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

[BassAdder60]

35 minutes ago, Rob Bisby said:

I use orange .60 tortex, wouldn't mind a warmer alternative.. is .73 nylon as flexible?

Try the Dunlop Flex series as they sound like nylon but play like Tortex 

Edited February 12, 2023 by BassAdder60

[Baloney Balderdash]

1 hour ago, Rob Bisby said:

I use orange .60 tortex, wouldn't mind a warmer alternative.. is .73 nylon as flexible?

I have experience with both picks, the .73mm regular Nylon might be ever so slightly more flexible than the orange .60mm Tortext, but kind of hard to judge as it is sort of a different feel all together, being a different material, softer, and thicker, it simply reacts differently.

 

The Max Grip .73mm Nylon for some strange reason is slightly stiffer than the regular .73mm Nylon one, which might make the former more similar in flexibility to the .60mm Tortex one.

 

Still be aware that even if it is a close match in terms of flexibility alone as said it reacts and feels a bit differently all together. 

 

But yes, Nylon picks definitely gives a slightly rounder/warmer, less clicky, tone, but while still giving that specific snappy emphasis on the attack that is unique to playing with a pick.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[MichaelDean]

Thanks to this thread, I went and bought loads of picks to try out as I'd been using the same ones for the last 10 years. 

 

The close runner up was the Nylon Big Stubby, but I kept dropping it. If they did a grippier one of those, it would be perfect for me.  So, I ended up where I started - a Dunlop Nylon 1mm! 

 

It's amazing the difference a pick can make though. A/Bing them all was really interesting. Some were clearly not what I wanted and I could tell acoustically, others I needed to hear it amplified to really tell the difference. But once amplified, it was really obvious.

[Rob Bisby]

16 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

Thanks to this thread, I went and bought loads of picks to try out as I'd been using the same ones for the last 10 years. 

 

The close runner up was the Nylon Big Stubby, but I kept dropping it. If they did a grippier one of those, it would be perfect for me.  So, I ended up where I started - a Dunlop Nylon 1mm! 

 

It's amazing the difference a pick can make though. A/Bing them all was really interesting. Some were clearly not what I wanted and I could tell acoustically, others I needed to hear it amplified to really tell the difference. But once amplified, it was really obvious.

Ya gotta try different ones for different tones and playability

[Greg Edwards69]

17 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

Thanks to this thread, I went and bought loads of picks to try out as I'd been using the same ones for the last 10 years. 

 

The close runner up was the Nylon Big Stubby, but I kept dropping it. If they did a grippier one of those, it would be perfect for me.  So, I ended up where I started - a Dunlop Nylon 1mm! 

 

It's amazing the difference a pick can make though. A/Bing them all was really interesting. Some were clearly not what I wanted and I could tell acoustically, others I needed to hear it amplified to really tell the difference. But once amplified, it was really obvious.

Did you try them amplified at gig volume, with a band? Just like eq settings, I found this to be an important part of my pick choice. I brought a several picks that I thought would work to a band rehearsal before settling on my current choice.

[BassAdder60]

12 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Did you try them amplified at gig volume, with a band? Just like eq settings, I found this to be an important part of my pick choice. I brought a several picks that I thought would work to a band rehearsal before settling on my current choice.

+1 to this 

 

And how it stays put in your grip etc for a gig ! 
 

I have mostly decided on the Ultex 0.88 triangle but also like the Flex triangle and about to try .88 which is a bit warmer sounding 

[MichaelDean]

Yeah, I've been trying out the main contenders at practice and we rehearse a bit silly loud (with hearing protection!). One of the guitarists even said he couldn't hear me as well with the one I thought would work well (which was a Gator Grip triangle).

[Baloney Balderdash]

20 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Try the Dunlop Flex series as they sound like nylon but play like Tortex 

Dumlop's marketing describes it a bit differently:

"Tortex Flex Picks combine the memory and durability of Tortex with the flexibility and warmth of nylon."

 

Of course neither is really true.

 

It is though somewhat more flexible and somewhat rounder/warmer sounding than regular Tortex picks, but not really exactly like a Nylon pick, it's more of it's own thing that's neither regular Tortex or Nylon.

 

Also I don't know where they got the "memory" part from either, I always find that my .60mm Tortex picks pretty quickly ends up warping, whereas my .73mm regular Nylon picks keeps the exact same shape no matter how much I use it.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Greg Edwards69]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Also I don't know where they got the "memory" part from either, I always find that my .60mm Tortex picks pretty quickly ends up warping, whereas my .73mm regular Nylon picks keeps the exact same shape no matter how much I use it.

I think you’re right about he warping. I only switched to using the 0.60mm Flex fairly recently. Most of them have a subtle curve to them now.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Greg Edwards69

[BassAdder60]

28 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

I think you’re right about he warping. I only switched to using the 0.60mm Flex fairly recently. Most of them have a subtle curve to them now.

Isn’t that down to warmth, grip and thin gauge ? 

[Baloney Balderdash]

55 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

Isn’t that down to warmth, grip and thin gauge ? 

Point being my Nylon picks seems to be much more form stable, even the .60mm ones, my Tortex .60mm not so much, to put it mildly, as opposed to what Dunlop claims in that piece I quoted them for.

 

Of course the picks are not going to warp automatically by just laying around, no one claimed anything like that.

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Greg Edwards69]

2 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Isn’t that down to warmth, grip and thin gauge ? 

