Heavy Picks Without "Click"

[sunbeast]

Hi, until about 6 months ago, I had played bass with fingers only for around 7 years. In my newest band, I found that picking seems to jive better both for sound and speed. When I picked up the pick again (pun intended), I went straight for the picks I left behind years ago- 1mm Dunlop Nylons. I play guitar off and on for fun and have found that my favorite pick for guitar is- 1.14mm Tortex picks. If I try to play bass with these picks, I seem to lose alot of girth in the attack which is replaced by "clickiness".

I really like the sound of the Nylons, and perhaps they are the pick for me- there is no audible clickiness and the attack sounds much bigger and smoother to my ears than plastics and whatever the Tortex are made of- However, in the interest of experimentation (I've tried every which kind of bass, amp, and speaker- why settle on a pick if there's something better out there?), does anyone have any other pick recommendations that will keep the girth of attack and not sound "clicky"?

What other materials are used to make picks that might smooth out the attack more?

Are there heavier gauges of the Dunlop Nylon picks than 1mm? (I've always prefered heavier picks, but somehow ended up with the 1mm at some point...)

Thanks for your help...
Karl Zickrick

[FaithNoMan]

No stupid plastic-y fake sounding click like the Dunlop Tortex, and yet still has ALL the harmonics..you can actually hear them better with these:

Clayton Large Triangle Acetal Picks(I use the 1.26mm)

http://www.steveclayton.com/acetal.html

[Foamy]

Yeah, they have the Big Stubby in nylon, but I don't remember seeing them around. I use the clear versions for gu*tar and love them. I "think" they come up to 3mm. Also they do have the MIDI pick which is 1.07mm. I'm sure somebody can benefit from the .07, but it is not I.
:-)

[sunbeast]

FaithNoMan- those are the exact same picks and gauge that the guitar player in my band uses!
I never really thought to try his picks, as they appeared to be just another Tortex- style pick, I'll have to try them next time we practice.
Thanks!
Any more suggestions would be great!

Thanks, Karl Zickrick

[The Craw]

I use the Pickboy Edge 1.14 Carbon-Nylons. They're a lot more rigid than the Dunlop tortex or nylon of the same thickness. They've never sounded clicky to me. Unfortunately they're not that easy to find.

[FaithNoMan]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

FaithNoMan- those are the exact same picks and gauge that the guitar player in my band uses!
I never really thought to try his picks, as they appeared to be just another Tortex- style pick, I'll have to try them next time we practice.
Thanks!
Any more suggestions would be great!

Thanks, Karl Zickrick

I was in a Sam Ash store near my house, about to pick up another set of 1.14 Dunlop Tortex Triangle picks, and this older, 80's rocker guitarist walks up to me..."psst..hey man, try these!"

I really can't stand the Dunlops next to them now. Like I said, I can get great harmonics out of them, and the attack just feels better, with more tone, instead of a toneless "click".

[sunbeast]

Today was my day off of work, so I went to one of the local music stores that I assumed would have a large variety of picks to get a bag of different ones to sample. The store didn't quite have the varied selection I hoped for, sadly my favorite local shop (GuitarX- the local boutique guitar shop) is closed on Mondays.
I got a large array of different Dunlops, mostly nylons- from the "normal" nylons to a selection of Jazz pick nylons in a bunch of different gauges + a couple larger gauges of Tortex and a 1mm "Big Stubby". I also picked up a couple Clayton picks of different gauges. Besides these 2 brands, they only had some Fender and Gibson picks which were all way too dinky for bass use in my opinion.

After playing around with all the different picks I bought, I've found the nylon picks to still be my favorites for bass- I think the 1.26mm Clayton pick is by far my top choice for guitar now though (beating out the 1.14mm Tortex picks I have been using).

The store had the regular Dunlop nylons up to a 1.14mm gauge, I couldn't even find a gauge that large listed on the Dunlop website! These are my favorites so far- they are a perfect balance between the sharp attack of the Tortex picks and the very round attack of the nylon jazz- style picks- oddly the Claytons are very close in tone to these, but with a little more bite.

I feel like my opinions may have been biased because the nylons are the sound I've been used to for so long! The Claytons could very well become my #1 choice.

