Lucky in love - but not in picks

[StrumNSing]

I have tried a lot of expensive picks but at the end of the day I still like the cheap ones, too. I like both.

Here's a list of my favorites (and their thickness):

BlueChip Vespel TD45 & TAD50
Charmed Life Casein .95
Wegen 1.2
John Pearse Casein 1.0
Celluloid Heavy
Dunlop Ultex 1.14
Dunlop Primetone .96, 1.0, 1.3
Dunlop Gator .96, 1.14

From my list, I'd say my overall favorite currently is Wegen 1.2, which is not the most expensive one on the list. My second overall favorite is probably the Ultex 1.14; also not the most expensive. But I do like them all and use them all.

And, at the end of the day, I still want to try more. There's something very interesting to me about the variety of tones and seeking a certain tone that I have in my head. I'm planning to buy some Hense picks as well as another (thicker) Charmed Life Casein. For me, it's worse that GAS. But I love it and it's certainly less expensive than GAS.

Enjoy the journey and play the pick(s) you like!

[dnf777]

If this guy could type, he’d give a nice run down of various picks, and even his thoughts in the new Fender Mustang micro amp.

[jschmitz54]

Dunlap Primetone for me. The Dunlap Gel is also a favorite. Playing a little less than three years I don’t think a $15- $40 pick is where my improvement will come from but your observations are interesting. I have Fender heavy picks also and I like them but you may want to try Primetone.

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by dnf777

If this guy could type, he’d give a nice run down of various picks, and even his thoughts in the new Fender Mustang micro amp.

Oh, my. And Rusty could add to that list of guitar "consumables" the picks he has sampled. And the $70 Peterson Strobe Tuner - sampled, masticated but did not swallow, thank goodness. I shared the experience on AGF when it happened, and a rep from Peterson read it and sent me a new one. High points for them.
David

Snuggle for Pardon.jpg

[Charmed Life Picks]

Deliberate:

I feel your pain -- and I hate to see that sweet pooch in the doggie dungeon.

Please email me directly at charmedlifepicks @ gmail, and on behalf of AGF and our assembled members here I'm going to send you a free pick to replace the one your canine gobbled. I'll even pay for freight too. And take that dog out of jail!

scott

[Br1ck]

To those asking about casein.

Casein brings out upper mid to treble overtones. It sounds brighter than a Blue Chip. It comes off a string with a bit more snap than the oh so smooth BC.

Some instruments like one over the other. Casein Charmed Life have taken over my mandolins. The highs without harsh aspect is pleasing.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

To those asking about casein.

Casein brings out upper mid to treble overtones. It sounds brighter than a Blue Chip. It comes off a string with a bit more snap than the oh so smooth BC.

Some instruments like one over the other. Casein Charmed Life have taken over my mandolins. The highs without harsh aspect is pleasing.

Precisely on the tonal properties of casein, Brick; spot on. And I always played at least three different materials at any one time for more than four decades before CLP became a thing.

(BTW, for those who haven't heard the tale, Charmed Life was never an entrepreneurial venture, never supposed to even exist. I'm as suprised as everyone. And trust me, there are lots easier ways to turn a buck than selling handmade picks. Heck, park your dough in a Vanguard Index Fund for five years and you're smelling like a rose. In 2015 I started making picks only for myself, to play, to replace my aging, brittle, and no-longer-legal TS picks. Then jamming buddies started asking me to make one for them, and I turn around a year later and -- "Good Lord, I'm in the guitar pick business. Crap." (can I say that?).

Compared to casein, most players will describe Vespel as "darker" or maybe "deeper." As Brick says -- and I don't understand the physics or chemistry of it -- casein is brighter than most materials but never harsh.

sm