Dunlop PrimeTone Picks: Blue Chip on a Budget?

[@ajlsrv5490]

The clarity of the Bluechip is remarkable. Great demo!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thanks for your thoughts!

[@xman5b]

Wow, you are the ONLY other person I know of who plays Dunlop 205s! These have been my favorite picks for over 10 years. Nice review of the primetones. I like their Jazz III style also.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

I recently started taking guitar lessons again and I was surprised to see that my teacher uses the same ones. Up until then I didn’t know anyone else either. Years ago, my bluegrass teacher was using the 207, which is similar just larger and with a different shape of the tip. That’s how I got started on the 205

[@xman5b]

@@AlexPriceMusician yes, I find the 207s too big for me and I like the sharper tip of the 205s. I play teles and I find the nylon of the 205 takes just a bit of the harshness off the high end when I'm using the bridge pickup without the need to mess with my tone control. Thanks again for the review. :-)

[@bronzewand]

Me too!

[@jeshely]

205 user here too!

[@xman5b]

@@jeshely Excellent!

[@davidpetersen8909]

Using 0.73mm Primetone. I gotta tell you, it rocks. Using any other pick will result in awfull tone,and strings snagging the pick. But with Primetone picks,it never happens. Best pick i ever used

[@FistPie]

I thought the nylon jazz iii sounded the most like the blue chip. Am I crazy?

[@roscius6204]

No... I use the Ultex version and love em

[@boco1951]

It’s not just how it sounds it’s how it feels that’ll let you do what you’re trying to do.

[@tacratt6091]

I love Bluechip picks for flat picking, just so smooth off the strings. I just bought a few of the Primetone triangles in 1.5 and 2.0 mm, they seem pretty nice for the price! I have 5-6 of the holy grail picks that are so hard to come by, the Blue Chip are right there with the shell.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Awesome to hear that! Thanks for sharing

[@ryangunwitch-black]

I use Prime Tones with all of my acoustics. I use the Flow for my Strat and Tele. I love em.

[@kagenotatsumaki]

1.5 Ultex Flow (prime tone material I believe) really is the ultimate pick imo

[@j.rozman7016]

Bluechip sounds best to my ear! I love Hawk picks. Very clear and articulate sound with almost no wear after 2 yrs of daily abuse. Cheers!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to check it out sometime.

[@luvbgrass]

Good video. I have several different Primetone picks, and several different Bluechip picks. In this video I think the Jazz III is the closest in sound to the Bluechip. I don't own that one. I like the Primetone picks, but I still personally prefer the Bluechips, they are awesome for tone and clarity, not to mention they wear forever. Just don't lose it, lol. They are also a great company to deal with. EE

[@stephenwhite5658]

I love the dunlop americana round triangle!! I play with the most...but I got a bluechip sr40 with a left hand bevel recently and I gotta say it's well worth the $$ in my opinion for all those you haven't tried bluechip picks I'm pretty sure you'll be glad you did!!

[@tcrossfranco]

In the interest of clarity, primetone and americana are two very different picks...for what it's worth, my personal preference is the americana.

[@sivadyert]

Dunlop 208s and 205s have been my go-tos for years. I love the sound on everything except it doesn't quite get biting electric tones/feel right. The 205 sounded very warm on the nylon strings, but maybe a tad too warm. The semi-round pick was a no go for me. The Blue Chip sounded best on the nylon stringed guitar, but the trusty Jazz III sounded fine--perhaps the Primetone is best on the Nylon and the 205 on the Dreadnaught---oops I now hear the single note stuff on the Dreadnaught and the 205 might be too dark for that.... haha. Don't picks affect the tone so much?

[@RhysGilchrist]

Great video Alex! Cool to hear a side by side comparison!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thank you Rhys! Appreciate you commenting 😎

[@justmarc2015]

Those Americana picks are a different material than the actual Primetone picks (polycarbonate and ultem respectively). As for the Blue Chip comparison, I really can't compare it to anything. I have a Jazz LG 35 (.89mm) and although it sounds exactly like a .88mm Tortex Jazz III XL, the biggest differences are the wear resistance and the feel. The Blue Chip is the smoothest, most durable pick I've ever used. It glides off of the strings, and it never gets scratchy or dull. The only problem is the lack of grip. I'll order my next one with grip holes like the IBJ55, but I won't be doing that for a very long time.

