Another Little PSA...Blue Chip Picks!

[thesjkexperience]

Why am I the only one who wears out their BCs? Not as big of a deal since I moved to the three sided picks TAD and CT55. The sound, easy grip, speed off of the strings and touch of the picks make them worth the cash.

I put the little wooden storage box on my wish list. I need to hide my BCs from the kids! But, they do know if they touch the brown picks they get a red butt!

[mcass63]

I'm not paying $35 for a pick

[amp boy]

Any recommendations for a pick from their selection for one that likes the tone of fingers on strings more than picks ?
i've never tried a uber pick before, just the cheap dunlops.

[rockeroo]

Hard to beat finger tone... I have two blue chips, but I always am willing to cast them aside in lieu of using the fingers. Completely different ball game to me.

I own a CT-55 and a TP-60.

Cheers.

[Your name here]

How much flex do these picks have? Does it vary? I'm wondering if I'll need to go up to 2mm (what I normally use is a Dunlop Gator Grip 2mm) to get a stiffer feel. Or can I go with a thinner model and still get the stiffness I need, while achieving a slightly brighter tone?

[rockeroo]

The picks, by nature of the polymer used in production, are quite firm and stiff. I find myself getting a warm tone using the 1.5 and 1.6 mm thickness...not too sure about hearing a "bright" tone. With that said, the tonal spectrum appears more balanced than other picks I have used, so you may hear more brightness in the highs and depth in the lows. I am quite curious how the thinner blue chips play (i.e. thicknesses of 1 mm of slightly greater).

I imagine you will be satisfied with any thickness you choose if you are looking for a "stiffer" pick. The feel is in the material more so than the thickness, to my understanding.

Cheers.

[Your name here]

That's great info, thanks! I think I'll go for one a bit thinner than 2mm and see what happens...

[thesjkexperience]

Remember that there is a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If the thickness, shape or material doesn't do it for you just send it back for cash or a different shape & thickness. I had used the standard tear drop for 30 years, but last year discovered the benefits of the three sided pick. It took two weeks to get used to, but they ae faster than the tear drop off the strings and have a fatter tone.

I tend to use a CT55 for electric and a TAD60R on the Jazzmaster for a fatter tone for Surf. I have TAD45, TAD50, CT55 and TAD601R for my Martins as the different woods tend to like different picks as well as diffent needs for flatpicking, Bluegrass, slide blues and strum & sing styles. My Taylor 12 string uses anything from medium celluloid, pink delrin to the round corner of the TAD1R.

I know $35 seems crazy for a pick, but if you have a good idea of what you like in a pick as far as size,thickness, and shape as well as not being a pick misplacer they are actually a good value for their ease of grip, speed off of the strings and durability.

[amp boy]

i just ordered a TP40-1R as my first try at a Blue Chip, or any high end pick.

My thinking was this would be a good base point for their other picks....a rounded corner for playing on, along with their standard tip as well.

i thought this might also translate to perhaps liking one more for acoustic and the other electric, or both for both.


looking forward to checking it out.

[thesjkexperience]

Yeah, personally, I don't think you want to go real thick on these, as they are very stiff, as Andrew noted, and in my experience, if you go to their 60 size or above you start getting some significant pick noise; a clicking with these, as opposed to the chirping you hear regarding some other makers' picks. While I own and use a variety of their picks ranging from their 40 to 60 sizes, generally, I'm using a TAD-1R 40. Plenty stiff, but with minimal pick noise. I can't even imagine using the 80s or 100s. My $0.02. G'Luck!

I totally agree! Because of the pick click in the 60 thickness it seems my TAD1R60 is brighter than my CT55. My CT55 is also darker than my TAD50, so you might try a CT55 and roll the tone back a bit to get closer to skin tone, or choose one of the models with a single round end like the TAD1R. I originally used the TD50, but as the tip wore out I started using the two rounded points on the back of the pick and that gives a thick sound as well.