What kind of pick did Johnny Smith use?

[noober]

Did a quick google search and didn’t find much. Thanks!

[nyc chaz]

Someone else on here recently asked this.V picks makes a pick called the Farley which is supposed to be a copy of one he used later in life.

[bediles]

Probs a pretty high chirp factor with that pick

[nyc chaz]

Any pick over 1.5 mm outside of maybe a Blue Chip is going to chirp but that doesn't seem to bother a lot of guys.

[Bill Eisele]

Out of Lin Flanigan's biography of Johnny Smith "Moonlight in Vermont" (page 191):

"With regard to plectrums, Smith favored Ernie Ball Stubbies, which were small and heavy gauged at one millimeter thick. When these ceased production he stockpiled all that he could obtain. These plectrums had a tapered point so that the leading edge on one side and the diagonally opposed leading edge on the other side met the strings with flat surfaces. Bob Yelin recalls, 'They were small in a round and pointed shape. But in order to get a blues or sad feel for single note playing he filed the point of the pick to make it thinner.'"

Not exactly sure about the description of the tapered point or Bob Yelin's recollection of the pick being round and pointed at the same time, and the blues/sad feel from the filed down point.

I have the Farley pick and couldn't get a tone I liked out of it so it went into the pick reject box. Maybe I will fish it out and file it down!

[nyc chaz]

Out of Lin Flanigan's biography of Johnny Smith "Moonlight in Vermont" (page 191):

"With regard to plectrums, Smith favored Ernie Ball Stubbies, which were small and heavy gauged at one millimeter thick. When these ceased production he stockpiled all that he could obtain. These plectrums had a tapered point so that the leading edge on one side and the diagonally opposed leading edge on the other side met the strings with flat surfaces. Bob Yelin recalls, 'They were small in a round and pointed shape. But in order to get a blues or sad feel for single note playing he filed the point of the pick to make it thinner.'"

Not exactly sure about the description of the tapered point or Bob Yelin's recollection of the pick being round and pointed at the same time, and the blues/sad feel from the filed down point.

I have the Farley pick and couldn't get a tone I liked out of it so it went into the pick reject box. Maybe I will fish it out and file it down!

That's an interesting anecdote from that book Bill but were stubbies ever discontinued?The 1mm stubby is one of my favorite picks, in fact i like most picks made from polycarbonate or thermoplastic in the 70mm to 1 mm size.They sound really good acoustically and smooth contacting the string.Closest thing to a Blue Chip along with Dunlop Primetone Sculpted picks.

[Bill Eisele]

That's an interesting anecdote from that book Bill but were stubbies ever discontinued?The 1mm stubby is one of my favorite picks, in fact i like most picks made from polycarbonate or thermoplastic in the 70mm to 1 mm size.They sound really good acoustically and smooth contacting the string.Closest thing to a Blue Chip along with Dunlop Primetone Sculpted picks.

Charlie, It does seem that they were discontinued as I can't find them currently available as an Ernie Ball pick. There are the Dunlop Stubbys but not sure if they are patterned after the original Ernie Ball Stubbies. My preference for a pick is the D'Andrea Pro-Plec 351 shape in the 1.5 mm thickness and the original material (https://dandreausa.com/product/guita...lec-351-shape/). They had to switch over to another kind of material because the picks were warping after getting into the hands of the retailers and customers. I'm not a fan of the newer material and I'm not sure if they found a way to switch back to the original material.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Charlie, It does seem that they were discontinued as I can't find them currently available as an Ernie Ball pick. There are the Dunlop Stubbys but not sure if they are patterned after the original Ernie Ball Stubbies. My preference for a pick is the D'Andrea Pro-Plec 351 shape in the 1.5 mm thickness and the original material (https://dandreausa.com/product/guita...lec-351-shape/). They had to switch over to another kind of material because the picks were warping after getting into the hands of the retailers and customers. I'm not a fan of the newer material and I'm not sure if they found a way to switch back to the original material.

I think the problem was that they recently switched materials and/or the finishing process, and the new ones warp. I've loved them for a long time and had just gotten a big bag of them about a year ago when the warping complaints began. Mine were fine, so I didn't believe it until I started using picks from the new bag. They warp through one gig, so I can't use them. I started the search asgain and eventually wound up using Dunlop 477R204 Jazztones. I bought a bag of 24 and am happy with them, but now I'm told that they're no longer being made.

I think I'll scout up another big bag or two of the 204s and call it a day.

[nyc chaz]

Charlie, It does seem that they were discontinued as I can't find them currently available as an Ernie Ball pick. There are the Dunlop Stubbys but not sure if they are patterned after the original Ernie Ball Stubbies. My preference for a pick is the D'Andrea Pro-Plec 351 shape in the 1.5 mm thickness and the original material (https://dandreausa.com/product/guita...lec-351-shape/). They had to switch over to another kind of material because the picks were warping after getting into the hands of the retailers and customers. I'm not a fan of the newer material and I'm not sure if they found a way to switch back to the original material.

My mistake Bill.i confused Dunlop Stubbys with Ernie Ball.I literally have hundreds of picks i've collected through the years,i have to check and see in my endless stash of picks if i have any Ernie Ball stubbys and if they are different from Dunlop.

[Cunamara]

I have the Farley and IMHO it's an awful pick. The bevel is wavy and badly finished rather than smooth (other than the Fusion, I've not liked any of the V Picks). But in general I don't like the sound of polycarbonate picks.

I've never seen an Ernie Ball stubby pick, was it a teardrop with a "speed bevel?"

[Bill Eisele]

My mistake Bill.i confused Dunlop Stubbys with Ernie Ball.I literally have hundreds of picks i've collected through the years,i have to check and see in my endless stash of picks if i have any Ernie Ball stubbys and if they are different from Dunlop.

No worries, Charlie. The biography says that when Ernie Ball discontinued the Stubbies that Johnny Smith went out and bought as many as he could find. So I am guessing it was when he was still an active performing and recording musician. That would have been decades ago. I would be very interested in knowing if you do find them in your stash. But even then he modified them so who would know how to get close to his modification if you do find some.

[Bill Eisele]

I have the Farley and IMHO it's an awful pick. The bevel is wavy and badly finished rather than smooth (other than the Fusion, I've not liked any of the V Picks). But in general I don't like the sound of polycarbonate picks.

I've never seen an Ernie Ball stubby pick, was it a teardrop with a "speed bevel?"

I have to agree with you on the Farley. I have found some of the V-Picks to sound very good but it’s difficult to figure out which ones will from the specs. For example, some of the thinner ones sound warmer with less clicking sounds than the thicker ones.

I have never seen an Ernie Ball Stubbie either. From the description it would appear to have been teardrop shaped with a speed bevel. But hard to say definitively. I searched the web for a photo but couldn’t find one.