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Just a curious question. What picks do you use?

#461
In the early ‘80s I was a pick player and my go-to was the purple Tortex 2.0mm. Kind of fell into being a finger player since then, but have been toying with going back and re-learning to play with a pick. I’ve gotten a number of picks to try (still have my old Tortexes, though), including a V-Pick, some Pickboys, Telefunken graphites, some Wedgies (the hard plastic ones, not the rubber ones, which drag on the strings), Tusq, etc. Haven’t really put enough effort in yet to make a choice.

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#463
Thanks for the responses! I ordered a few of more including some of those suggested - my favorite so far has been the Dunlop max grip 1.14 mm (it's interesting how different a pick of the same thickness feels in a different material). However, I've just been playing this morning and picked up an unbranded celluloid pick I've had for years and never really used as it looks cheap but it sounds and feels amazing! I think it must be similar to a Fender Medium pick - it has some flex but not loads (Fender Mediums are 0.71mm - it looks a bit thicker than that when comparing to others of a similar size, but I can't imagine it being a Heavy as there is flex). I might order a variety of the Fender celluloid ones to find the perfect gauge. I don't seem to be losing grip when sweating either. I may have found my perfect pick for bass!

Just a note regarding the Tortex ones - although they are great as they grip your fingers, I also find they grip your strings ever so slightly too so it causes a bit of resistance - it's the opposite with the celluloid ones.

From these:
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To this:

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I've just stumbled across this video:

 
#464
Fender 351 medium celluloid pick.jpg

When I first started playing bass with a pick I had two problems - the pick was too "clacky" when I played, and the pick would dig in too much. I come from a longtime guitar background, so I was pretty sure it wasn't my technique. After trying several picks of various shapes and material I finally settled on this one - the tried and true Fender 351 celluloid pick. It was the quietest pick I had tried, and by holding the pick so that I used it with the two top edges ala Bobby Vega it took care of the pick digging in too much. I also get a better grip on the pick so I can alternate pick like I do on guitar.
 
#465
I think I spoke too soon :crying: - I've been sweating away and it's quite difficult to keep a grip.

I'm going to spend more time with these Max Grip Dunlops - currently switching between the 1.0mm and 1.14mm - nice sound with these!
 
#467
Shak_2112 said:
I think I spoke too soon :crying: - I've been sweating away and it's quite difficult to keep a grip.

I'm going to spend more time with these Max Grip Dunlops - currently switching between the 1.0mm and 1.14mm - nice sound with these!
Click to expand...

So, I actually really like the Orange Tortex pickups you mentioned in your initial post for playing metal and faster stuff. For whatever reason, I find .60mm Tortex picks to be the perfect balance of give and stiffness and I can crank triplets and 16th notes really easily with them. Those thinner picks are really cool too because they act like a natural quasi-compressor of sorts, and if you attack downward into the string with them instead of regular plucking you get this kinda cool clacky tone from bouncing the string off the frets...kinda like how Steve Harris plays, but just with a pick instead.

I've also really liked the 1.14mm Tortex triangle, the 2.0mm Gator Grip, and Ernie Ball makes a 2.0mm triangle pick that's pretty sweet as well.
 
#468
bound'n'blocked said:
former guitar guys will remember those "Herrco" nylon picks...they came in grey and blue colors and were really thin. I know it sounds crazy, but the thinner the pick, the better I like it. Fender mediums are nice too. I found a medium triangle pick the other day but the sheer area of it, makes me not really care too much for it. I've tried felt picks and these soft rubber picks that are supposed to duplicate the sound of a finger but the playing style of a pick and found them pretty useless.

BnB
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Yeah tbh I think it's really dumb to attempt to replicate one style with the other. You'll never get a pick to sound like fingers, and you'll never get fingers to sound like a pick. Just learn at least some basic competence with both.

That being said, I did try a leather pick and I thought it was really cool. It's like halfway to finger tone but you also get a muting effect and some of that trebly pick attack all at the same time
 
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#470
I use a pick/plectrum (whatever) with most of my basses - exclusively, with a lot of them. Mainly use either Dunlop 8012 Felt picks, or the Fender 351 shape Heavys. I've been fooling around with 1mm Tusq Deep picks lately; the jury is still out on those, but... maybe. I've also been fooling around with a thick rubber Music Pro Uke 2 pick. No idea where that thing appeared from, but.. with some flats, on some basses, it's... not bad at all...:whistle:
 
#475
but of a long rant, but i’ll share what has worked best for my playing style, and hopefully it’ll help point you in the direction of what your needs are. i got back and forth with a ton of different picks, but lately nothing beats the super tiny dunlop jazz III. granted, my focus is on speed and technicality, so i’m not really digging in super hard. super easy to speed pick or do quick triplets, virtually no string scratching noise. incredible control, very little hand fatigue. will rip all the skin off your knuckles once you need to dig in. your best friend if you need to ride 16th notes for an 8 minute song or do arpeggio runs at 240bpm.

the 2mm big stubby or the .73 dunlop ultex tend to work best when i really need to dig in, but the ultex tends to give off the most string scratch. not my favorite tone. much prefer the big stubby, which can move similar to the jazz III but handle more aggressive playing. i tend to grab one of these when i’m completely overpowered by a heavy hitting drummer (almost always). there are some rad looking beveled picks out there im dying to try to see how well they cover this ground.

the orange dunlop tortex is great for just doing laid back mid tempo all night without getting tired. dig in, don’t, hit big chords, sit on quarter notes all night, whatever. if you’ve got a gig where you’re like “i can get drunk as a kennedy and still nail this,” the orange tortex is probably the right tool for the job.

dunlop flow and flex picks fall somewhere in the middle i guess? they’ll do the technical super fast stuff, the super aggressive heavy stuff, and they’ll sit back in the pocket all well enough, but with more concentration than the jazz and less authority than a stubby, but they’re great for a little of everything.

this got much longer than expected, but i hope my experience is helpful!

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#478
danbones said:
i’ve been wanting to get my hands on these and see how they compare to what i’m used to. they seem like they would be great for both speed and digging in without a lot of string scratch.
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The 3mm have been great, no scratch. The bevel is spot on. The odd edge on the honey jar is my favorite. I’ll take some pics
 
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