# Is anyone using expensive picks?



## Gary787 (Aug 27, 2011)

I have to admit its kind of lost on me. $35(US) for a guitar pick. I get the need for heavy picks but .....great picks are sold by the dozens. I can lose 2 dozen DAVA's before I could justify a Blue Chip. There's even one guy on the AGF who charges extra freight????? to ship to Canada. Freight??really?? I don't know but I think the need to feed a hobby with trinkets is taking over.


----------



## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

Well Joey Landreth plays with an expensive pick (Blue Chip 55) and you'd have a hard time finding a purdier tone. Course I'm pretty sure he could play like that before he got the pick. 






But his ear is very developed, and he clearly hears/feels a difference. I bought the slide he uses (Rock Slide), and it's amazingly comfortable. Actually perfect.

I bought a pack of Tusq picks and I can definitely hear a nice difference on my acoustic. Last week I bought a thick $7 Ckicken Pick at L&M and it feels real nice on the string but is slippery in the fingers.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I've been using Bluechip picks for at least 5 years now. They are durable and sticks to my fingers. I use a the Jazz 50 which is equivalent to the Dunlop Jazz picks in size and appoximately the same thickness.


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I poo-poo'd the idea until a bluegrass picker named Uwe Kruger put a Blue Chip in my hand. I went from _that's bullshit_ to _that's amazing_ in about 4 pickstrokes. That was about 4 years ago. Luckily, I haven't lost one yet and they wear forever, so I've doubtless broken even by now.

Biographical Information about the trio. | Kruger Brothers

Naturally, your milage may vary.


----------



## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Yea, similarly, while I was testing >$5k guitars, the salesperson put a BC in my hands. In that higher end market, a $50 pick (1 % of guitar) made some sense. The guitars were so good sounding that you could hear the subtle, positive difference the BC made. If you don't have a guitar good enough, I doubt the difference would be noticeable, or matter.

I don't hear enough difference playing my electrics to justify it. Only for my acoustics.


----------



## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

Is there a Canadian supplier of Blue Chips? It seems I have some dollars that are getting hotter. Yes indeed, they are now burning a hole in my pocket.


----------



## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

mister.zed said:


> Is there a Canadian supplier of Blue Chips? It seems I have some dollars that are getting hotter. Yes indeed, they are now burning a hole in my pocket.


BlueChip Guitar Picks @ Bluedog guitars.


----------



## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

Guilty.... I use a BC, never would have dished out the money normally. Someone gifted me one though and now having played with it for so long I would gladly pay you replace it if I lost it ever!


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

For me it's not just the tone but also the 'feel' of it. I have different kinds of picks in here and I've never gone back to any other pick since I got the BC. I think I've only known one person who returned it or was not pleased with it but most people who have tried it and used it, never go back to other picks. For one thing, it really lasts like forever. LOL I was reading Gary878's post about having to lose 2 dozen Dava to justify the cost of it, that's not a lot let's say in my case over 5 years. It really pays for itself in the long run.


----------



## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I had a real tortoise pick at one time, back before they were completely unobtainium . Lost it on a camping trip.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I do have some stone picks that cost a bit more than normal--but still a fraction of the Blue Chip...


----------



## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

The v-picks I swear by are $4-$6 for 90% of them and the rest are $10-$35. They have over 100 models. 

I know that in Japan alone they buy about $250k worth of v-picks a year (retailing about $18-22k a month)


----------



## hammerstein (Oct 17, 2017)

I'm nowhere near the point in my ability where I need to start worrying about how certain picks are going to affect my tone.. I'm perfectly happy for now with my jazz 3's
But if I ever get there, I'll have no problem exploring expensive picks


----------



## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

I use a Bluechip TD35rb and love it. It's not just the warmer tone but how the pick almost sticks to my finger and thumb. Not to mention how it glides through the strings while flatpicking. I have a couple of V picks and a couple of Wegens but I still prefer the Bluechip.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

hammerstein said:


> I'm nowhere near the point in my ability where I need to start worrying about how certain picks are going to affect my tone.. I'm perfectly happy for now with my jazz 3's
> But if I ever get there, I'll have no problem exploring expensive picks


Same here but I would like to try some. My problem is wondering if they would stay in my sweaty hands like my Dava picks do.


----------



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I don't use em. Been using the same Dunlops since I started. I also don't throw them away. I have a pick that I believe was made in the 80's, has dents and chips. It's still usable for rock....


----------

