Thunderbird Club

[Stealth57]

You found a recipe? Cool!

Yep, but the magic is in the way you put them all together.

 

[Bent77]

I only buy with the intention of keeping them. That’s why I have so many Thunderbirds. The couple I would not miss aren’t worth much anyway. They’ll go to kids who want to start playing.

I've stopped flipping so much since I started either refinishing them or building my own.
I'm down to only buying one bass a year, but I usually sell one.

I have owned a few good P basses. I'd probably have to build one

 

[godofthunder59]

Let's talk picks again

I know V listed out her favorites at one point
I use Fender Mediums a lot, and 1.14mm Tortex when I want a bit thicker sound

I have started drilling holes in them. I'm a pick chucker too

Fender 346 extra heavy all I have used since the the 70's.

 

[godofthunder59]

View attachment 5351560
Fender 346 extra heavy all I have used since the the 70's.

 

[godofthunder59]

View attachment 5351586

That white one is from the 80s!

 

[Rickplaysbass]

I can use a pick, but palm muting is super awkward for me, and something I only occasionally work at. The way my fingers automatically deaden the fatter strings when I play the thinner ones makes for cleaner sounds to me. Plus finger playing gives me a fatter tone. That said, I frequently use a pick when playing quietly and working out parts or coming up with new ideas. I feel a different groove when using a pick. Plus, these big “Thumper” picked keep the sound fat:

View attachment 5350876

…only disadvantage is when they warm up they soften up a little…

It's crazy how many different sounds you can make just by holding the pick slightly differently. I wasn't much of a pick player before but I've made a concerted effort to improve and I can dig it. I can dig in and get more snarl out of my bass than my fingers, unless my nails are trimmed just right and I pluck it just right. I can also tuck it into the pad on my thump and get a bump with a sharp attack on it. Kind of a kick drum-type tone that works nice. Then I can set it at a bit of an angle and get a nice grindy sound that I can't get with my fingers no matter how I try. Yes, I can play anything fingerstyle, and I'm probably better at it. Doesn't mean it might not sound slightly better with a pick.

Those Thumper picks look interesting. I've wavered from 1.0mm to 2.0 mm to 2.5mm over the years to back down to .88mm now. I don't know what's the way to go on that, but I'm always down to try new things.

 

[BklynKen]

^^good advice here. Weird people, flakes, guys that smoke 2 joints before anything, guys that insist you never, ever play with a pick, singers that leave for a smoke during the guitar solo, guys that remix your song so you don't recognize it...

Yeah. All the false starts and bad situations have just made me a better player.

 

[BklynKen]

Not at this point. You’re a lot younger than me. Heck, just going to see Nikki last Thursday night was tough. But very fun. I hit the “office” at 6:00 and sign off at 5:00 - 5:30. With the stress of what I do, it’s tough. Growing old is getting old.

I get it. But for what it's worth, our guitarist is 62 and works a ton.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

This in .88mm is all I have used since 1984. I am a pick player.

dig the .73s as well..

 

[Nocturnal]

I also use standard Tortex 1.0 blue and 088 green, but the big triangles are my first choice for some reason.

 

[Bent77]

Probably for the same reason some of us drill them, easier to hold onto

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Probably for the same reason some of us drill them, easier to hold onto

gotta try that…can’t stand that feeling of the pick slipping away….

 

[Bent77]

gotta try that…can’t stand that feeling of the pick slipping away….

They’re a bit squirrelly, don’t cut yourself

 

[TBird1958]

Queen's choice

 

[Bent77]

Is yellow easier to find on stage?

 

[SubHuman]

I mostly use Dunlop nylon picks. They’re a little stiff when new but last forever and have nice flexibility for fast runs and staccato notes after they’re broken in. The grip area makes them easy to hold too. I started out playing acoustic guitars so when I switched over to Bass I used a pick. As others here noted the way you use the pick affects the sound, tone and sustain too. I still use one 80 ~ 85% of the time.

 

[TBird1958]

Is yellow easier to find on stage?

Against black carpet, of course!

 

[ectoflanger]

Cool doc on the Asian leg of Bowie's "Serious Moonlight Tour" in the early-80's.

 

[MCF]

It's crazy how many different sounds you can make just by holding the pick slightly differently. I wasn't much of a pick player before but I've made a concerted effort to improve and I can dig it. I can dig in and get more snarl out of my bass than my fingers, unless my nails are trimmed just right and I pluck it just right. I can also tuck it into the pad on my thump and get a bump with a sharp attack on it. Kind of a kick drum-type tone that works nice. Then I can set it at a bit of an angle and get a nice grindy sound that I can't get with my fingers no matter how I try. Yes, I can play anything fingerstyle, and I'm probably better at it. Doesn't mean it might not sound slightly better with a pick.

Those Thumper picks look interesting. I've wavered from 1.0mm to 2.0 mm to 2.5mm over the years to back down to .88mm now. I don't know what's the way to go on that, but I'm always down to try new things.

Chris Squire once said he used a US quarter to get certain sounds.

 

[WillyW]

I used to use mediums or flex 50's for acousticle geetar but I don't play it much and just use 7ender heavies or herco flex 75's. If the 7ender logo is stamped in it's plenty grippy, but the current silk screened suck