Comments

• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  October 2013 Posts: 4,777

  Oh Will,
  Michael sells a ton of silk and steel strings. See this thread as Michael's post had them all listed in one place:
  viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5645
  I added a link for LaBella on the bottom also.
  
  To bad we didn't meet at DiJ, I have two blue chips.
  
  I talked to the guys that make them and they really understand all of their models can be overwhelming and have no problem with returns.
  With their picks, and I guess every other pick, the rounder the tip, the warmer the sound.
  So they recommended sr60, the roundest tip they make.
  Worked for me. When I play plugged in, other guitar player in our band says it sounds like I'm playing an archtop.
  
  Buco

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Lango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator

  October 2013 Posts: 1,857

  OK, buddy, following your suggestion I just went out and bought a set of d'addario silk and steel strings, but I'm going to wait and put em on in a few weeks when my present set is tired... D'Addario was the only kind my local music store had.... if I like em I'll order a bunch from Michael H.
  
  hey, do you want to sell your extra blueChip pick by mail? I've never used such a rounded pick before and to tell the truth I'm a little afraid to try it... do you have a pointier one?
  
  Will

  Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."
  
  Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
  
  Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  
• jonpowl Hercules, CA✭✭✭ Dupont MD-100, Altamira M01F

  October 2013 Posts: 705

  I'm a rookie at GJ, but when I switched to Galli Silk and Steel 10s and a rounded Dunlop Primetone 3mm pick, my Gitane DG-255 started sounding a lot better. Not only did it sound more like a gypsy guitar, it solved some of the "wetness" problem inherent in the Gitane 200 series. I'm saving up for a Wegen pick....
• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  October 2013 Posts: 4,777

  Lango-Django wrote:

  hey, do you want to sell your extra blueChip pick by mail? I've never used such a rounded pick before and to tell the truth I'm a little afraid to try it... do you have a pointier one?
  
  Will

  
  I'll send you a pm first chance I catch.
  
  Buco

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  October 2013 Posts: 4,777

  Sent you a pm.

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Lango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator

  November 2013 Posts: 1,857

  Wow! Thanks so much to all the commenters above, especially Bob Holo and Buco.
  
  I've completely changed the sound of my Michael Dunn custom guitar with a new rosewood bridge, S & S strings and a BlueChip pick.
  
  It's really brought out the midrange, which was previously pretty anemic, probably due to the fact that I was using one of those adjustable bridges with the two little wheels on each side. Plus the sound is mellower, as promised… a bit less of that gypsy "snarl" but that's okay with me, there's still plenty of sustain when I want it and it sounds clean on the fast passages.
  
  Plus it's so much easier playing with S & S strings and the BlueChip pick!
  
  So I'm falling in love with this guitar all over again now that I hear what it can really do.
  
  Will

  Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."
  
  Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
  
  Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  
• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  November 2013 Posts: 4,777

  Will,
  that's wonderful, good stuff!
  

  Lango-Django wrote:

  So I'm falling in love with this guitar all over again now that I hear what it can really do.
  Will

  
  That's exactly how I feel these days.
  I fitted this rosewood bridge I got from ebay, cheap, and like it a lot.
  
  Buco

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Lango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator

  January 2014 Posts: 1,857

  Just one more bridge question... sorry!
  
  GJ bridges contact the top of the guitar with one foot at the bass end, another foot at the treble end, and a long gap between the two.
  
  Archtop guitar bridges contact the top along the bridge's entire length, and luthiers/technicians sometimes use carbon paper to test whether the contact between the two is perfect and sand the bridge carefully to eliminate even miniscule gaps.
  
  Can anyone explain this discrepancy?
  
  Better still, has anyone ever experimented with a bridge that makes total contact with a GJ guitar top?
  
  Will
  
  

  Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."
  
  Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
  
  Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  
• kevingcox Nova Scotia✭✭✭✭ Dupont MD50

  January 2014 Posts: 298

  After going through loads of wegens et al I am currently playing with a john pearse fast turtle which I found gives me a nice thick pick and a mellow tone in one package. I am not in love with the shape, but it helps round off some of the harsher edge that I find many of the thicker options give me.
• bohemewarbler St. Louis, MO✭✭✭✭ Jordan Wencek No.26, Altamira M01D-12 fret

  January 2014 Posts: 243

  Similar to Bob Holo's idea, I have found that the Dunlop Primetone Round 5mm turned backyards, and cutting about 10 mm. off from the pointed end, provides a real fine and mellow tone. Reducing the mass lightens up the sound and allows for freer hand. These picks come in packs of 3 for about $9 U.S. dollars. Definitely, the pick makes a big difference in sound. I tried Dunlop Gator 2mm (also backyards) and wasn't as pleased with the sound. However, I have heard that these picks have been popular with the "new school" players. I put on Galli Strings GSL10 gypsy jazz silver plated silk and steel about a month ago, playing every day, and have found their sound has improved over that time. It's nice when you can get the sound you're after.