Metal Finger Picks

Walter Hamlin · Post by **Walter Hamlin** » 9 Feb 2005 12:12 pm

Don't know if this has ever been posed on the forum before, but I thought I would ask.
What type, guage and brand of metal finger picks do you use and why.
At what angle do you bend your picks. I have heard for years pickers say they bend it slightly and get a harsher sound, bend it almost at a 90degree and get a mellow sound. I know technique is the key to a good sound and to me the pick angle does produce a unique tone.
And at what angle do you set your pick for speed picking or is it incorporated into YOUR natural picking technique regardless of the angle.
This question may sound very elementary and childish to some of you old pros so I will apologize for it now.
Thanks,
Walter

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 9 Feb 2005 12:30 pm

Walter,you may not like my answer,but buy yourself a bunch of picks,stainless steel.dunlops to me is a no no,the lips will catch the strings.i use a 4 1/2 inch grinder and a emmory type wheel, and needle nose plyers to hold,then dress them till they feel right to me.you can dress and thin them as much as you want.have a bucket of water to dip them in.keep dressing and bending until you get what you want.then hang on to them for the rest of your life,they will never wear out. i bought a bunch of picks from Jeff Newman,then build my own custom picks.you can bend,thin and shape until you are happy, no such thing as a factory pick to me that feels good.I build my own. just my input
farris

Jan Mulder · Post by **Jan Mulder** » 9 Feb 2005 1:15 pm

Hi Walter, take a look at this webside
http://www.cobaltbp.com/
[The URL in this message has been disabled because it contains a virus][This message was edited by b0b on 10 February 2005 at 04:54 PM.]

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 9 Feb 2005 1:22 pm

Walter,after making my remarks,i went out in the shop and made a set,be sure dont take to much off a one time!!only a little at a time,i polished them on buffing wheel,and got them good and slick,and kindda rolling,first set,is little short,almost like finger picking,play with it you'll like it... farris

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 9 Feb 2005 1:50 pm

JF picks available from www.jeffran.com are prebent to the proper angle, they are good and thick to give you a good tone also.
Just have to adjust to fit your finger size. They are similar to the old Nationals. I have used them for years... they are the best ones for me.
Yes, there have been many threads on this subject. I suspect a search on the Pedal Steel or Steel
Players or maybe Bar Chatter archives boards will return many opinions.

[This message was edited by Jerry Overstreet on 09 February 2005 at 01:54 PM.]

Chippy Wood · Post by **Chippy Wood** » 9 Feb 2005 2:09 pm

I use Jeff Newman picks, the best I've had.

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Ron (Chippy) Wood
Emmons D10
Carter SD10

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 9 Feb 2005 2:15 pm

Thanks DAN,i just ordered a set of double cobolt picks,shipping tomorrow, be seeing how they are.people were nice,and sounds great. farris

Bob Kagy · Post by **Bob Kagy** » 9 Feb 2005 3:15 pm

Be careful about the cobalt picks website listed above, I just went there and my security software reported that it detected and deleted a trojan that got downloaded as part of my visit. You may have a different experience, I hope so.

But back to topic, I recently got some cobalt plated Nationals from Elderly Music and find I like them quite a bit.

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 9 Feb 2005 3:35 pm

NO problem here BOB, AND order is placed, shipping tomorrow, farris

J Hill · Post by **J Hill** » 9 Feb 2005 5:21 pm

I just got a virus from that site too. McAfee took care of it for me.

[This message was edited by Leila Tuttle on 09 February 2005 at 05:22 PM.]

Harold Williamson · Post by **Harold Williamson** » 9 Feb 2005 6:02 pm

I just got a virus from the cobalt site. Been working all evening trying to clean up my computer. Its put pop ups, search engines, advertisements, and everything else on it. It says the virus is a trojan.

Walter Hamlin · Post by **Walter Hamlin** » 10 Feb 2005 4:02 pm

Jerry, there are a lot of talk on this subject in the archives. Never thought to look it up though. I've used JF picks and and I like them. I've tried a heap of them over the years and I have comtemplated making my own. I have dry hands and have a hard time keeping them on my fingers so I bought some "Gorilla Snot" and it works great. I think it is just rosin.

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 10 Feb 2005 4:07 pm

I went to that site yesterday after reading this thread. I kept getting a dialogue box saying that I couldn't access the content of the site unless I downloaded something. I kept selecting "NO". Hope I didn't inadvertantly get something anyway...

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Post by **b0b** » 10 Feb 2005 4:45 pm

That CobaltBP page is very rude. I wouldn't buy anything from someone who treats potential customers like that. I got 3 different cookie attempts, 2 ActiveX attempts and a popup ad.

Back to topic, I prefer Nationals. They're not very comfortable, but I've A/B'ed them for tone with everything I could find, and they just sound better to me.

