let's talk about picks, baby

I'm not much of a pick player, but my favorite so far have been Dunlop gator grip 1.14mm. They're about a dollar a pop here though.

 

I don't play bass with a pick very often, maybe 10% of the time, but this is my first choice:

 

The green Micks Picks. They are some kind of synthetic polymer and for me, they're the perfect flexibility for sound and playability. The felt ones that come in the pack I don't use, they sound great but the felt goes everywhere including getting stuck in the strings.

 

+1, but I like the felt ones, too.

I originally got a package of Mick's Picks for the felt picks. As I am mainly a pick player, I wanted something to give me a softer attack, similar to finger style. But I really like the green polymer ones, too, because they give me the same feel (i.e. pick thicknesses) as the felt pick, with a harder attack, but not as hard of an attack as a "standard" guitar pick (for me "standard" is a Fender medium).

 

I mainly play with fingers( or thumb), but I've used Dunlop felt picks a bit.
Recently I also started using leather ones and really like them.

 

I had not used a picks in...um...forty years, but recently bought a 6 string bass, and I'm kind of enjoying playing with a pick. Dunlop Tortex purple 1.14 mm

 

I may have to try those. How durable are they?

That's my only complaint about the Mick's felts: they wear out. Not too terribly quickly, but they do wear.

 

I had two of these. 1.4mm

Gave one to a buddy and I lost mine. They are actually mandolin picks.

I've got to get a couple more of them.

 

It's too soon for me to tell, honestly.
I got them months ago, but hand pain has seriously reduced my playing time.
I would be fairly sure heavy constant play would wear them down pretty quick though...but certainly not as quickly as the felt ones.

 

I've been aiming to reacquaint my fingers with the use of a pick and have been going through several. I used to use the thick 2.0mm Tortex purple ones that have nice rounded edges. Lately the Wedgies, with a nice thumb dimple, have seemed promising (not the rubber ones, though; they grab on the strings too much for my taste).


I was hoping to like the Telefunken graphite picks. I was given a sample pack by the president of Telefunken a few years ago at the AES convention, where he told me that they had exactly reverse-engineered the old Adamas graphite picks that are so beloved by Deadheads and lovers of all things Jerry. He claims they took the time and got the formulation exactly right (and that Dunlop didn't). That being said, the jury's still out on how I like them. (It probably doesn't help that I don't wear tie-dye.)



Another interesting pick I tried was a clear V-Tech that, despite being quite smooth, seemed to stick well to my fingers. (Then again, I wasn't sweating at the time.) Then I dropped it on the floor and haven't found it since.

 

The best pick ever...Dunlop Tortex Light .50mm (red) Jazz III shape. I swear by these and have a bulk bag of them.

Everything about these picks are perfect, the shape, the grip, the flex/give, and the sound they produce. Love 'em.

 

My weapon of choice are the Dunlop Big Stubbies in 2.0mm. Anything thinner and I might as well hold a sheet of paper, I don't like picks to be flexible. Their indent makes them really easy to not lose them, lol.

 

I've used felt and rubber picks, but leather??!?! I gotta pick one of these up to try!

 

Interesting. Picks made of flesh to sound more like playing with your fingers I'm guessing? Makes sense.
Do they wear out quickly? I know that will depend on how you play and what kind of strings, but compared to other materials?

I very rarely use picks on bass. Only occasionally in the studio, really. I can't remember ever using one at a gig. But I always have a few Clayton rounded triangle 1mms around because I use them on guitar.
The shape is just a little pointier than Dunlop's rounded triangles in a way that makes them work for me better.

 

I'm gonna give the leather picks a try too. Interesting. Just hope they don't shed into the strings like felts.

 

I keep several kinds of varying materials and thicknesses around. I can't imagine doing up and down 16th notes with the same pick as chunky staccato quarter notes.

My oldest daughter once said my pick holder looked like a bunch of flattened Skittles.

 

Same type but I prefer a little heavier 1.5mm. At less than 25 cents a pop I don't even bother looking for a dropped pick on stage. I've taken to using them on six string acoustic guitar for the few songs I use a pick (I'm 99% fingerstyle).