I have no idea. I keep all of them together so I don’t know which ones have been used and which ones haven’t. But I have noticed that some remain flat even after a long gig

Edited February 13, 2023 by Greg Edwards69

[KingBollock]

I have unusually warm hands, this can cause problems with many things. I find picks warp on me quite quickly. This can be a double edged sword, because while they can be more comfortable to hold, you can only use them the same way up from then on.

[Baloney Balderdash]

I know this goes completely against what I earlier stated in this thread, but as I think I did mention is that I now mainly use my fingers, and because of that, despite mentioning earlier in this thread that I failed to see the point with such, I just ordered 3 pieces of respectively a 3.1mm and 5mm respectively soft and hard Wedgie rubber pick, to experiment with getting a finger plucking sound out of a pick.

 

Like these:

 

This was the only European shop I could find that caries them: https://schneidermusik.de/shop/en/search?sSearch=wedgie+pick

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[BassAdder60]

I’ve now completely returned to fingers 

 

I find a far fuller deeper sound is achieved which I just can’t improve on 

 

Its noticeable how better it sits in the band 

[Baloney Balderdash]

2 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

I’ve now completely returned to fingers 

 

I find a far fuller deeper sound is achieved which I just can’t improve on 

 

Its noticeable how better it sits in the band 

 

My inner gramma nazi twitches... 

 

 

Also I don't entirely agree, though that might be down to technique.

 

I use a very light touch, more so stroking the strings than really striking or pulling them.

 

And I find that while finger plucking does give a somewhat softer and more natural attack for sure in my experience if anything it makes the bass not cut quite as easily through in a mix as that specific snappy emphasis of the attack that you get from using a pick, it might make the bass sit more naturally in a mix though, depending, at very least in the context of less aggressive music.

 

Also there is just something very rewarding in the feeling of having direct contact with the strings, something about the immediate response of it.

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Minininjarob]

I am just starting the bass and I want to use both techniques. Some songs I have been trying I can see an advantage in both techniques in the same song depending on what feel you need to achieve. 
 

[BassAdder60]

And if it’s good enough for Steve Harris then it’s good for me !! 

[MrDinsdale]

I find pick playing cuts through much better in a mix, especially when you boost around 1khz. Certainly the case for me in heavier music at least where the bass is predominantly a driving force.  In folkier bands i play with i find finger playing is much more complimentary and creates a nice pillowy backline.

 

Ultimately that's hugely dependent on the context you're playing in though, what other frequencies you're battling against and tone you're trying to achieve.

 

What cuts throughout for one situation might just create a muddy mess in another.

[BassAdder60]

27 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

I find pick playing cuts through much better in a mix, especially when you boost around 1khz. Certainly the case for me in heavier music at least where the bass is predominantly a driving force.  In folkier bands i play with i find finger playing is much more complimentary and creates a nice pillowy backline.

 

Ultimately that's hugely dependent on the context you're playing in though, what other frequencies you're battling against and tone you're trying to achieve.

 

What cuts throughout for one situation might just create a muddy mess in another.

+1 👍

[msb]

I’m mostly a finger player , and often a thumb player , up by the fretboard and palm muting for a real old school almost upright sound.
But there’s things that call for a pick.

[Rob Bisby]

I use fingerstyle if I'm playing black sabbath

[BassAdder60]

13 hours ago, Rob Bisby said:

I use fingerstyle if I'm playing black sabbath

I played  War Pigs for a while in my previous band .. great song 

[Rob Bisby]

4 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

I played  War Pigs for a while in my previous band .. great song 

Love black Sabbath me 😁

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 26/02/2023 at 11:03, Baloney Balderdash said:

I know this goes completely against what I earlier stated in this thread, but as I think I did mention is that I now mainly use my fingers, and because of that, despite mentioning earlier in this thread that I failed to see the point with such, I just ordered 3 pieces of respectively a 3.1mm and 5mm respectively soft and hard Wedgie rubber pick, to experiment with getting a finger plucking sound out of a pick.

 

Like these:

 

This was the only European shop I could find that caries them: https://schneidermusik.de/shop/en/search?sSearch=wedgie+pick

 

Finally arrived after being on the way forever.

 

What a complete waste of money! 

 

All the disadvantages of finger style playing, but non of the advantages, and non of the advantages normally associated with using a pick, but all the disadvantages. 

 

Other than sounding like crap, really dull sounding compared to both pick and finger plucking, the rubber tend to get stuck on the strings when strumming, making you stumble over whichever strum patterns you are doing, and preventing you from playing fast successive notes, which is otherwise one of the advantages of pick playing, in fact you can even play faster just using traditional two finger style plucking technique than these picks allows for.

 

What a load of pure crap. *sigh* 

 

 

On different note I have begun to really love playing bass using my fingers.

 

Such a nice "in touch" and in control feeling, with tons of expression possibilities in between James Jamerson 1 finger plucking style, traditional 2 finger plucking, classical acoustic guitar, thumb+index+middle, finger style picking, flamenco guitar style, index and/or middle, finger flicking technique, and double thumbing, which I am starting to get really good at seamlessly altering between.

 

Floating thumb technique is what came naturally to me right from I first started learning 2 finger style plucking technique, but starting to really getting a hang of muting the strings above the one I am currently playing with my thumb as well, instinctively, without really having to  think about it, and just at the right time too when playing a riff that requires repeatably crossing/altering between strings.

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash