Thumb picks: love 'em, hate 'em? What's your favourite?

[michelew]

Thumb picks, personally I hate them. But, I've broken my thumb nail again, not to a disastrous level but short enough that I can't get the tone I'm looking for.

I'm playing a song where I'm finger picking the the bass notes are especially important...well aren't they always.

Anyway, I've had to dig through my supplies. I know I've raised this subject before but you never know when a fab new product comes along.

Here's a photo of the one I'm using and another two I have. I prefer the one I'm wearing because it acts like my nail does. I don't have to change the angle of my attack much and because it sits under my nail I have a better feel for the string and the amount of force I'm using and I can still use the flesh of my thumb a little if I want to. I do have to change the placement of the edge, it's lower than my own thumb nail and I'm still adjusting to that, as in I'm still hitting too low to some extent. But I'll adjust I guess.



So... Got a favourite thumb pick that works for you? I'd love to see it and to hear why you like it.

Let the grumbles and likes begin.

Michele

[Lavallee]

Hi Michele, that cannot be your broken thumb nail

Seriously I have tried many times to use thumb picks with no success. I am hitting everywhere but the good string. I need more patience or more talent. But I like the one you are wearing, looks more natural

Marc

[daryl]

I've tried using a Dunlop (like the brown one in your picture), but like Marc, I have a hard time hitting the strings properly. My biggest problem is that my bass notes are way louder than the treble notes. And when I try to lighten my touch on the bass strings, I lose the rhythm/timing of things.

I like the look/design of the one you're wearing. Do you know the maker and what it is called?

[michelew]

Marc and Daryl,

Then you should both try the one I'm using which is not bad.

It's an Alaska Pik. And they're cheap.

http://www.alaskapik.com

The only real issue I'm having beside needing to pluck a little higher, is that the tone is a little muted compared to a thumbnail. It's louder, but ... Maybe a better description is a little deadened. I'd like one in tusq. Maybe I should try one of their metal ones if I can locate one.

But the action is pretty good. And it sure bets having to wait for the nail to grow back.

M

OK - I now have on in bass on order.

[willem]

What a great idea (the one you wearing), I must try that.

In some cases I love those picks (maybe for heavy bass notes)

I have the brown one and bowed the point a bit up.

Did' nt use it much but I know I will try again when the bass notes are to light.

W.

[wrsomers]

Hi Michele,
I've always used a thumb pick. Like anything else, it's what one gets used to. I can "go bare back" but usually don't because I'm not willing to grow a thumb nail. That means my bass notes are too muffled without the thumb pick. My pick of choice is the Ernie Ball medium. For someone not accustomed to using a thumb pick it would probably be hated because it is long and requires the thumb to be held a little further from the string.

I do use nails on my index, middle and ring fingers and occasionally run into breakage problems. My solution to that is silk wrap and nail gel. Once you get the hang of using your left hand to do it, it works very well. There is a thread in this forum on James Taylor's method of reinforcing your nails. I WOULD NOT recommend it, because he uses nail GLUE rather than GEL; that can damage the nail.

The products to use are these:
1. Supernail Swiss Silk Wrap
2. ibd Brush-on Gel Resin
3. All Season Nails "Bio-Set" resin activator; or another brand of resin activator (this step is very important unless you want to wait 5 minutes or more between coats). The resin sets instantly with this product.

Here's a youtube lesson on the process:


The repair usually lasts 2 weeks. There is no damage done to the nail unlike other methods, and the wrap is easy to remove by soaking it in nail polish remover. You can extend a broken nail slightly by using several coats of gel (maybe 5 or so). I hope this helps.

Bill

[michelew]

Hey guys. This for responding.

Willem - the one I'm using is nicely different form your regular thumb pick, it may work for you too.

Bill - that's an interesting approach. It looks like it would be especially good for treating bad breaks. In truth I'm not sure I would be diligent enough to maintain them once I had formed them (assuming I didn't just make a big mess).

On a stupid note, if I did start doing this, my gosh my partner would give me HELL. I'm really not a femme girl woman; quite the opposite actually. I already get quite a bit of stirring because I'm filing and shaping my nails on my right hand. Lots of smirks there.

Anyway if I need to go down this track at some point, then your post will be quite helpful. Thanks.

M

[TGNesh]

Have to admit that I barely use thumbpicks....to be very honest, I don't really see the point either. Except if ones thumbnail won't grow by itself and you don't want to go, for example, for a acryl nail or something. Thankfully mine grows well.

I do use it sometimes though and I'm able to play reasonably well with it too, but i hate the feel around my thumb :S , so I'm always glad to take it off. All in all....hate it, love, well I guess I hate it, haha! :laugh: :laugh:

Ness

[BigBear]

Shel- you don't have the good ones! The best I've found is a Zookie by Jim Dunlop. The reason they are best is because the tip is at an angle to your thumb meaning your attack is square to the string. I use 20 degree.

Here's a link:




If you can't find them PM me your address and I'll send you a couple.

Bear

[michelew]

TGVanessa wrote:

Have to admit that I barely use thumbpicks....to be very honest, I don't really see the point either. Except if ones thumbnail won't grow by itself and you don't want to go, for example, for a acryl nail or something. Thankfully mine grows well.

I do use it sometimes though and I'm able to play reasonably well with it too, but i hate the feel around my thumb :S , so I'm always glad to take it off. All in all....hate it, love, well I guess I hate it, haha! :laugh: :laugh:

Ness

As you know Ness, I normally have a whopper of a thump nail, a scary talon. Then I don't need a thumb pick because I have the best, most ergonomic, one I could have. Here's a blurry photo of said talon. I actually took this to record the water damage in my apartment. BTW - it took several attempts to insert this photo. I needed to cut the size down from 1.4 MB quite a bit, not sure how big it is now.




But..... In this instance I actually broke it in my sleep. I must have been wrestling zombies or something.... Hmmmm (that takes on a new meaning).

Anyway, when I'm waiting for my talon to grow back, I need a stand-in.

So now that you know how to insert photos into TG posts, how about posting a photo of your nails, including the thumb?

Bill - I'd be interested in seeing what your resin ones look like too.

Shel