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What picks are you using?

#102
Levent said:
I don't understand how you'd get a decent tone with picks below 1.0, It's too clicky and the bend of the pick slows me down and lowers my accuracy.
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It all depends on how you hold it. With two fingers, three fingers, tight between the thumb and index finger, loose by letting it do its job without forcing, etc. There are many ways to hold a pick and strike a string, and each time it produces a different sound.

 
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#104
Vinny_G said:
Yes, I like them too. They're a little more flexible so I use the 1.14 mm.
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Snarling Dogs Brain 1.14mm picks are the best of everything to me. Thick yet flexible, grip like nothing else I’ve tried, they don’t wear down at all, and they are orange which is perfect for finding on any low-light floor when dropped. So I bought three boxes and never looked back. The best!
 
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#105
squish said:
Snarling Dogs Brain 1.14mm picks are the best of everything to me. Thick yet flexible, grip like nothing else I’ve tried, they don’t wear down at all, and they are orange which is perfect for finding on any low-light floor when dropped. So I bought three boxes and never looked back. The best!
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Made by D'Andrea, the first brand to democratize the celluloid pick in 1922. Excellent picks. :thumbsup:
 
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#106
Levent said:
I'm not a pick guy, using flats and med scale basses.
For the sake of having tonal options out of boredom I referred to few threads like this and ordered bunch of peoples favourite picks.
-I don't understand how you'd get a decent tone with picks below 1.0, It's too clicky and the bend of the pick slows me down and lowers my accuracy. I gave them around to guitarist friends.
-jazz3 too small
-Loved the 1.5mm tort with palm mute. Acceptable at recordings where I need a strong attack.
-2mm ernie ball prodigy big shield was very comfortable and acceptable sound too but not as good as 1.5 tort.
I guess your basses scale length, string gauge and type, the genre and sound you are after all play a role as well as what fits your hand.
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Granted, I am coming from guitar so my perspective may be skewed that way. I am using a Fender Player Jazz with either the neck or bridge pickup alone.

The last few weeks I have been trying many different picks. Mick’s 3.5 mm kinda give me a rounder tone but I don’t care for the overall tonality. It gives me a low mids (400-500 Hz) bump that sounds like “nasal congestion” for lack of a better description. I would love to find a pick that gives me even warm-ish tonality. Now, my Fender medium is for driving a song and cutting through. I haven’t found a better pick for that type of technique. My concern with the Fender medium picks is that I will revert to my guitar ways instead of developing as a bass player. The Mick’s don’t give me a “guitar feel” but they still aren’t there. The Mick’s 3.5 felts are a distant second choice.
 
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#107
DaveParker39 said:
75 percent of our songs I play on fingers, but the ones I don't I use Herco Vintage 66 "Light" Picks. They are really more of a "medium". Great for bass. I use a pick for some of the pop-punkier songs in our set like All The Small Things (Blink 182), 99 Red Balloons, Sugar We're Goin Down (Fall Out Boy), Everlong, Taking Back Sunday, etc. Some nights we don't play any of those songs, sometimes we play a ton.
22210508006.MAIN__87481.1576897803.jpg
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I'm trying to get my head around the actual thicknesses of the various Herco picks. I mistakenly thought the numbers on them were the thickness, but it seems that bizarrely, the '75' and '50' of the Flex, and '66' of the Vintage 66, have nothing to do with the actual gauges - I guess the numbers could be related to years or something, but it seems crazy that Dunlop doesn't clearly state the thickness on these Herco models.

I'd love to get a definitive answer on the thickness of them all. I've done a bunch of searching and found varying results. I've seen thickness numbers mentioned for the Flex series in a few results, but far less for the Vintage 66 series. Can anyone vouch for the accuracy of these? :

Flex 75 'Heavy' (Silver): 1.01

Flex 50 (Gold): .65

Vintage 66 'Extra light' (White): .73

Vintage 66 'Light' (Gold): .84

Vintage 66 'Heavy' (Silver): .96

There is also the 'Holy Grail' which I'm guessing would be the same 1.01 as the Flex 75. I'm not sure whether or not this plays stiffer than the Flex 75 as I've seen comments suggesting it both is and isn't!

I just got a few of the Flex 75, and though I'm yet to fully try them out, I was taken aback by the stiffness, as my upper limit is normally .88 for Nylon or .73 for Tortex. I do like the grip though, and it looks like the raised grip is only on one side on the Vintage picks. I'd like to try the Vintage 66 Gold soon, it's marked as 'light' but if it is realistically more medium and around .84, the chances are I'll like this best out of all the Herco picks.

Any help appreciated, but I really think it's insane that Dunlop don't clearly mark out the actual thickness of these on the picks.
 
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#109
dmc79 said:
I'm trying to get my head around the actual thicknesses of the various Herco picks. I mistakenly thought the numbers on them were the thickness, but it seems that bizarrely, the '75' and '50' of the Flex, and '66' of the Vintage 66, have nothing to do with the actual gauges - I guess the numbers could be related to years or something, but it seems crazy that Dunlop doesn't clearly state the thickness on these Herco models.

