Thumb pick advice.

PeterHall

Folks

I'm primarily an electric player rapidly transitioning to acoustic. 

I have arthritis in my thumb and fingers, but find that a thumb pick really helps. Now, due to the changeable nature of my arthritis, I could really do with an adjustable thumb pick. I find that solid plastic /metal picks can be painful to wear.

Does such a thing exist? Happy to search online,but a steer would be of great help.
Thanks in advance.

Stuckfast

I really like the Fred Kelly Bumblebee thumbpicks. They're only adjustable in the sense that you can slide the 'plectrum' part up and down slightly but they are available in various sizes and so on.

PeterHall

Thank you. I will look

thermionic

I’ve recently been spammed by adverts for thumbpicks that seem to have some kind of adjustment - Black Mountain Thumbpicks I think?

Also, the trick with the celluloid ones is to put them in a cup of just boiled water for a minute, then put it on and it’s supposed to mould itself to the shape of your thumb.

bertie

I'll try and keep this short.............. as the whatsit said to the thingy

Ive tried pretty much every thumb pick out there, and the best fit Ive found,  Good old bog standard Dunlop/Ernie Ball tort  dropped in a cup of hot water for 20 seconds,  then mould to fit.................(I also file the blade down to a symmetrical point)

Even our late great friend Mellish tried to win me over with the Fred Kelly speed picks..............failed miserably.

DavidR

I have played with fingerpicks (thumb plastic, index & middle steel) since the 70's. Important to remember that they vary in hardness like plectra. I suspect everyone spends a period of time finding their own optimal ones.

I use this Jim Dunlop Red for soft


and this Golden Gate for hard

As others have said, thumbpicks are made of thermoplastics and can be moulded to your thumb with the cautious use of boiling hot water and then carved for length, angle of attack etc. and then smoothed off. They often come in small, medium, large sizes.

They have all the features of nails as regards the correct interaction with the string but the advantage that they can be twisted around. Try to ensure that there is a flat angle of attack although this is not always possible. They are certainly good for volume. 

Banjo players use steel thumb picks but they sound a little harsh on acoustics, to my ears anyway.

Soupman

Fred Kelly speed picks. They have a narrow 'tongue' which aids accurate picking and although it looks flimsy, it's not.
Eagle music import them. (No affiliation).

bermudianbrit

yeah the blackmountain ones are adjustable. Not tried them yet

guitarjack66

bermudianbrit said:

yeah the blackmountain ones are adjustable. Not tried them yet

They have a spring on them too which gives the flexibility to the thumbpick.

Gandalph

The Black Mountains are really good imo. Good blade length, nice thump on the strings and the spring loaded clasp on your thumb makes it comfortable. 

Taken the top spot for me away from the Dunlop tortoise shell.

PeterHall

Wow. Thanks everyone.Lovely people.
I could do with one today...my thumb joint has expanded...Bloody weather.

Thanks all. I think several moulded Dunlops would be good,but I'm going to track down the Black Mountain.

ElectricXII

I find the blue Herco picks to be more comfortable than other thumb picks.

JonnyBgoode

The 'spam you all over Facebook' Black Mountain ones mentioned are the only ones that I can think of that have a spring loaded catch and therefore will adjust automatically to whatever size your thumb tip may be on a given day, good place to start.

Personally I don't like the thumb picks that are like a big plectrum as I find them too big and cumbersome (Black Mountain ones are very thick too.) After trying dozens I settled on these;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-Kelly-Picks-D2-M-8-Delrin/dp/B00JA4T724?th=1

bertie

I like to have my pick right up near my thumb joint,  as well as "normal" picking I can position it so I pick with the pick, and my thumbnail at the same time  - its a nice tone when playing a lower volumes

KKJale

If standard thumbpicks seem to be failing you then Perfect Touch picks from the US have a very different type of mounting - not around the rear of the nail but around the joint itself - and they might be worth a look...

https://www.perfecttouchpicks.com/perfect_touch_miracle_thumb_pick.html

PeterHall

Thanks. That seems very interesting