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Topic: Thumb pick question (again) |
John Botofte
From:
Denmark
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 12:32 am |
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My ordinary Dunlop thumb pick that I have used for several years on lap steels and pedal steel broke after a few hours playing a Gretsch Jim Dandy acoustic guitar with steel strings. Can anyone recommend a thumb pick that is good for both steel guitar and ordinary guitar?
Thanks in advance
John
_________________
GFI SM10-SD 3x2 Pedal Steel,
Georgeboard 8-string, 6-string DL travel lap steel, Gretsch 6-string, Gretsch Jim Dandy Parlor Guitar, Peavey Nashville 112, Boss RV-5
Zoom R8
https://soundcloud.com/lapsteelin1965 |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 2:58 am
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Blue Herco
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Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Tom Quinn
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 3:53 am
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New Hercos are not the same as the old ones...
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I need an Emmons! |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 7:16 am
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I really like the Golden Gate thumb picks.
I started using them after my grandson broke my old pick. |
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Mike Wheeler
From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 7:19 am
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I like the Golden Gates also.
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Best regards,
Mike |
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George Macdonald
From:
Vancouver Island BC Canada
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 10:36 am Thumb picks
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| What size Golden Gate would you recommend for the "average" size thumb? The blue Hercos fit my average size thumb. ha |
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Jerry Berger
From:
Nampa, Idaho USA
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 12:11 pm
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I would like to give Golden Gate thumb picks a "Thumbs up" for their quality thumb picks!
Last edited by Jerry Berger on 14 Jul 2015 3:34 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 12:11 pm Golden Gate for sure.............
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After experiencing one such pick, I've never looked back.
"Compared" to what? I use a medium size clown puke I believe they called it. |
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richard burton
From:
Britain
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 1:50 pm
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I got fed up of my thumbpicks breaking, so now I use a Jim Dunlop metal thumbpick.
It took a bit of tweaking to get the angle right (where it connects with the string) and also to get it to grip tight to my thumb without hurting (too much) |
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Gary Cooper
From:
Atmore, Alabama
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 6:08 pm Picks
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BLUE HERCO
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GFI Ultra SD-10; Nashville 112; Hilton pedal, George L Cables; Pearse bar; Live Stings;Walker seat by Billy Knowles. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 14 Jul 2015 6:42 pm
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I don't play guitar, but I have an acoustic I use for learning songs. I use a John Pearse thumb pick. I also like Golden Gate picks. But... The Golden Gates come in different types. In a catalog or online, they look the same. I found that I have to go to a music store here in the bay area and try them out. The band and the tongues are different.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Dale Rottacker
From:
Walla Walla Washington, USA
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 15 Jul 2015 3:29 am
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Dale, I keep three. One on my thumb, one ready to go, and one cooling. Rotate every 6 minutes or so.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Dale Rottacker
From:
Walla Walla Washington, USA
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Bob Mainwaring
From:
Qualicum Beach Vancouver Island B.C. Canada
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Posted 17 Jul 2015 5:23 am Thumb Pick Question
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Like Richard Burton,
I've been using metal thumb picks for many years - also for my old five string.
I've mentioned in the past, our finger picks are metal, why bother with plastic for a thumb pick when the actual sound/tone can be equalised by including a metal thumbpick.
All Z.B.est.
Bob. |
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Mike Will
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 6:51 am metal thumb pick
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| for a metal thumb pick, try these "geipel" thumb picks from banjogbridge.com |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 7:27 am
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I have been using Fred Kelly "regular" white picks for years. They are delrin of some sort. I don't have a problem with slipping even in the Texas heat. I am very happy with them.
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Bob |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 8:36 am Re: Thumb Pick Question
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| Bob Mainwaring wrote: |
| [...] why bother with plastic for a thumb pick when the actual sound/tone can be equalised by including a metal thumbpick. |
I use a metal (steel) thumbpick 95% of the time for that very reason. |
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John Booth
From:
Columbus Ohio, USA
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 8:41 am
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I;m very fond of the Propik hybrid thumbpick.
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Jb in Ohio
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GFI S10 Ultra, Telecaster, a Hound Dog, and an Annoyed Wife
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Stephen Williams
From:
from Wales now in Berkeley,Ca, USA
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 6:19 pm
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| Fred Kelley speed picks are absolutely great. Way more sensitive feel and more attack for me |
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Lee Dassow
From:
Jefferson, Georgia USA
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Posted 20 Jul 2015 3:17 pm
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I just bought a whole bunch of Fred Kelly large thumb picks,Delron and Poly. Musicians Friend packs 24 in each order which is a ridiculous amount in my estimation. I usually use the large national picks, but they have never fit well on my wide thumb. I hope the Fred Kelly's are OK. If not I'll be selling em cheap on the Forum. Tenn.Lee
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2015 Mullen D-10 Royal Precision 9x8,-1990 BMI S-10 5x5-1972 Silver face Fender pro Reverb amp,-1965 Fender Super Reverb Amp,- 1966 Fender Showman Amp Two 15" JBL speakers,- 2006 65 Fender Twin Reverb reissue Amp,- 1982 Peavey Session 500 amp,-1978 Peavey Session 400,Goodrich Volume Pedals,John Pearse Steel Bars,
Last edited by Lee Dassow on 24 Jul 2015 5:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Larry Moore
From:
Hampton, Ga. USA
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Posted 22 Jul 2015 8:22 pm Thumb Pic
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I must agree with John Booth. I have been playing with the same Thumb Pick for about 5 yrs.
