If a bass-picker could, would and should pick a pick, which pick would a bass-picker then pick?

[Baloney Balderdash]

So if you use a pick to pluck the strings of your bass, whether that be always or occasionally, which pick do you then prefer to use?

 

 

Personally I prefer the tone a pick gives me, that specific snappy emphasis on the attack that only a pick will give you, and while I do actually know how to use my fingers, even several different fingerpicking techniques, I will use a pick 90% of the time.

 

After trying out a lot of different picks, materials and thicknesses, I always come back to the standard gray Dunlop Nylon USA .73mm one, either using the tip, after having pre rounded it slightly with fine grained sandpaper, or one of the round corners, depending (picking with one of the round corners gives a fuller tone with a cleaner attack, but is not as nuanced and snappy sounding. And the slight pre-rounding of the tip improves my control over the pick slightly, and allows for slightly smoother up/down stroke strumming).

 

Just what feels and sounds best to me, the one pick that allows me to pick fastest, and for most dynamic range and nuances, and overall just giving me most control over my picking, while at the same time giving me the tone I desire.

 

 

This one, as said though with a slightly pre rounded tip:

Edited February 13, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash
corrected typos

[Paul S]

Pretty much ^^all of the above^^ is a good fit for my current situation except substitute the .73mm for 1mm 

[KingBollock]

Dunlop Primetone 3mm

 

Unfortunately they have gone up in price from £8.99 to £11.99 per pack, and you can only buy them in packs of three. They do last a long time, though, and they’re nice and grippy, so not so easily dropped.

[PaulThePlug]

Jazz III... although i have some leather picks and some felt, which sound a lot warmer... especialy on the acoustic

[BigRedX]

Every pick sounds different, either due to weight or material. Go to your local musical instrument retailer and buy a load of different ones and see which you like best. Don't forget to also try them in a band setting (if appropriate) because like amp sounds, what works on solo bass can sound completely wrong once there are other instruments in the mix. There was a point where I was enjoying heavy but hard plastic picks which when I was practicing at home made my bass sound great, but in a band where one of the guitarists favoured a clean sounding Strat all that attack disappeared in the mix leaving the bass sounding weedy. These days I'll still try anything that sounds right when recording, but for live use I've settled on Herco Flex 75s which I now buy 100 at a time and never have any problems with the bass sound disappearing in the mix. For me they also have the added advantage of sounding similar to my finger-style playing so I swap between the techniques for reasons of feel rather than those of tone.

[LiamPodmore]

Dunlop Tortex Flow 0.73mm for me, or 0.88mm if i'm playing a skinny stringed thing.

[Lozz196]

Dunlop Ultex 1.14mm Triangles. Give a nice modern sound and being triangular 3 picks for the price of 1, plus are nice & big so easy to grip. Only downside is the colour - not too easy to see if one falls from grasp onto a dark stage.

 

[dudewheresmybass]

I have custom 1.14 tortex picks which are custom printed. 
 

[NAS Bass]

Used these since the late 70's - just the right amount of 'give' and a certain brightness that I don't get with others I've tried

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Dunlop prime tone 1.5mm small triangle (no grip version)—the same ones I use on guitar.

[Thor]

2 hours ago, NAS Bass said:

Used these since the late 70's - just the right amount of 'give' and a certain brightness that I don't get with others I've tried

When I learned I always used a pick and these were the ones I preferred, now I 've played fingerstyle for so long that, having joined a classic rock covers band, I'm trying to re-learn how to use a pick - bloody hard getting up to speed again!?  I can comfortably play 16ths with fingers but really finding it a struggle with a pick..... Practice, practice, practice I guess.

[tauzero]

I very rarely use plectrums but when I do, I use the same as I do on guitar - the black (1mm) Dunlop Max-Grip.

[Maude]

On 18/09/2022 at 08:11, Paul S said:

Pretty much ^^all of the above^^ is a good fit for my current situation except substitute the .73mm for 1mm 

Yep, 1mm.

But why do they have to be black. You put it down for a second... gone! 

 

I used to use the .73 years ago when I was predominantly a pick player. I might try one again.

[Little Dragon]

Mainly the .73 Dunlop Flex Jazz XL but darker rooms, .88 Dunlop Nylon Glow is good to find if dropped.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Little Dragon

[MungoBass]

Generally a finger player but if a pick is required I use a Fender Medium. Approx .70 according to a set of rubbish callipers!

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by MungoBass

[BreadBin]

Dava Control - check 'em out, they're really good 👍

Second choice would be Dunlop Max Grip .88 but they sound squeaky on some strings.

[paul_5]

Tortex .88mm for me, great for guitar and bass.

[msb]

I keep a big felt one in my case , ready in case a guitar player asks if I have a pick.

[Muzz]

The Dunlop Nylon .88s...been using them for, ooooh, 40-odd years now...I think I've got the hang of them...

[thodrik]

Big triangle Stubbys: either 1.5mm or 2.0mm. But this is with five strings and downtuned basses with thicker gauge strings. Very difficult to drop during a gig, every side works equally well, last for ages and easy to spot on the ground if I drop it because they are massive. 

With guitar either .88 or 1mm Dunlop Tortex. I would probably use the 1mm for bass when using a 100-40 set in standard tuning. 

[Bassmidget209]

I have messed around with a few, most recently the Dunlop Stubbys (which oddly recently I appear to have forgot how to hold, it's really weird). Anyways I always seem to go back to the 1mm tortex (blue ones) I really dislike thin picks on bass (they thwack, that's as good of a description as I'm capable of providing). Another bonus of the 1mm's is that they fit perfectly into the gap at the bottom of a jazz bridge pickup so I can quickly flick between fingers and pick which is great as my stamina with fingers is a bit variable!

Edited September 27, 2022 by Bassmidget209

[asingardenof]

I use Dunlop Tortex 1mm or 1.14mm (depending on what's closest). I suffer with carpal tunnel issues, so if numbness strikes while playing I have some Dunlop Max Grip 1mm picks handy so I don't drop it while playing.

[KingBollock]

When I was a kid and started using a pick (I had taken up electronics, too, and my fingers always seemed to be covered in plasters (I am very clumsy and shouldn’t really be allowed near hot or sharp things…), making playing with fingers difficult), the local guitar shop didn’t sell picks thicker than 1mm. I had some rubber feet that I had taken from the bottom of a TV that was being thrown out. They were a couple of mm thick and fitted perfectly on a pick. So I basically had a pick that played and sounded like a 1mm pick, but was 3mm thick, so nicer to hold, and being rubber made them nice and grippy.
 

I got a job in that guitar shop and they all laughed until they had a go for themselves. Then the shop started stocking 3mm Big Stubbys, which I then used for the next 25 years, until I discovered the Primetones.

 

I don’t do this any more, as I say, I use the Dunlop Primetones, but I thought I would mention it just in case it might help someone else.

[Cat Burrito]

Over the years I have usually opted for a personalised band pic & my collection dates back over 30 years now. *sample pic here (usually 1mm thick)

 

 

More recently I have opted for what I (semi) jokingly refer to as my plastic pieces of narcissism. Good for throwing out into crowds at bigger gigs (but I am not such a narcist that I don't worry that a keen audience member won't return it to me mid performance!)

 

 

[MrDinsdale]

I love the Dunlop Torex Triangle orange picks, think they’re 0.6mm. Plenty of nice attack when played hard and give a really consistent sound/volume. I find with hard picks I have to crank up the compressor but probably just due to sloppy technique.

 

For guitar I usually play with heavier 0.73-3mm picks depending on the music.