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<img align=left src="http://b0b.com/b0bxicon.gif" border="0"> Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com 
System Administrator

Michael Haselman · Post by **Michael Haselman** » 10 Feb 2005 4:53 pm

I was smart. Back in the early 80s I bought a box of 50 Blue Hercos and about 30 Nationals. I still have plenty of both left.

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Marrs D-10, Webb 6-14E

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 10 Feb 2005 5:58 pm

I use whatever brand I can find... I always used .018, but these days I don't like thin picks. I get better speed and tone from heavier picks,but it took me a little while to get used to them. I'll never go back to a thin pick,but really don't see any difference in one brand over the other.

One brand may feel a little different when it is first put on,but after an hour or so,they all feel like what they are. ...A little piece of metal on the end of my finger made for plucking a string.. bob

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 10 Feb 2005 8:06 pm

Walter, I keep a tub o'snot in my seat too.! Or as some will tell you, just licking your fingers before putting on your picks will keep them tight. [Might be an OK idea...depends where they've been]

This subject might be a good candidate for Travis' FAQ section.

Kevin Ruddell · Post by **Kevin Ruddell** » 11 Feb 2005 3:01 am

A previous forum post from Gene recommeded the Elmers white washable glue that comes in a stick for retaining picks. I have dry hands and this really helped. It worked great and washs off with water

Walter Hamlin · Post by **Walter Hamlin** » 11 Feb 2005 7:02 am

Haven't seen a comment specifically about pick angle and why you think it is the best for you. I have seen, in some SG courses, pictures of an instructor telling why his picks were bent to a certain angle. I've been at this SG habit for about 30 years now and I am always trying to figure out a little technique to improve with. I believe if I had a 100 lifetimes I could never learn the steel guitar. It's one of the most addictive habits I have ever had.
Walter

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 11 Feb 2005 7:31 am

I agree with b0b on the old Nationals. I've got a few sets of those and I've tried others and they just don't make it for me. I carry my fingerpicks and a blue Herco thumbpick around in one of those plastic (nylon) containers that 35mm film comes in as it protects them and I can carry a set with me at all times in my pants pocket. I keep a spare set in my pac seat (Walker) in case I forget to put my picks in the pants I'm wearing. As far as pick angles, I think that's an individual thing and one way is no better than the other. I've seen too many variations to say that one way is preferable. Doug Jernigan wears his picks way up on his fingers while Herby Wallace wears his down on the tips and either one of them plays faster and cleaner that just about anyone out there. I wear mine pretty far out as I use the same picks for lead guitar. It's actually a trade off as if I only played steel I think I'd like to wear them a little farther up the fingers but with the light gauge strings on my Tele (.008-.038) I can get a lighter touch with the picks farther out on my fingers. I've adjusted my steel playing accordingly and I find that I can play faster but I think I lose some tone as it seems fatter to me with the picks farther up the fingers.....JH

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Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 11 February 2005 at 07:34 AM.]

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 11 Feb 2005 7:45 am

Walter, I one of the many Jeff Newman followers, therefore his teaching methods concerning right hand technique address the question of pick angle quite adequately for me. The shape and posture of the right hand automatically take care of pick angle. They have a video course available on this subject also.

I've seen people bend the picks at different angles and I believe someone makes them that way. Seems to me it's just easier to learn this technique in the first place. Whatever works best for you.
The Jeffran method does it for me.
No doubt many other opinions will be forthcoming.

John Davis · Post by **John Davis** » 12 Feb 2005 2:27 am

I like the Dunlops they fit better for me than the Nationals and settle for licking my fingers before I put them on (this I can do as my fingers are clean and never go anywhere they should`ent!) I find the heavy guages suit my clumsy agressive style and I don`t lose them as often when playing, also Mr Huntley taught me "Get used to them straight out of the box" I found this to be good advice, if you have to have them bent at some funny angle and you lose one....... its a whole new ball game breaking in a replacement, just MHO.

Ernie Pollock · Post by **Ernie Pollock** » 12 Feb 2005 5:44 am

I have used the Jeff Newman picks since he came out with those, you could not find the old nationals around my area. They were ok, but not as good as Newmans. I have used the Kyser Old Style on occasion, they would be my 2nd choice in metal picks. I love the blue herco thumb pick.

Ernie Pollock

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Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 12 Feb 2005 8:19 am

The Bill Stokes "Showcase 41's" work real good, for me. I've got three setsbent, one for steel, one for dobro, and one for banjo. They really ring when you drop 'em on a hard surface.

Walter Hamlin · Post by **Walter Hamlin** » 12 Feb 2005 8:21 am

Over the years I have learned what works for me and have pretty well stuck to it. I have heard many pickers say that the angle of the pick is all important. Well, I thought I would ask others for their opinion. This is the reason I posted this thread. And, you can never tell, I am always eager to learn something from someone.
I am using the Kyser picks now, sometimes I use others. The blue Herco is my favorite thumb pick, and the flat blue herco is my favorite guitar pick.
Thanks for addressing this.
Walter