Plectrums for classical mandolin 

I made some timestamps for my own sake and figured I could just as well share them with everyone: How the shape and thickness of the plectrum affects sound: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27:28 & 38:58 2:03 - Roman tortiose shell plectrums: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4:29 - Plectrum No.1 : Roman plectrum 0.7 mm thick. Little rounded point(Sound test at 5:29) 6:10 - Plectrum No.2 : Roman plectrum 1.7 mm thick. Similair to previous(No. 1), but much ticker. Makes a much more rounded sound than the previous one 7:15 - Plectrum No.3 : Roman plectrum 1.7 mm. As thick as previous (No. 2), but a much more pointier point. Clearer and brighter sound than the previous one 8:04 - Plectrum No.4 : Roman plectrum. Smaller than previous one. A little bit too rounded and wide. Okay on normal playing, but makes a side noise on tremolo 9:40 - Plectrum No.5 : Roman plectrum. Smaller in size but similair point/end as No. 1. The end/point determines most of the sound, not the size of the plectrum 11:18 - Plectrum No.6 : Roman plectrum 1 mm thick in the middle. Quite thick for a small plectrum, quite warm sound because of its thickness 12:38 - Oud Plectrum: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12:38 - Plectrum No.7 : Oud plectrum in tortoise shell. Used on the oud instrument, but produces a quite good sound on mandolin as well 14:28 - Neapolitan tortoise shell plectrums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:40 - Plectrum No.8 : Neapolitan plectrum. Old tortoise shell. Bad shape, but good for shaping your own plectrum 16:00 - Plectrum No.9 Neapolitan plectrum 12:17 - Plectrum No.10 : Neapolitan plectrum. A little too wide, makes too much plectrum noise during tremolo 17:23 - Plectrum No.11 : Neapolitan plectrum 0.6 - 0.65 mm thick. Interesting, has almost the same shape as roman plectrum. Quite bright sound if you prefer that 18:27 - Plectrum No.12 : Neapolitan plectrum. Quite similair to the previous one(No. 11), but little smaller and thinner. Good for practising tremolo, but too thin and makes a lot of plectrum noise 18:52 - Plectrum No.13 : Neapolitan plectrum. Quite similair to previous one(No. 12). Too thin, creates scratching sound on the strings 19:21 - Interesting plectrum shaped by French mandolin virtuoso -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19:21 - Plectrum No.14: Very small, less flexibility because of its size. Makes a fuller sound even though it is quite thin 21:17 - Guitar plectrum (Shape more suitable for guitars) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21:17 - Plectrum No.15 : Guitar Tortoise shell. Meant for guitar, not bad with normal playing, but much plectrum noise during tremolo 21:57 - Plectrum No.16 : Guitar Celluoid. Similair ar previous(No. 15), but made out of celluoid. A little bit more rouded sound 22:17 - Roman Celluoid plectrums: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22:26 - Plectrum No.17 : Roman plectrum. Not good, too thick and the edges are not rounded. Not sure if it is celloid 22:46 - Plectrum No.18 : Roman celloid plectrum. Much better than the previous one(No. 17). A little bit too thin, good for tremolo practise. "Side noises quite remarkable" 23:16 - Plectrum No.19 : Roman celloid plectrum. Quite similair to previous one, but thicker. 23:56 - Neapolitan celloid plectrums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23:58 - Galli plectrums: Light 0.6 mm, medium 0.8 mm, heavy 1 mm. (Modern avaiable to buy) 24:22 - Plectrum No.20 : Neapolitan plectrum. Galli Light 0.6mm. Really flexible, good for practising tremolo (Modern avaiable to buy) 24:40 - Plectrum No.21 : Neapolitan plectrum. Galli Medium 0.7mm. Better sound than the previous one, quite bright sound if your prefer that (Modern avaiable to buy) 25:30 - Plectrum No.22 : Neapolitan plectrum. Galli Heavy 1 mm. If your prefer a more rounded sound (Modern avaiable to buy) 26:28 - Plectrum No.23 : Neapolitan plectrum. Old Celloid neapolitan. Too thin, good for tremolo practise, but not good sound 27:02 - Plectrum No.24 : Neapolitan plectrum. Quite rounded and thin 28:22 - Plectrum No.25 : Neapolitan plectrum. Something similar but with a cork grip 29:11 - Plectrum No.26 : Neapolitan plectrum. Dunlop celloid. Very interesting, very good sound out of the box. Comparable to galli plectrums, but have smoother sound (Modern avaiable to buy) 31:28 - Plectrum No.27 : Neapolitan plectrum. Modfied Galli. Narrower shape, which makes it more flexible 32:17 - Japanese Plectrums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32:31 - Plectrum No.28 : Japanese celloid plectrum. 0.7 - 0.8 mm in thickness. Similair point to a roman plectrum, good sound 33:40 - Plectrum No.29 : Japanese Nylon plectrum. Nylon -> hearing the texture of the material. A scratching sound 34:16 - Nylon Dunlop Plectrums(0.73, 0.88, 1mm) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34:24 - Plectrum No.30 : Nylon Dunlop 0.73 mm. 34:35 - Plectrum No.31 : Nylon Dunlop 0.88 mm. 34:54 - Plectrum No.32 : Nylon Dunlop 1 mm. 35:47 - Ivory imitation plectrums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35:56 - Plectrum No.33 : Howart Ivory Imitation. Too thin, very flexible 36:13 - Plectrum No.34 Ivory imitation. A little bit less flexible compared to the previous one(No. 33), but still too flexible 36:26 - Plectrum No.35 : Ivory Imitation. 0.6 - 0.7 mm thick. Quite good 37:19 - Clayton plectrums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37:35 - Plectrum No.36 : Clayton plectrum. Quite okay 38:07 - Horn plectrums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38:07 - Plectrum No.37 : Horn plectrum. Good on guitar, and not on mandolin 38:40 - Plectrum No.38 : Horn plectrum. Way too thick and no flexibility 39:37 - Django button plectrum -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39:37 - Plectrum No.39 : Django button plectrum. Way too wide 40:16 - German Nylon/Rubber plectrum(Wolle) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40:40 - Plectrum No.40 : German plectrum. Takes away the high harmonics, makes the mandolin sound really different 41:27 - German Curiosity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41:27 - Plectrum No.41 : Germancuriosity. Imitate pizzicato

