This is the answer key for my Mandolin Picks Comparison article. If you haven’t read that already, please consider visiting that page first so you can hear the sounds without bias.
To identify the picks and hear which sounds go with which mandolin picks, scroll down.
Normalized (all samples set to 89 dB with MP3Gain Express)
- Pick 1: Pickboy Classic Luminous 1.20 mm
- Pick 2: Cool Heavy black 1.0 mm
- Pick 3: Dunlop Ultex triangle 1.14 mm
- Pick 4: Wheatware H 1.5 mm
- Pick 5: Dunlop Primetone Sculpted 3 mm
- Pick 6: Dunlop Stubby Triangle 3.0 mm
- Pick 7: Unknown “tortoise” 1.4 mm (possibly Saga Music)
- Pick 8: Stylus Pick
- Pick 9: Dunlop Jazz III XL 1.3 mm
- Pick 10: Cool Heavy white 1.0 mm
- Pick 11: Wheatware 2.0 mm
- Pick 12: Gibson X-H 1.1 mm
- Pick 13: Dunlop purple 1.5 mm
- Pick 14: Dunlop nylon 1.0 mm
- Pick 15: Dunlop Jazz III black teardrop 1.3 mm
- Pick 16: Pickboy Edge Carbon-Nylon 1.00 mm
- Pick 17: Dunlop Ultex Jazz III teardrop 1.3 mm
- Pick 18: Unknown “tortoise” (possibly Saga Music) 1.4 mm
- Pick 19: Wedgie 1.0 mm
- Pick 20: Pickboy Classic Rainbow 1.00 mm
- Pick 21: Dunlop 204 2.0 mm
- Pick 22: Pickboy black/holes 1.50 mm
- Pick 23: Cool Heavy translucent yellow 1.0 mm
- Pick 24: Fender Heavy 0.9 mm
- Pick 25: Martin H 0.6 mm
- Pick 26: Dunlop Tortex green 0.88 mm
- Pick 27: Pickboy nylon 1.00 mm
- Pick 28: Golden Gate mandolin 1.4 mm
Remember to leave a comment with your thoughts about how the different picks compare with each other, and check out my article on making your own mandolin bridge!
Dunlop brand sounds clear n mellow
After. Long search I found literature on various aspects of this precious string instrument
I honestly can’t tell the difference.
Did you go into this trying to play each tune “exactly” the same? As in, did you have to do “more” or “less” to come out with the same sound? That’s kind of how I approach choosing a suitable pick, because I honestly don’t notice a difference with each pick, but I do notice how I use the pick to produce the same sound. Does that make sense? I’m pretty much at a default with the Golden Gate pick because I find it a lot easier to play with, but I confess that I have to work it a bit more to produce a sharper sound than some other picks I’ve used. But the other picks I’ve used, I find it a bit more difficult to play with (I can’t go as fast or I can’t “confidently” strum a chord with something other than the Golden Gate). It’s a conundrum. And, possibly, all in my head! I have to seriously this to be a very good possible problem with choosing picks. Eeks! Thanks