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Topic: Thumb-picks (again!) |
Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 10:29 am |
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OK! Larry let me try his blue Herco pick, but it's much too small for me (LB must have little thumbs!)
However - quite by chance I had a visitor the other day who presented me with a Zookie (a white one with 'L-10' on it) and I just loved that off-set tip; I find it brings my errant thumb to the strings at a more effective angle.
Is the 'L-10' logo the size of the pick? Do they make larger ones? This one is too small for me, even though it does stay on (just!).
Any info would be appreciated - thanks.
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Mitch Adelman
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 10:41 am
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| I believe the number 10 or 20 is the angle of attack to the strings with the 20 being more angled. You might like the 20 degree ones better than the ten degrees attack.Worth a try!Yes they have different sizes, small medium and large. I got mine at elderly instruments on line. |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 11:22 am
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Roger,I got some Zookies M-10's M-20's and M-30's,I guess they're mediums,right now I'm loving the M-10 a lot.There's a store about an hour away from me that has them if you can't find them let me know.Stu 
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Michael Haselman
From:
St. Paul
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 12:29 pm
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I know I've brought this up sometime ago, but when I attended a seminar by Jimmie Crawford and Weldon Myrick in the early '80s, Jimmie showed how he fitted the Hercos to his thumb. He just took a Bic lighter and held underneath for a few seconds and then put the pick on. It seemed to work for his, fairly huge size, thumb. By the way, you can imagine a beginner steeler attending a seminar by these 2! May be why I'm still playing.
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Mullen RP D10, Peavey NV112, Hilton volume. Hound Dog reso. Piles of other stuff. |
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Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 12:33 pm
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Hey Roger I have been using the Zookies for years for the same reason - I used to grind away the side of a standard pick too quickly so the Zookies make a huge difference to the longevity of the pick for me!
Yes the number is the angle in degrees of offset ! and they are available in s,m and lge !
_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases. |
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Brian McGaughey
From:
Orcas Island, WA USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 12:38 pm
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Roger, you may want to call Dusty Strings in Seattle.
http://dustystrings.com/about.shtml
They have a large assortment of picks and I'm sure they would ship. I know they have the Zookies. |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 1:10 pm
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Thanks, everyone. It does seem as though one I have (L-10) is their 'large' size if that 'L' is anything to go by! Not very big. Maybe I can take Jimmie's tip (not for the first time!) and apply some heat to it and open it up a bit.
I do like that off-set thing, though - even though it probably reveals that there's something fundamentally flawed in my hand-position....
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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John DeBoalt
From:
Harrisville New York USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 1:31 pm
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L,M,S is for large, medium, and small. The numbers 10, 20, 30 are the off sets. Beard Guitars is another outlet. John
_________________
Equipment: Carter D10, Zum Stage1,
Wechter Scheernhorn Reso, Deneve Reso, Fender Jazzmaster, Martin D16, Walker Stereo Steel amp, TC Electronics M One effects unit, JBL 15" speaker cabs,Peavey Nashville 1000,Peavey Revoloution 112, Morrell Lap Steel, Boss DD3 delay,others |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 1:37 pm
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Thanks, John.
I bet the 'small' ones are really tiny!!! 
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 1:49 pm
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Roger,
You might have to go to an auto parts store and get a hose clamp!  |
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Ronnie Boettcher
From:
Brunswick Ohio, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 3:13 pm
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If you like the tip angled, and it is a plastic type thumb pick, just heat it up like you do for fitting it to your thumb. Just heat the shaft and bend it. Problem solved.
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Sho-Bud LDG, Martin D28, Ome trilogy 5 string banjo, Ibanez 4-string bass, dobro, fiddle, and a tubal cain. Life Member of AFM local 142 |
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 3:16 pm
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Hot water also works to loose up the plastic and let you re shape/ set up a new pick.
I used clear dobro picks for a long time, would lop off the tip with wire cutters and file them down.. now I use the red dunlop/ herco looking things.. they let me play faster. |
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John DeBoalt
From:
Harrisville New York USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 6:34 pm
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I guess I've never seen a small one. the m-30 I have seems small to me. I still play my reso with an L-10, but I just went back to a blue Herco on my pedal steel from the M-30. In the same week, I switched from a 1" x 3 3/4 tone bar back to a 7/8 x 3 1/4 tone bar. the bigger bar always made the back of my palm sore after playing for a while. I still don't play any better, but the smaller bar feels more comfortable, and easier to control. John
_________________
Equipment: Carter D10, Zum Stage1,
Wechter Scheernhorn Reso, Deneve Reso, Fender Jazzmaster, Martin D16, Walker Stereo Steel amp, TC Electronics M One effects unit, JBL 15" speaker cabs,Peavey Nashville 1000,Peavey Revoloution 112, Morrell Lap Steel, Boss DD3 delay,others |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2008 9:08 pm
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who wears down the side of my thumb picks! A Golden Gate has noticeable wear after only a few weeks. But as I mentioned earlier, the materials the blue Hercos and Red Dunlops are made from seem nearly impervious to wear!