Great playing, midievel styl. Grt.

Thank you for an informative, comprehensive, and player-focused introduction, review and demonstration giving pitfalls and hints. I am glad you are going to show how to reshape a plectrum

That was a very good work, thank you!

Great stuff! Thanks! 🌞😎✌️🎻

Another masterful presentation of an incredible amount of information. As someone earlier remarked, this will be a lasting reference for mandolin plectrum information, especially for the variation in sound/tone created by various materials. Wonderful. Thanks.

Excellent topic for which there are not so much detailed information. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Ralf !.

Fascinating analysis!! And very helpful! I now use a Dunlop 1.3mm sculpted, a Galli heavy and found one that I also like, a Trekel, from I think, Hamburg. Thank you for your detailed very well presented study of classical plectrums. Educational, and enjoyable!

Excellent topic! I am looking forward to the video dealing with reshaping and polishing.To my ear real tortoise around 1 mm is superior. Thanks for doing this video series. This will be a reference for years.

Wonderful sound this mandolin !!! Thanks very much !!! i try always, me too, different plectrums !!! GOOD !!!

Thanks for the video, I don't think I have found my ideal one yet, so there's a few ideas to try here. I am keen to see the video on plectrum shaping and smoothing, I have tried reshaping some but am sure it could be done better.

Thank you to show all these plectrums. I've tried the Galli ones. For me they have a good shape, sound, and material. They lasts very long time. Re-thinking i've used and sometimes use plectrum in nylon, as Dunlop you showed there, but i find them not too consistent the light ones, and with not right flexibility the harder... i used also Clayton, but i don't like materials under the fingers. I liked to use something about Pickboy. Not easy to find, the right ones coming from a mine old buying for guitar

A timely video, as I have been experimenting with various plectra for the last two weeks. I don't have any original tortoiseshell plectra, but have found the Galli to be excellent. The best guitar plectrum I have found suitable is the Dunlop Ultex. But the main comment I wish to make is how magnificent your mandolin sounds, and how wonderful your playing is! Another fine video, Ralf. Keep them coming!

