I carve my own picks out of Cape Buffalo horn, camel bone or antique ivory:
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I’ve been playing bass and guitar for over 30 (bass was first). I play bass finger-style 98-99% of the time and always felt awkward using a pick on bass until I tried Dunlop’s Andy James Flow Jumbo pick. I bought them to try on guitar, but didn’t like them. On a whim, I tried them on bass and really liked how solid they are. They’re thick but have a sharp tip and aren’t too tiny to grip onto.
By the way, for guitar I like Dunlop John Petrucci Jazz IIIs and Ultex Jazz IIIs.
By the way, for guitar I like Dunlop John Petrucci Jazz IIIs and Ultex Jazz IIIs.
Green Dunlop .88's for me.
Like them on both flats and rounds. I do play with my fingers but places with bad acoustics & certain bands sound better with the definition a pick gives.
I started with a pick.Most bass amps were so underpowered/bad when I started(1960's) it was the only way to be heard. No such thing as after market pickups in those days(maybe there was but it wasn't known to the average player.You could order Fender or Gibson pickups & maybe DeArmond had something). In the 70's I used DiMarzio Model P's & J's which sound good with a pick. I have a Fender J with Duncan Quarter pounder's that seems to sound better with a pick. I don't like it much when I play it on it's own but it sounds good with a band,
Funny how that works!
Like them on both flats and rounds. I do play with my fingers but places with bad acoustics & certain bands sound better with the definition a pick gives.
I started with a pick.Most bass amps were so underpowered/bad when I started(1960's) it was the only way to be heard. No such thing as after market pickups in those days(maybe there was but it wasn't known to the average player.You could order Fender or Gibson pickups & maybe DeArmond had something). In the 70's I used DiMarzio Model P's & J's which sound good with a pick. I have a Fender J with Duncan Quarter pounder's that seems to sound better with a pick. I don't like it much when I play it on it's own but it sounds good with a band,
Funny how that works!
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I’m mainly a pick player. I also play a Warwick with the J/MM setup. My main pick is the Dunlop Tortex Triangle 1.14mm. But I also keep a stock of Dunlop nylon max grip 1mm and Dunlop Big stubby 2mm handy.
45yrs pick user. Settled on these some time ago: no pick noise, great control
Usually roll presence and/or tone pot back a bit.
Dunlop Jazztone
Usually roll presence and/or tone pot back a bit.
Dunlop Jazztone
I use Dunlop Max Grip 1.5 mm or Primetone Jazz 5 mm. I heard that Django Reinhardt used a 5 mm pick, and he had something on the ball so I figured I'd try it and I like it for certain things, although the 1.5's are my go-to. Pickups I use are mostly EMG Geezers, but I don't find the pickups to have much influence whether a bass sounds good with a pick or not.
I use the 1.5mm of this and I love it. The other one I use is a 2mm stubby. It is purple and has a bit of grip on it.
I bought a variety bag of picks and tried them all. Also tried some that were made for bass. The one that ended up being my favorite out of all of them is the Jim Dunlop USA Nylon .88 mm (dark gray). I like these the best primarily because of the attack sound. I also like the feel of the picks with a bit more flex to them, I found.
So, played an outdoor gig yesterday afternoon (only kind there are round my way nowadays) and by the end temps had dropped into the low 50s. I'm a fingers player 95% of the time (but I've played guitar for years so I know what to do with a pick), but with the chill setting in I started to get uncomfortably cold in my right (plucking) hand. I hadn't brought any picks to this gig so I reached over and snagged one from the guitarist's mic stand (where several were conveniently hanging out in a clip).
I had my MM/J Warwick and I had it set to 100% MM (running parallel). With my fingers I love this setting. It can be tight and punchy, open but aggressive, or warm and full, depending on how and where I attack. With the pick it was all nasal-y high mids. I immediately rolled the J in so they were 50/50 and it sounded great. I didn't have the versatility factor (other than palm muting to get some staccato notes and dull a bit of the brightness), but the tone was really nice, present but not thin and tin-y, beefy but not muddy, and (IMHO) one of the biggest benefits of playing with a pick is I don't need to be as cognizant of my attack to achieve consistency.
The pick I grabbed was a Dunlop Tortex orange (.60 mm). On guitar I find this size too flexible. I usually strike with just the top few mm of the pick when playing guitar and I prefer the green Tortex or purple (.88 mm or 1 mm). I was really surprised at how nice the thinner pick sounded and how easy it was to play with on the bass.
I'd like to hear from full or part time pick players what picks and pickup(s) you like and why. I think the perspective could be helpful in expanding my range, feel, and tonal options as a working bassist.
(Thanks in advance)
I don't use pick much, but when I do... Dunlop stubbies, the 2mm and 3mm ones. They are easy to grip and stay in place better than other designs, and their thickness means I get a slightly 'rounder' attack than using the typical picks you'd use on guitar (1mm and below).
Of course, it's a matter of personal preference, but these are what I like for bass. The 2mm ones give you a stronger sharper attach, and the 3mm ones are softer, so I have a few of each kind.
Purple or blue Tortex for the win...
Except, in a pinch, whatevers laying around!
Except, in a pinch, whatevers laying around!
Dunlop Jazz III XL - I've tried all the usual offerings and nothing else worked for me as well as these do. Plenty grippy and not too flimsy (it's around 1mm ish).
