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best pick to use on a bass

#201
OOD said:
You can drill or punch a hole in almost any pick and it will grip very well. On thin picks I use a thumb tack to punch a hole through (when I play acoustic guitar).
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Funny you should bring this idea up. Last night a geetar buddy was showing me his [This invalid link has been removed] with star shaped holes in 'em. He loves 'em - says they stay right where you want 'em! Hmmmmm - ESP? (insert Twighlight Zone riff)

I'll try drilling into the Dunlop Tortex.
 
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#202
ryco said:
Funny you should bring this idea up. Last night a geetar buddy was showing me his [This invalid link has been removed] with star shaped holes in 'em. He loves 'em - says they stay right where you want 'em! Hmmmmm - ESP? (insert Twighlight Zone riff)

I'll try drilling into the Dunlop Tortex.
Click to expand...

Well, my son's initials are ESP. Those are the same picks that gave me the idea to try it. Turns out the star shape is to make people think it takes more than a regular hole.
 
#203
Sorry to revive an old post. After this

_20150305_222742.JPG


I'm still looking for "the one". Although I do love the Jazz III picks. The Ultex and Carbon Fiber are my faves.
 
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#207
I do like the Davas with the grips like in the pictures above. For YEARS I swore by Herco .50s (gold) for guitar and Herco .75s (silver) for bass, but while they have a nice grip and last forever, I've been gravitating towards thicker and thicker picks all the time it seems like.

I used to rarely play with a pick..maybe 20% of the time at most. Now I'm more like 50/50 picks-to-fingers, maybe leaning more to picks than that. I am digging it.

I have a pretty big assortment of different picks. I want to try those Wedgies but I'll have to order them online I guess. When I am practicing, I'll go through several different picks, trying out different ones. It's surprising to me how much impact different picks have on the overall sound of the bass. I mean, I expect there to be some, but changing up between some picks seems to really change the tone of things.

I have also found that while the pick widths I prefer are getting thicker (I like 2mm or above lately) I seem to also do better playing with smaller picks. My two faves lately are these (neither of which are as thick as 2mm, but I like the size and am looking for something small but thicker)...it's the small red Jazz III in this pic:

Pickcomp.jpg


...and the small red Stubby in this pic:

stubbys.jpg


I also use the larger purple 2mm Stubby...
 
#211
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#213
Everyone will give you different answers.
Will depend on how you prefer to use your pick and how you prefer it to sound.
Personally I prefer Dunlop USA Nylon .73mm, but others will tell you they are too thin for them and that they prefer something around 1mm or thicker and will have different preferences when it comes to pick material as well.
 
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#214
I did tried lots and modify picks a lot. For what I can tell, materiel, edges and the playable extremity changes the feel and also it affects a lot the sound. Thickness does affect mostly the attack, characterising also the sound. Depending of what songs I'll be playing I use different picks. But for myself I like recently the Ultex Sharp 2.0mm and planning trying a couple of 1.40mm of the same kind.
Btw I'm out of Ultex(sharp) tonight, so I sand and file a regular Ultex and tell that you can tune it to desire really well. I use to do this on Tortex series picks for a guitar years ago....
 
#215
Karlson541 said:
Everyone will give you different answers.
Will depend on how you prefer to use your pick and how you prefer it to sound.
Personally I prefer Dunlop USA Nylon .73mm, but others will tell you they are too thin for them and that they prefer something around 1mm or thicker and will have different preferences when it comes to pick material as well.
Click to expand...

That's my pick as well for many, many years now. The .60 is a little too thin, and the .88 is OK, but a bit too thick for the attack I like. I trim the tip down with fingernail clippers & sandpaper for a little rounder tip.

001-1.JPG
 
#217
Fingers first ! It’s a bass.

But for that pick thang - from Siminon, Squire to Swallow:
Fenders, Musicmans, G&Ls - the spawn of Leo bass instruments in general, after much experimentation I always end up back at the celluloid Fender Heavy - Tortoise or Ocean Turq - 346 and 351.

On a Rickenbacker it’s hard to use anything but a Herco Silver for some reason?

If a metal approach occurs and I’m looking for a Fieldy, Newsted, Arayo texture, the 346 style blue Tortex has its merits.
 

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