Leather picks: New idea, or old news?

Curtybob · #1 12-01-2007, 10:56 AM

So I was pluckin' away earlier, and Anthrax's Got the Time came on the radio. I cut my index and middle fingers at work this week right above my fingernails, so they were getting kinda sore from trying to keep up with a guy playing with a pick. So I look over to grab a pick, and I am out.... but I was messing with some old straps (shimming the straplocks with leather so they are tight and quiet) and I have a few squares of leather laying there. I grabbed one and used it as a pick....

It sounded great! Kinda like fingerstyle, but with just a tad more bite. I am seriously debating making a handful and possibly stiffening some with different applications of thin plastic on one or both sides (but leaving the picking point bare leather for the sound).

It's kinda cool, because I like playing with a pick, but I like the rounded and fat sound fingerstyle gives. A best of both worlds kinda thang.

smogg · #2 12-01-2007, 11:00 AM

have you tried a felt pick yet?

Curtybob · #3 12-01-2007, 11:03 AM

No. Are they better than leather? I didn't even know they had felt picks.... that is pretty dang cool.

smogg · #4 12-01-2007, 11:11 AM

yeah they are easy to find. deff try one you'll probably dig it.

BellBottomBlues · #5 12-01-2007, 11:33 AM

Way back when the Gibson Mandobass was supplied with leather picks.

Felt picks are pretty cool, I use them from time to time.

pizmeyre · #6 12-01-2007, 11:37 AM

Sometimes I'll put some foam under the strings near the bridge of my P-Bass to mute it a bit, roll the tone all the way down and play with a felt pick.

I love the way it sounds.

Of course, I'm just learning how to play and thus only play alone in my study, but still.

-Pizmeyre

billbern · #7 12-01-2007, 11:42 AM

Wedgie rubber picks work great also. Less "click" than felt.
http://www.wedgie.com/cgi-bin/ccp5/c...detail_rubbers

Curtybob · #8 12-01-2007, 12:07 PM

I have a wedgie... heh heh. No really. I do. If those are supposed to have less click than felt... go play with some scrap leather. I got mine from some cheap strap tails (fat guys need longer strap tails, so the short ones go in the scrap leather box). It's about 1/8" thick, and fairly soft. I can only leave about 3/8" of a corner sticking out and still feel like I'm hitting the string with something other than pudding.

BassBob185 · #9 12-04-2007, 06:11 AM

I have put some green felt, with the sticky already on it, on a 1mm pick. Sounds pretty good and the felt is cheap.

Thunder Pulse · #10 12-04-2007, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curtybob

So I was pluckin' away earlier, and Anthrax's Got the Time came on the radio.

FYI, even though Frank Bello is a fingerstyle player, I remember reading in an interview that he played the intro to Got The Time with a pick.

peaveyuser · #11 12-04-2007, 05:43 PM

I make wood picks, nice warm tone

Curtybob · #12 12-06-2007, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder Pulse

FYI, even though Frank Bello is a fingerstyle player, I remember reading in an interview that he played the intro to Got The Time with a pick.

Sweet. I always assumed he was playing that with a pick. Sure makes it easier for guys like me who have played with a pick for far too long. I have my very first "real" prototype pick made up, and in my G&L case for practice on saturday night. If those guys are as impressed as I am, I might stick with it for a while.

I figured out a way to get a little stiffnessbuilt into the leather without killing the soft sound. I filleted the leather with a razor blade from the wide end towards the picking point. Then I took some really thin acrylic (like toy "blister" packaging) and slid it in there. I am using polyester resin (the stuff used for fiberglass work) to glue and further stiffen things back up. The tip is nothing but leather, and seems to last about half as long as a regular pick, but that's better than playing agressively for about 5 minutes before it was too broken down to be effective.

Thunder Pulse · #13 12-06-2007, 05:06 PM

I remember in the interview he said he hated doing it, but 'they' (?) really wanted him to, presumably to get more zing to the sound. He plays fingerstyle in the video, but it's just a 'performance' video with the studio track dubbed in.

luknfur · #14 12-10-2007, 05:07 PM

Wish somebody put out a variety set of like a dozen picks made of different materials, every material sounds different.

The Mock Turtle Regulator · #15 12-11-2007, 11:07 AM

aren't Balalaika's traditionally played with a leather pick?

I remember a BP article on a bass balalaika player.

Pruitt · #16 12-12-2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billbern

Wedgie rubber picks work great also. Less "click" than felt.
http://www.wedgie.com/cgi-bin/ccp5/c...detail_rubbers

I've been using these for a few years now. Love the tone they give. Very similar to fingerstyle, but with just a bit more attack.