I do want to try out the Zookies, though, maybe in a couple of different angles. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 4 Dec 2008 3:32 am
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I don't know it this has any baring on the subject, but I frequently get up early, before my wife, and practice without amplification, so as not to wake her.
Without amplification, I get a noticeably crisper and more pronounced attack from the blue Herco picks than I do from the Zookies. I don't know if this would happen once the amp is turned on, but acoustically, I do hear a difference.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Roger Francis
From:
kokomo,Indiana, USA
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Posted 4 Dec 2008 10:45 am
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| My M20 Zookies were tight when i bought them and as mentioned used hot water to heat just the rounded part and immediately put it on my thumb, turned out just right. Be carefull if you use a lighter, i set one on fire, and that plastic burns fast |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 4 Dec 2008 12:11 pm
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Roger
I just found out the same thing - as I still have 20+ Golden Gates I thought I'd try applying heat from a naked candle..........
They're somewhat flammable, aren't they????
Hot water: How hot does it have to be, please? It sounds like a safer option than the 'candle trick'!!!!
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Michael Haselman
From:
St. Paul
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Posted 4 Dec 2008 12:48 pm
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Hey, don't you guys hurt yourselves!! And if you do, I didn't say anything. Really, though, he held it close enough to heat it but not directly in the flame. (Mr. Crawford, that is)And, move back and forth rapidly while applying heat. My Hercos fit perfectly, so I have no personal experience with this. I bought a box of 50 back in about '83. Lifetime supply, needless to say.
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Mullen RP D10, Peavey NV112, Hilton volume. Hound Dog reso. Piles of other stuff. |
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Roger Francis
From:
kokomo,Indiana, USA
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Posted 5 Dec 2008 8:12 am
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| Roger, i'm not sure about the temp of the water but all i did was filled up a cup with hot water and stuck it in the microwave for about 30 sec utill it was steaming and placed the rounded part in for about 15 sec and had my thumb allready wet with cold water and placed the pick on my thumb immediately and it shaped it to my thump allmost perfectly. Before, it was so tight it was shutting off some of the circulation to my thumb but now i can play allnight and with no problem. Hope this helps! |
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Don Drummer
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 5 Dec 2008 11:27 am roger and zookies
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| I started using zookies when the store stopped carrying nationals. I didn't even know they were angled until later. It's not improper technique. It's the advanced design that makes it easier to use. |
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Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
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Posted 5 Dec 2008 2:28 pm
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I think heating the thumb ensures the best fit.
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Olli Haavisto
Finland |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 6 Dec 2008 11:50 am
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I've never seen Zookies, but I've played with angled picks before and never been happy with them. If they are similar to Steve Zook's angled-tip guitar pick it'd be useless to me.
The ONLY thumbpick that fits my large hands and apparently the shape of my thumb (even the heat-molding treatment won't get others to fit) is the white National in Large. It's perfect. I use that and Dunlop fingerpicks in .015 (I get much better control with lighter fingerpicks) and flatten the rim of those to remove the ridiculous "comfort curve". Been using the same combination on dobro since 1976 or so (although heavier fingerpicks until about 10 years ago, when I bought the wrong size accidentally and loved 'em).
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 6 Dec 2008 12:04 pm
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I'm really pleased with this solitary Zookie I've been trying (the L-10). I'll be trying the other angles (20 and 30) before I decide which is best for me, but I'm encouraged by a significant improvement (to my ears, at least) in my tone with the modified angle-of-attack.
The most-comfortable thumbpicks for me have been the large Nationals, but they'd break on the 'bend' every couple of shows; that's unacceptably expensive! I guess they're a shade too small for my thumb.
I also have finger-picks coming from Andy Hinton (coated Dunlop '025"), so there's a 'pick revolution' happening in my house!!!
This renewed enthusiasm has been brought about by the arrival of my fantastic 'Thin Skin' "'62" Telecaster. A full report coming soon in 'Music'..... 
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
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Posted 6 Dec 2008 12:34 pm
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Roger,
I stopped using Nationals when they changed the formula and they started to break. I started using John Pearce thumbpicks and never looked back. They wear out before they break (I`m on the 2nd year with the current one) .
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Olli Haavisto
Finland |
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