Which picks do you prefer?

[pirata]

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.

[Chris A]

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.

[Muttluk]

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.

[~Loxley~]

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

~Loxley~

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

[Paladin]

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.

[msaygilar]

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

[MetalBass]

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!

------------------
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

[Blackbird]

I like Jim Dunlop Jazz II picks.

Will C.

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

[Muttluk]

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.

[DW]

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.

[starclown]

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

[ihixulu]

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.

[winston]

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.

[Muttluk]

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

[Usedtobejim]

Fender Mediums

[rickreyn]

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.

[Dolan]

Jim Dunlop Tortex 1.14 mm.

[pirata]

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

[Boplicity]

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

[skanking_homer]

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)