On mandolin, the Wegen plectrums produce a loud, rich tone, projecting clear and full over the entire dynamic range. They glide over the strings so easily that you have to adjust your sense of tactile feedback, which is a good thing, because it really takes very little energy to make a string ring out, so if you rely on feeling string resistance, which is the naive, intuitive thing to do when you begin playing, you are doing it wrong. This produces an unpleasant tone, derails your rhythm, and is tiring. Instead, the feedback you need should come from listening attentively and feeling the vibrations of your instrument: output, not input! These plectrums facilitate such effortless playing that the music feels like it is just flowing through you, and you find yourself naturally focusing on timbre, dynamics, phrasing, and rubato, just as easily as if you were speaking – and that’s where the music lives!
