Quote:
Originally Posted by raysachs
Unless you try something else you like better. Which you didn't but you're you. I had an experience similar to zoopeda, below...
I do too. I tried a few Vespel picks, both from Blue Chip and Charmed Life, but also tried some casein picks from Charmed Life at about the same time. My initial reaction was that I loved the Vespel picks and couldn't stand the casein picks. Over time, that flipped completely. Now I play casein picks from Charmed Life and Red Bear - I also have one EML and may order a couple more.
I occasionally pick up one of the Vespel picks thinking I might like it again, and I like them, but then I play one of the casein picks again and I have such an overwhelming preference for casein it's not even a little bit close. And it seems like the longer I play them, the stronger that preference grows.
I think in terms of clicky-ness, the bevel has a lot to do with it. I'm mostly a strummer when I'm playing with a pick and I find that speed-beveled picks sound clicky when I'm strumming, but those with a standard even bevel don't. The speed bevel is made mostly for flat-pickers for, obviously, speed. That's got nothing to do with my playing. Blue Chip offers a right handed and left handed speed bevel and a "round" bevel - Red Bear just calls that one a "standard" bevel.
I've also found the more pronounced the point at the end of the pick, the more clicky it sounds. I've done my share of filing picks down to a somewhat rounded point without a speed-bevel. Dave from Red Bear sent me a "pick maintenance kit" with two coursenesses of files and two buffing pads and I've gotten pretty good with them if I say so myself. Scott at Charmed Life doesn't put a speed bevel on his picks and they're not overly pointy either, so I've never had to do anything to his picks, but I've done work on the Red Bears and the EML I have.
But regardless of bevel or the point on the pick, I'm completely down with casein, which leaves Blue Chips and other Vespel picks in a distant second place. Oddly, Taylor now has some picks they call the Thermex Pro at 1.5mm and it's a really dark sounding pick. Sometimes if I capo up around the 3rd or 5th fret when things start sounding a little "zingy" for lack of a better term, one of those Taylors brings it down a few notches and evens things out. I have a pack of those - they're $2 apiece, so a different universe from the boutique picks we're talking about but that do that one job REALLY well for me at least.
-Ray
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Perhaps the only thing we can say here, Ray, that seems to be a common theme, is that various players are going to experience a wide range of tonalities. I think it's safe to say that I know these materials, and others on the market, as well as anyone I know. But I've learned to rarely, if ever, predict someone's experience in playing any one material. I know this strikes some people as odd, but as noted by many posters in this thread, there are a host of playing variables that affect tone -- strings, string gauges, setup, guitar, capo, tonewoods, playing style, bevels, non-bevels, etc.
A players experience is a player's experience. Some people report casein to be a little "clicky." Many report it as the quietest they've ever played.
The most important thing: before buying, find out what the company's return and refund policy is. The best ones have the most flexible options, which is one of the reasons BC has done so well. Being easy to do business with is what most people look for, coupled with great pick materials.
scott memmer