do you bend your picks?

[Davey]

to fit your fingers?


some time ago, i found an old fender heavy pick, that i had forgotten in my jeans pocket. it fell out in the washing machine and was there for a very long time. when i found it, it had a slight bend where you hold it, which fit my thumb perfectly.
that is by far the best pick i ever had. it's like i dont even have a pick between my fingers, cos i dont need to struggle to position it, if i hit hard.


sooo.. i bought some fender heavy picks and warmed them up with a lighter and bent them. perfection

so i'm wondering, do they make such picks somewhere? anyone tried to do that?

 

[Kac]

Re: do you bend your picks?

Hmm... intresting. I use Jazz III's so this might not apply to me but No I've never seen any picks that come already shaped like that.

Rock On ~ kac

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: do you bend your picks?

I take a knife or screw tip to my Dunlop Jazz IIIs and scratch the crap out of the area that I hold on to them. This works pretty well to keep them from slipping out of my sweaty hands when I'm playing out . . . I've never tried the bending thing though . . .

 

[MikeS]

Re: do you bend your picks?

My thin acoustic picks, yes. The thicker picks, no. Felt picks, no as well.

 

[fingerace]

Re: do you bend your picks?

sooo.. i bought some fender heavy picks and warmed them up with a lighter and bent them. perfection

and the picking tip is still straight as it was?

I have to try this!

 

[C-Martin]

Re: do you bend your picks?

My thin acoustic picks, yes. The thicker picks, no. Felt picks, no as well.

felt picks?? i would destroy that thing if like 2 or 3 riffs lol.. my 1mm dont last longer than 1-2 practice... i gotta find a way to not destroy my picks lol.. and they always slip and twist i spend most of my time trying to keep it in my hand without falling.. maybe this bending might be good thing to try... and for 50 cent theres not much too lose since that pick would be destoryed in a matter of days anyways lol

 

[MikeS]

Re: do you bend your picks?

Goodness... are your strings made of razor wire? What's causing your picks to wear that fast?

Felt picks are awesome. I use Dunlop, and they are 3.2mm thick. They do wear fast, though. I started using them because they really softened the attack on the bass, and I am not devoted enough to the bass to become real proficient with proper right hand technique. Moving to the guitar with the felt pick just happened one day when I was working on a soft passage. I don't use them for anything with much gain, but love them clean or with a very mild breakup. They have a softer and more bell-like tone than regular plastic or synthetic picks.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: do you bend your picks?

I like GuitarStv's idea about roughing up the top so you can grip it better. As far as bending, I've never tried it, but it sounds like a possibility. I use Fender Jazz-Heavy, which are small, so I'm not sure it would work with them, but I'mm gonna give it a whirl.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: do you bend your picks?

I hate it when my picks get bent, maybe i'll mail them to you :laughing:

 

[mrturtle_91]

Re: do you bend your picks?

I've never tried bending my picks before. I rarely drop picks, so it's not much of a problem for me.

 

[RushOfBlood]

Re: do you bend your picks?

When I use thin ones, yes, unintentionally

 

[tubeman87]

Re: do you bend your picks?

Unless my thumb falls off I'm fine.....but I think I'll try the "pick bending trick" it might be what I'm looking for, good idea!

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: do you bend your picks?

No.

I use nylon picks, usually the Herco, Jim Dunop, or Brain picks- they all have "grippy" lettering or texture to prevent slippage. I still call the Brain picks "cat tongue" picks because the grip pattern feels like a cat's tongue...

 

[Davey]

Re: do you bend your picks?

well, i dont do it because it means it wont slip, that is only a byproduct of it.
i do it cos of increased comfort and ease of use

 

[Tom M]

Re: do you bend your picks?

My picks used to bend when I first started playing because of improper technique in the form of a death grip, and using too thin of a pick. I've never intentionally bent one, though.

 

[firebirdV]

Re: do you bend your picks?

I'd be careful when bending them with a lighter. Some of those cellulose picks burn easily. I tried to bend a thumbpick to my finger, but it went up in flames and I had to toss it into some running water (I was lucky that the nearest lighter was in the bathroom).

 

[Davey]

Re: do you bend your picks?

you think i'm some kind of n00b or what?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: do you bend your picks?

you think i'm some kind of n00b or what?

No need to get hostile.... dude was just warning you that they catch on fire. I wouldn't consider myself a "n00b" by any means, and I didn't know they were flammable.

I've had picks start to get that form you were talking about naturally, but I don't like it, as I might not hold it the same all the time, and I've never found a good "one size fits all" contour.

Hey, have you ever tried the Dava Control picks?

 

[Davey]

Re: do you bend your picks?

sorry ... forgot to put smilies in the post :/
and you pleople should know that i **** around all the time anyway...



soooo .... the picks dont actually have a uniform bend in them.. as long as they are bent in the same manner, it doesnt matter. it's not like they are molded exactly after your thumb. they just have a slight bend, in the general direction you hold the pick naturally. though, it does depend on the individual.

no, i havent heard about those.. all we get here are fender, gibson, dunlop and ibanez picks.. and not even all models to begin with.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: do you bend your picks?

I like my Big Stubby 3mm picks, they have a nice round groove in the middle, when I used thinner picks I also bended them alittle.
Liked when they had a slight curve.
But I eat up picks very fast.