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

[dmc79]

On 17/06/2024 at 15:34, Little Dragon said:

Moved from the Flex triangles to Clayton triangles in 1mm. Feel very, very similar but the Claytons are sharper at the corners .

 

 

Which Claytons? Do you mean the rounded triangles or the ones actually listed as 'Sharp' with the particularly angry looking bird on them? 

 

I like that they have the slightly unusual size of .80, a good inbetween option to the usual .73 & .88. 

 

Where did you get them from? Can't see many UK stockists, and my usual place 'Dirty Riffs' on eBay doesn't sell them. 

 

[Little Dragon]

Yes, the sharp ones, straight off Ebay in a pack of 10! (Seller listed as 'bigdiscountwarehouse').

[Rob Bisby]

My pick of choice nowadays!

[dmc79]

On 15/06/2024 at 15:57, dmc79 said:

Finally gonna try the Dunlop Tortex Flex triangles, ordered a couple each of .60, .73 & .88. 

 

I used standard Tortex triangles for a while before starting to find them a bit too 'clicky' and moving to Dunlop Nylons. I miss the triangle shape though and believe the Flex is a bit warmer and less clicky, though still not quite full on Nylon in tone. A fun and cheap experiment anyway. . . 

 

Maybe I didn't miss the triangle shapes as much as I thought - the jury's still out on the Tortex Flex triangles. Since using mainly standard shape Jim Dunlop Nylons, I'm finding the triangles too bulky. I'll probably try the Tortex Flex in normal teardrop shape sometime and that will give me a better idea of how I rate the feel of these. 

 

I posted in here before that I don't feel the need to go below .88 or above 1mm, but 1mm feels too thick for me these days, and even .88 does at times as well. I'm gonna try a bunch of stuff that I already have and don't yet have, and attempt to find my sweet spot in terms of gauge, material, flex, feel, tone, etc. I know that even picks of a very similar (or even identical) gauge can feel very different, and can feel stiffer or more flexible than another pick that has the same number printed on it, but it should be a fun experiment anyway.

 

I will most likely go as thin as .60, with .88 being the absolute top end of thickness regardless of the material. Somewhere within these boundaries I'm sure I'll find some picks that feel and sound great and don't make my hands ache. I'll also investigate the gauges that fall inbetween the 'standard' Dunlop sizes of .60, .73 & .88, for example the Dunlop Midi Nylons at .67 & .80, Clayton Black Ravens at .63 & .80, Fender Mediums at .71 and Herco Flex at .75. 

 

I've never been that keen on thick, rigid, stiff picks, I like to get some flex and the slight compressive effect that this brings, without going so thin that there's no 'authority' in striking the string, if you know what I mean. I like a reasonably good grip surface that doesn't wear off too quickly. 

 

I'm thinking that my sweet spot is likely to be somewhere between .60 & .80, but I'll see how it goes. It will give me something to do this Autumn / Winter anyway! 

Edited August 20 by dmc79

[Rob Bisby]

5 hours ago, dmc79 said:

 

Maybe I didn't miss the triangle shapes as much as I thought - the jury's still out on the Tortex Flex triangles. Since using mainly standard shape Jim Dunlop Nylons, I'm finding the triangles too bulky. I'll probably try the Tortex Flex in normal teardrop shape sometime and that will give me a better idea of how I rate the feel of these. 

 

I posted in here before that I don't feel the need to go below .88 or above 1mm, but 1mm feels too thick for me these days, and even .88 does at times as well. I'm gonna try a bunch of stuff that I already have and don't yet have, and attempt to find my sweet spot in terms of gauge, material, flex, feel, tone, etc. I know that even picks of a very similar (or even identical) gauge can feel very different, and can feel stiffer or more flexible than another pick that has the same number printed on it, but it should be a fun experiment anyway.

 

I will most likely go as thin as .60, with .88 being the absolute top end of thickness regardless of the material. Somewhere within these boundaries I'm sure I'll find some picks that feel and sound great and don't make my hands ache. I'll also investigate the gauges that fall inbetween the 'standard' Dunlop sizes of .60, .73 & .88, for example the Dunlop Midi Nylons at .67 & .80, Clayton Black Ravens at .63 & .80, Fender Mediums at .71 and Herco Flex at .75. 

 

I've never been that keen on thick, rigid, stiff picks, I like to get some flex and the slight compressive effect that this brings, without going so thin that there's no 'authority' in striking the string, if you know what I mean. I like a reasonably good grip surface that doesn't wear off too quickly. 

 

I'm thinking that my sweet spot is likely to be somewhere between .60 & .80, but I'll see how it goes. It will give me something to do this Autumn / Winter anyway! 

The standard flex picks are great, especially the .60 one, but at the moment I'm preferring the .60 nylon also finding 50. Tortex nice to play too 

[dmc79]

 

Nice comparison video here of the 6 gauges of original Tortex picks. Go straight to 2:18 for the test. Strangely the green .88 is the only one he doesn’t give an opinion on at the end.

 

Nothing earth-shattering, but good to hear them one after another. He does mention 1mm & 1.14 feeling like hard work, .50 being hard to control as it’s so thin, .60 giving a surprisingly good tone & it seems to be his fave along with the .73. I guess he doesn’t care much for the .88. 
 

I found some normal size greens I forgot about last week (I’ve used green triangles before but went off them) and have to say I was quite nonplussed about them. I guess the stiffness was a bit too much as I don’t mind the .88 Jim Dunlop Nylons. I’ve got some standard size yellow .73 to try since watching the video, so I guess there’ll be a tad more flex in them than the greens

 

Edited August 29 by dmc79

[dmc79]

I'm sure I'll pick some up myself soon, but I wondered if anyone has any thoughts on the Dunlop Nylon Midi picks? Regular nylons, tortex, etc, always seem to get mentioned a lot, but I hardly see any mention of the Midi, either here or on TB. 

