For those of us who spend the money on boutique picks, what are your favorites and why do you like them? Bluechip? Toneslab? My current favorites are the Bluechip STP40 and the Mcquan Torlon Medium 1.2mm pick that I just got. The Bluechip I like because it’s smaller and has very low pick noise (big winner for me). The Mcquan Torlon has really good tone but it has a little more pick noise. I go back and forth between the two. I’ve tried Toneslab Tweeners, the PEI and regular (1.2mm), but they have way too much pick noise for me, and are larger than I like. Same with the Bluechip CT55 and the Toneslab JS. I prefer a smaller size. Needless to say, I’ve spent a little too much trying to find my “favorite” pick😏, but I finally found a couple that I really like.
What's Your Favorite Guitar Pick?
Bluechip TP60-1R. Perfect size, rounded corner for variety. Like you said, no pick noise (the pick noise is what I didn’t love about Toneslab when I initially tried them).
That being said, Mr. Stogdill gave me one of his signature picks and I really like it too. It’s slightly thinner (50, I believe) and has a brighter sound, but it’s super easy to hold on to. I liked it for trying to be heard more clearly while jamming.
ToneSlabs are my favorite and have been for a long time. I originally started liking the Darth Tone material a lot, and now I’m mainly using their new Torlon material and I’ve found so far it wears a lot slower. I had been using the Mini size for the longest time, but they gave me a Tweener with holes at IBMA that I’ve been mainly using now, all 1.5mm thickness.
Bluechips (TPR 40 and 50, CT55) are my slight preference. That said, I love the ultex and primetones. They are good enough that I don’t notice them, but if I lose one, I don’t have to retrace my steps for 3 hours. One of the coolest oddball picks I have that I haven’t been able to get more of is a Gilchrist pick. It was a freebie after I demoed one of their mandolins (no, I didn’t buy the mandolin, but it was the best one I have played). I am guessing it is celluloid, but it is a little more mellow that the BCs or Primetones.
My favorite is the Bluechip CT55. I have a tone slab but I just prefer the Bluechip CT55, they are close but I probably have just used the CT55 longer so I feel comfortable with it.
Mandolin and guitar player here. For mandolin, both the bluechip CT55 and the McQuan have been awesome. I also occasionally use an I-Tone 41 (made by Shawn lane of Blue Highway) and that’s pretty good too. On guitar I’ve been trying an arrangement of tortoise shell, bluechip TD 50 / TD 45, Toneslab 1.2 (I think), McQuan, Wegen, and a couple others. My winners have been then tortoise shell (surprise suprise), tone slabs, and the McQuan, in that order. But every guitar is a little bit different and everyone has their own preference