Saddle Finger Picks, Blue Chip thumbpick

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Most of us have experienced discomfort and problems keeping conventional finger picks on our fingers.

I tried a pair of Saddle Finger Picks and am very pleased with the results. At first, I did not like them, but after spending some time bending and shaping them I really like them. As their advertising states, it's like putting on your shoe. The fatty part of the underside of your finger, not the sensitive area near your cuticle, keeps the pick in place.

Slip them on, maybe press your fingers lightly onto your leg or chest once, and they stay put with no discomfort. It is hard to describe, but there is something about these picks that feels really good. I sincerely believe I can consistently play faster and cleaner using them.

I have also been using a Blue Chip thumb pick. Exorbitantly expensive, but it works very well. You can buy eight ProPiks for the price of one Blue Chip. It's a little too soon for me to decide, but the Blue Chip may well be worth it. It seems to be a little faster on the strings, produce a somewhat better tone, and the blade may be more durable.

I have no connection either company.

http://www.saddlethumbpicks.com/Finger-Picks-Thumb-Picks.html

http://shop.bluechippick.net/categories/Thumb-Pick/

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

$40 for a thumb pick!
You've got to be kidding! Whoa!

John Limbach · From: Billings, Montana, USA

+1 on the Saddle Picks. Never bought anything else since I found these.

MIchael Bean · From: North Of Boston

I've been using Blue Chip thumb picks on dobro for around the past 7 years. I tried one out at a Rob ickes Workshop, thinking "how great can it be?". There was a noticeable difference so I bought one one on the spot. It lasted me nearly 5 years of heavy dobro picking , then finally broke at the rivet point, as I kind of forced it. I have two more of them for dobro, and wouldn't use anything else.

For pedal steel however, it's still Golden Gate.
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Golden Gate and Dunlops for me. Very Happy

Erv

Jim Newberry · From: Seattle, Upper Left America

I helped convince Bob to spend his hard-earned cash on the Blue Chip thumb pick. I've played with mine daily for the past few years and it looks pretty much new. It fits just right for me.

Bob helped convince me to spend my hard-earned cash on the Saddle Picks. We haven't bonded yet. I'm so used to the thick, stiff National NP2. We'll see...
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Joe Breeden · From: Virginia, USA

Compared to most on this forum, I'm relatively new. I have Dunlap and National finger picks. I don't dislike them, but they are uncomfortable on the fingers after playing for long times. I purchased saddle picks and I can say, they don't move and they don't hurt. I see no difference in how they attack the strings. Joe

David Knutson · From: Cowichan Valley, Canada

Those Blue Chip picks do sound great - I know some flatpickers who use them. But am I ever glad I wasn't using $40 thumb picks last Friday when I dropped my dollar fifty National thumb pick and my bandmate stepped on it. I buy them by the dozen and if I lose one I don't have to care.

I am lucky that the Nationals fit my thumb really well, so I don't have to worry about adjusting to fit, but Whoa - forty bucks.
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G Strout · From: Carabelle, Florida

70.00 dollars for a jazz flat pick that basically looks like a Dunlop jazz III??? Whoa!

Right now I pay approx. 5.29 for a dozen dunlop jazz III's.
At 70.00 a pick that would be 840.00 for dozen or do they a give a discount for bulk purchases? Wouldn't want to drop too many of these on a gig.... I would lose money

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Jim Newberry turned me on to ProPik thumbpicks a while back. They don't break. All plastic picks will eventually break.

At the time, I was still recovering from an infected right thumb that resulted in the loss of the thumbnail. The nail was still growing in and the ProPick did not fit well. So I lined the thumb strap with adhesive-backed thin felt, the stuff usually used for protecting furniture from scratchy ceramics, etc. It worked very well--comfortable, non-slip, and the right fit.

By the way, currently all my steel playing is with a Cajun band, and to play the two steps requires a rather aggressive approach. The heavy blade of the ProPik or Blue Chip works for me.

After my Blue Chip purchase the maker asked me to complete a brief feedback questionnaire. I commented on the high price.

Saddlepick fingerpicks are light gauge, but they work for me. As you may know, JB was an advocate of light gauge picks. Perhaps Saddlepicks will offer heavier gauges in the future.

Due to the way Saddlepicks mount on your finger, and the overall light weight and even distribution of weight, they seem to almost feel weightless, in my opinion.

Chase Brady · From: Ohio, USA

I have a Blue Chip thumbpick that came in the case with my Adams acoustic lap steel. (I bought it used). I tried it and didn't much care for it. I also have one of the metal framed Pro-Piks with a delrin blade. I actually prefer the sound of that one, but the issue I have with both is the metal frame. I've never managed to get either adjusted to where it's comfortable and doesn't catch on the strings.
There have been many discussions of Blue Chip and other pricy boutique flatpicks on the Mandolin Cafe. I think the same thing applies to both. $40 is not too much to spend if you really like the pick and don't mind treating it like what it becomes - a valuable piece of equipment. You treat a Blue Chip the way you treat your favorite bar. You make a point of keeping it in a special place and you always make sure it gets returned to that place when you're done with it. By contrast, I buy Fred Kelly Slick Picks by the half dozen. I've usually got one in my pocket, another in my bar pouch, one in each instrument case and a few lying around. If I get home after playing somewhere and realize I must have dropped my pick, I won't be driving back to the establishment the next day waiting for them to open so I can retrieve it. I just grab another from the bag.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I bought one of the saddle thumbpicks. I could never get it to fit right or stay on. It went in the trash.

I use Showcase 1941 finger picks and either a Golden Gate, Dunlop, or old original (1972) Blue Herco thumb pick. The Blue Herco is the closest to a boutique pick - and it won't wear out.

I use these on Dobro and Pedal Steel.
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I think I'll go in the thumb pick business and charge $50 for it.
At that price it has to be the best, right? Whoa!

Bill Groner · From: QUAKERTOWN, PA

IMHO........if you ever tried to make a thumb or finger pick I am very certain you would find out very quickly, $50 is cheap! I am talking about making one from scratch and not mass producing them. When you consider the tooling it takes to make them, the engineering, the various styles they have available, you will quickly see that there is a very large investment that has to be re-cooped. I take my hat off to these two companies that took the chance to make quality, alternative picks for us to try. Don't like the price, then don't buy the product.......it's America.....Land of the Free............. Very Happy

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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Bill,
You are making way too much out of this.
I thought I would just take an old National thumb pick, scratch the name off, rename it and offer it for sale for $50. Very Happy

Erv

Jack Hanson · From: San Luis Valley, USA

I just bit the bullet and got used to using the cheap ones.

A bag of a dozen Dunlop thumbpicks is about $16.00. I've found that out of that dozen, half are junk, two or three are acceptable, and two or three are outstanding. I purchased a couple bags and threw out the clunkers (or gave 'em away).

A tube of 20 Dunlop metal fingerpicks is about $20.00. I bend half to fit my index, and half to fit my middle finger. 10 sets that I alternate interchangeably, readjusting as I go, and eventually over time the sets become more alike than different.

I now have 10 or so sets that are basically interchangeable, and rotate through the sets periodically. Most of those sets of picks will likely outlast me.

Bill Groner · From: QUAKERTOWN, PA

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Thanks, Bill!
Right now I'm running a special, 100% down, no payments or interest.
Long live free enterprise! Very Happy

Erv

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Jack Stoner,

I agree, the Saddlepick thumb pick is useless for steel.

Their finger picks are a different story.

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