Thumbpicks

AcornHouse

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Needing to go back and forth between fingerpicking and flat picking in one song, (and not getting the knack of tucking the pick between fingers) I thought I’d try a thumb pick. I got two from Sweetwater (free shipping and a bag of Bit’O Honey, suh-weet!): The Herco is definitely the winner of the two (except for the silly colors); fairly comfortable, and enough give in the pick for an acoustic. The D’Addarios are very uncomfortable and inflexible.

Any others that you like?
 

dreadnut

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I prefer the Fred Kelly Delrin Speed Pick:

HAm0jAJ.jpg
 

Westerly Wood

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I don’t know if I want my picks giving me the finger.:biggrin-new:

LOL, i just noticed that too. awesome!

speaking of good picks, anyone have a suggestion for a heavy pick, 2 mm or larger that has a better grip? the ones i like are starting to move a lot when i strum, its pretty funny. i still hold onto it, but i swear, the pick does a 360 rotation during a song. it has a mind of its own.
 

AcornHouse

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LOL, i just noticed that too. awesome!

speaking of good picks, anyone have a suggestion for a heavy pick, 2 mm or larger that has a better grip? the ones i like are starting to move a lot when i strum, its pretty funny. i still hold onto it, but i swear, the pick does a 360 rotation during a song. it has a mind of its own.
Gator grips? Dava power grips? (I don’t use anything that heavy, so just throwing out options from experience with .96~ sizes.)
 

walrus

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WW, I still can't believe you use a 2.0 pick for acoustic! Wow!

What are you using now? The Delrin 500 picks from Dunlop have a nice grip, and I have also used the Dunlop Primetone picks with the "grip" option. Those are very grippy!

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/510P2.0

walrus
 

Zelja

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I'm experimenting with the Fred Kelley Slick Pick & also their Bumble-bee pick. Both are better for me for strummed flatpicking than a standard thumb pick. In the end you have to try things & see what feels comfortable.
 

JohnW63

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I like the Bumble-bee for thump picking because it is small and the tip is close to the edge of my thumb. The thumb position is then a lot like not having a pick.

For struming with a thumb pick, try a Propik. The pick part can be rotated to match the angle you want to match how you hold a normal flat pick. You do have to adjust the metal thumb band to fit your finger perfectly though.
thumb_picks-0307.jpg
 

dreadnut

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An old Earl Scruggs trick is to use an x-acto blade to score cross-hatches into the plastic surface where it contacts your thumbprint area. Keeps the pick from rotating and/or flying off your thumb mid-performance.
 

AcornHouse

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A thumb pick never worked for me...and I tried them all. Just didn't feel right/comfortable, and that's okay. I plan to persevere. :courage:

Joe
It’s definitely not going to be a regular thing, just for those songs where I need to switch from strummin’ to pickin’, and back. I wish I could do those fingerpicking patterns with a flatpick like Townshend, but I don’t have that precision.
 

ezstrummer

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I have tried thumb picks, just cant seem to get the feel for them.
 

Westerly Wood

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I have tried thumb picks, just cant seem to get the feel for them.

yeah, me either. tried several different kinds but i kind of just prefer a big 2.0 mm pick to strum with. i am surprised light gauge strings can stand up to the task but have not broken many strings at all.
 

markus

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I have tried to get used to thumb picks several times over the years, but it didn't work out.
I remember being very impressed watching cjd-player playing with a thumb pick;
a few months later I had some troubles with my picking thumb when I played a lot.
So I tried again and it finally worked out fine; what helped me most was sitting in front of the TV watching sportc etc. and just picking my usual patterns. It took me less than a month to get used to it.
Now I love using these Dunlop picks ...

markus :smile:
 

walrus

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I am a 99% flat picker, but I can "hybrid" pick OK. Not a fingerpicker - I'm impressed by those who are.

walrus
 

Westerly Wood

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I am a 99% flat picker, but I can "hybrid" pick OK. Not a fingerpicker - I'm impressed by those who are.

walrus

hybrid picking must be cool. i cannot figure that one out :)
 

dreadnut

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I'm doing my fingerpicking now mostly with my bare fingers and thumb, so I'm building up those right hand calluses. Sometimes I use the thumbpick to amplify the bass line. I can't get the fingerpicks to work any more since carpal tunnel surgery. But now I've come to prefer using the bare fingers and I like being able to strum with a quick downward flick of my right hand nails. You can't do that with fingerpicks.
 
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