Overall Comments

Expensive, yes. But worth every penny. They fit like a glove (you hardly know you are wearing a pick), wear like iron, and play smooth as silk. I used to occasionally catch my pick band on a string, not with BlueChip. Pick noise is a problem of the past as these picks hit the string cleanly and produce a nice clean tone. Highly recommended.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I have had this pick for a few days now and I love it. I purchased the longer blade medium and it fits me perfectly. It gave my banjo more power and clarity. I'm planning to buy two more just to have. GREAT PRODUCT!!!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Well worth the money! The most comfortable pick I ever owned. It stays put and doesn't hurt at all. The best part is how much better the sound is on my banjo! It sounds so much cleaner and louder. Love it!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I have the JD Crowe model and have used it for only about 5 hours time, and the tip is gone already. I emailed the Bluechip people but they did not reply at all!!
I don't play all the time so it has taken several months for me to accumulate several hours playing time, so I don't fall into the 30 day warranty period.

Very Strange

Overall Rating

5

Overall Comments

As a new banjo student (at the age of 51 ) and no prior stringed instrument experience. I want to give some response to the BlueChip pick. Purchased the JD Large pick. As everyone has said expensive, but Wow! Put it on and almost forgot it was there after 5 min. Struggling with all the new things involved with learning the Banjo, the thumb pick has been like a big crawdad on my thumb, having to remove it often, no problems with the finger picks. As for size, I emailed BlueChip ask about size, since they just say Med & large, this is what they said, may be helpful for someone as a reference. Buy one! worth the money, anything to help a newbie. .

Hey Rich
The sizing of the thumb picks is referring to the size of the band. The blade is a little bit smaller on the medium because the band is smaller. A large fits my thumb perfectly, I wrapped a string around my thumb at the base of the Nail, and it measures 2 5/8 inches. If you're string is shorter than that I would go with a medium. If you have any questions feel free to call, you can call me any day up to 8:00 PM Eastern time. 865-803-9442.

Thanks Matthew

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I never had a thumb pick that didn't hurt until I put this on! It was totally comfortable without any need to bend it to fit my thumb. It is "just right" and now I understand what all of the praise about this pick is all about. It's worth every penny of the price. It seems to change the tone of my banjo when I play close to the neck. No scratching sound at all. If I could get this kind of quality and comfort in finger picks, I would be a happy camper.

It's an "end of the road" product. I'll never use another thumb pick.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

J.D. Crowe Large. Everything you've read is true, amazing materials, comfortable design. What I'd like to add to the other reviews is the inside of the metal band is textured and very grippy. This thing is solid on my thumb. A great (expensive but worth it!) buy.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

The pick was expensive, but well worth the money. I bought a "JD Crowe Large" back in 2009, and its still going strong. I had had alot of trouble with breaking plastic picks, or them being too tight and having to do the whole boil water thing to get them to fit. Or play with them about a month and they get "scratchy" and break. With the Bluechip, you don't have to deal with any of that. The volume, especially like pulloffs on my middle G, has doubled. Great for up the neck playing to. Feels like it was made for my thumb. If I lost it, id go order 2 more in the morning. Recommend this pick for anyone.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I recently purchased the JD large model banjo pick and have to say, out of the package, it is the best most comfortable thumb pick I've ever used. I put it on and played a gig that evening for about 4 hours and have to say that it performed well all night. I've never been able to do that with any other brand of thumb pick. Great tone, loud and consistent. And the fit and comfort of it is outstanding.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I bought this pick based on stuff I had read about it and my desire to find a pick that would end the need to clean the edge of traditional thumb picks I had used once they get dirty and start to squeak. I have been using it now for several months and have not once heard a squeak from the thing and i see no evidence of any wear as well. It may have cost a lot but it sure seems to be living up to its reputation. And probably most importantly I should mention the tone. I have compared the tone I get from these and found it to be louder and more defined than plastic or nitro cellulose picks. The plastic picks I think have more overtones and also a softer mellower tone that is when there not squeaking. The Blue Chips have a very clean pure tone and more volume.

