Plastic vs titanium pick

[Vendetagainst]

Got my titanium pick in the mail yesterday!

Makes my bass sound like it has a fresh set of strings on it! Here's a sound comparison, first half is a John Petrucci Jazz III and the second half is the titanium pick. Excited to use this at gigs and when recording!

 

[JonathanPDX]

Now I want to start the heaviest of heavy metal bands where everyone uses Tungsten picks.

 

[Vendetagainst]

Now I want to start the heaviest of heavy metal bands where everyone uses Tungsten picks.

Go one step further with osmium! Also hell yeah, fellow Portlander!

 

[JonathanPDX]

Go one step further with osmium! Also hell yeah, fellow Portlander!

Obviously I'm using my tungsten pick on titanium strings mounted to an osmium body! Anything less would just be soft rock.

 

[Nuage420]

Oh this is cool ass hell! What a great cheat code for brighter strings

 

[UntitledProject]

Definitely a cheaper route than a new pickup for a noticeably different tone.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Is the center inlay abalone?

I have a Ti pick a friend made me that was a gov. contractor.
He told me in order to punch the hole through the middle it was a 90 ton press to make it happen.
He also mentioned it took forever to sand it down and finish.

My only warning is be careful, I used to break more strings with my Ti pick.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Got my titanium pick in the mail yesterday!

View attachment 7504021
Makes my bass sound like it has a fresh set of strings on it! Here's a sound comparison, first half is a John Petrucci Jazz III and the second half is the titanium pick. Excited to use this at gigs and when recording!

I went through a pick revelation last year. After using the same .88 Tortex for 20 years, a guitarist friend left a Thin Fender celluloid pick at my house after practice. That ended up sending me down the rabbit hole. Turns out you can get all kinds of different tones out of different picks haha. Love that titanium tone, bro.

 

[Lo-E]

Listening to a recording I made a few years ago, I commented to the drummer that I liked the tone I had gotten but I couldn’t remember what gear I had used.

He said: “I can’t remember what bass you were using but I DO remember you were a little pissed off and you were playing with a quarter.”

Turns out a quarter delivers a pretty good rock tone.

 

[silky smoove]

Listening to a recording I made a few years ago, I commented to the drummer that I liked the tone I had gotten but I couldn’t remember what gear I had used.

He said: “I can’t remember what bass you were using but I DO remember you were a little pissed off and you were playing with a quarter.”

Turns out a quarter delivers a pretty good rock tone.

Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top used to use a shaved down Mexican Peso, so you're in good company with coin-based picks.

 

[JoeyFab]

Can't imagine. I play with a thin and very flexible EBE Universal Glow-In-The-Dark Alien Face Pik with ChillinWell Pick Grips applied on both sides.

The Glow-In-The-Dark pik is just the right flexibility for me (it's just a touch softer than their other piks), and they just never wear out or break. I adjust the sideways angle of the pik to the strings on the fly to make it basically any degree of stiffness that I want.

The onset of a bit of neuropathy in my fingers necessitated the addition of the pick grips, which work fabulously. I did have to trim them to be a bit smaller so they don't hit the strings when I dig in deeper.

We all have our favs. and when I need to use a pick, the above combo is the only thing I will use.

EBE Universal Alien Pik

ChillinWell Pick Grips

 

[trevcda]

Years ago, I used a metal pick (I don't remember which one) when I was playing in a Top40/metal band. I was weekly string changer at the time and bought strings by the case. We were a traveling band that usually played five or more show per week. What really surprised me at the time was how much that metal pick chewed up the strings. I thought I had Xenomorph sweat or something until I realized I was basically filing down my strings each night. Being a super aggressive player who frequently broke strings didn't help matters much either. But as a tonal choice, I loved the sound!

 

[Wood and Wire]

Makes my bass sound like it has a fresh set of strings on it!

Oh this is cool ass hell! What a great cheat code for brighter strings

It might liven up some already dead strings, but metal picks destroy fresh strings pretty quickly.

 

[Nuage420]

It might liven up some already dead strings, but metal picks destroy fresh strings pretty quickly.

Oh I'm aware, but if you're just trying to get a little extra something out of already dead strings this is a pretty neat trick

 

[Podgorny]

It might liven up some already dead strings, but metal picks destroy fresh strings pretty quickly.

The solution is copper pick + stainless steel strings. Unless you don't want to smell like a penny.

 

[Wood and Wire]

The solution is copper pick + stainless steel strings. Unless you don't want to smell like a penny.

I found the solution to be stainless steel strings, and a light touch.

Also, important to properly wipe the strings down after use (I use nylon picks, and thankfully have non-corrosive body chemistry, so I can easily make strings last for years - in fact, one of my basses: after the fresh zing faded, and the strings settled into their stable tone, the brightness lasted for 12 years, before suddenly dropping off a cliff right after a lengthy recording session. I'd never normally leave it that long, but it was an enlightening experiment).

 

[monsterthompson]

Years ago I tried a pick made from a recycled cymbal. I used it on guitar and still have it somewhere. Might need to go dig it out.

These are also interesting if you want to try some alternatives to the common flat pick.

Purple Plectrums

Artisan handcrafted guitar picks home to purple plectrums, Ergonomic Guitar Picks, Guitar Picks for guitarist with disabilities. Guitar picks for Swollen hands. possibly Largest guitar pick in the world. custom guitar picks.

www.purpleplectrums.com

 

[ddnidd1]

$32 !!

 

[L-u-A-R]

This post is right up my alley, thanks for sharing the comparison.
As a 99% finger player, collecting many different picks a guilty pleasure of mine.
Finding just the right one for that 1% of the time is part of the fun. Even though most people won't notice in the mix, there's definitely differences.

Haven't got a metal pick yet, but the aggressive 'clank' makes me think of the beefy acrylic V-Picks (Psycho @ 5.85mm or Insanity @ 8.5mm)

 

[Saetia]

Is the center inlay abalone?

I have a Ti pick a friend made me that was a gov. contractor.
He told me in order to punch the hole through the middle it was a 90 ton press to make it happen.
He also mentioned it took forever to sand it down and finish.

My only warning is be careful, I used to break more strings with my Ti pick.

Using the right tools helps a ton.

Aluminum oxide wet/dry belt or silicon carbide.

Don’t over heat and do more finer passes than aggressive and also change directions when switching grits.

A nice polish compound and then a jewelers wheel at 1200 or higher and you’re golden.

During Covid I didn’t want to sit idle so between hiking at every state park I could get to, I linked up with a local artist who made “dab” tools from Titanium. I would shape out 100 at a time. Got pretty intimate with shaping/ polishing Titanium. Was a decent cash gig and something to do when being forced to be away from the office lol.

Punching out titanium is a pita.