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Those of you using thumb picks for fingerstyle jazz, what is your favorite shape and brand of pick? I have been experimenting with thumb picks recently, and was curious what you all like to use.
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05-19-2015 11:42 AM
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Fred Kelly picks are excellent. I use their 'Slick Picks' and their 'Regular Picks' most of the time, and occasionally I mess around a bit with their 'Bumble Bee' range, which are a combination of a thumbpick and a plectrum. I've tried lots of different makes but for me, the Kellys are the way to go. You'll find the website here - Fred Kelly Picks | Fred Kelly Custom Guitar Picks!
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+1 for using a thumbpick. All the advantages (depending on one's technique of course) of a flatpick, plus one's fingers are freed for finger style play. It's all I've used for a long time.
+1 on the Fred Kelly Slick Picks. I discovered those a few years back when he still made an Extra Heavy version. I bought all the stock (2 bags) I could find. The regular heavy were (for me) almost as good, though.
A few months back I discovered the Chris Broderick Pick Clip. Changed my life. Uses regular flat picks. Not all flat picks will work with it, at least in my experience. But, paired with Wegen Dipper 1.14, it's just the sound and feel I spent 25 years (and all the other thumbpick options I could find) looking for.
Good luck and enjoy the search!Last edited by PaulHintz; 05-20-2015 at 10:09 PM. Reason: misstyped a word
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Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check these out.
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I like the Herco medium gauge. I go back and forth between those and just straight fingerstyle.
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A good friend here sent me some Hercos but because my thumb cocks up toward the nail, the edge of the pick is what touches the string and it makes an unpleasant scraping sound. I've had better luck with Fred Kelly Bumble Bee picks, though not so much luck as I'd like....
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I'm curious about the Chris Broderick pick. It looks to be a possibly ideal gadget to add to my toolbox, but I'm not having much luck ordering from the website. One of the drop down menus asks for which hand the pick is intended, but right handed is not an option.
Originally Posted by PaulHintz
Now a question about the pick itself: how much volume do you produce compared to a comparable flat pick? Which picks have you successfully used the clip with? Would a Dunlop 207 fit?
In my many years of playing, I've never attempted to use a thumb pick. Hour long did it take you to make the transition?
Originally Posted by PaulHintz
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+1 slick picks. Heavy and sand down a bit to get a bit closer to the strings. I think they are a bit too long out of the bag.
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soljaime,
1. I ordered mine from the website no problem. In fact, I ordered twice. I got one, to try it. Loved it. Decided it was worth having a back-up, plus one packed with my teaching stuff. So I ordered 2 more. I don't recall any need to specify right/left-handed...
2. I haven't actually gigged using a flatpack in over 25 years, so I don't know about comparable volume. I get as loud as I want or need to, with either the Fred Kelly Slick Picks or the Pick Clip-mounted Wegen.
3. I tried the Pick Clip with a Dunlop Ultex (standard rounded-corner triangle size) and the gripper-thingie on the Clip is too long for those, i.e., not enough pick sticks out and I kept hitting the strings with the gripper's side. Ugly sound. Someone with a different technique (who usually uses ultra-small flatpicks, for instance) might not have the issue. The next pick I tried was the Wegen (I'd seen threads about them here and at the Acoustic Guitar Forum and I was curious). As I said in my first posting here, one minute with that pick, in the Clip, on all my guitars, and my search was over. So, other picks might work fine but I haven't tried them. Heavier than 1.2 or so probably would not fit, i.e., the gripper would be stretched open too much. A thinner pick would probably work fine, if that's what a person wanted.
4. I don't recall any big transition time for thumbtacks. But then I'd been playing finger style folk music right from the start (45 years ago). Flat picking always felt alien to me. Couldn't get the hang of bluegrass strumming beyond the basics, and my years at the Wisconsin Conservatory studying jazz were a frustration because the main guitar star teacher was a my-way-or-the-highway flatpick speed freak.
Hope that's of some use. Give thumb picks a try!
