I just switched from my long-time faves the Dunlop Stubby Triangles 2mm to the Dunlop Primetone Large Pointed Tip 3mm. Both of those picks are made of stiff polycarbonates (Lexan to be specific for the Stubby) and offer great strong attack with none of the clickiness or unwanted pick sound offered by other picks I've tried. The Primetone offers a superior grip though and a fair amount more control.
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best pick to use on a bass
- Thread starter skinzz
- Start date
I've changed from gator grips to the dunlop jazz III.
Seriously good pick that plays nice and fast.
Try them
Seriously good pick that plays nice and fast.
Try them
i read in bassplayer magazine a couple years back that Matt Freeman uses .60mm tortex picks. When I started playing with a pick I always used them, now I play pickstyle full time and theyre my fav.
Yes they do "give" a lot, but its great for chords and theyve got nice bounce for faster runs.
Yes they do "give" a lot, but its great for chords and theyve got nice bounce for faster runs.
maxvalentino
Endorsing Artist Godin Guitars/ Thomastik-Infeld
after 25+ yrs of playing fingerstyle (using thumb+three fingers), about 8mos ago I broke the knuckle on my right middle finger and was forced to use a pick for gigs. I really liked it and began studying a lot of flatpicking techniques of gtr players (Tony Rice, Al DiMeola) and bassist (AJ, Steve Swallow, Carles Benavent, Bobby Vega...). Now I am pretty much using a flatpick + middle and ring fingers (as in Nashville hybrid picking) prbably 90% of the time. I also have a bunch of Carol Kaye's picks which I got from her several yrs ago and never really used (shaped sorta like a very heavy and slightly oversized mandolin pick), which work really well for bass. Lately tho I have been using some custom made hardwood picks (ebony, rosewood, pau ferro, walnut) and a couple made from fosillized mommoth ivory. Very cool. The wood picks do impart a warmer sound with less "click". Also, I always use the backside (the fatter side) of the pick. This is a littel tip I picked up from from mandolists David Grissman and Chrsi Thile, who both do the same with mandos...turns Bobby Vega, who is one mean and funky pick-style bass player does this also. This gives more of the string sound and less of the pick sound...if you need more "click", simply turn the pick around and use the pointed side.
I use Dunlop Ultex 1.14mm. Hard and durable.
And they just feel right...
+1
And try 1.14 mm Tordex.
They're slip resistant and don't have too much give.
I am currently using Dunlop 500 delrin .96 mm picks, although Fender picks are quite nice too. I also really like Dunlop's "The Wedge" picks (they are similar to the tortex picks) but not many stores seem to carry them. Good old blue 1 mm tortex picks are always nice as well. BTW, I'm use light gauge flats (Chromes) on a jazz bass.
answer= no pick period
if you must use a pick use, fender heavy
or dunlop 60
fingers get best tone and speed for me.
picks are dumb, don't get your feelings hurt
, just never cared for them. boink boink
most bass players use 10" speakers with a tweeter
boink boink boink ding boink
most guitar players use 12" speakers
rumble rumble crunch crunch
bass is one octave below guitar, atleast its suppose to be by design. seems like bass players these days want more treble and guitars want more bass. its ok because most guitarist can't play leads and bass players play to many leads.
I play Bass with 15" speakers with No pick.it always seems to fill the role as bass, not another unneeded lead guitar halfbreed thing.
not trying to hurt anybodys feelings ive just always heard and played bass as........Bass and picks are out of the picture.
if you must use a pick use, fender heavy
or dunlop 60
fingers get best tone and speed for me.
picks are dumb, don't get your feelings hurt
, just never cared for them. boink boink most bass players use 10" speakers with a tweeter
boink boink boink ding boink
most guitar players use 12" speakers
rumble rumble crunch crunch
bass is one octave below guitar, atleast its suppose to be by design. seems like bass players these days want more treble and guitars want more bass. its ok because most guitarist can't play leads and bass players play to many leads.
I play Bass with 15" speakers with No pick.it always seems to fill the role as bass, not another unneeded lead guitar halfbreed thing.
not trying to hurt anybodys feelings ive just always heard and played bass as........Bass and picks are out of the picture.
I use Dunlop nylon standard .73 picks for stuff with my flatwounds...something about the flexibility of the pick allows me to do some cool stuff with muting that my other pick choice is a little too bulky and stiff to accomplish.
The other pick that I use, which literally CHANGED MY LIFE...is thumb picks. You know, for banjo players and the like. Right now I use National brand, found em at GC. I get the medium to large size...gauge seems to always be the same (heavy) and they make different sizes for different sized thumbs. The beauty of this is, the pick is always on your thumb. You can never drop it, but you can always switch to finger and back to pick in an instant. Hassle free! And when I'm not playing that bass, I can slip the pick around a few of the strings just past the nut on the headstock. Nifty.
The other pick that I use, which literally CHANGED MY LIFE...is thumb picks. You know, for banjo players and the like. Right now I use National brand, found em at GC. I get the medium to large size...gauge seems to always be the same (heavy) and they make different sizes for different sized thumbs. The beauty of this is, the pick is always on your thumb. You can never drop it, but you can always switch to finger and back to pick in an instant. Hassle free! And when I'm not playing that bass, I can slip the pick around a few of the strings just past the nut on the headstock. Nifty.
get an assortment pack, from Dunlop or whatever and see which ones get the sound and feel you like best. The red Dunlop Jazz III (nylon, but not the tiny ones) sound good to me, almost like fingers but for some reason I don't use them much. I have used the 3 sided Dunlop med. and the standard size orange ones for years. Lately I've started using the Tusq picks and the Dunlop graphite ones due to their clarity and almost complete lack of self-made noises. But like I said, experiment a bunch, they really do make a big difference in the sound you get.
I like the skinny-er ones too but not live, the bass seems to disappear. Maybe if you use it all the time you can compensate with volume up more.
I use Dunlop Nylon Standard 1mm. The raised lettering helps me keep my grip. My band only has one song I use it for, but man it gets the job done.
[QUOTE
The other pick that I use, which literally CHANGED MY LIFE...is thumb picks. You know, for banjo players and the like. Right now I use National brand, found em at GC. I get the medium to large size...gauge seems to always be the same (heavy) and they make different sizes for different sized thumbs. The beauty of this is, the pick is always on your thumb. You can never drop it, but you can always switch to finger and back to pick in an instant. Hassle free! And when I'm not playing that bass, I can slip the pick around a few of the strings just past the nut on the headstock. Nifty.[/QUOTE]
I do exactly the same thing. National larges for me. I started with thumb picks because I'm a Johnny Winter fan. I've never really spent much time with flat picks. You can also do kind of a hybrid pick and slap sound.
The other pick that I use, which literally CHANGED MY LIFE...is thumb picks. You know, for banjo players and the like. Right now I use National brand, found em at GC. I get the medium to large size...gauge seems to always be the same (heavy) and they make different sizes for different sized thumbs. The beauty of this is, the pick is always on your thumb. You can never drop it, but you can always switch to finger and back to pick in an instant. Hassle free! And when I'm not playing that bass, I can slip the pick around a few of the strings just past the nut on the headstock. Nifty.[/QUOTE]
I do exactly the same thing. National larges for me. I started with thumb picks because I'm a Johnny Winter fan. I've never really spent much time with flat picks. You can also do kind of a hybrid pick and slap sound.
I got a can full of different types I've tried. The Everly Brothers, with the star in the middle, work best for me. I use the 1.0 mm.
