Ive been playing for a short time (6 months) and have recently come across some songs that require the use of picks. I was wondering which picks you use when playing. I've been using a 3 mm stubby and wondering if there are any better. Thanks for any suggestions.

Well to be honest I use the orange ones. But the reason I'm a-posting here is to let you know that we are picking up and moving to....................technique.

Chris A. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

good god, you guys make me feel like a freak. I use dunlop .71mm's and am looking to switching to .60mm. I have no clue why but the thinner ones are just easyer for me to play with. more comfortable with my arm. the thick ones just hurt for me. i guess its all a matter of taste. it took awhile to get used to from switching from 1mm to .71mm but i was glad a did.

Isn't this topic a bit redundant...?

~Loxley~ http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/tongue.gif

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Never trust a man who doesn't drink - Winston Churchill

I don't really think that there is one pick that is better than another. Just go by what is comfortable and produces the sound you want. I like using the stubby 2 & 3mm picks on the rare occasions that I actually use a pick.

I rarely use picks, when it is necessary, and I prefer D`Andrea or Daddario picks, 2 mm..

I mainly use a Clayton USA 1.2mm for normal playing but if I feel like speeding up I use the more bendy triangular Fender Heavies. Sometimes if I feel like playing with a smaller but not weaker pick I use a small stainless steel but that cuts the hell out of my strings!

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When you play bass do you ever wonder what idiot had the idea of making a lead guitar??

"Ihr glaubt zu töten wäre schwer. Doch wo kommen all die Toten her?" (Translated: You thinking killing is hard to do. But where do all the corpses come from) -Rammstein

I like Jim Dunlop Jazz II picks.

Will C. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

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You can't hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket!

ok, i just switched, i finaly foudn an even nicer pick, Jim Dunlop tortex .60mm picks. i like the tone i get, like the think/thiness, and they grip really really well. much better than the 500 series, tortex doesnt slip at all! except it changes colors when you play it. turn black, no clue why.

Yeah, the Dunlop Jazz picks are excellent and have a quick release. I also like the Adamas 2.0 mm graphite picks (made for Adamas by Dunlop) despite the fact that they were used by Jerry Garcia! Even though I use flats on one bass and tapes on my other, these wear fairly rapidly. Also the 2.0 mm Dunlop Gator Grips have a nice tone.

When I use a pick I use Jim Dunlop 1.14 mm picks.

I don't know the measures but I know the colors: Dunlop picks, preferably the dark blue ones or the green ones. The are both pretty heavy.

I've had good luck with a bunch of different Dunlops. Most of the time I use the .96 500's, but I also like the black and dark gray nylons, as well as the green and orange Tortexes. I usually play with one of the two more rounded ends, and bust out the pointy end if I need more click. Also try experimenting with how tightly you grip it, and where you pick; you get a much different tone picking from your wrist down at the bridge than picking at the neck using the motion of your whole arm.

yay, somone else actuly uses the orange tortex picks (.60mm)!!! i'm not a total freak.

Fender Mediums

Jim Dunlop 1mm Nylon. These picks are less stark sounding. In other words, if you have to use a pick, they have more of a thud to them.

Jim Dunlop Tortex 1.14 mm.

Thanks for all the help. I took all of the gathered information and decided to try a 3mm stubby. I love the feel thanks a bunch http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

When I was in a very agressive band that played music similar to Rage Against the Machine/Biohazard/Sepultura, I used the heaviest guage strings on my five-string basses I could find. That required the heaviest guage pick I could find. What I came to like was the Dunlop grey pick. If I used anything finer, the pick either broke or "melted" and didn't have the strength to hold up to my aggressive style of playing.

Even the grey pick lasted only a session or two and I always got out a new one for a live gig. In fact, I kept a few extras on my speaker stack just in case one got too sweaty or softened up or I dropped it. Luckily I seldom dropped a pick.

I used to buy picks five dozen at a time because I often gave them away or just threw them away once they got too soft or too chewed up for my purposes.

I no longer play that style of music and prefer finger picking to using a pick, but picks seem almost essential for really hard, grinding music. Jason Oldsted

i'm one of those people who likes strange effects with a bass but doesn't like pedals, so here are my picks:

a medium-weight "Area 51" pick(the one with the alien face)
A thick-ass felt pick
A dunlop thumb-pick (NOT METAL)
a 3.00 mm big stubby
a rather heavy d'andrea
my favorite-3 free picks sent to me by GuitarPunk.com-they might be the best i've found! They come free with any order, apparently
and for the effects:
a 1 inch long brass cylinder
a 3 inch long brass cylinder
a 1.5 inch long hollow aluminum cylinder
(these are kind of like a slide but used over the pick-ups for wierd effects)

i'm one of those people who likes strange effects with a bass but doesn't like pedals, so here are my picks:

a medium-weight "Area 51" pick(the one with the alien face)
A thick-ass felt pick
A dunlop thumb-pick (NOT METAL)
a 3.00 mm big stubby
a rather heavy d'andrea
my favorite-3 free picks sent to me by GuitarPunk.com-they might be the best i've found! They come free with any order, apparently
and for the effects:
a 1 inch long brass cylinder
a 3 inch long brass cylinder
a 1.5 inch long hollow aluminum cylinder
(these are kind of like a slide but used over the pick-ups for wierd effects)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Big Wheel:
I like Jim Dunlop Jazz II picks.

Will C. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Same here, when I use one. Actually, the ones I use are the Jazz III's. I don't know too much about picks, but my guitar player gave me one, and I've used this kind ever since. It's small and stiff. Wait a minute... Doh!



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"Why does it hurt when I pee?" - Frank Zappa

"Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony." - Morpheus

Has anyone tried the new Strummer picks on a bass. They look like three picks glued together with a spacer in between each. Looks like it is made to give 3 strikes to the string with each pass.

These are probably for acoustic guitar use but might have an interesting effect on bass.????

I found that thin picks are better for a good picking technique and sound: sth like thin guitar + heavy picks = thick bass strings + thin picks...I finally settled on the red Sharkfin's (from Sweden). They have a very narrow tip - no string-noise and a nice, clean attack. I tailored my picking technique after Frank Gambale's speed picking technique, which is more efficient than the regular down-up thing...

I use Dunlop Nylon .63mm picks. I love the tone. Used to use hard a** picks, until I tried bass with a thin pick. My god-the sound!! When you hit a note with a thick pick, all you get is a dull thud, but when you play with a thin pick, you get this nice, clear, bell-like tone. Later!

-Woof Man Out!

I use only medium celluloid picks. I hate the powdery feel of tortex picks. Delrin picks just feel too greasy.

for me i like using Dunlops any kind but i like gator grips mostly but i think any dunlop is good

Dunlop Tortex 1.14mm is what I use. I like the fin pick.