The Steel Guitar Forum

Maybe someone knows about the blue thumb picks?

After trying many kinds I've settled on the National finger picks because while they are not very comfortable, they do stay on and don't go flying across the dance floor.
Also have gotten used to them after spending some time with a couple of needle nose pliers getting them shaped just right.

I have also tried many thumb picks but never found one I liked a lot.
I see a lot of pros use a blue thumb pick, but have no idea where they come from or who makes them?
If you know please tell me?
Or if you have any other advise on thumb picks you like....
Thanks,
Andy

https://www.elderly.com/herco-flex-52-b ... mbpick.htm

The only thumb pick I use...

Thanks Scott,
That may be the one, but it said they are out of stock.
Will look on line by the name.
Best wishes,
Andy

You maybe thinking of these.

http://www.bluechippick.net

Very expensive but folks rave about them. After many years I've settled on Zookie 20's for dobro and Fred Kelly slick picks for banjo. Will probably use my Fred Kelly's on my new Justice Pro Lite when it arrives this week.

Andy,
I also like the National thumb picks, however, my grandson broke the one I was using and a very good substitute for that thumb pick is the Golden Gate thumb pick, which is the one presently in use.

Thanks Bruce but thats not the one.

Got one of the Golden Gates. Better than most but still slips around a little too much... Causes me to hit the wrong string sometimes.

I use a white National or the white Dunlop...or any other color Dunlop, I guess. I prefer a stiffer thumb pick. I have several of the blue Herco picks, but they are very "bendy", and I don't care for that feel while I'm playing.

All in what you get used to, I guess.

Tim Russell wrote:I use a white National or the white Dunlop...or any other color Dunlop, I guess. I prefer a stiffer thumb pick. I have several of the blue Herco picks, but they are very "bendy", and I don't care for that feel while I'm playing.

All in what you get used to, I guess.

I prefer the National thumbpicks... but they are strange. I have several packs of both the white and brown shell colors, and the white ones are noticeable sturdier, and sometimes longer despite officially being the same size (Medium in my case).

I also feel the same as Tim about the Herco picks. I don't like the shape and feel of the picking surface, but it is true that many of the pros do use them.

Maurice Anderson used a small pick that seemed to be placed on the very tip of his thumb, though it was partially an illusion. He said he preferred it that way because he knew the small pick was tight enough to not go anywhere.

Thanks for the tips.
Not sure what will be right until I find it.
Willing to try any.

I like the sound of the blue Herco picks, and they seem far more impervious to wear than others. But for me, too, they're too bendy, and feel loose on my thumb, almost able to turn, which I can't stand.

My favorite thumb picks were the Nationals I used to get back in the 80's--white, with the narrow blade. I still have one left, a bit worn so I don't use it any more--so I can compare it to the new ones. The new Nationals are made of an entirely different material and are a different shape, neither of which I like at all.

Today's white Dunlops are much better, IMO.

The one I use now is a Golden Gate fake ivory one.
Feels better than most I've had, but I still seem too often to hit the wrong string by accident when I'm moving the pick back. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else???
Maybe I should just go back (40 years) to practicing the basics like string grips and that kind of thing?

I like Fred Kelly Poly Slick picks but their Regular is more commonly used.
Delrin picks last forever and poly has a brighter tone.

http://fredkellypicks.com/

Thanks Ken,
Will have to try to find a place on line that sells all these until I get the perfect pick.
Best wishes,
Andy

The old blue Hercos were great. The current ones are not the same. If you don't like a pick that moves around on your thumb, you won't like these new Hercos. I know guys that swear by them, but keep 2 or 3 on their guitar to switch off because they get really loose when they warm up. They are pretty comfortable until they start spinning.

I've been using the Dunlop Ultex thumb picks for about a year now and I like them really well.

Here's a thread concerning them if you are interested. http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... ight=ultex

Jerry Overstreet wrote:The old blue Hercos were great. The current ones are not the same. If you don't like a pick that moves around on your thumb, you won't like these new Hercos. I know guys that swear by them, but keep 2 or 3 on their guitar to switch off because they get really loose when they warm up. They are pretty comfortable until they start spinning.

The blue Hercos I have are ones I got in the 80's or 90's, and that description fits them.

Saliva on your thumb will keep any pick that fits decently snug from slipping around while you play. I use Fred Kelly delrin regulars. Or as I call it, the Spit Pick.

The blue Herco was a bit loose for me when I tried it. Pretty sure that's what Bobby Black was using, the few times I gigged with him. Seems to work out okay for him

I'm talking mid 70's, early 80's era issue. Anyway, if you want to try the Hercos Andy, Steel Guitars of Nashville shows them here:

http://www.mcssl.com/store/steelguitars ... ccessories

Good luck. Hope you find some that work for you.

I'm hearing a lot of Fred Kelly suggestions here. My go-to pick for banjo and soon for my Justice Pro Lite. I always lick my fingers when using finger picks.

I have the Herco blues. I need three of them.
My next picks will be the propik with the nylon blade

I like the Zookies angled thumbpicks and the Dunlop Heavies Ivoroid

I've found that everything that's not Nylon/Delrin (they're similar in this application) will get scratchy with wear.

I've pretty much used the zookies L-10 or L-30 for almost as long as I've been playing. Recently I've been changing my technique and found something about the way they sound when I strike the string displeasing. I've been switching off between an old blue herco and a JF red thumbpick. I like the sound of both but, I don't like the long blade of the JF. I would try to shape it some but, I understand that the JF will no longer be produced. I'd hate to mess up a perfectly good pick....

I think I tried most every kind of thumb pick out there, and for a long time they were kind of frustrating. The Blue Herco blades feel right on the string, but they really do feel too loose on my thumb - for me, anyway. I started on Large 'vintage' Nationals (forget about the new Nationals, they're nothing like the old ones), and a bunch of similar ones, including the large Golden Gates. The blades just feel gigantic to me on the narrow spacing of a pedal steel. The white vintage Nationals and white Dunlop or John Pearse, all in medium, work pretty well, but pretty much cut the circulation off to my thumb. I can get away with about 15-20 minutes before my thumb is turning dark blue.

Then Mike Sweeney showed me the Delrin Fred Kelly Regulars - I think they only come in 'Heavy'. I already used Delrin Fred Kelly Slick Picks and Speed Picks (light or medium) for banjo and slide guitar, but I was unfamiliar with the regulars. Voila, that was it for me. To me, the blade feels great on the string and they stay glued to my thumb without choking it. Delrin for me, I find polycarbonate too brittle, to my tastes. I'm sure I'd break the polycarbonate anyway. The Delrins stay smooth and I can't recall ever breaking one of them in the last 8 years I've been using them.

They're sold in a bunch of places like Musicians Friend, Elderly, and so on. Or the Fred Kelly website - http://fredkellypicks.com/product/delrin-regular/ - you can also see info there on the Slick Picks, which are also pretty good for steel if I don't dig in too much.

Lane Gray wrote:I've found that everything that's not Nylon/Delrin (they're similar in this application) will get scratchy with wear.

That's my complaint with the Golden Gates (I use the "ivoroid" when I use GG's)--scratchy attack after a bit of wear. The Herco blues I have (new? old? in-between?) don't have that problem at all. What material are they made of? But they feel loose, and looser as playing time goes on. The similar red ones, too, by the way.

From the beginning (for me, 1983) I've only used thumb picks with the narrow "blade", which are usually called "small", and my earliest instruction ( in writing, mostly) said that's "what you use" for PSG. I have some with wider blades but they never feel right.