Bass pick different than guitar pick?

[Vinny_G]

Thats a LOT of pick pics

the p is very important here

 

[N4860]

I'd recommend trying a light pick. Makes it a lot easier to pluck through the string and still has the aggressive sound of a pick without having to work so hard to get your pick through the string. I've heard some pro bassists also recommend using thin picks for bass.

 

[nabilhuakbar]

This right here ^^^
I think there's a lot of merit to that statement (I've seen the video too) and it also puts an exclamation point on the part where music is literally open for interpretation by everyone and you are free to do whatever the ...... you want. You want to use a thick honking pick? Do it. You want to use a thin flimsy pick? Do it! There's no "right" way to make music, there's only "your" way.

I went on a quest to find "the one", the single pick that works best for everything.

Didn't take too long for me to realize that was a pipe dream. I now just have a big pile of different picks on my desk and I change what I use depending on the song. Some things need a lighter pick that gives some brighter snap. Some things need a heavier pick so my picking hand doesn't get as tired. Some things need a really thick pick, some things sound and play best with a thin one, some play great with a standard shape, other songs are better played with a triangle. Same goes with guitar when I record guitar tracks or I'm just messing around...sometimes I need the .88mm, sometimes I need the .60.

But Tortex is always best.

 

[MobileHolmes]

Depends on the pick. I wouldn't use a thin on a bass (nor would I really use one on guitar). I tend to use Jazz IIIs when I play guitar, but on the rare occasion that I use a pick on a bass, I prefer something more of a standard shape in thick

 

[Sloppy Hack]

I say YES

When I was starting out, this was considered a "bass pick":
View attachment 3836372

( and once I spent a whole week playing with a felt pick after an afternoon of over-enthusiastic jamming left me with 'blisters on my fingers!!!' ...)

I always thought that those felt picks were ukulele picks.

 

[Vinny_G]

Bass pick different than guitar pick?

No, there are just different shapes, sizes, and thicknesses because we don't all like or need the same thing. It is essential to be comfortable with a pick, which is why there were already dozens of references in the early D'Andrea catalogs from the 1930s.

And they weren't aimed only at guitarists, but also at players of mandolin and other strummed or plucked instruments. Take the Dunlop Bass Pick Variety Pack, for example. All the picks it contains are also used by guitarists: BASS PICK VARIETY PACK

 

[Vinny_G]

There is no such thing as a bass pick. But, anything under .88mm is too thin to play bass with. It folds, flops, and gives you a really thin tone.

While I'm not comfortable with anything below 1mm today for control reasons, Duff McKagan uses a Dunlop Tortex .73mm and I wouldn't describe his tone as thin.

 

[two fingers]

There is no such thing as a bass pick. But, anything under .88mm is too thin to play bass with. It folds, flops, and gives you a really thin tone.

Not true. I use .73 and .66 Tortex picks, and .63 Clayton picks, all the time (among many others). Different picks have different attacks. But thin tone has nothing to do with the pick itself. Thin ATTACK does. The ringing tone will be what it is depending on WHERE you pick, not what you use to do it.

But I can get a ridiculously fat pick tone, AND a good attack, with a .66/.63.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Not true. I use .73 and .66 Tortex picks, and .63 Clayton picks, all the time (among many others). Different picks have different attacks. But thin tone has nothing to do with the pick itself. Thin ATTACK does. The ringing tone will be what it is depending on WHERE you pick, not what you use to do it.

But I can get a ridiculously fat pick tone, AND a good attack, with a .66/.63.

I can't. They just flop and fold on me. And, I can't get anything more than mid twang. No bite, or ooomph. But, its cool some can. That means its just me.

 

[nabilhuakbar]

Not true. I use .73 and .66 Tortex picks, and .63 Clayton picks, all the time (among many others). Different picks have different attacks. But thin tone has nothing to do with the pick itself. Thin ATTACK does. The ringing tone will be what it is depending on WHERE you pick, not what you use to do it.