 

I mean these ones:

 

https://www.jimdunlop.com/nylon-midi-pick-67mm/

 

I plan to give the orange .67 & yellow .80 a go sometime. Their site description says: "Nylon Midi Standard picks provide the classic warmth of nylon with the unique feel and flexibility of "in-between" gauges." I'm just curious as to if they play exactly like a regular JD nylon, or a touch stiffer like the Max Grips. They have a good looking raised grips that's different from both the regular nylon & max grips. If it's the former, the .67 may be too flappy, but if it's the latter then this might be spot on for me. I will get some anyway, but just curious as I hardly ever see the Midi picks mentioned. I'm guessing the main appeal is the inbetween gauges, but just interested in how they feel & play compared to a regular nylon & a max grip nylon. Thanks

 

 

 

Edited September 12 by dmc79

[dmc79]

I've been trying to unravel the mystery of 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 are be related to years or something, as I think they are reissue picks, but it seems crazy that Dunlop doesn't clearly state the thickness on these Herco models.

I wanted to get a definitive answer on the thickness of them all. I've did a bunch of searching and found varying results. I saw thickness numbers mentioned for the Flex series in a few results, but far less for the Vintage 66 series. I posted on TB regarding the accuracy of these numbers, and it's thought that these are reasonably accurate:

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 recently got a few of the Flex 75 Heavy (1.01mm), I played a song in a live setting on Sunday with one and whilst it's thicker & less flexible than I'm used to these days (my upper limit is normally .88 for Nylon or .73 for Tortex), 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, which feels like a perfect place for the thumb.

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.

I just thought these numbers would be a useful resource for anyone unsure about how thick the Herco picks actually are. I really think it's insane that Dunlop don't clearly mark out the actual thickness of these on the picks.

 

[Rodders]

I've gone from 2mm Gator Grip, down to .88mm Tortex Triangle, might be something to do with playing rounds a lot more now than heavy flats which I was using. 

[Lozz196]

I`ve some Dunlop Tortex Triangle 0.60s on the way, down from the thicker gauges I`ve used in the past. My Mustang basses have less mids than my Precisions so lighter picks work nicely at getting some mids back. Having developed arthritis in my left thumb I`m trying to look after my hands a bit more now, play lighter & let the amp do the heavy work.

[Bassybert]

6 hours ago, dmc79 said:

I've been trying to unravel the mystery of 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 are be related to years or something, as I think they are reissue picks, but it seems crazy that Dunlop doesn't clearly state the thickness on these Herco models.

I wanted to get a definitive answer on the thickness of them all. I've did a bunch of searching and found varying results. I saw thickness numbers mentioned for the Flex series in a few results, but far less for the Vintage 66 series. I posted on TB regarding the accuracy of these numbers, and it's thought that these are reasonably accurate:

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 recently got a few of the Flex 75 Heavy (1.01mm), I played a song in a live setting on Sunday with one and whilst it's thicker & less flexible than I'm used to these days (my upper limit is normally .88 for Nylon or .73 for Tortex), 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, which feels like a perfect place for the thumb.

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.

I just thought these numbers would be a useful resource for anyone unsure about how thick the Herco picks actually are. I really think it's insane that Dunlop don't clearly mark out the actual thickness of these on the picks.

 

Ha ha I've been using Herco Flex picks for years and always thought the number meant the thickness!

[dmc79]

1 hour ago, Bassybert said:

Ha ha I've been using Herco Flex picks for years and always thought the number meant the thickness!

Yeah it’s crazy, I mean I think I figured out whilst I was waiting for my Flex 75 heavies to arrive, that they were thicker than that.
 

The second I picked one up for the first time, I knew just by how comparatively flappy a Dunlop nylon .73 is, that there was no way the Herco was actually .75 thick. 

 

I do like them though, really nice grip on them, they feel firm but still with a little flex, and not mega stiff like a Tortex of .88 and up. 

 

 

[dmc79]

4 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I`ve some Dunlop Tortex Triangle 0.60s on the way, down from the thicker gauges I`ve used in the past. My Mustang basses have less mids than my Precisions so lighter picks work nicely at getting some mids back. Having developed arthritis in my left thumb I`m trying to look after my hands a bit more now, play lighter & let the amp do the heavy work.

I know these things don’t break the bank, but I have a small tin full of these and would’ve happily sent you a few. I bought some after discovering that Simon Gallup uses them. I have to accept though that I can never be him, and I rarely touch these ones. 
 

I bet many of us have a whole bunch of picks from when we bought too many of one hoping it would work, only to find we didn’t warm to them. We should run some kind of swap shop, I’m sure a few times I’ve ordered 3, or even 6, of a pick, then ended up not using them. It seems silly for us all to have loads of them sat about, when there’s others we’d like to try that people also have sat around. 

 

[Lozz196]

Thanks, really appreciate the thought and yes agree, a swap shop of sorts would be a great idea, I’ve a tub full of picks I won’t use.

[dmc79]

20 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Thanks, really appreciate the thought and yes agree, a swap shop of sorts would be a great idea, I’ve a tub full of picks I won’t use.

I’d be first in line to try some Snarling Dogs Brain picks & offer something in return. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but you can only get them in tins of 12, which is really annoying. Don’t fancy paying £36 to get 3 tins of these just to try one of each