[@TedBarrett]

Used the PrimeTone 1.4mm Jazz IIIs for a couple of years. Now it’s a BlueChip TD50. No looking back

[@nixternal]

I have the large triangle PrimeTone 1.5mm, the textured & untextured. The untextured seems to wear down but it still sounds good. Crazy, a thick pick might actually be easier to strum with than a thin pick (I'm still a noob). I like the tone of the Blue Chip better, but your 205 was right there tone wise it seemed.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thanks for your thoughts Rich. I’d love to try the other versions sometime. The 205 has a bit of an advantage in this video as I’ve been using it for so long and have learned to work with it better than the others.

[@Simon-df2ku]

ive had a bluechip TAD 50 for years, its sounds good on the top 3 strings but for me the bass notes just seem to disappear into the mix, its got a smooth bass sound. i prefer the Jazz III as there is more clarity in the lower notes.

[@simon-oy6um]

I like the grey 88s good all round 😊

[@guitaristforfunn]

The reason to buy a blue chip is more because they do not wear out. Especially compared to Tortoise shell or other picks replicating tortoise shell like Red Bear or Hawk pics.

[@Andreorsel]

Blue Chip picks are so awesome! I have the TAD 60 and 40. They are expensive, but use them for a few years now and they just do not seem to wear out. Clear winner in this vid. I also use the Dunlop 205 , they have a nice small size and give a more darker tone, which is good for more jazzy stuff.

[@ramspencer5492]

I have a serious issue with a polycarbonate guitar pick costng $50...

[@jaguarsunburst1570]

Great Job Man.👍

[@dividedbytimestudios]

That 205 pick is tiny, I can’t hold on to them, definitely dig the primetone series

[@alansturgess1324]

Interesting. For years, I've just used the standard Gibson pick - but reversed so that I play with the rounded end slightly angled. That gives me a warmer tone which is what I prefer. You'd have to be mighty careful if you start paying loads of money for single picks.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Yeah I’ve used the rounded side of the 205 pick in this video a ton. Usually when I’m going for a straight ahead jazz tone

[@G_Demolished]

There’s something about a $50 pick that makes you eternally aware of where you left it.

[@xderiwx]

How durable are the primetone picks? Seems like for every comment that I see claiming it's very durable and lasts long, there's one claiming that it wears extremely fast. :) Anything you can compare it's durability to, like common tortex or celluloid? Thanks!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Very durable! Not as much as the Blue Chips, but significantly more so than other materials. I pick very lightly though, so your results might vary. Celluloid and Tortex wear very quickly in comparison.

[@xderiwx]

@@AlexPriceMusician Thank you, Alex! Would there be a difference in durability between the Primetone with grip and the smoother opaque Primetone? They’re listed as the same Ultex material, but I’m unsure if their makeup is the same. I thought I read a comment somewhere where someone said the non-grip version was softer feeling, but maybe that’s just a texture/feel difference instead of an actual material difference?

[@nsc217]

I can’t hear a difference between the dunlop prime tone and the blue chip

[@lunaris7912]

awesome! please, what is the price of the guitar?

[@eternalmiasma5586]

I found a blue chip SR50 on the floor of where I work, I was like hmm cool a guitar pick, brought it home and put it on the table. Looked it up months later, this piece of plastic is 35 dollars? That’s a rip off

[@WysteriaGuitar]

Have you tried the toneslab picks? Wondering what you think of them.

[@macintune]

I like the nylons tone on first listen.

[@lorenzolarue337]

....Blue Chip TAD 50 stood out "btilliantly" gleaming every phreekin' time....

[@nouveau53]

Hey out there! Anyone ever heard of the story about the emperor’s new clothes?? They all pretty much the same to me. This is all BS!! Just get a pick that doesn’t drop from your hand, and play the best you can.

[@talesbernardi4860]

Blue chip is too bright IMO

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thanks for your thoughts!