Picks

pickitjohn

@alton

+1 for the Gator Grip mandolin pick ( "picks gotta be bigger then a Quarter for me" )

If I were to vote my favorite sounding, it's definitely a Gator Grip turned sideways, but I just about wear the first knuckle off my index finger. If Dunlop would make a rounded mandolin pick out of the Gator Grip material, that would be a winner for me.

Played lots of mandolin, before getting into Gypsyjazz, so I understand the need for rounded mandolin pick. Dawg's and Goldengate's were my GOTO choice. Made some Buffalo Horn Picks I like, played Bluechips alot, sent JT picks back, posted about the primetone mandolin picks as a close to and cheaper Bluechip like pick.

However I'm Loving these Wegans and keep coming back to them after retrying my old favorites. No Clicking, great tone, holes help with grip, OK $ compared to SOME, Love the three side choice.

Michael has them here...

Wegen TF 140 Picks (2 Pack)

http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/tf_140

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alton

Jon wrote: »

@alton those JT picks are interesting. I like that the website plays up the durability. What I'm after is a super durable pick that sounds warm, or at least has a bit less of the click as the Wegens...if that exists...

You said they're not perfect - in what respect?

I guess that the only problem that I have is that they don't sound as warm and balanced as the Gators. However, I do love the size and feel. Thus far, I have no trouble with any wear. Aside from being a little dirty, the white one that I have been using looks the same as when I got it.

@pickitjohn Wouldn't a mandolin Gator be great? Have you tried the Americana? That's next on my list to try. Or that Wegen that you mention. Or the Wegen mandolin line. Or that Grisman Dawg pick...oh dear, here I go again with more picks. It never ends.

beenawhile

Jon..

Yes, in fact the 3mm Dunlop Primetones is the pick I use the most at the moment. I like it OK and would like to try adding custom bevel. But, despite the name, I don't think these are made of the same stuff as the more. The reddish sculpted ones just feel great in my hand.

I also like the texture and feel of the Gators and really like the Dunlop Ultex material, for general all around playing.

I enjoy trying new picks...used the same type for about 20 years and now I like keeping it fresh. Generally, a cheap indulgence..though some of the gypsy picks test that.

wim

Jon I don't know what you are doing to the gators but shredding them in 2 songs seems a bit excessive! There are many guys I know that hit just as hard as you and don't have this problem? Are you sure your dogs aren't nibbling them in the night?

The gators are softer than the tortex, and both are definitely way softer than the wegen plastic, but they should be able to get you through 1 gig at least?!

Buco

@Jon
Blue Chip picks:
durable? √
Warm sounding? √

If you're willing to pay for postage I'll loan you one of mine. I know how it's hard to drop $40 for a pick that ends up living in the drawer. Lemme know.

I got the two new Djangojazz picks.
Bummer, it's not a very rounded tip but one of the slightly less, style C tips. Jokko is sending replacement.
However I like the sound of the art deco material as is so I'm keeping that one.

The black tortoise, I'm not hearing anything new that I don't get from the picks I have. So I asked him to send me another art deco with very rounded tip, Romino model, and in 1.5mm (I wasn't aware he makes 1.5, I thought 2 is thinnest).

Now the art deco in 2mm?
I've never tried a real tortoise but I have some water buffalo horn picks shaped and beveled by @pickitjohn (one of my favorite sounding pick, only drawback they're on the quiet side) and if it's judging by that natural material, then this art deco could be as close as tortoise shell as Jokko says.
It feels very natural and organic, again compared to water buffalo horn, not a trace of plastic feel, very nice feeling in your fingers. It is on the slippery side but as I didn't spend enough time with it, it could be that it gets sticky as it warms up in your hands, kinda like the blue chips.
The sound is what surprised me. It's hard to put it on the equalizer spectrum but I can say it's mellow sounding. It also got a slightly different character out of my guitar. Maybe a touch of Favino, more pronounced midrange. Very interesting sound nevertheless.
Nice bass, full sound, glides of the strings easily. It seems quieter than the blue chips but again I need to spend more time with it to really be sure.
It's loud enough that's certain.
This one's a keeper!

