The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I just read an article about Blue Chip picks and how wonderful they are. Went to their website and saw that they cost 35 bucks EACH!!! This seems outrageous to me. Am I missing something? How much would you pay for a pick?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I'd pay a maximum of 45 euro-cents for a pick. Surprisingly-that's exactly what my picks cost!! 35 bucks? Bloody hell-I'd want it to bring me home with it after the gig for that.

  4. #3

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    I paid $20 for mine--I used to buy bunches of Dunlop Jazz 3s and then lose nearly all of them.
    Then I got one jazz Redbear pick last year, love it, plays great, and STILL have not lost it. Red Bear Trading Co. The Best Guitar Picks Made - Your Tone Starts Right Here

    I like how that works!

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by NSJ
    I paid $20 for mine--I used to buy bunches of Dunlop Jazz 3s and then lose nearly all of them.
    Then I got one jazz Redbear pick last year, love it, plays great, and STILL have not lost it. Red Bear Trading Co. The Best Guitar Picks Made - Your Tone Starts Right Here

    I like how that works!

    I bought a few of the Red Bear. They even sent me a free key fob to store them in (Probably because I asked what the delay in shipping was)

    They are nice, and expensive. Have you tries the JAZZTONE 205's?

  6. #5

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    $100 for a real tortoise shell pick; and you have to buy them in a back alley.

  7. #6

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    [QUOTE=JohnW400;77777]I bought a few of the Red Bear. They even sent me a free key fob to store them in (Probably because I asked what the delay in shipping was)

    They are nice, and expensive. Have you tries the JAZZTONE 205's?[/QUOTE

    No I haven't but will try 'em out---the Dunlop jazz 3s were too light , I thought--I prefer a weightier smaller pick

  8. #7

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    I use picks I made out of Texas black wood (Mexican Ebony) they work great for me. I don't think they would work for everyone though. They are stiff with a soft tone. I make them the same shape as Fender 358 picks. I don't like them for my mandolin too soft a sound. I use a tortoise shell pick for mandolin it's one I've had for years. I just lost my favorite tortoise shell pick boy was I bummed. Say where's that back alley? I've got this really old mandolin with a pick-guard made out of tortoise shell I've been eying up lately.

  9. #8

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    Slightly off topic pick question that I've always been curious about... What is it about "jazz" pick shapes that make them supposedly better for jazz than a standard pick shape?

  10. #9

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    I've been using a Wegen Gypsy Jazz pick ($15). I have a couple of Red Bears that were gifts, and several V-Picks. If lost, I would definitely replace the Wegen. I use a pick about 40%, but I love the Wegen. The tone is so different from the others. Same stroke, same guitar, same hand, different sound. Although less true among folks here, it seems to me that the pick is a pretty important part of tone. We seem to be willing to spend hundreds, and some of us spend thousands, on guitars and amps-- why not spend more on a pick? As with guitars and amps, only if you feel comfortable and hear the difference, of course.

  11. #10

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    I've got a $20 Red Bear and like it quite well on an acoustic. It's definitely my favorite pick, but I'm not sure I would spring for another if I lost it. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

    But to me it seems less important when playing electric. Maybe the subtleties of pick attack/tone matter less when an amp is involved? Or maybe it could be my technique? ;-)

  12. #11

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    Hey Flat I play with a pick mostly on a Fender Stratocaster and I can really tell the difference in sound and speed when I use different pick shapes and different material maybe it's just me.



    To finish my earlier post about the wood picks. If I was to sell those hand made picks I would have to charge about $20-$30 bucks for them as the black wood is hard for me to find here in Minn. So I wounder if it really cost that much to make the material their made out of. It's suppose to be as close to organic tortoise as they can make it.
    I remember a discussion like between musicians like this when I was alot younger about celluloid and tortoise.
    Last edited by bikemike; 04-28-2010 at 09:18 AM.

  13. #12
    TommyD Guest
    I recently bought, and like a lot, a V-pick. It's heavy, and shaped to give a nice attack. I can't keep my hands off it! Four bucks, and they send an extra pick - one of their originals - another nice pick.
    The deal is, they warm up in your fingers and become easier to hold; not sticky, but the next thing to it. It's a crystalline, clear material. Looks to me like Lexan.
    Tommy/

  14. #13
    TommyD Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by sdr
    Slightly off topic pick question that I've always been curious about... What is it about "jazz" pick shapes that make them supposedly better for jazz than a standard pick shape?
    It's not so much the shape, (although that does come into it in the tip shape), but the size and thickness, that makes it a "jazz" pick. Smaller means that you get your hand closer to the strings and that gives it a punchier tone and attack (as opposed to the metallic, uncontrolled twang of a thin, large pick).
    Oh, and they can charge more by calling it "faster than every other pick on the planet". In fact some are so fast that you have to actually let go to allow them to play their fastest.
    Tommy/

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by msr13
    I've been using a Wegen Gypsy Jazz pick ($15).
    The Wegen Gypsy Jazz is also my go-to pick. I'm not too... picky with picks when it comes to my electric playing, though. But for acoustics (archtop, gypsy jazz, nylon...) I tend to use different picks for different applications: they make a big difference.

    One thing is, when you buy expensive picks, you become more cautious: I've been playing the same picks for years. Haven't lost a single one.

  16. #15

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    I am not a big fan of the Blue Chip, by the way. But maybe I'm just too used to thick picks.

  17. #16

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    Anybody out there ever used Alaskan picks? I lost the tip of my RH index finger as a child so thought they might even things out. Fingerstyle is ok on my acoustic but sounds tinny on my electric whenever I use that finger. I'm trying to use hybrid picking but its like trying to learn to walk again.
    Paid $40 Aus for a pick made from stone (agate), not too bad on acoustic crap on electric and slippery to hold, looks good though.

  18. #17

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    I recently switched to the V-Picks as well. They offer quite a variety of shapes and sizes. My favorite is the medium rounded.

  19. #18

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    I use a Blue Chip "Kenny Smith 60" model and I think it's worth the $35. I also tried the "Jazz" model but I found it too small (note that I also find Dunlop Jazz III's too small). Blue Chips have a great return/trade policy so if you don't like the pick you get, you just send it back and try another one.

    Back to the KS 60, it has three equal (rounded) points and the material just refuses to wear, so I really think one of these could last a decade. I haven't lose mine yet.

    But even more importantly, this Blue Chip KS 60 really does make acoustic instruments sound better. People are willing to pay more money for a nitro finish, upgraded woods, a fancy guitar builder, etc - all in order to enhance their instruments' sound. Well, all those things cost a lot more than $35 and might not even make as much of a difference as a Blue Chip!

    However, for a solid body guitar or semi-hollow, I don't think the Blue Chips make much difference in sound. I also tried one of the thinner Blue Chips (the Jazz 50) and I didn't think it made a big improvement in sound (partly because it was thinner, but also because the smaller pick size made it harder to "dig in").

    YMMV.