Bluechip picks | Not that great

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

It is very much a personal thing, but I like some of the Wegen picks. I mostly play the M100 but also the Bluegrass 1.4 or 1.2 or 1.0. I also like casein and TS for their tone but they are quieter than BC or Wegen.

I have no idea what material Michel uses for the Wegen picks? I have wondered if it is a hard nylon, the sort of material that you would machine bushings from.

Wegen picks ARE pretty great, In my opinion and give me the sound I’m looking for when I’m playing at church. Crispier is the word I’d use to describe their tone compared to my BC. They’re pretty grippy, but slippery compared to my BC picks and that’s the main reason I prefer a BC when I’m playing bluegrass rhythm. On those hard driving songs, a BC just seems glued to my hands, whereas a Wegen will sometimes get away from me.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

Wegen picks ARE pretty great, In my opinion and give me the sound I’m looking for when I’m playing at church. Crispier is the word I’d use to describe their tone compared to my BC. They’re pretty grippy, but slippery compared to my BC picks and that’s the main reason I prefer a BC when I’m playing bluegrass rhythm. On those hard driving songs, a BC just seems glued to my hands, whereas a Wegen will sometimes get away from me.

It may sound counterintuitive but try polishing your Wegen picks. I have found that the shinier I can get them the better they grip. Also washing them with soap and water works for me - they seem to hold finger grease and get slippier over time.

[Norsepicker]

Read the thread, just got a new octave mandolin with fairly heavy strings that I'm getting to know. When I played it with a Wegen pick (I use for gypsy jazz) and blue chip ( for mandolin), it was very hard to eliminate pick click with the Wegen, but not hard at all for the blue chip. New instrument and me, but that was my experience.

[Charmed Life Picks]

For the record, we love BC products, and customer service. They are the gold standard in the boutique pick business.

However, I always say the same thing: There is no such thing as a perfect picking material. There just isn't. There are far too many variables. The perfect pick material is what works for YOU.

I will add this -- and I say this as a player, not a vendor -- if you're in pursuit of great tone, purchase an inexpensive casein from John Pearse, Clayton or Fender, and see what you think. I love the stuff, and I've been playing genuine tortoise shell picks for more than forty years. But some people don't even like TS, so there you go.

scott memmer

[bufflehead]

Don't give up on the BlueChip too soon. It took me a couple weeks to fall in love with my first BlueChip. You may need to change your approach to strumming to get there, but in my experience it's worth the effort.

[slaminsam]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

Don't give up on the BlueChip too soon. It took me a couple weeks to fall in love with my first BlueChip. You may need to change your approach to strumming to get there, but in my experience it's worth the effort.

I will echo this. When I got a couple of BC's recently, I thought about sending them back. But I found that each pick I have works for different situations. Instead of using just one type of pick as I did for years, I have a pile of picks (not just BC's) and if one does not sound like I think it should I just change. Much more enjoyable now that I have choices. I now love each BC that I have, but not with the same guitars.

[Newbflat]

I like phat picks and I can not lie. For me it’s a Wegen 2.5 triangle. Nice and phat tone but not dark. My BC TAD 80 is a lot darker in comparison. The Wigan picks out single notes better and is much fuller, richer and!.. clearer than the BC when played at low to medium volume. I might give the nod to the BC with loud aggressive strumming, the Wegen can over power my H&D TOM-M (Hog/Adi).

I also like brighter picks as the strings age… kinda like it the Primetone 2.5 textured when the strings are beginning to sound dead/thumpy. There is a sweet spot with old-ish strings and bright thick picks, brings out the woodiness.

[seannx]

Thanks to this thread, and in particular Silly's post, I ordered a TD45. From the first strum I could hear and feel the very positive difference. Very full and resonant sound, consistent from a light to full on touch.
My regular go to picks are 1.0mm Dunlop Primetones.
I recently got some V-Picks, and compared the Traditional Lite and Traditional Medium ones to the 1.0mm Primetone and Bluechip TD45.
In order of preference, playing both my Rainsong and Martin 00-18, it went from Primetone 1.00 > V-Pick Traditional Lite > V-Pick Traditional Medium > Bluechip TD45.

There wasn't that much difference between the Primetone and V-Picks, and the Bluechip was by far the best. Two of my sons, one who is a very gifted guitarist, and the other who has a lot of sound experience from his video production company, also picked the Bluechip as the winner in a blind test.

I realize there is a wide range of personal preference, likes, and dislikes when it comes to picks, strings, etc., and am very happy I sprang for the $35 Blue Chip. I use light strings on all of my acoustics, and will probably order a TD40, too.

[Br1ck]

There is no need to apologize for not liking a BC pick. There is if you don't at least try one, the I'll never pay that much, or what if I lose it view. It's akin to saying Paris is not worth the money to go see.

I have a few BCs now, but perhaps even more casein Charmed Life picks. I love the high range tonality casein brings out, particularly for mandolins. But the Primetones I use on my 1913 Gibson A 1 mandolin really brighten that instrument up, and it needs it.

I also think the higher end picks excel for those using heavier picks for styles like bluegrass, where they bounce off the strings in a precise manor, and double course instruments like mandolin where you need the heft to power through two strings. They are the very worst, IMHO, for strumming a 12 string guitar.

But you certainly don't have to like a Blue Chip or any other pick. Buying one entitles you to an opinion.

