• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Thick Inflexible Picks.That's the way.

#121
NoiseNinja said:
I can.

And more so than with a totally stiff pick.

But I guess it depends on your picking technique, how you hold the pick e.t.c, which I guess is why people prefer different pick gauges.

Bobby Vega who is an absolute master with a pick uses a .73mm pick for your information, I don't believe he has those issues you mention.
Click to expand...

Definitely, whatever works for you, I wouldn't compare my self to Bobby. What I meant is from my experience and pure physics. When I play fast, I have to play close to the bridge. When the pick is flexible, it's all over the place and I'm not as accurate as I'm with a stiff pick. Also it does not have enough beef to vibrate the strings, and you get more of the harmonics and less of the fundamental.

My favorite pick is the Dunlop Ultex Triangle 1.14
 
Last edited:
#122
CrawlingCarpet said:
I used the Dunlop 3mm Big Stubby for years. I finally got around to using the triangle version of it, and it's perfect for me. Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

I should definitely try those. I used the 3mm Big Stubby for a long time, then switched to the Dunlop Ultex Triangle 1.14 which is the thickest. For me, the pick should be a triangle and a thick one, didn't know the Stubby triangle existed..
 
#123
Mvilmany said:
You all are going to laugh or raise an eyebrow, but my main pick are the thinnest Tortex picks (the red ones). Originally, I was a guitarist, and spent a lot of time practicing alternate picking from my jazz guitar lessons. I hold the pick closer to the point to get more finger meat in the sound. I like the orange ones , which are the 2nd thinnest as well.


View attachment 4250717
Click to expand...

+1 to the .60mm tortex picks. They give you pick attack but also pluck soft enough to where you don't get string buzz.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Doctor Morbius and Mvilmany
#124
Much thanks to gebass6 for starting this thread and then reviving it after a 6 year pause!!

A life-long picker, my first pick in the early '70's was a small Carol Kaye teardrop with her name on it (long before personalized picks were popular.) As thicker picks became more available I moved to a Fender Extra Heavy and then a Clayton 1.9mm. After a 15 year bass hiatus, I'm now going for a much more "rounded" sound and the Big Stubby 3mm was last month's favorite.
I'm afraid I have a bit of a heavy handed approach and the 3mm picks attack the strings a bit too much, so 2mm seems to be my sweet spot. Oh, I also use the long side of the pick or the back corner, thanks to the Bobby Vega advice.

I'm now discovering graphite picks for less of a clicky attack and also less of that phase-shifty midrange honk that I get with other materials. I like the graphite Adamas and Primetone (2mm, regular Fender 351 shape), but haven't tried Wegen or Dugain ($).
But right now the best for me is...TELEFUNKEN, 2mm, regular shape.
Telefunken graphite blends are also available in a 3mm Big Stubby shape, a 1.6mm triangle, and regular shaped .75mm & 1mm (for all you thin-pickers.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: jemerpi, Vinny_G and Watchootognbout
#125
Mdrummey said:
I've also been thinking about ordering the Telefunken triangular picks that are supposed to be like the famous Adamas (sp?) graphite ones.
Click to expand...

I'm late to the game, but here's a comment from another thread about the supposed graphite content of Telefunken vs Adamas:
"I was talking with the president of Telefunken at the AES convention a few years ago and he gave me a sample pack of six styles of the graphite picks. He told me that they (Telefunken) were the only ones that got the formulation right, that they had gone and reverse-engineered the old Adamas picks and that Dunlop had not. He was quite proud of them."
Dunlop Graphite Pick
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vinny_G
#126
Help, I can't stop.

I found another comparison of Adamas vs Telefunken. This quote is from a guitar player (gasp) on another forum. His findings mirror mine. When comparing the two "identical" picks, the Adamas is brighter. This might lend credence to the Telefunken claim that it has a different formula (which I'm guessing would be more graphite.)

Quote:
"Lighter gauge picks always sound brighter than heavier gauge. I have Telefunkens in .75, 1, 2mm. They are a darker sounding pick all around generally. When I compare the 2mm Adamas to the 2mm Tele (so apples to apples, same gauge, same material, although maybe a different recipe), the Adamas is, although not bright by any means, brighter than the Tele. There is more, for lack of a better way to describe it, sonic information there in the attack, and the Tele is a more focused, solid tone, but also darker and more mellow."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vinny_G
#133
J.Wolf said:
I just came here to say: V picks big fattie. Hard stop. Love that thing.
Click to expand...

I would like to try more V-Picks. I got the bass player pack, but the only one I really like is the Large Triangle Pointed (2.8mm). It sounds nice and even across all 6 strings and, for whatever reason, brings out more B string growl than any other of the many picks I have ever tried. Unfortunately, the Big Fattie was not part of the pack. Are you still liking it? Have you tried others?
 
Last edited:
#134
jemerpi said:
I would like to try more V-Picks. I got the bass player pack, but the only one I really like is the Large Triangle Pointed (2.8mm). It sounds nice and even across all 6 strings and, for whatever reason, brings out more B string growl than any other of the many picks I have ever tried. Unfortunately, the Big Fattie was not part of the pack. Are you still liking it? Have you tried others?
Click to expand...

i haven’t branched out much but I also haven’t really played with a pick much at all lately. Most everything I do is definitively fingerstyle. I do think the bigger v picks are the best I’ve found though for bass, for me.
 
#135
If you use either of a pick's 2 rounded ends rather than the pointy one, you get much less flex for a given gauge, a rounder tone, and picks last 2-3X longer (unless you lose them). Also less likely to ding up pickups, neck end, and bodies without pickguards. I've been using Dunlop 500 series .96mm for bass (magenta) and .71 (pink) for guitar this way for decades, using the pointy end when I want more snap and articulation. Best of all worlds for me.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back