Question for mandolin players here

[Tim2723]

I hang out a lot at MandolinCafe, as I'm sure several of you do. That forum leans heavily toward the Bluegrass side of mandolin, and I noticed that a LOT of players there use very heavy picks. I mean picks that are a millimeter or more in thicknes and stiff as a crutch.

I use a pretty thin (0.5 mm), flexible picks for Irish music, as do most of the session friends I know. What are you using? Are super-stiff picks a Bluegrass thing?

[brewerpaul]

I've tried a lot of different ones, and my favorite is a fairly thin 1960's (pre-ban) genuine tortoise shell pick that I got back when I was taking guitar lessons. It has a really hard surface and still has a bit of flex.

I have another that I really like but alas the name is worn off of it. It's roughly triangular with a hole in the middle for better grip. I say roughly triangular because each corner is a slightly different shape: rounded, pointed, and slightly elongated. YOu get a different feel and tone just by rotating the pick.

[crookedtune]

I don't know what Irish-style mandolin players tend to favor. I do think 1.5mm is about normal for most bluegrass, old-time and jazz mandolinists. (e.g. the 'Dawg' pick, endorsed by David Grisman, is pretty thick). I've experimented a lot, but usually find my way back to a 1.0 or 1.5mm. (I really like the standard 1.5mm Golden Gate picks). I actually have a 2.0mm that I like for certain types of playing.

Picks thinner than 1.0mm don't give me the volume or clarity I'm after, and tend to feel wimpy to me. Like everything else, this is all subjective. So, whatever works is right......

[Steve L]

I can't get the tone I want or really get the trebles to "speak" with a thin pick. I use the .88 green tortex jazz picks by Dunlop. Unlike most mandolin players though, I like the really sharp pointed ones and use that tip all the time. I've tried Golden Gate type round shouldered mandolin picks and can't do anything with them. It's like playing with a baseball.

[ketida]

Back when I used to play bluegrass exclusively, I used the gray Dunlops, not sure what exact mm they were, but probably about medium gauge. That was the only way to get that "chop" for back-up, and also the only way to get enough volume to try to hold my own next to a 5-string banjo.

Since focusing on ITM, however, I use the .5 Dunlops. It's the only way I can get near the speed I need for reels, and also get the roll-ons I love to use. While the lighter picks don't give much volume, the pay off in speed is worth it, to me.

YMMV, of course.

[buddhu]

I used to prefer picks less than 1mm thickness for ITM tunes.

These days I find myself using heavy gauges for everything, especially since I got my new mandolin.

I got a Kentucky KM-505 a while ago and have been really surprised by how much the different pick gauges make a difference in the tone - much more than with my previous mandolins. This one doesn't seem to have any of the slight muddiness my other instruments had, so a thick pick sounds great. Thin picks sound ok, not at all thin and tinny, but somehow they leave the impression that I'm not getting the full potential out of the mando.

These days the lightest pick I use regularly is a Dawg 1.5mm. I have a couple of old Dunlop Jazztone picks that I think are about 2mm, I also have a couple of grey Gator Grip 2mm teardrops (but they are a little too small), but my current weapon of choice is a DIY beveled Clayton Black Raven 1.9mm triangle.

For bluegrass I find only a thick pick will chop right, and once I learned to hold the pick in the bluegrass power grip (paradoxically, a very gentle and relaxed grip), I also found a heavy pick to be faster and more accurate for bluegrass lead breaks, and for ITM tunes.

I don't like my picks quite as rounded as most bluegrass players do, though. I like at least one point of my triangles to be sharpish for fast triplets.

[P-Brain]

For Scottish/Irish sessions, I usually use a Wegen M150 - 1.5mm thick, with rounded corners and bevelled edges - for both mandolin and bouzouki. Before I tried the Wegen, I'd never liked with picks much thicker than 1mm, but I think the bevel makes the difference. I don't strum the bouzouki much - if I was strumming chords all the time, I'd probably use something a bit thinner.

My other mandolin is strung with Thomastik mediums and the lighter strings seem to suit a thinner pick better (still about 1mm). I also had a Fylde Octavius flattop mandolin that I thought sounded better played with a 1mm pick than with a 1.5mm.

Patrick

[fiddlerwill]

1mm black nylon dunlop. For guitar, banjo. mandolin.