It was well worth the cost. It is the Pro-Pick, Metal body with a Plastic tip.
I found a supplier In the Atlanta area, bought several more to go with my other steels.
No more slipping off or getting loose.
Larry  |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 22 Jul 2015 8:28 pm
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| John Booth wrote: |
I;m very fond of the Propik hybrid thumbpick.
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I used a blue herco for 15 years and they're not even close to the propik hybrid...I went with the long blade version because it rotated my wrist slightly into better hand posture. .. also. .. I find I can pick more accurately.
Tommy Dodd.. steel guru. .. sells them at steel shows with the metal parts covered in heat shrink or something. They wear more comfortably like that. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 3:04 am
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In thirty years I got as far as I could get playing slide guitar; and a pedal steel was the next/only door to kick on. So I stopped playing slide and played only steel for another decade. Fingers & thumbpicks. I did settle on the all-metal ProPiks, far better than the folded-tip Dunlops - Easley recc'd for tone matching. THEN: Sonny Landreth ambushed me, I had to slide again, thence play UPstrokes with the thumbpick. Ups on metal picks was way punk for me and I couldn't NOT do it on the steel too.
SO: Eventually I found the normal large Golden Gate was mi amore. Available in "Linen", "Pearloid" or, as mentioned... who wouldn't want to sport "Clown Barf" on their thumb? They DO spread a bit with heat, so as mentioned... And the Planet Waves (made by Dunlop) are just as good as Dunlops! Imagine! Adequate Tier 2 emergency picks.
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/names/golden-gate-thumbpick-multi-colored--PK49.htm
Golden Gate also makes the pterodactylish X-Heavy thumbpicks, they're really strong and braced eve more against the thump with a flap - that you have to file off because it hits the strings on upstrokes. They're like 3/32" thick so they click some through a bit of gain, but they're the best if you need to kill something. 
https://reverb.com/item/179238-golden-gate-pearl-thumbpick-x-heavy-1-dozen?_aid=pla&pla=1&gclid=CMiBlsX58MYCFYyQHwod5n4I1g Though that price is criminal.
All the really thin picks like Herco bugaboo, red Dunlops, Jim Kelly work if you push them up way high, to the joint, feels freaky to me. And any pick, I have to shorten the blade and file it into a sharkfin angle so that the upstrokes match the down. Like, if an upside-down shark is eating your thumb.
You will eventually end up trying out everything imaginable anyway, it's almost like you might as well just head to Elderly Music or Janet Davis's and order up the bucketful, get it over with. Although/except, if anyone tries to sell you one of the Secret Magic Precious-Resin picks handcarved by 500-year-old Tibetan monks from plans handed down from the last Pharaoh - i.e., anything over five bucks - ask them to point out all the blindfolded tone tests proving they sound better than the 95c goobs. A deafening response... |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 5:23 am
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| David Mason wrote: |
| Although/except, if anyone tries to sell you one of the Secret Magic Precious-Resin picks handcarved by 500-year-old Tibetan monks from plans handed down from the last Pharaoh - i.e., anything over five bucks - ask them to point out all the blindfolded tone tests proving they sound better than the 95c goobs. A deafening response... |
My (steel) thumbpick came along for free when I bought an autoharp sometime back in the -70s. It was the cheapest stamped-out pick one can imagine, and not even stainless.
Never used it but had it laying around when some time early in the -90s I broke the latest in a whole series of plastic/nylon thumbpicks. So I filed off half the blade, and shaped and polished what was left to what felt and sounded right when practicing. I mute with the side of my thumb so long blades don't work well for me.
Have bought and tried out a number of thumbpicks since then, included the Propik hybrid, various metal variants, and all the other suggested. The old steel thumbpick still works best, and it holds up just fine and only needs light polishing (using toothpaste and paper) now and then.
Along with a shortened blue herco from way back in time, the old steel thumbpick and a couple of equally old and cheap steel fingerpicks that are shaped and polished to my liking, let me play without worrying about wear and tear.
I have tried shaping various plastic and soft metal thumb and fingerpicks to my liking in later years, but they don't hold up for more than a few hours playing at best - they're simply too soft ... or I'm playing too hard. |
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