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I tried the Broderick Pick Clip with a ProPlec 351 Standard Tear Drop (1.5 mm) and I liked the feel very much. It was a bit of a work to fit it in though.
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I've been working with the Herco again. Unlike any other thumb pick I've tried, this is the only one I can wear over the thumb joint, or even behind it. That might seem like a goofy thing to do (or even want to do) but as I have something of a banana thumb, if I try to wear the pick normally, I end up scraping the strings. But this way, it feels natural and I play better. (Some surprising mistakes, but those should pass as my hand gets used to using a thumb pick on passages I used to flatpick.) I like the sound better. As Frank Vignola puts it, "mostly down" (strokes) sound good on guitar, especially on melodies and riffs.
Question about those blue Hercos---is there only the one size? (The picks have no markings, not even a "Herco" logo, let alone an indication of size.)
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. Originally Posted by marcwhy
Whoa, an endorsement from Bruce Forman. That's impressive. He's a heavyweight.
Is this the pick Ron Eschete uses? I've noticed his pick is strapped around his thumb.
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I found out that Ron uses one of these picks. He's using one in this clip.
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+1 for Fred Kelly. Been using the slik picks for years. I play a lot of Merle and Chet and they work great.
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I bought some slick picks recently, and I'm having trouble adjusting to them. They're too tight on my thumb, and hurt after a short time. I've been unable to adjust them. Hot water doesn't work, nor does a hair dryer. My thumb isn't unusually large, seems sort of average to me. It's mostly the end, which digs into the top edge of my thumb. Any suggestions on how to open the curve just a little? I'm seriously considering abandoning these and trying the Crossover. That looks much more comfortable.
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Ordered the Chris Broderick Thumbpick Gripper. For thick picks that do not fit, I am thinking about a tab of 3M surgical tape folded back on itself, with the pick hanging off it. The tab will be gripped by the gripper.
Lessee if that works at all.
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+1 for 'too tight on the thumb.' The only thumb pick I've found that doesn't choke my thumb (to the point it becomes a distraction) is the blue Herco picks. They seem to have a lot of give in them. Originally Posted by sgosnell
As for the Crossover pick, I ordered one this morning. Eager to see how that works. I'll post something here soon as I've tried it.
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I'll be interested to hear about that. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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I've been using the Fred Kelly Bumblebee pick for years. It is essentially a Dunlop Jazz iii on a thumbpick. I play fingerstyle with my ensemble, but frequently take single note solos, and this pick let's me switch back and forth easily.
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There are many varieties of thumb picks. Here are three Fred Kelly picks and one National. (Dunlop and D'Andrea also make thumb picks like this National pick. I think that was the main kind of thumb pick for a long time.)
Attachment 49789Attachment 49788Attachment 49787Attachment 49786
Attachment 49791Attachment 49790 The Herco blue Medium, is what I'm using now. The more recent flat/thumbpick seems to be more popular but I don't care for them.
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You guys are giving me gas to try one of these things. I often stick my pick in my mouth to use my fingers.
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Fortunately, thumb picks are cheap. Well, most are. Some are pricey. I ordered some more blue Hercos from Elderly Instruments this morning and they were 65 cents, or 55 cents if you buy a dozen, so I bought a dozen. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Fred Kelly picks cost more, and many say they are worth it. I have a few of those around I might be willing to trade...
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Initially, I prefer the Shark Tooth. (Not made of shark tooth, or any other kind of tooth.) Perhaps because I tried it first.
I'm due to record an etude for the Frank Vignola study group, so that's on the agenda for tomorrow. I'll use one of the new picks and we'll see how it sounds. Might make a short video giving a good, up-close look at the picks, and playing something that calls for a few different techniques.
Initial response: very positive.
Revolutionary Guitar Accessory - The Crossover Pick
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I really like these Crossover picks as well. The “original” shark tooth one comes with a strap you an use to load up your favorite flat pick, and this is what works for me. A Dunlop 207 in one of these and I can play fingerstyle or flatpick. I have been having so much fun running exercises one way, then the other. Great product. Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
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