Chris Squire, quarter as pick?

[bommer]

i keep seeing things saying he did and did not use a quarter as a pick. anyone know the real answer to that?

also, will using a quarter affect the stings in any way?(i think it would make the strings wear down quicker, personally)

[Rezlax31]

He used (and still uses) Herco picks. But I believe he holds them so the grip side is hitting the strings.

[jaywa]

He uses regular picks, but his picking technique is such that the pick and the flesh of his thumb (which is enormous, BTW) strike the string almost simultaneously. Hence the "bright but warm" attack of his signature sound. He has talked about this in several interviews.

OTOH Billy Gibbons, guitarist of ZZ Top, is known to use currency as a pick and I believe his coin of choice is a peso. At least that's how the legend goes.

[N.F.A.]

At some point he used Herco heavy picks, the grey ones. That is how I learned about them and started using them. I also read somewhere that Jimmy Page used them too.

[rickdog]

Such a persistent rumor I'm inclined think there might be some truth to it....

I remember from long ago hearing it was not a quarter, but sixpence (and I think pre-decimal sixpence, yes, that long ago).

Based on that, I tried various coins with my 4001. My favorite was a 5 kopeck piece (Soviet era, I have no idea if they're still the same). Nice gritty sound, but I now have the scratches on my toaster pickup to remember it by. I never noticed that it affected the strings any.

[Calaverasgrande]

I have used banjo thumb picks myself. The metal ones.
Dont know about Squire.

[Staccato]

A heavy plastic or synthetic pick will do! How about the fake tortoise shell kind?

[JTE]

I first read aout that in Tom Wolk's AMSCO book "Rock Riffs For Bass". I've never seen any mention of Squire using a coin in any interviews I've read with him.

Brian May of Queen has said he's used an English coin of some sort however.

John

[Andy Walhor]

Originally Posted by JTE

Brian May of Queen has said he's used an English coin of some sort however.

Yes, a (British) sixpence. DigiTech even included one with the Brian May Red Special Pedal:

http://www.digitech.com/Classic/BrianMay.php

[savofenno]

Originally Posted by jaywa

He uses regular picks, but his picking technique is such that the pick and the flesh of his thumb (which is enormous, BTW) strike the string almost simultaneously. Hence the "bright but warm" attack of his signature sound. He has talked about this in several interviews.

OTOH Billy Gibbons, guitarist of ZZ Top, is known to use currency as a pick and I believe his coin of choice is a peso. At least that's how the legend goes.

I believe Billy Gibbons uses(d) a non-serrated edge peso, edges are shaved flat to prevent string wear.
Squire`s Rotosounds can take every coin edges as-is, his tough strings can eat frets for breakfast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XcOT...layer_embedded

I think Gibbons says something about peso pick in this clip.