[phydaux]

Originally Posted by Maicobmw

In my opinion you can't play a BC or similar pick using the exact same technique like you would using a 'standard' pick. It took me nearly a year of trying a BC off and on before I figured that out. Keep experimenting with your technique and attack. The payback is tone, muddiness is not inevitable. Good luck.

Ever since experimenting with Primetones, both on my guitar and on my mandolin, I have become much more aware and intentional when it comes to my attack.

So much so that I've decided when I order my Blue Chip it will be a TAD-1R rather than a simple TAD.

[Brent Hutto]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

I also think the higher end picks excel for those using heavier picks for styles like bluegrass, where they bounce off the strings in a precise manor, and double course instruments like mandolin where you need the heft to power through two strings.

Interesting comment there. In a way it recapitulates my journey.

I came to guitar in about 2005, first thing I figured out was how to strum a few 1st position chords to go along with singing Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. Had trouble with the pick (thin, cheap, generic nylon) wanting to slip every which way when I strummed so I immediately bailed on the pick and strummed with my fingers.

Quickly moved on to playing more elaborate "fingerstyle" stuff with my nails and eventually found myself taking classical guitar lessons. Took me a couple years to realize that wasn't really going to match up well with the kinds of music I wanted to hear myself playing.

So I got a mandolin and from the first fiddle tune my left hand felt more at home than it ever had on a guitar fretboard. But the right hand...that's where I first realized the Power Of The Blue Chip (in my case a CT55). Using the down-and-through technique my teacher showed me just wasn't going to work with a floppy nylon pick. And certainly not with my fingernails It was either use my CT55 or my alternate choice Wegen TF120 or else I couldn't get any tone and articulation out of the little eight-string wonder.

After a decade-long hiatus where I returned to my childhood instrument (Piano) now I'm back to the guitar. But armed with a few Blue Chip picks I'm tackling some of the kinds of music I really want to hear. Flatpicked or crosspicked fiddle tunes using a down-and-through picking motion not miles away from what worked on mandolin. Interestingly, I found the CT55 had a displeasing tone kind of like what OP described. Too dark and a little clicky on guitar. So I've gravitated toward the thinner and/or pointier models (TP48-1R and TD45).

I've still got no real idea of how to do the two things that most beginners seems to figure out quickly. I can't strum worth a darn on the guitar and I can't do tremolo worth a darn on mandolin. But fiddle tunes work OK with straight picking so I'm good for now.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

Also, the large triangle TAD (346 shape) picks are just about the worst for pick noise that I have tried so far. Again, it is just to do with the shape, not so much the material. A 1.5 Primetone in 346 would be just as noisy.

Always interested in reading your pick observations Robin. As a person who's largely converted to 346 shape picks on acoustic I was surprised as this observation. When cross-picking (something I do often) I generally don't want much pick noise (unlike some strumming where it can be desirable). Particularly when I use my iRig Acoustic Stage sound hole mic to make the best out of a bad recording situation, pick noise is something I notice and battle. As I'm nutty about picks I'll try other picks to try to minimize that, particularly on days when my picking isn't as good as other days due to my horoscope or local barometric pressure or whatever.

When I've tried to fix "too much click" I have noticed that besides technique that pick materials are most likely to make a difference as does point shape sometimes.

I have yet to notice the 346 shape adding to that problem for me as I play and hear (those could be factors...) Do you have a theory as to why you're observing that with 346 shape picks?*




*due to the easy to misunderstand nature of forums: this is not a "you're wrong" or "bet you can't prove that" demand or anything like that. Just another pick nerd wondering if there are more details or ideas regarding what you've noticed.

[Charmed Life Picks]

I'd with the advice echoed here to play those new BC picks a lot, on various guitars if possible, and give it about two weeks. A lot of people like that material on electric and archtops, perhaps not so much for tone as for feel.

Another thought to the OP. No matter the material, thinner picks will bring out more high frequency and a little less bass. I don't have a degree in Physics, but that's a truism across the spectrum of materials.

sm

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

I'd with the advice echoed here to play those new BC picks a lot, on various guitars if possible, and give it about two weeks.

It's not just BlueChips, by the way. I had the same experience with my first casein pick, a Charmed Life nt-1.15, even though I was switching from a similarly sized Primetone 1.4 triangle. It took me a couple weeks to get it to do what it wanted to do.

Like others on this thread, I'm using a variety of picks these days. The BlueChip TP 40, the Charmed Life nt-1.15, the Folkway XXH, and the Primetone 1.4. All the same basic size, but with different materials and bevels. Somedays it's just because a given pick wants to spend time with me.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

It's not just BlueChips, by the way. I had the same experience with my first casein pick, a Charmed Life nt-1.15, even though I was switching from a similarly sized Primetone 1.4 triangle. It took me a couple weeks to get it to do what it wanted to do.

Like others on this thread, I'm using a variety of picks these days. The BlueChip TP 40, the Charmed Life nt-1.15, the Folkway XXH, and the Primetone 1.4. All the same basic size, but with different materials and bevels. Somedays it's just because a given pick wants to spend time with me.

Buffle, so funny, I was gonna mentioned this earlier. When I first played casein, I was like "Meh." It did take a couple weeks.

I had heard a lot about the tone being closest to genuine TS; for me, the problem was it's much more rigid than tortoise. That took a long time to get used to. But yeah, I'd give it a couple weeks.

sm