Love the Darkglass pick. I kept mine when I sold my Microtubes X 
3 Likes
I had a good laugh at the Darkglass “case candy” which I hadn’t been expecting.
Sticker, pick and…
A facemask with the darkglass logo.
How very 2020/2021. 
6 Likes
I find that a softer pick brings more attack, a more clicky and trebly transcient.
4 Likes
I come at this from the opposite direction. I’ve been a guitar player for 40+ years. Playing with a pick is my default mode. So in learning to play bass, I’ve tried to learn fingers only. To be clear, I was a bluegrass player for years. Fiddle tunes in the 200-220bpm range are not uncommon. Strict up-down picking is a must. Downstroke on the beat, upstroke on the “&”. No exceptions. Even when skipping strings, playing rests or tricky syncopated rhythms. You will wipe out if you don’t. I’ve done it — on stage, and in front of a paying audience.
Now that I’m about finished with B2B for the 2nd time, I may go back to a pick for the occasional Ramones song or alt/indie rock thing.
BTW, this is the pick that is always in my pocket, a heavy tortoise shell made in the ‘40s, long before the CITES treaty went into effect. It’s about 2/3 of it’s original size.
3 Likes
We get facemasks with the local Chinese restaurant logo on them every time we order delivery. I have an over under of 0 of how many people actually wear them.
2 Likes
I was watching that Carole Kay/Gene Simmons video in another thread where she teaches Gene some technique.
What caught my eye is that her pick is flopping around like a piece of paper and making a load of sting noise ruckus, but worked for her and her sound.
I couldn’t understand why someone would use a super soft pick until watching her.
https://forum.bassbuzz.com/t/bass-lines-you-didn-t-realize-were-cool-until-now/23582/12
3 Likes
sometimes there is really a sweet spot with pick stiffness. for example, when I recorded my recent cover or Larma , which is a fast song, I found that the Ultex 1.0 was perfect. the 0.88 was a little bit too soft, the 1.14 was a little bit too hard. those thicknesses are all very useable but, this times, the 1.0 was the sweet spot.
4 Likes
I was genuinely sad when I bought a used DG pedal and the pick was not included. 
Think the Darkglass one is a .88mm Tortex. Together with the 1.0 Ultex these are my favourite picks.
1 Like
Now I’m jealous… didn’t get one of those 
2 Likes
When I play with a pick, these are the picks I use. They sound and feel great.
2 Likes
Nope, the thinner the pick for me, the better sound I can get, at least is it more even sound across all strings.
I have a hard time with thick picks.
But I have not tried the thick ones that taper to a thinner point, like described in posts above. To me, you more slide across the string, then dig in and flex thru it.
That is the onlly way I know how to explain it, and I know some have not agreed with me, but I think that I am not explaining well enough what I mean, like I can’ find the right way to describe it.
Still, I prefer the .6, and no just cuz its orange, but that does help a lot.
But I must be clear, I am a finger player, I rarely use a pick.
I got some picks to learn the intro to a NOFX song, and saw Fat Mike explaining to the bass player of Avenge Sevenfold how to use this circular pick motion, starting with an upstroke, on the D string, down thru the D again, then across the G, lift and then start over, up pick the D then down pick thru the D and G, life and start over.
After looking at the tab and figuring it out, it makes total sense the way he explained to pick it.
The bass player for Avvenge Sevenfold ( I only know him as Johnny, from his YT channel “Drinks with Johnny”) who was asking Fat Mike about it, because he, Johnny, a pick player, couldn’t figure out how to play the song until Mike explained the pick circular motion, where to start, finish, lift and start againn.
I started doing it, and pretty quickly I was able to play it, and it sounded pretty good, but because I am not a great pick player, I still got unwanted string noise.
So, I set out to figure out how to play it with my fingers, and practiced right hand plucking technique / pattern that would sort oor replicate his pick pattern, but with fingers.
Ii now can play it pretty flawless, even going back to it at the bridge, after playing fast 1/16 notes down the neck near the 5th thru 2nd frets. So I can race bak and playy that part perfectly with fingers.
The problem arrises with the verses of the song, I can’t play the 1/16 notes at that high BPM, do I need the pink to play the other parts of the song, with up / down pick ing motion FAST FAST FAST.
I still do right hand finger exercises to try and get my speed up, but have not gotten there.
Same with the end of Ironman by sabbath.
I have no Idea how Geezer plucked (no pick) so fast to play that ending part (if you don’t know it off had, listen for the break after the end of all the singing, and llisten to how fast he plucks.
I have even been trying to do right hand eercises to pluck with 3 fingers, but pluck even 1/4 notes or 1/8 notes, 1/16 notes, etc, but the trick is to not play triplets at all, just to use 3 fingrs to keep a 4 beat pattern.
If anybody like @gio or @JoshFossgreen have tips for doing this, please advise.
Or any suggestions on how to build the speed with the two plucking fingers (index and middle) so that I can keep up with this, with just my two standard issue plucking fingers.
Ot anybody else that has gone thru this and figured it out with plucking hand exercises, please, love to ear it.
I know I could grab a pick and play the end of ironman, or the other parts in this NOFX song (The Idiots are Taking Over), but I really want to get away with two, or maybe 3 plucking fingers instead of the pick.
The pick is an option, its not off the table, but would like to see if I can get there with my fingers like Geezer did.
3 Likes
Thin picks are absolutely easier to use, especially on guitar but also on bass. Thicker picks are more of a “what feels right to me” thing.
I don’t like picks over ~1.2mm much at all. 0.88-1.14 is my sweet spot.
3 Likes
Here is what the master has to say:
2 Likes
Thank you.
Its holding me back from doing my IronMan cover, the end of the song, wow, fast plucking.
That and computer set up, but if I were ready, I could get it done on the ipad I suppose.
2 Likes
I am a self taught basses and learned a lot from the YouTube videos on bass buzz. Just wondering. When I’m picking I have the tendency to plant my wrist on the bass. It is the most comfortable way for me to play. Is this proper technique? Will it prevent me from playing faster?
3 Likes
you can do both : play with the wrist on the bass body, or play with the whole arm motion and a “floating” wrist. the second option gives you way more power/force. also you can alternate between those two positions depending on the song and the part you’re playing, to find what’s more efficient, more comfortable and less tyring.
3 Likes
Yeah. Sometimes I tend to plant my forearm (but not my wrist), and sometimes it does make string changing trickier. I do both really.
3 Likes
what’s interesting with the wrist on the bass body is that it can easilly bring a very stable anchor point, and that’s very efficient if you want to play fast without string crossing. ideally on only one string.
4 Likes
Whenever I do floating wrist, my playing becomes a mess. Any tips on how to practice that technique?
2 Likes
I’m not a 3 finger guy!
I’ll do it to do some metal triplet gallops, but that’s the only place it works for me.
The end of Iron Man is crazy fast.
I use a pick for that shtuff. I like the yellow Tortex (adopted from Bobby Vega) and thicker. Nothing else has the beef for my ears.
5 Likes