woodamand

Buco - my guitar is a JWC Favino style with EU spruce top, quilted maple back and sides and a walnut neck. I will post pix in the gallery later

Jon

@Buco thanks heaps for the offer, but having done a few gigs now with the Wegen M250, I think I've found a keeper. I'm going to stick with it. Sounds fine to me, and feels great. Definitely better than the 3.5mm GJ pick. Really into it. Now not to lose it before I order a spare...

@Wim Glenn Maybe shred is a harsh word, but I do wear Dunlops very quickly, and sometimes they get nicks etc which catch on the strings. I know they're cheap enough to just keep changing them, but I don't like the idea that they will reshape substantially over the course of a gig. That said, I've just ordered some to give one last go to...if and when they don't work I'll unload them on my students

Appel

@Buco - I have just one of Djangojazz's art-deco picks, I bought it on a lark because it was such a beautiful green and matched the lining in a guitar case - silly - but, it really sounds good! One of my favourites, that one and a beautiful Nigli horn pick I save for special moments.

@Wim Glenn, @Jon - I've always had the same trouble with the Dunlop picks; it's not that they fall apart or anything, it's more that they very quickly develop a worn spot back from the tip that catches and drags and doesn't sound that good - gets a nasty raspy sound after just a few minutes. Terrible. Just a quirk in my pick attack I think. Maybe Jon experiences something similar? A wear pattern that develops quickly and doesn't sound good.

I actually love my GJ Wegen picks (3.5 ~4 mm); I think I've given away all the Big Citys I had (everyone loves them - just too thin for me!) but I have to work hard to get that tip moving; I think it's good practice. It sounds wonderful if I can land just right - there is a click but it's not as bad as with stone picks (which I used to use on electric guitars) and it's possible to get that click under control I think. But I have been really struggling lately, trying to get a little better but really having to fight hard, especially with quick descending runs, and I've found something out.

I allow a slight downward angle to the pick (the "knuckle end" of the pick is a bit lower than the "fingertip end" - I think this position is not uncommon) and my upstrokes have been a bit slower than my downstrokes.

I have been looking carefully at everything, and I found that the pick's tip (not the bevels) has a fairly round bump off the end. That bump gives great drive to the down-stroke, but it catches and drags a bit on the upstroke. So! I filed just the thumb side quite a bit flatter, from about 1 ~ 2 mm originally to about a 5 ~ 6 cm radius - had to remove about 0.5 mm of material to get that flatter curve. Then smoothed it with emery paper and finished it with crocus cloth.

Whoosh! Waaaaaay better.

I also beveled and re-polished the pick's shoulder because, you know, the shoulder ... but the boxy cut around the back end of the Wegen doesn't work at all, no-one can play with that, as it is. With just a little time in the shop, the Wegen becomes awfully hard to beat.

Jon

@Appel that's exactly what I mean't. I actually just got a bunch of the Dunlop picks with the little Turtle on them in the mail to give them one last chance, and found them much more brittle sounding than my Wegen, so that's the end of that for me A dunlop pick that I do like the sound of (but which wears too quickly) is the Dunlop Jazz 207. Great sound, great shape. I use them all the time for more gently, alternate picked modern jazz on my 175 and my Tele, but for the gypsy stuff, they still dent, degrade, and cause general problems. Oh well. I'm now completely in love with my Wegen M250. Done deal. Very happy to have found something that works right out of the packet. I guess picks are a very personal thing. What works for one person and their guitar varies wildly from the next, and we're all doomed to lifetimes of doubt and experimentation

alton

@Jon I have been looking at the m250 for a while and I keep avoiding it. Maybe I am avoiding it because of the price? Maybe because of my concern that it may have the Wegen click?

But the more you post about it, the more I am probably going to have to buy it.