A $35 Flat Pick!?

Dear Dr. Mel,

A few weeks back, you wrote a truly enlightening and profound column about flat picks. I laughed, I cried. Remarkable! It must be difficult to bundle so much talent into your socks in the morning. But I've been waiting and waiting for your promised follow-up about a special pick--I think they were called BlueChip Picks. So what's the deal? What's up with these picks, and what's so special about them?

Signed, Easily Amused

Dear E.A.

That's just the weirdest thing...your comment about the talent bundled in my socks. Do I know you? Not even many of my closest friends are aware that I type this column in my bare feet, with my toes (so I can keep playing tunes with my fingers all the while).

Ah yes, the mysterious, elusive BlueChip Picks. My stock broker, Billy Joe Bob, first told me about these, and I thought he was trying to sell me yet another bad stock pick, some big-name, "bluechip" Wall Street sinkhole for my hard-earned retirement funds. (Never mind that we all now know AIG stands for "And It'$ Gone!") But then Billy Joe Bob took a tater bug mandolin out of his closet and pulled a shiny brown pick from a pocket in his dirty coveralls, sunk it into the strings, and...well, let's just say the clear, ringing, big-as-a-cathedral-pipe-organ tone piqued my curiosity.

And then Billy Joe Bob told me that these BlueChip picks cost $35 a piece.

That’s not a typo.

Read it again. That’s right...thirty-five smackeroos. Each.

I know what you’re thinking: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahaha....”

Yes, you can buy a perfectly adequate flat pick for 25 cents. Or a pick with a few bells and whistles for 50 cents or even a whole dollar. And then there are those bulletproof (made of Kevlar) Wegen picks with grip holes that run a whopping $5 a piece.

So c’mon...$35 for a single pick?!?!?

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this: If you’re the sort of person who spends more than $600 on a guitar or mandolin, once you try a BlueChip pick, you’ll end up buying one. Happily paying $35 even if you have to pause your daily latte habit for a week or skip the theater and see the next big movie when it comes out on DVD. Why? Because these are the best picks, bar none, in the history of picks to date, period. Read on.

BlueChip Picks are made in Knoxville, Tennessee, in a small machine shop. They are not blue, nor are they chippy. At first glance, they look like just another flat pick, thicker than most, and the UPS brown color doesn’t exactly sizzle with curb appeal. But there’s a peculiar sheen to the surface, and even before you handle one you’ll likely spy the beveled edges on the point, vaguely Stealth Bomber-ish.

The first thing I noticed when I tried one was how tacky the pick is--the ultra-smooth surface simply sticks to your fingers. Within seconds, my thumb and forefinger were more relaxed than with any other pick. No need to grip a BlueChip, it just stays put, even resisting the tendency to swivel away from the string. As I played, the easy, relaxed feel soon had me playing faster and more smoothly than usual. (And I'll take any help in that department that I can get, thank you.)

That speed and smoothness may also come from the pick material itself. Here’s how the company explains it:

“Our picks are produced from a very high grade, self lubricating composite material specially formulated for great playing qualities. These one of a kind picks cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The patent pending material has great tone and speed like tortoise with none of the drawbacks. BlueChip Picks are precision machined and never need polishing because they do not flake at the corners like tortoise shell picks do. Their self lubricating properties make them extremely fast. If you have been using tortoise picks to get that special tone and speed, try a BlueChip and you will never go back.”

Yes, they really do glide over the strings more easily than picks made of other materials. If that’s not enough, consider that these picks also deliver a crisp, clear, yet creamy, chocolatey tone, drawing out the best of what your guitar or mandolin can offer. And they’re more durable than any pick you’ve owned before. And they come in a range of shapes, sizes, and gauges. You can even get a BlueChip thumbpick for your dobro, fingerpicking guitar, or banjo.

After playing a BlueChip for a month or so, I asked the guys at Piccolo’s to consider carrying them. The good news: Piccolo’s Music now has an assortment of BlueChip picks in stock. The even better news: you can come into the shop and try out the different shapes and gauges to see what suits you best, and to see for yourself if the picks live up to the buzz.

The cost? Let’s put the $35 into perspective. That’s two sets of Elixer strings. Between the pick and the strings, guess which will still be around in a year, five years, ten, performing as good as new? Or think of it this way. When you spend $1,000 or $2,500 or $5,000 on a great guitar or mandolin, why chintz out on the pick? Especially if a great pick draws the best sound from your instrument and helps you play cleaner, smoother, faster.

So that’s the scoop. Come see (and feel and hear) for yourself. And don’t be surprised if a Bluechip pick doesn’t curl your toes and knock your socks off.

Signed, Mel