Pick shoot out

[jwpropane]

Awright!! I’m already getting payback on these new monitors. Thanks for the contest Mike. If you’re serious about sending a pick (which you don’t have to, I had enough fun trying to identify them all) I already have a couple Blue Chips and Red Bears, I’ve tried Wegens but nothing over 1.2mm, I’ve never tried the Golden Gate. All the others you have, I’ve tried or already have. I don’t like the Gators at all. The rough texture is too slick on my dry hands. I suppose it’d be between the 1.4 Wegen which was my favorite track or the Golden Gate since I’ve never tried one and I’m playing more mandolin lately. You can suprise me, either one would be fine.

The .50 cent Ultex 1.14 picks are great! I sand and polish them to get a good sheen. It gives me better grip. I think it darkens the tone slightly if you sand and polish the bevel too. You’ll lose the markings but that’s ok.

Thanks again

J.W.

[ldpayton]

Nice work, JW! With enough guesses and clues, I could have used logic to figure out the puzzle, but given a hundred guesses,I don’t think I could have done it with my ear.

[mreisz]

I was serious about sending a pick. I’ll touch base with you and get it/them in the mail later this week. I assumed whoever won would want a BC or RB, so you asking way under budget. We’ll figure out something good. PM is on its way shortly.

Anyone interested in a similar comparison on mandolin?

[jbsjr]

Congratulations J.W. !!! Sorry if I upset you by identifying #10 earlier I was just doing things the way I wanted to.

[jwpropane]

— Begin quote from "ldpayton"

but given a hundred guesses,I don’t think I could have done it with my ear.

— End quote

Thanks Larry, I got some nice monitors for Christmas and I run them through my interface into the computer so now I can actually hear things in amazing detail. Before, all I had was the computer speakers which you can’t even hear when the furnace cycles. They’re JBL LSR 305’s and I’m real happy with the clarity, bass and volume. They really sound good and are true. Without the monitors I would have just simply been guessing, they all would have sounded the same.

— Begin quote from "jbsjr"

Congratulations J.W. !!! Sorry if I upset you by identifying #10 earlier I was just doing things the way I wanted to.

— End quote

Thanks John, Not upset at all. That was one that Mike had previously revealed later in the contest and I figured you didn’t catch that post. Not a problem.

J.W.

[mreisz]

JW’s prize package is packed up and will be in the mail today! He said to surprise him, so I won’t reveal the contents.

[jwpropane]

Cool!! Thanks Mike, I’ll be standing by the mailbox. Looking forward to seeing what you sent.

Thanks again for the contest, J.W.

[jwpropane]

Whew, I’ve been standing out here at the mailbox since Monday. Boy it’s cold and I’m hungry. I’ve been getting to know the people that drive by every day on Hwy 48. They’re real friendly and most of them wave. One person stopped and wanted to give me money and I explained that I was waiting on a guitar pick. He said “I kinda thought that but wasn’t sure” and then seemed to understand completely. How do I end this before it gets too ridiculous?!

Anyway I recieved my contest prize today. I told Mike that I would like either the Wegen or the Golden Gate because I already have a couple Blue Chips and Red Bears. I said to suprise me with one or the other… And that he did. He sent one of each and a 1.14mm Dunlop Ultex triangle pick as a bonus. The Ultex has always been one of my favorites.

Thanks again Mike for the contest and the picks. I’m sure I’ll enjoy trying them out. I have to go now, my wife is calling. She probably wants to know if I checked the mail yet today before she drives up the lane.

J.W.

[mreisz]

I am sorry you were sitting out by the mailbox all week! I would sent it overnight if I would known. With that said, it’s good you got to meet all the people driving by.

So now that all the formalities are done and the picks are identified, here’s a few things that surprised me:
The difference between the Wegen 1.0 (pick 1) and 1.4 (pick 10) is pretty drastic in feel, but the sound is not radically different.

The little freebie delrin pick from martin (pick 2) sounds pretty respectable for how thin it is. I’d like to get one in 1.2 or thicker. The fender medium (pick 7) is just a bit thinner, but sounds very weak in comparison.

The CT-55 (pick 11) when playing it “live” sounds surprisingly thin (probably due to the fairly radical bevel and pointy shape). However, recorded, I thought it was very similar to the Tortoise (pick 4). There is a bit more high end frequency. I suspect if I slightly round the tip it would be hard to tell the difference. I might well do that to one of the tips.

The Golden Gate would be a great choice when the strings are too bright. It has a good, dark fundamental recorded tone.

The Dunlop 1.5 (pick 12) has a much better recorded sound than I expected. I never much liked it “live”, but recorded, it ain’t bad.

I do wish I would have included the pointy non-beveled Red Bear point. I started to go back and record it afterwards, but all the other picks were done in one sitting. I figured the odds of getting the mic and everything back the way it was would be small.

[jwpropane]

It amazes me how different sound can be from the back side of the guitar and hearing it from the front. When I got my Red Bear pick right after Christmas I was comparing it to another but I can’t remember now which one. It doesn’t matter. The two sounded strikingly different, really noticable. I asked my son which one he thought sounded better. He said they sound about the same. I said no really, which one has better tone? He again said “there’s really no difference”. In frustration I handed him the guitar and the two picks and said “you play it, I’ll hear for myself”. At exactly the same moment when he first struck the strings with the second pick we both looked up at each other and said “Wow”! I said you’re right, there is no difference and he said, you’re right, that’s a huge difference when I play it.

I realize that an instrument will sound different from the front to the back, but why would there be no difference in tone between two different picks from the front and a huge difference from the back. Should’nt they both sound different in the same way from front to back? I don’t know if that makes sense or not but sound and tone are interesting things.

By the way, I was suprised how the 1.0 Wegen sounded too. I thought it would be alot brighter. I’m enjoying the picks Mike. Thanks again, my favorite of the three is the 1.4 Wegen.

J.W.

[mreisz]

— Begin quote from "jwpropane"

Should’nt they both sound different in the same way from front to back? I don’t know if that makes sense or not but sound and tone are interesting things.

— End quote

I know what you are saying and I have experienced much the same (one example is in listening to the pick shoot out). Maybe part of what we interpret as tone from behind the instrument is the tactile feel of the instrument in our hands… I dunno.

[welder4]

I think it has to do with the vibrations directly against the body around the heart . there is no contact with the guitar if you are just listening and the feel of those notes will penetrate the body /and it is coming from the back side of the guitar . Hold it close and enjoy it /