear quite a few people seem to be going with thinner picks nowdays. I've used the Wegen 5mm pick for years and absolutely love it, but I've recently been having inclinations toward the Wegen 7mm pick. Personally, I like thicker picks, and 5mm seems to fit me just right and gives me the right tone and "loudness" regardless of whether I'm playing single note lines or chords. The thought has also crossed my mind to rummage around in some of the button bins at local craft stores and antique stores...never know if I'll stumble upon some real tortoise shell buttons that could be fashioned into picks!

I'll say one thing for certain...the day I pay $75 for a single pick is the day I stop playing guitar.

Passacaglia

Shawn wrote:

Interesting to hear quite a few people seem to be going with thinner picks nowdays. I've used the Wegen 5mm pick for years and absolutely love it, but I've recently been having inclinations toward the Wegen 7mm pick. Personally, I like thicker picks, and 5mm seems to fit me just right and gives me the right tone and "loudness" regardless of whether I'm playing single note lines or chords. The thought has also crossed my mind to rummage around in some of the button bins at local craft stores and antique stores...never know if I'll stumble upon some real tortoise shell buttons that could be fashioned into picks!

I'll say one thing for certain...the day I pay $75 for a single pick is the day I stop playing guitar.

My journey has been through Wegen 3.5, 5, 7, 3.5, 2.5; Dunlop Gator 2. I hated the 7, played it once, just too fat for me. Spent considerable time with both the 3.5 and 5; then grew accustomed to the thin, rigid feel of the Dunlop. The only sticking point for me with the Dunlop is that I always lose it, flips from my hand (a tendency of mine - I hold any pick very loosely, have to learn to tighten just a bit), and it feels "weak" to me when doing lead, just a perception thing, I'm sure. I'm certain masters can do marvels with the Dunlop (or a piece of abalone), but I've gone back to the Wegen 2.5. The contour and feel is just right, for me. I use the rounded edge for rhythm, the point for lead.

I don't know I'll ever get to the point of mastery where I can hear differences to the degree some of the more experienced players above hear in the different picks. Really looking forward to hearing the clips, though. Thanks, Jay, whenever you get around to this.

I spend almost all my time lately with Denis's "In the Style of" with Stochelo (Waltz, "Manouche" DVDs). As a consequence, I'm intrigued by the Wegen Big City 1.8's. (As well, Galli strings, and Eimer guitars....).

Shawn

Fair point Passacaglia, it sounds like you've been through the motions of trying to find the right pick. I guess I should have noted that while I always play on my Selmer guitars, I rarely play Gypsy Jazz anymore as I've gotten a bit burned out on it. I can see the benefits of a thinner pick, but unless I'm just using them incorrectly, I can't seem to get the volume that I can get with my 5mm pick.

Jazzaferri

Matthew makes my picks to my specification. The body is shaped like a big city but the tip is the same as the tri point.

I recall recommending to someone that if theynwere going to try a blue chip to try the tei point as it has a tip that is very close in profile to a wegen. Cant remember who, or if they took my advice....

I have about 4 or 5 blue chips of differing types that I dont use anymore. I sold a few broke one in an experiment :shock: :oops: but now I have my perfect pick...so its all water under the bridge....

I have a couple of big city picks. I found it took a lot of practice to get a good even rhythm with them and with my blue chip...but now that i have the technique down i find the fatter wegens to sound too ...hmmm....maybe mushy would be the word.....on rhythm.

Anyway, i am glad Michael is happy with his blue chip now.....

Passacaglia

Shawn wrote:

Fair point Passacaglia, it sounds like you've been through the motions of trying to find the right pick. I guess I should have noted that while I always play on my Selmer guitars, I rarely play Gypsy Jazz anymore as I've gotten a bit burned out on it. I can see the benefits of a thinner pick, but unless I'm just using them incorrectly, I can't seem to get the volume that I can get with my 5mm pick.

Hey Shawn - it's nothing more than my thinking equipment can bridge the gap between my love for this stuff, and my ability to play it, truthfully. A lesson learned some time ago when I got keyed up to buy up in a guitar, and Denis Chang provided some really good counsel. I'm sure these pick variances make a substantial difference - just that I also know I don't have the chops yet to exploit those differences.

That said, it can be ignored, since I am biting, and getting some Big City's, some argie 10's, and some Gallis.

(BTW - Jay, you may know this - anyone happen to have some experience with the Gallis, what type/gauge they use, and what they're experience is...perhaps another thread? Is Stochelo using them on the "In the Style of" DVD(s)?).

Jazzaferri

I found the Gallis to be as nice out of the box and a wee bit different sounding on my Dunn Ultrafox, but not better or worse, just different. I only use 11-46 as that is what Mr. Dunn built the guitar for and they have a really nice tonal balance? The 10 /45 set seem a bit thinner midrangy sounding but some may prefer that sound.

i find that after a few hours picking both Argies and Gallis strings seem to settle in a bit and then with the Galli's they seem to decay a little faster than the Argies. If I am not lazy I would change the Gallis after about 20 hours and the Argies avout 30 hours. If I was fussy then I would change them faster than that (recording etc). I confess I have left a set of Argies on for 3 monthsonce, but like the proverbial frog in water didnt mind the change til they wouldnt stay in tune. The difference going back to new was substantial :oops:

As SR is sponsored by Galli he can change them as often as he likes.... New out of the box to me they are pretty much of a sameness on my guitar. I may still have a few unopened sets of Gallis in a drawer ...I will check.

I cant get the big fat picks to sound any good at all ...the attack is way too ???? Uncrisp :oops: :oops: :oops: for me