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slippery pick

To all those who constantly tell people to use their fingers instead of a pick. No offense, but that's ignorant advice. To be a well rounded electric bassist, you need to do both. End of story. Fingers sound different from picks, and each have their place.
 
I use Gorilla Snot if I'm not going to play with my fingers at a gig. If I need to switch back and forth I have some pics that I have scratched up and/or drilled holes into or I use one of these:

COOL "JURATEX"
PKAG-M_sm_.jpg


They have a sand texture like the grip tape skateboarders use and they work.
 
The way I see it, there are a few methods of thought. Most of which I've tried.

1. Score X's into the back of your pick. Worked great for me, but frankly it's a lot of effort for something so simple. And I'm very fond of the picks I use, when I use them. Tortex (and now Ultex) are perfect for me.

2. Adhesive a la Gorilla Snot. Messy, but it works. If you're picking ALL night, go ahead. If you're going back and forth, make sure you have plenty of soap and water.

3. Hole punch. Works, but doesn't completely keep the pick from rotating.

4. Switch brand/variety of picks to something with more texture.

5. Wristbands, keep the sweat from dripping to your hands.

6. Drop the pick and either switch to fingers or continue to "pick" using your thumbnail and fingernail alternately.

Depending on the gig, I'm usually sporting wristbands, and just have a bunch of picks on the mic stand and wedged under my pickguard. And a few on my amp just in case.
 
Tortex picks slip in my fingers when I sweat. Gorilla Snot works well for me when I use a tortex pick though.

I've since switched to using Wedgie Rubber picks. They don't slip at all. They also have the benefit of not having such a clanky tone when I don't want that hard attack sound. Which reminds me. I should go order some more. lol... :smug:

Best of luck and Have Fun!! :bassist:
 
bassistjo said:
just use your fingers you don't have to worry about them slipping off

Why limit yourself to one technique? That doesn't make any sense. And some music specifically calls for picks to get the right intonation and consistancy.

Anyway, I forget the brand but what I like to use is a 2mm with a starshaped hole punched in the middle. That dude doesn't slip at all!
 

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