Picks and Picking

[topo morto]

Thickness of pick is only one of the variables. there's also

- how hard you hold it
- how fully you strike the string (do you go really through it, or just skip across the top)
- how far you hold it from the tip

you can probably think of more. Basically you will eventually be able to pick with a thin card (like birthday card thickness) or something really rigid like a coin or thin stone, by varying those.

There's also how you approach the string and follow through. When I play 'White wedding' my hand moves in a U - shape, kind of like it's bouncing off the string.

 

[topo morto]

The things you do not like about picks are the main things about picks that people use them for. They're too harsh, and aggressive.

They do have a forward sound, but you can work with that. White wedding, for example, works well with a touch of palm (well, side-of-the-hand) muting.

 

[msact]

Picking doesn't have to sound harsh. You just need to use technique and the tone controls. A pick can sound as smooth as you want. For example picking near the neck sounds a lot smoother than picking near the bridge. Also I pick very lightly which helps both the tone and my speed. All this makes a difference.

 

[Filkarri]

I go back and forth from picking to finger style depending on the song. I generally use picks when I want a more aggressive sound, and perhaps as a result of that aggressive style I go for when picking I always manage to break thin picks. I really dig on these red Dava picks.

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[Phe]

Lately I've been using Dunlop's Nylon .88 picks. They are great. Good grip, good flex, and they sound good. Also, I got inspired by this Invalid Link Removed , the Bobby Vega style of picking.

 

[3star2nr]

I'm basically still a beginner. On the advice of my instructor, I learned to play Billy Idol's White Wedding with a pick using the alternate method. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I haven't found a pick I'm happy with.

At first I thought a thicker pick would make sense for a bass. (And indeed, that seems to be the preference when I read the comments around here.) I started with a Dunlop 1.0mm Tortex pick. However, that seems to force my hand to move around the string, rather than the string moving out of my way. So I went thinner, settling on a 0.60mm Tortex.

However, I don't like the attack. It clicks. It scratches. Consequently, I've been looking for a softer pick.

Celluloid is a little better than the Tortex, but not much. I've tried felt, which surprisingly doesn't seem softer. I've tried rubber, which had great attack and flexibility, but has all kinds of friction, which really trips me up and makes it difficult to keep rhythm.

Do folks have better recommendations about picks? Or do I need to figure out a better way to pick?

Picks are always going to tick. THats how they work.

Thats why you play fingerstyle.

 

[Thor2]

I play both finger style and with a pick - depends on what the song calls for.

I like V Picks, and the D'Andrea Pro Plec.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Technique is the biggest factor in how much click you get. Concentrate on a loose, relaxed grip. Visualize the fingers holding the pick as shock absorbers that suck the click out of your sound.

The two factors in the pick itself that contribute to a clicky sound are more flex and a sharp point. Very heavy, blunt picks will give you the least amount of click. Try a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. The big one in the lower left has worked really well for me. So have the purple 2mm [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] picks. Also try using the more rounded shoulder rather than the point.

 

[newmusicmichael]

Ditto. Also my favorite.

Dunlop Nylon max grips in .88 size. Enough flexibility but enough thickness too. Used to use the 1.0 but a little too much IMO

 

[chilepunkbass]

i use a 3mm pick, so it's what ever you got or if you can whatever works for you

 

[southwind]

Try a Gold Herco being sold by Dunlop, I think. Nylon.

 

[spazman]

The grippy Dava picks work for me. I have some wrist injury in my right hand, and it's flared up this week (no fingerstyle for me). My go-to pick is that Dava, sounds pretty mellow, but with a bite if I stiffen my grip.

 

[Rickengeezer]

nothing but .80 Clayton acetyl rounded triangles for me

 

[markanini]

V-Picks Lite Large

 

[nashman]

Perhaps you should consider strings with lower tension. It might be that your strings are your problem - not your pick.

 

[Bassdude15]

I like the Dunlop Big Stubby 3mm, oh yeah.

+1

 

[Hopkins]

I use these picks when I play pick style.

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In my opinion .80mm is a perfect compromise of flexibility and stiffness. The rounded triangle can be picked at three different points instead of just one, so it makes it easier to hold it against your palm with your ring an pinky fingers, and go back and forth between pick and finger style

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Dunlops or knock off rock steadys in .60,.73 and .88. I used .73 for years ( yellow) I rarely but sometimes use .88 ( green) but lately I have been using .60 ( orange).

I have played bass a little over 10 years and been pretty seriously playing and gigging in that time. I have developed a pretty great picking technique that impresses a lot of players so maybe one day I will post a video. I would spend hours practicing things like double picking and playing along to drum machines. I have also become pretty decent at finger style and I can tell you it does take more work to get better at pick playing and it sounds pretty terrible at first, even holding a pick is hard but practice it and you will see its a great way to play. I just enjoy all the types of palm mutes I can do with picking.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Saying this as mainly a fingerstyle player, when I go for a pick I like the Dunlop/Tortex 1.14, the purple ones.

 

[PipeRain]

I have used Dunlop Stubby's, Big Stubby's, Triangle Stubby's, Dunlop Tortex Yellow, Green and Purple, standards and big triangles, Clayton standards and triangles in 80 and 100mm, Cactus picks, Davas and about a hundred others I can't remember. I finally settled on Clayton Ultrex picks, in 80mm. For me they are the perfect combination of thickness, resistance and resilience. My problem is that I sweat like crazy and have trouble hanging on to picks. I've tried all sorts of stuff, including resin on picks but nothing works. I read about Chris Broaderick's "Pick Clip" and thought that might work for me. Unfortunately they are apparently nearly impossible to get ahold of. So my solution is to crazy-glue the picks to Herco thumbpicks. It works for me, may or may not for you, but there it is.