OK, I've been thinking and reading about these things on the forum, and I went to the web page to take a good look and order...only to be overwhelmed by the choices.

So, I need some advice...

I'm comfortable playing Dunlop Big Stubby 1.0mm picks, which are fairly stiff and very marginally larger than a quarter at the biggest part of the pick. They also have a very slight bevel to the edge, I think...

So the question for you Red Bear users out there is, which Red Bear pick most closely compares to the Big Stubby. I don't want to fundamentally change my playing style to accomodate to a new shape/size, etc. of pick, and I'm picky enough (bad pun intended) that it would matter to me--or at least, I'm not skilled enough to move back and forth between significantly different styles and shapes of picks a lot as my basic "go to" pick--although I do for different songs, to get a different tambre to my sound.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

CCG:
I use the E shape. It seems to be a medium size with none of the protruding corners. You can always shape the pick to your preference using a nail file. So get one of the larger shapes and file it down to the exact Big Stubby shape. If you're using 1.0mm now, I'd recommend the medium thickness.

We meet again Michael. I love the Red Bear picks, but I can't advise re your question. I play the heavy rounded triangles--C shape, I think. But here's an idea: Kevin at Hill Country (and probably other dealers, too?) was flexible when I ordered my first RBs. I made my best guess as to what would work, then when the pick arrived and wasn't just what I needed, exchanging it cost just the price of a postage stamp. Don't know if you could do the same deal buying direct, but maybe?

B

Don't know so much about the Big Stubby, but the absolute best tone I've heard from an acoustic guitar is with a Style B Heavy with the regular knife edge bevel. I also bought mine from Kevin at Hill Country Guitar.

Howard

I've got 3 of the Red Bears in various sizes and love them all. Really makes the tone come through on my Collings.

I would think a Heavy Style B would be closest to a Big Stubby.

Since this thread seems home to those already sold on Red Bear picks this will seem a dumb question, but that never stopped me before: is the pick so much better it's really worth twenty bucks a pop? I try to keep one in each case, one in my wallet or pocket, and one in reserve, so there's a hundred smackers. But, tone....... I'm just gullible enough to try one. Somehow. Wish there were a more local source (northern cal.). thanks tom

Sonoman
I have 4 ( had 5 actualy had one explode while performing)2 triangles(1 med.1hvy) & 2 standard shape( both heavy),I think they have great tone, but when I play out they seam to heat up on the edge & get scratchy, giving what I perceive as a harsh tone, I usualy end up playing out with a Wegan bluegrass style pick, now to be fair I get pretty amped up in front of a crowd & probably dig in a bit harder than needed, trying to fix that but old habits & such

Thanks. I have a couple Wegens (heavy, with holes) and I like 'em, but not all that much better than Dunlop jazz II, which are 2.0 rounded tip jazz picks that are about a buck each. And they're highway cone orange, so they're easy to find if you drop 'em. But, with a tone jones, you're always looking for an edge- always. I tried a real illegal tortoise a couple years ago, and it had a cool soft/hard simultaneously feel to it, but the tone didn't drive me to a life of crime. Maybe one of my junkie GAS ridden friends locally has a Red Bear. I know the shape and thickness I'd want, but you can't hear tone from a jpeg shot. At least, I can't. thanks tom

any ideas on what is happening to the edge while playing I assume the friction is causing heat which is making the edge coarse ?

Red Bear Tortis picks are nice and they look really great. I have three, two lites and a medium. If I rememeber correctly the 1.0 mm would be closer to a lite gauge Red Bear.

You can buy them from ( www.bryankimsey.com ) To me he is a very good man and I highly trust his knowledge and experience. He really is the best! He will add the speed bevel if you want or customize it to your liking.

Now honestly, I do not hear that big of a difference between the Red Bear and the Dunlop 1.0 nylon. I really like the Dunlop nylons they do it for me.

Well, I got my Red Bear picks today...Style B, heavy, with a speed bevel for right handed players.

I must say, the tone is different. I took five different picks, with my wife sitting about 10 feet away, and played the same thing over and over and over again with all five (she is a patient woman...also a musician, which helps). She narrowed it down to three. Then two. Then she chose the one she liked the best...It was the Red Bear, dammit. We both groaned that the most expensive won. Second was the Fred Kelly's I've been using, but there was a clear difference in tone between the two. It comes down to personal taste, but that's what she chose, and she's got good ears.

What I found in playing with Red Bear is that I have to change the angle of attack to get what I consider the best tone and best string feel. Maybe it's the speed bevel and I shouldn't have ordered it (I played it turned around so that I was using the "knife edge" on the other side, and I seemed to like it better, but after a while I just confused myself). What wasn't confusing though, was that I did have to play differently with those picks. I'm glad we didn't have a gig tonight--it would have been a challenge to just shift from my normal picks to the Red Bears...and I'm still not sure I'll use them on everything. A few of our songs are more "jangly" and my impression is that Red Bears work great when you want clear, defined tone, but may not do "jangly" that well.

I welcome any input from Red Bear users as to their experience actually playing with the things. Tips appreciated.