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Guitar/bass pick question
- Thread starter Greenman72
- Start date
I finger pick or knuckle drag on my guitar more than half the time but generally use a 1mm Tortex or Stringjoy copy of Tortex, used to play .73 but I’m liking the slightly heavier.
I use the same on bass.
Only exception is when I’m playing disco a la Nile Rodgers I’ll use a very light flexy pick.
My vote selections are
I use the same on bass.
Only exception is when I’m playing disco a la Nile Rodgers I’ll use a very light flexy pick.
My vote selections are
Last edited:
I generally use a .73 or a Fender/D’Andrea medium for guitar.
For bass I typically use 1mm but I sometimes go lighter to .88 or Fender heavy and sometimes I go heavier to something like 1.4mm.
I use very different techniques, though. I tend to use a typical pick shape for guitar and I use a pick and two fingers. For bass I use a blunter pick.
For bass I typically use 1mm but I sometimes go lighter to .88 or Fender heavy and sometimes I go heavier to something like 1.4mm.
I use very different techniques, though. I tend to use a typical pick shape for guitar and I use a pick and two fingers. For bass I use a blunter pick.
Choosing a pick is about managing a bunch of compromises that relate to your setup, sound goals, and approach to the instrument.
I typically used a .73 Dunlop nylon for both.
I don't generally use a pick with bass and I play with a fairly light touch. The setup is too low for a thicker pick or more aggressive attack.
I have sort of lost interest in guitar and never really considered myself a guitar player. From what I remember I sometimes enjoyed thinner picks.
I typically used a .73 Dunlop nylon for both.
I don't generally use a pick with bass and I play with a fairly light touch. The setup is too low for a thicker pick or more aggressive attack.
I have sort of lost interest in guitar and never really considered myself a guitar player. From what I remember I sometimes enjoyed thinner picks.
Used to use Fender Mediums for both, then after taking Carol Kaye’s advice to heart, went with Extra Heavy on the bass and now totally dig them. Don’t like them on guitar though, so I’m sticking with mediums there even if it complicates things between my couch cushions.
So Anyway, I know we joke about picks like the stickers and PU covers on a Ric. I used a pick when I first started out and gradually dropped it after I started playing in a working band. I wish I would have continued to occasionally play with one, even though I had some pretty bad habits and poor technique.
Today I only use a pick when we play Poke Salad Annie. And that's only if I remember to put one on my amp.
Today I only use a pick when we play Poke Salad Annie. And that's only if I remember to put one on my amp.
I used to use a thin gauge for strumming an acoustic, but now I almost exclusively use 1.0mm Tortex picks for everything. Same/carrots.
My current do-all pick on bass has been a nylon Janicek D-Grip Jazz C in 1.18, but I'll switch that up depending on what I'm doing. Sometimes I need more thump and I'll go thicker or use a different material, sometimes I want the string to ring out more and I can go about a thin as a nylon .88 before I start losing attack. On acoustic guitar I can use anything from about a .73 to whatever I have floating around at the time.
I'm playing more acoustic guitar than electric at the moment, and that gets 1mm or thicker; a Wegen TF100, Dunlop Nylon 1.25mm or a Red Bear that I think is 1.5mm or so. Bass gets a .88mm Ultex triangle, I like the size and firm click from them.
I use (mostly) .6 or .73mm Tortex Triangles on bass. Same on guitar, plus occasionally some regular Tortex, same gauges, or .50mm Tortex for acoustic (but my only acoustic has been my Line6 Variax for years). I can do with thicker picks on guitar, just not on bass. I've 100% adhered to the Nolly Getgood "unifying and compressing power" of the thin pick, since before Nolly was even a thing 
The perfect stiffness for me would be that of a .6mm Ultex tho'. It's just a tad stiffer than Tortex. I tried my best to adapt to them, I was even willing to cope with the steep price and the glassy clicky attack they have on strings. But they just too brittle, they broke on me a lot, easily, so I dropped those.
The perfect stiffness for me would be that of a .6mm Ultex tho'. It's just a tad stiffer than Tortex. I tried my best to adapt to them, I was even willing to cope with the steep price and the glassy clicky attack they have on strings. But they just too brittle, they broke on me a lot, easily, so I dropped those.
Dunlop Purple tortex 1.4mm for both guitar and bass.
I have a candy dish of picks and try different thicknesses, but always come back to the purple ones. And those are the ones I lose the most. So I buy bags of em.
Playing bass with the pick is pretty rare, but I’m trying to relearn the style.
Thin picks break pretty quickly, I’m hitting it pretty hard.
I have a candy dish of picks and try different thicknesses, but always come back to the purple ones. And those are the ones I lose the most. So I buy bags of em.
Playing bass with the pick is pretty rare, but I’m trying to relearn the style.
Thin picks break pretty quickly, I’m hitting it pretty hard.
Played bass with a pick (or... plectrum
) when I started decades ago.
Now (last 10 years) I can't stand the feel. Tried to persevere for a bit with an alternative rock/indie band. Found a fairly bendy .8 least annoying. That stopped so it's fingers only.
Don't play guitar.
) when I started decades ago.Now (last 10 years) I can't stand the feel. Tried to persevere for a bit with an alternative rock/indie band. Found a fairly bendy .8 least annoying. That stopped so it's fingers only.
Don't play guitar.
