The Steel Guitar Forum

Do any of you shorten your thumb picks?
By cutting them off it seems easier to pick with less stumbling because they don't run so deep.Or is this a bad technique?

Patrick,

I bought a thumbpick from Jeff Newman and it had a long picking area. It was also kind of narrow. It made a "snapping" sound when I picked with it. So I used an emory board and shortened it a little which also took it to a wider area. I "repointed" it and that got rid of most of the snap. I truly think you can get used to any length with time, but if you get a more favorable sound with a little trimming - go for it! (And if you get a red thumbpick with a white center that you think looks cool, do whatever you need to do to make it sound like you want!!)

I cut mine at both ends, the picking tip and the part that wraps around the thumb so I can block with the side of my thumb. This is very important to me. Jeff Newman told me Paul Franklin does this also.

I "redesign" my Newman thumb picks also, but having been used to National mediums I use them most often. I just ordered a half dozen National mediums and was shocked to discover I could barely get them on my thumb. They are completely unusable. They are clearly smaller than my other National mediums. I wonder if they were marked wrong or if the design has changed. Has anyone else had this problem? Martin.

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Martin W. Emmons LG III 3/5 Peavy 1000

Try the Fred Kelly slick pick. It's already
short and round on the end. They come in several gauges and materials.

I use the Herco picks which used to be blue and now they're red. I take an emory board and file them to a sharp point as I think it gives a brighter tone on the lower strings. I started doing this playing lead guitar but it works great on steel too....JH

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

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 04 April 2003 at 06:12 AM.]</p></FONT>

I bought a thumb pick from Frenchy's in Belen, New Mexico that has some tortoise shell attached to the picking area and it stiffens it up just right. The rest of the pick is white.
Erv

If you have a plastic thumb pick that is too big or too small, you can adjust it by droping it into boiling water for a few seconds. Then take it out of the boiling water and quickly (and gently) readjust the size before it cools and hardens.

I use Dunlop picks and have found that they´re often very different, even within the same type. Some are longer and some shorter. When I need a new one, I try on several at the store until I find one that´s right for me.

Joe H.

I'd forgotten about this, but I used to like them short and round, too, and after getting tired of filing them, or trying to cut them and spoiling them more often than not, I thought I'd try melting one and, you know what?

THEY BURN! Spectacularly! Like a flare, almost...

And not only that but if you light the tip and let it burn for a second or two and then put it out (keep a glass of water handy), it burns into just about the shape I wanted - a short, rounded end. I got so I would light them up on my thumb, count to two or three, and stick my thumb in the water (I'd hesitate with anything that has a high alcohol content - American beer would be perfectly safe, heh-heh). Then just strop it on some leather or your jeans and it's done.

I regret very much never doing this on stage. If anybody else tries the trick and likes it, promise me you'll do it on stage and tell us about it here. Watch the curtains.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by John Kavanagh on 04 April 2003 at 12:30 PM.]</p></FONT>

Recently I started playing steel again after a 20 + years lay off. I found my picks from the early 60's in an old box. The finger picks are nationals. The thumb pick is clear
plastic with the name "Dobro" inbedded on it.
Its a great thumb pick. Does anyone know if they are still made ? It has a short length on the pick.

I prefer the Dunlop thumb picks to any other I've tried. Nylon type, very comfortable. Shaft is good and shaped well at the point. None of the music stores herecarried them. Went directly to Dunlop and bought a bag of 12.

Carl West
Emmons LaGrande lll

Here's another vote for Fred Kelly's slick picks. I find that they are perfect for everything I need a thumbpick for. (Fingerstyle guitar, dobro, b@^j0, and Pedal steel.)

As far as its being a bad habit to modify your stuff, I take the position, "If it could work better, make it!"

Lincoln Goertzen

Sorry to say - but about four years ago I went the other way and moved over to a metal thumbpick and have been there ever since - I also use it on Banjo too.
I've mentioned it a few times at our monthly meeting here on the Island and a couple of long standing players have also gone the same way.

Bob Mainwaring. Z.Bs and other weird things.

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