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

Review for the J.D. Crowe, medium size thumb pick. It felt slightly crazy to buy a $40 thumb pick, but once I received the pick I was convinced. The fit was perfect and the tone was great - in fact, I used this pick on a gig the *same* night I got it in the mail. It was that comfortable and easy to use. I find that the pick material slides off the strings very nicely. Also, the band is formed in such a way that it can't rotate around your thumb no matter how sweaty you may get. Perfect!

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

Great pick. No scratching sound. Feels comfortable on my thumb. Definitely recommend trying one. If nothing else you can sell it if you don't like it. I plan on buying a second one when I get another banjo.

Highly recommend!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

This is the first time I've put a thumb pick on and it just fit! It is very comfortable and needed no adjustment. The sound is a little different, it seems to be a little cleaner. The plastic is a little long for me but I can grind that down. Maybe I should have gotten the Crow model.
I think I'm going to like this pick a lot if for not other reason than it feels good. I did notice less pick noise but with an unfamilar and long pick I was catching the fifth string when aiming at the fourth.
This pick is by far the best looking thumb pick I've seen. The only down side may be the cost, but the comfort aspect is worth a lot. I've spent more than the cost of this pick looking for that right pick, and I understand these picks don't wear out.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I received my Blue Chip thumb pick. The pick is a JD medium model. I am a beginner and have tried many different picks. I have never experienced quite a change in tone and clarity from another pick as I did with the Blue chip. I am sold, the metal part of the of the pick fits my thumb perfectly snug and wraps around so there is no hooking of the string which has happened on occasion from the plastic picks.. ( I have had to modify the plastic picks) Although the price is steep, I believe well worth the money. If and ever I need another I will buy one in a heart beat....I am done looking for thumb picks

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

This is the most astonishingly high quality thumb pick I've ever seen. It consists of "an extremely expensive, highly proprietary composite material" (to quote the website) attached to "a custom laser cut stainless steel band" that fits around the thumb. I had my doubts at first, as any similarly designed thumb pick I've ever tried was uncomfortable, and the metal part would sometimes catch on the 5th string. Not so the Blue Chip thumb pick. To my surprise the stainless steel band stays snug on the thumb without pinching or being too tight as some plastic thumb picks can be.

The Blue Chip thumb pick comes in two sizes, Medium and Large, and two styles, one comparable to other thumb picks, the other made to J.D. Crowe's specs. The "blade" that strikes the string is permanently polished and slick, cannot be scuffed or scratched, never offers any resistance, and makes no string noise. It's the most amazing thing. The only down side is the price: $40. But if you can afford it I believe you'll be very happy with this thumb pick's comfort and performance. The Blue Chip Thumb Pick raises the bar way above other thumb picks.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Let me start by acknowledging the one's accessories - even one's banjo(s) - will not in and of themselves make us better players. That takes commitment and perhaps a modicum of talent. Certain accessories can, however, make the playing experience more enjoyable.

Thumb picks are a very personal thing. It takes players a while to find one that they like - and finding it might involve a lot of custom shaping and tweaking. So changing out thumbpicks after you've been at it for a while can be daunting.

Blue Chip picks are an oddity. They're made from a highly specialized - and extremely expensive - composite material used in certain manufacturing applications. Blue Chip founder Matthew Goins owns a machine shop and uses some of this material in specialized machinery able to withstand severe stresses.

Wondering what to do with the scrap, and working in a shop full of pickers, Goins prototyped flat picks. They were brilliant and are now being used by some top mando and guitar players.

Making a flat pick is easy enough - couple different shapes, couple different thicknesses, done. But thumb picks are personal. You don't use them, you wear them.

Matt came up with an exceptionally comfortable stainless band for his thumb pick prototypes (and production models). I was initially very skeptical; I've never tried a metal band pick that felt good. These do. In addition to being comfortable, there's just about no possible way you could snag the band on the fifth string. That alone makes it worth consideration.

But the pick blade material itself is what makes these picks so remarkable. It's so slippery that it just about explodes off the string. It's bright - you get the same tonal pop with it that you get with a high-quality metal fingerpick.

I wasn't wild about the shape of the blade with either of the prototypes I tested, but the shape of these blades CAN be modified if you're careful with it. I've done so, and all I can say is that I've found - for me - the perfect thumb pick. Your mileage may vary, and these things ARE expensive ($40). But I'm very pleased with it.

BTW, Matthew Goins is a charming guy and really fun to deal with.

Overall Rating

10