I also found a jazz pick that sounds closer to the tone of finger-picking than any other pick I've tried as well- it is simply labeled "204" with the Dunlop logo and "USA" printed on it. I'm used to jazz picks with the sharp point at the end, but this one is very blunt- it gives a very soft attack and is probably the warmest sounding pick I've tried apart from some felt ones I've tried in the past- I wish they had them in larger sizes, as it would take some time to get accustomed to holding a Jazz- size pick firm while playing bass!- I also wonder if "204" denotes a gauge of 2.04mm?

I'd definitely be interested in trying that different brand of Nylons as well. I'm sure if anyone locally has them, then the GuitarX store I mentioned would- they are a jazz g**tarists/ shredder's paradise, which probably means they carry every kind of pick you could imagine!

Thanks,
Karl Zickrick

[slejhamer]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

I also found a jazz pick that sounds closer to the tone of finger-picking than any other pick I've tried as well- it is simply labeled "204" with the Dunlop logo and "USA" printed on it. I'm used to jazz picks with the sharp point at the end, but this one is very blunt- it gives a very soft attack and is probably the warmest sounding pick I've tried apart from some felt ones I've tried in the past- I wish they had them in larger sizes, as it would take some time to get accustomed to holding a Jazz- size pick firm while playing bass!- I also wonder if "204" denotes a gauge of 2.04mm?

Those are the Dunlop Jazztones. They are all 2.0mm, but also come in other shapes. I have the 206, which is a pointy teardrop shape, and the 207 which is a traditional full-size pick with slightly rounded point. Great picks for bass. But hard to find.

[TL5]

If I use a pick (rare) I prefer felt picks (similar to these). Most of the time I hold my index finger 'as if' there were a pick there and use my nail for the attack.

[EricF]

You guys have my head spinning now. I'd never put much thought into picks - I just always grabbed a package of the blue Tortex ones. Now I wonder if I've been missing something.

[charic]

Ive got 2 fave picks atm...

- blue tortex sharp

-ibanez 1.2mm

Both gud picks in my humble opinion

[Scourge441]

I use the transluscent yellow Dunlop Ultex picks when I pick. Other than that, I use a Tortex with the Killswitch Engage log on it (their guitarist worked at the store where I take lessons).

I may try to find those picks FaithNoMan recommended.

[sunbeast]

I just ordered some 1.14 Ultex picks as they weren't at the store I went to, and they were relatively cheap- I figure I ought to try them as Dunlop describes them as the perfect pick for bass (which I realize doesn't necessarily mean anything- except probably more bassists buying them to try them out!).

I never really though much about picks either, and kind of settled on the 1mm Dunlop Nylons for some reason- but my guitar player has been watching a bunch of shredder videos (for g**tar- but most of the same techniques can be used for bass as well), and hes been teaching me different ways to hold a pick and the "right" way to attack the string, etc...His tone/ speed has improved noticibly in just a few weeks (and he was already the best local shredder in my opinion!), it made me realize yet one more thing that can effect the sound and playability of the electric bass/ guitar (as if there weren't enough already- instrument, strings, pickups, technique, amp, speakers, etc...). The cool thing about picks is that they are very cheap to buy- so you can buy a handful for a couple of dollars and try them out at your leisure, whereas most of the other equipment you either need to try in a store or buy on other peoples recommendations most of the time.

Scourge441- I think you'll really like those Clayton picks, especially if you like Tortex at all- like FaithNoMan said- they are like Tortex, but with more tone+ less click. You might also like the Dunlop "Delrin 500" picks- they look exactly like the Tortex, but say "500" inside the turtle picture instead of "Tortex". They are very similar to the Claytons (maybe even the same material)- the only ones I got to try were 1.5mm and 2mm though, and the largest Clayton I tried was 1.24mm I believe- so its hard to compare them exactly (the store I went to had a very odd selection of gauges depending on the kind of pick).

Anyways, you really need to try all the different kinds yourself- opinions on sound can be very subjective.

Karl Zickrick

[nun lover]

the 2mm dunlops i use have a rounded tip so they have no clicking noise.