Just a curious question. What picks do you use?

[Cadillac_Mike]

None lol

 

[HelpImaRock]

 

[BismarckHerring]

I don’t use a pick often, but when I do, it’s one of these:

 

[UntitledProject]

I read a long time ago that Jimmy Vaughan used to cut up his old hotel room key cards into picks so he could get just the shape he wanted and the thickness was always perfect for him.
I've done that for quite a while. The cheap plastic wears quickly, but it has a softness that really suits bass.

 

[Danny O Danny]

I use these on both guitar and bass (when I use a pick).

 

[MCS4]

I use the Dunlop 1mm (blue) Tortex, standard shape. Most of the time I use one of the two rounder edges rather than the sharper tip. For me, this combo seems to give a rounder sound that is closer to the sound of a fatter pick (and closer to my fingerstyle sound) but is easier to manage for more intricate parts than a fatter pick.

 

[Basvarken]

Dunlop Max-Grip 1.5

-indestructible,
-not too thick, not too thin
-doesn't slip or rotate
-perfect tone

 

[eeyorebass]

I don’t use a pick often, but when I do, it’s one of these:
View attachment 7222384

I had one of these in my gig bag for ages. It only came out when people specifically asked me to play with a pick, though.

Since then, I've worked more on my pick playing and realized I need more grip, so now it's a Dunlop Primegrip, D'addario Duragrip, or similar. Always ~.70 thickness.

 

[sethlow3]

View attachment 7222316

I use these on both guitar and bass (when I use a pick).

View attachment 7222425

The triangle version of either of these are great for me. I generally use 1.5mm for the Prime Tone and .73 for the Tortex.

I’ll add this, for more pick scrape, aggressiveness, and highs, I’ll grab the tortex.

If I want my pick tone to have more lows or to replicate fingerstyle tone, I’ll grab the Prime tone (works FANTASTIC on bronze strings also… acoustic guitar and AGB). They also are easier to hold than Tortex when you’re sweaty, making them a great summer weather pick.

It’s good to have two types you like for this reason. Thin picks do their thing well (aggression and highs), but don’t sleep on thick picks either. You get more lows, warmth and may find it works better for some things like I did.

These days I generally use a pick on my Precision style basses a lot (nothing beats that pick tone IMO) and use fingerstyle and slap on the more J styled basses.

 

[eeyorebass]

I use the Dunlop 1mm (blue) Tortex, standard shape. Most of the time I use one of the two rounder edges rather than the sharper tip. For me, this combo seems to give a rounder sound that is closer to the sound of a fatter pick (and closer to my fingerstyle sound) but is easier to manage for more intricate parts than a fatter pick.

I know that's how Bobby Vega does it, but I always get too much scratch and scrape when I try to use the round side. Something about my attack angle, I guess. He's the one that made me want to work on my picking, though.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, I use a pick on one song our band sometimes plays...Poke Salad Annie.
I usually don't have a pick, so I borrow one from our guitar player.
He always asks for it back, the cheeky basta.

 

[evanrunyon]

Dunlop Jazz III’s, any of the various 1.12-1.5 weights‘ll do just fine.

 

[SmokesLL]

The large dunlop 208 USA. It's what I used on jazz guitar before making the switch to bass.

I use a pick on very few songs, but Ill use it on born under a bad sign.

 

[MCS4]

I know that's how Bobby Vega does it, but I always get too much scratch and scrape when I try to use the round side. Something about my attack angle, I guess. He's the one that made me want to work on my picking, though.

It could be that you are slanting the pick in your fingers similarly to the way some guitarists do (often in rock/metal), which produces a sharper sound and for some people may allow slightly faster picking. IMO using the tip does tend to sound better than using the round corners if you pick that way.

 

[henryjurstin13]

 

[Not_Shane]

Dunlop Tortex triangle 1.14 purple is my favorite right now.
Ernie Ball Prodigy Large Shield 1.5 is also very nice, but a little thick for me

I used to only use the Dunlop Gator Grips because of the powder that sticks to your sweat, but the triangle shape is very appealing.

 

[Basspaolo]

Dunlop Max Grip 1.0

 

[kbakerde]

I really like the Ernie Ball Everlast picks. I’ll use the pink .63 for guitar. And the heavier orange on bass.

 

[Iristone]

Model: Herco Flex 75
Feature: nylon or celluloid pick at about 0.8mm thick.
Tone: I look for a bright, harmonically rich tone with open midrange. I use finger, pick and typewriting for dark, bright and brightest tones respectively.

 

[matthewbrown]

I have never had any success with a pick on either guitar or bass. When a score calls for it on bass, I turn up the treble and play near the bridge (pont, as we say in classical guitar).