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Just a curious question. What picks do you use?
- Thread starter Cole Allar
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- baby pick picks preferences
If you play with a pick, what do you prefer to use and why?
I use .88mm Dunlop Tortex Jazz III XL. I like the pointed tip for speed and precision and the XL size because the regular Jazz III is too small for me. And I like .88mm because it's stiff enough for a good solid strike on the string but thin enough that I still perceive a bit of snap, and that just feels good.
I also have a question for more discussion. I've seen more than one bassist use the Dunlop triangle shape picks, or at least picks with the same shape:
Personally, I don't find these as comfortable. I know different people like different things, but I think it's interesting that I've seen multiple bassists use the same shape.
If you use the triangle shape, would you explain why you prefer it over a more traditional pick shape? I'm genuinely curious.
I use .88mm Dunlop Tortex Jazz III XL. I like the pointed tip for speed and precision and the XL size because the regular Jazz III is too small for me. And I like .88mm because it's stiff enough for a good solid strike on the string but thin enough that I still perceive a bit of snap, and that just feels good.
I also have a question for more discussion. I've seen more than one bassist use the Dunlop triangle shape picks, or at least picks with the same shape:
Personally, I don't find these as comfortable. I know different people like different things, but I think it's interesting that I've seen multiple bassists use the same shape.
If you use the triangle shape, would you explain why you prefer it over a more traditional pick shape? I'm genuinely curious.
I have some Dunlop 1mm that work for me. I borrowed a friends “pick maker” and made a bunch of picks out of old credit cards and other items. Most of those were too thick and didn’t work for me. I’ve never been a fan of the triangles. I wasn’t using picks for years but a bunch of songs that my band has been adding are pick type songs, so I’m up to 10-20% on picks again.
I am prepared for many answers to this question to be some variation of "I like it because I just do," lol. No shade, I know a lot of preferences are really arbitrary.
I actually went through a lot of different shapes and styles of picks specifically to find what felt best and I was wondering if anyone else came across something that worked well/better for them and wanted to share why.
I play with a pick 99% of the time. My pick of choice is the Dunlop Ultex 2mm.
I've always played thick picks. They just feel better to me. Over the years I've gone from Tortex purple, to Ultex 1.14mm, to 2mm. I even played Primetone 3mm picks for about a year (and I'm considering going back to them).
Not only do I think a thick pick sounds better, but I can also hold it more loosely than a thin pick and still keep control. There's definitely a time and place for a thinner pick that clicks more. It's just not my sound and feel.
I've always played thick picks. They just feel better to me. Over the years I've gone from Tortex purple, to Ultex 1.14mm, to 2mm. I even played Primetone 3mm picks for about a year (and I'm considering going back to them).
Not only do I think a thick pick sounds better, but I can also hold it more loosely than a thin pick and still keep control. There's definitely a time and place for a thinner pick that clicks more. It's just not my sound and feel.
Because it's easier to hold. You can fit two fingers on it, and that's what feels right to me, so that's what I've been using for 30 years. I use the Dunlop Ultex 0.60 mm or Clayton Ultem 0.56 mm. I used Clayton Acetal 0.63 mm for over 25 years, and then tried Ultem, and immediately switched. Ultem sounds so much better than Acetal. Ultem is somewhat stiffer than Acetal, so the slightly thinner Ultem feels about the same as the slightly thicker Acetal.
I've gone up to 1.14mm Tortex on guitar because that worked with my focus on more leads and riffs, but it felt too stiff for me on bass, personally. Being able to hold the thicker pick more loosely is something though... Speaking of which:
Do you find that the two-finger grip allows you to be more relaxed with your picking hand/wrist/arm? I use a more traditional guitar pick grip with it resting on the side of my finger and I find myself tensing up on some songs. I've dug up some triangles I had lying around to see if it could help me relax my picking hand.
Supadope
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I like the Dunlop vinyl max grips.
.88 for bass and .73 for guitar.
I play mostly fingerstyle, but keep an 88 taped to my bass for when it's needed.
.88 for bass and .73 for guitar.
I play mostly fingerstyle, but keep an 88 taped to my bass for when it's needed.
I am about 99% a fingerstyle player, so I only use a pick for certain passages on certain songs, where I feel the pick tone is needed. So, I'm never playing with a pick for an entire song, let alone an entire set. Part of the reason why I prefer fingerstyle is that my wrist gets very tense when I try to play bass with a pick for a whole song.
That doesn't happen to me on guitar, at all. Although I started on classical guitar, on electric guitar, I almost never play fingerstyle.
Yup... Tortex green for the win.
Of course, in a pinch, any pick that isn't too floppy has worked.
Of course, in a pinch, any pick that isn't too floppy has worked.
I like .88s, but am quite happy with whatever I pull from my pocket.
I use the same picks for bass and guitar - keeps things easy.
I use the same picks for bass and guitar - keeps things easy.
.88 supremacy!!!
I used to use the yellow .73 tortex exclusively on guitar. Not much better out there for an all-rounder.
Index finger, but if it's way up in there I'll go in with the little finger turned slightly to the side.