But I can get a ridiculously fat pick tone, AND a good attack, with a .66/.63.

I can't. They just flop and fold on me. And, I can't get anything more than mid twang. No bite, or ooomph. But, its cool some can. That means its just me.

Inserting myself into your discussion because a few months back I did a bunch of testing with pick thicknesses and materials in this thread here.

There is a tone difference between thin-ish and thick-ish picks, but it's pretty miniscule. Material makes a little bit more of a difference. The biggest tone difference you end up getting with thicker picks seems to be on the amount of dynamics control you have than anything else.

I don't think there's a "one" ideal pick thickness for either bass or guitar...I use a pretty wide range for both depending on the way the stars are aligned, local magnetic field strength, personal preference, and what feels/sounds "best" for a song.

 

[Tosh]

What's a pick?

I just sculpt my fingernails.

 

[One Way]

Fender mediums and Tortex yellows are my main go-to bass picks for songs that need the attack sound of a pick. What is different is how I hold the pick. When playing guitar i use the point of the pick to strike strings. When playing bass with the same pick I turn the pick so the rounded edge contacts the string. Give it a try

 

[amper]

What is a bass pick?

JK, I use the same picks for guitar, but usually on bass, on the rare occasions I actually use a pick (brief chordal parts), I use a 0.63 mm, where on guitar, I usually use a 0.50 mm. I use Clayton Acetal rounded triangles, have used nothing but for about 30 years, now.

 

[DTSBass]

It's all personal preference depending on what you want to play, and how you want to play it. I like thicker gauge picks for bass. I've recently gotten to like the 1.00mm Ultex. Here's a good article about picks for bass Recommended Best Picks for Bass Guitar - Bass Player Center

 

[wraub]

For bass, when I use a pick, it's usually a standard Tortex .60mm, although I have a variety for different sounds.
For guitar, it's usually a fin shaped Tortex .60mm.

I like orange.

 

[Jim C]

My issue with picks is that the tone is always much brighter than fingerstyle and, even with a tone control adjust, it's not quite the same. I've been using Fender California Clears as the material doesn't sound nearly as bright (especially that scratchy sound when the pick is not 90 degrees to the string). They also aren't as loud (closer to finger style volume) which makes it easier in a band setting when the set list gets changed on stage and limited time to find Sharpie marks on bass EQ and volume knobs. I've also experimented with the clear Dunlop pics which are yet another different type of plastic. When you drop them on a counter top they sound very hard ans plasticky but still closer to fingers than celluloid.

 

[marchone]

I bought a lifetime supply of Herco 60 heavy picks in the late 1960s. I rarely pick anymore though sometimes do.

 

[Cutter8]

Thats a LOT of pick pics

Which pic shows the pick that you would pick if you were picking a pick with which to pick?

 

[SunByrne]

If you're really selective about which plectrum you're willing to use, that makes you
.
.
.
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picky.

 

[NoiseNinja]

I prefer my picks to be relatively flexible both for bass and guitar, and I guess thinner than the majority, I also actually prefer finger picking for guitar and pick playing on bass, when that is said when I do use a pick for playing guitar I prefer it slightly thinner than my prefered bass pick.

So for me it is the Dunlop Max Grip .60mm nylon pick for guitar, which strangely enough is actually a slightly more rigid than the regular Dunlop USA Nylon .60mm pick, and for bass I prefer the Dunlop USA Nylon .73mm pick.

Plenty of people use the same pick when they are playing guitar as they use for bass though.

To me the .73mm nylon pick gives me the greatest control over the nuances and dynamics of my play, and also allow me to play faster than a thicker less flexible pick would, beside just simply sounding better, other people will swear that a 3mm pick made out of stone does that for them.

Ones pick preferences is a very individual thing, and which will be the right choice for you depends entirely on your personal preferences, what music you are playing and what kind of tone you are trying to achieve.