Thanks for a very interesting and thorough video about an important but often neglected topic! I would love to see a video where you make a roman plectrum from scratch from a plate of celluoid, as sadly there isn't many options out there in acquiring newly made roman plectrums, in my knowledge there is only Redbear who makes them, but limited to one thickness and shape. I use the Redbear plectrum, and is quite satisfied with it, but this video inspired me to want to make my own and experiment in regards to thicknesses and sound to find what suits my own preferances. I must also say that you have been a huge inspiration for me starting with classical mandolin, and I have now almost played a year. And this week I am getting a better instrument, I am getting an original Embergher No. 2 from 1919, which I tried a week ago and I am really excited about!

A very comprehensive video. Probably one of the best on the internet. I am struggling to find a solution as I move from Classical, Bowlback , Bluegrass F shape and Celtic A shaped mandolin . I prefer the tone of thicker gauge (1 to 1.5) unless strumming at speed (.7 to 1 ) . I need to improve my pick selection. Any views on optimum gauges for the various genres and mandolin types. I am considering the Dunlop Jazz III prime tones range. I am impressed with the warmth of the tone you can get from the mandolin on this video - ps What is the make / model ?

Hello Ralf. Quite interesting indeed!... Have you ever tried those massive "Blue Chip" picks, mostly enjoyed by the Blue Grass enthusiasts? ( just for fun. What a crazy thing to do on the classical mandolin!)

well.... it will take years to find the one I like, I'll take it as a challenge jaja. Great video! sometimes this subjet does not have the importance it deserves

nobody said ...take your pick!

Your playing is so beautiful! Can you by any chance give a model number on that Dunlop plectrum?

Grazie Ralf, io ti auguro tutto il Bene :-) Hare Krishna .-) !

I really love your channel. I'm glad I found it. I've always loved the sound of harpsichords but not a piano type instrument person. Is there a way to use a quill or a soft plectrum like the one used on harpsichords to get as close to a harpsichord tone as possible on mandolin ? Harpsichords I think use bird quill or leather plectrums very soft. Have you ever come across anything that would get me as close as possible ? Thanks subscribed. Again love your channel. Learning so much and truely enjoying your playing. Wishing you the best in your career

Dear Ralf, Thank you so much for these videos! It is not often that one can listen to such detailed information from such knowledgeable people. I like very much your calmness and composure; also hope that a speck of sadness stems only from the lack of musical happenings. And thank you for sharing your passion of the Roman mandolin tradition with us! It is amazing to hear your experiences, the historical facts, the different mandolins, your playing... Compliments also on the great sound and video quality! In topic - have you ever tried shaping a plectrum from POM plastic? I sometimes mess around with shapes and materials and lately I like this one a lot for its ease of sliding across the strings (I am rather averagely skilled). It will produce a mellower and softer sound than celluloid I believe, quite less bright though. p.s. 1 If we can in turn contribute to your efforts - I'm in. :) p.s. 2 Do you have in your possession or knowledge or played any roman mandolins from other historical makers? I was lucky to find a G.Tartaglia (Devenuti?) mandolin and a G.Gallesi (he might have been less faithful to the general roman design); they are so interesting. p.s. 3 Listening to your Bach G minor sonata and remembering a Händel recording you had on your site, would you know if there is a recording of Halvorsen's Passacaglia -or even the original Händel one- on the mandolin?

I had ordered three Roman plectrums from REDBEAR in the USA. With import tax and VAT and shipping at the end they costed me 120.-€ :-) But they are good and they are made of Galalith! Thank you for your fundamental advice!

Brother , can u please , kindly explain how play b major sale ( 3rd fret on g string , is 1st note ) and similarly f major scale ( 3rd fret on d string). I practice it with left hand middle finger on 1st note.

Thanks for this extensive review. What do you think of Tortex?

Thanks for nice important information.I use on my mandolin ,for scale practices , sarod plectrum of thickness 5 mm(approx). it's very much difficult to play with such beefy plectrum.whats your opinion , shall I continue practice with this plectrum

Sir, pls kindly tell us dunlop(12piece packaging ) celluloid, that one you said pretty impressive, which mm thickness that is? 1.3or 0.75? Kindly plz informed us?

Hi, would you tell me an online shop where you can buy mandolin picks. Thanks.