I'd love to get a definitive answer on the thickness of them all. I've done a bunch of searching and found varying results. I've seen thickness numbers mentioned for the Flex series in a few results, but far less for the Vintage 66 series. Can anyone vouch for the accuracy of these? :

Flex 75 'Heavy' (Silver): 1.01

Flex 50 (Gold): .65

Vintage 66 'Extra light' (White): .73

Vintage 66 'Light' (Gold): .84

Vintage 66 'Heavy' (Silver): .96

There is also the 'Holy Grail' which I'm guessing would be the same 1.01 as the Flex 75. I'm not sure whether or not this plays stiffer than the Flex 75 as I've seen comments suggesting it both is and isn't!

I just got a few of the Flex 75, and though I'm yet to fully try them out, I was taken aback by the stiffness, as my upper limit is normally .88 for Nylon or .73 for Tortex. I do like the grip though, and it looks like the raised grip is only on one side on the Vintage picks. I'd like to try the Vintage 66 Gold soon, it's marked as 'light' but if it is realistically more medium and around .84, the chances are I'll like this best out of all the Herco picks.

Any help appreciated, but I really think it's insane that Dunlop don't clearly mark out the actual thickness of these on the picks.
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That looks accurate. The Holy Grail Flex 75 is the same width as the regular Flex 75 but there is a marked difference. I do prefer the feel and sound of the Holy Grail Flex 75 to the regular Flex 75, but neither are ones I love for bass. Acoustic and rockabilly guitar for the Holy Grails, for me.

You are correct, the numbering system is confusing but the picks are effectively reissues, hence keeping the silly numbering system.

Since I originally posted I've gone up to the heavy Vintage 66 as my pick of choice for bass.
 
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#110
I prefer using my fingers, but when I use a pick, I prefer a Dunlop Tortex .60mm, I also occasionally use a Dunlop Max Grip Nylon .60mm, for a slightly rounder warmer sound and if I need an even rounder warmer tone I will use a Wedgie Soft 3.1mm rubber pick.
 
#113
DaveParker39 said:
That looks accurate. The Holy Grail Flex 75 is the same width as the regular Flex 75 but there is a marked difference. I do prefer the feel and sound of the Holy Grail Flex 75 to the regular Flex 75, but neither are ones I love for bass. Acoustic and rockabilly guitar for the Holy Grails, for me.

You are correct, the numbering system is confusing but the picks are effectively reissues, hence keeping the silly numbering system.

Since I originally posted I've gone up to the heavy Vintage 66 as my pick of choice for bass.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Are you able to explain in what way the Holy Grail 75 feels / sounds different to the Heavy Flex 75?

I played a song in a live setting yesterday with the Heavy Flex 75 (1.01mm), and whilst that's thicker & less flexible than I'm used to these days, it gave a nice clarity & authority without being too boomy. I was quite impressed with it, and I really like the raised dots & circle grip.

I've ordered some of the standard Gold Flex 50 (.65mm) for where something faster / more flexible is needed. I may try the Vintage 66 series, but I don't like that the raised dot grip surface is on one side only, with the other side also missing the circle grip of the Flex picks. Though I'm likely overthinking this, and suspect that the dots on one side & raised writing on the other offers decent enough grip anyway.
 
#114
dmc79 said:
Thanks for your reply. Are you able to explain in what way the Holy Grail 75 feels / sounds different to the Heavy Flex 75?

I played a song in a live setting yesterday with the Heavy Flex 75 (1.01mm), and whilst that's thicker & less flexible than I'm used to these days, it gave a nice clarity & authority without being too boomy. I was quite impressed with it, and I really like the raised dots & circle grip.

I've ordered some of the standard Gold Flex 50 (.65mm) for where something faster / more flexible is needed. I may try the Vintage 66 series, but I don't like that the raised dot grip surface is on one side only, with the other side also missing the circle grip of the Flex picks. Though I'm likely overthinking this, and suspect that the dots on one side & raised writing on the other offers decent enough grip anyway.
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It's really hard to quantify. I know I play better with them, and I know it sounds better to me, but how much of that is placebo? Not a clue. I feel like part of it is what happens after the pick hits the strings. But it's really hard to say other than the fact that I can tell when I accidentally pick up a NON holy grail.
 
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#115
jd56hawk said:
Yes, pick choice is very subjective...that's why I chose the Wedgie 5.0. I needed no suggestions, discovered it by chance.
Sure, it might seem pointless to you, but it's far from pointless for me and everyone else who uses them, and I know quite a few bassists who do.
As for why I choose not to use my fingers, it's very simple...I can get far more aggressive with these picks...far more. I'm simply more comfortable with them. I imagine people use felt picks for the same reason.
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Love 'em!
IMG_3130_1024x1024@2x.jpg
 
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#120
I've used Fender Heavy 355 Triangles since the 70's, though I'm not sure Fender is making them right now:

355 Fender.jpg

They also double as burglary tools or throwing stars . . . .
Or the D'Andrea equivalents, available from Sweetwater and all the usual suspects in faux celluloid or their synthetic equivalent they call Delrex in 1 mm.

355 Shape | Shell Celluloid

. . . or . . . .

dandreausa.com

355 Shape 1.0mm | Nonstandard Formula Delrex

Made from Delrex® (delrin/acetal) material Designed to minimize pick slippage for confident play Provides excellent memory and low wear, inspired by tortoise shell feel Matte finish for enhanced grip and control Delivers clear tone and articulate response Proudly made in the USA
dandreausa.com

1775260147699.png


1775260176521.png


I wouldn't be surprised if D'Andrea makes the Fender-branded picks, because the two celluloids are a dead match.
 

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