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Yes I used an extra-thin dremel wheel for the cut along the length, and a utility blade for the bevel cut from the side. The way I cut it, it's flexible like the Bumble Bee on the upstroke. I also like BB picks but it's harder for me to be precise with them.
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11-26-2024 03:28 PM
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My hunch would be that you'd get that even more (and more comfort) with this one:
Originally Posted by Cunamara
THUMB PICKS: Justin Johnson Signature Thumb Pick Set
– Justin Johnson Official Store
(IIUC Justin used a Black Mountain thumb pick that's similar to the Bumblebee before coming up with the idea above.)
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The Black Mountain pick uses a spring-loaded hinge to connect the flatpick to the thumb ring. It is a cool and quite comfortable design but the pick material doesn’t stand up to prolonged use on steel strings. The delrin Bumblebee picks wear better as do the Herco although the thumb rings on both don’t fit quite as well as the Black Mountain. Originally Posted by RJVB
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Thanks for the reference, but I could not use that one at all. Having the fabric wrapped around my thumb would make me nuts. My thumb is very close to the strings and the fabric would keep brushing on them, causing extraneous noise. Originally Posted by RJVB
I use only a tiny amount of pick protruding out from under my thumb. With a flatpick, I use the smallest ones I can find (D'Andrea 354 or 358, something like that) and there's only maybe 2 mm or so of pick sticking out. I like to be close to the strings as possible. The more the pick sticks out, the more cumbersome it feels and end up striking errant notes, etc. The Fred Kelly thumbpicks have about the least amount of pick blade sticking out that I have found, along with the Herco Flat thumbpick.
Someone mentioned the Butterfly picks, which I never tried and now they are out of production. The guy who invented them has left his website up with instructions for how to make them for yourself. I bought some off of eBay, but they were made with stainless steel instead of copper wire and were entirely too stiff and thick to be able to reshape to fit, but I could tell that the design would actually work. Someday I might have to buy some copper wire and follow the guy's instructions to make my own.
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The Bumblebee picks come in two different size thumb rings as well as four different thicknesses of blades and two different shapes of blades. Originally Posted by pcjazz
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Indeed they do: slightly too tight and slightly too loose. But I use them anyway. And I agree with you about having the smallest possible protrusion of pick. Some of the steel thumb ring / nylon pick styles can be had with very short picks and the thumb rings are adjustable for fit. They are more rigid than the Bumblebees, but I use them too. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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Besides wear there's the problem of the intrinsic sound of the material... Originally Posted by pcjazz
Basically any thumb pick will require an adaptation in the thumb position/angle of attack/etc - main reason why I still haven't found one that I can play with. I can see how the thumb can be parallel to the strings when flatpicking but when fingerpicking I think it always has to be at an angle to the string. Originally Posted by Cunamara
I have the yellow Kelly thumb pick, which may not have the longest tip but it's still at least 5mm below and behind the thumb contact point I play with. Having another look I saw the National thumbpick (IIRC sold by d'Addario) which gets very good reviews and seems to have a very tiny tip but it still looks like it'll have to be too far "up" the thumb.
They're good instructions but the first ones will be awkward (FWIW, I found that for the larger circular object to bend against one can find replacement alu. cylinder heads for 2T utility engines). These would work for me (if they'd stay in place) as they would allow me not to change the position of my hand & fingers at all. I don't think the thumb pick would work with the thumb parallel to the strings.Someone mentioned the Butterfly picks, which I never tried and now they are out of production. The guy who invented them has left his website up with instructions for how to make them for yourself.
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I've played with a thumbpick for almost 20 years now. Here are my quick reviews:
Herco Medium - not bad for a cheap option. A little thin, which you may or may not want. Comfy but not very secure. Good option if you want to see how it feels.
Jim Kelly Bumblebee - Good idea, but didn't work for me in practice. You would think the ability to adjust would be great, but for me it was the worst of both worlds: not enough room to adjust to get it how you like it, and gets knocked out of position easily during playing. Very hard to strum with. Not very comfortable. Thicker than the Hercos, but not as sharp as a standard Jazz III. Wears down very quickly.
V-Pick thumbpick - the only "boutique" thumbpick I've tried, since I'm not dropping the cash for a Blue Chip. Thumb loop is very uncomfortable, absolutely no give. The pick is nice, if you like the V-Pick sound. But the lack of adjustability made it a non-starter.
Strum 'N Comfort Sharktooth - Now we're talking. Super comfortable, very easy to adjust. The pick shape seems odd, but it actually looks and sounds great. My only complaint is that the fabric in front of the pick tends to fray, which eventually gets in the way. But still a great choice.
Black Mountain - very well designed. Nice variety. The Jazz III feels pretty close to the original, and the other ones feel like Fenders of varying thickness. The most comfortable of the ones with plastic thumb loops.
Strum 'n Comfort Kodiak - This is the one for me. The strap design improves upon the Sharktooth in every way - leaner, less fabric, completely out of the way. I need to horde them in case they ever close up shop.
My suggestion: if you don't know if you want to use thumbpick, try the Hercos and see if your technique transfers. If you know you do want one, get the Black Mountain and Strum 'n Comfort variety packs and see which one you like best.
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On one of the “Chester and Lester” LPs, LP makes fun of CA for using a thumb pick. So CA tells LP that with a thumb pick you can play with yourself.
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oh, I didn’t even know that black Mountain made a Jazz pickversion of their stuff. I like their regular pics and that’s what I get. Like with any other pic, I have to file them down to make it less rounded, more V-shaped to get a more treble Upper frequency sound that I like a lot and makes a huge difference. I just ordered the Jazz pic. I’m curious to hear and know what the differences are between that and the regular pick by Black Mountain. Originally Posted by dasein
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I just tried the Black Mountain regular heavy thumbpick (351 shape blade) and am very pleased with it. It will take a place next to my Bumblebee XH. The Black Mountain has a smoother, perhaps a bit more delicate sound and seems very suitable to solo guitar in particular, whereas the Bumblebee has a bit more punch on the attack and I might lean towards it for ensemble playing. The Bumblebee is also more fluid with alternate picking as the blade has more movement at the attachment point. Both are very comfortable. I did have to polish off a line of flashing around the edge of the blade, which made it initially sound bad. This is something I find on many pick blades, other than Fender and D'Andrea Pro Plecs.
I had largely overlooked the Black Mountain based on photos which make the blade material look shiny and hard, but it has a much softer tone than I expected. Thanks for prompting me to give it a shot.
I also retried the tortoiseshell Herco Flat thumpick EH, but it is too rigid for fluent alternate picking. Nice tone, though.
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This thread brought me back to thumbpicks))
I made one myself: I used a piece of the underwear stretch, fixed it with a stapler, made a small hole and put my favourite pick there.
So it is a kind of diy shark toothe.
I did it roughly and quickly but I liked the feeling and if I stick to it I will make another one more carefully.
What I appreciate the most is that I can play purely with a pick which I love to do (I have a feeling I have bow in my hand), and at the same time to switch immediately to fingerstyle (which is a very comfortable technique to me), so it is more or less like John Stowell does it (but he has magic sticky thumb).
I have very light touch I think this kind of pick will not work with a heavy Tommy Emmanuel picking on acoustic. It will not stand against the string
We'll see.
Normally I do not make records or videos but maybe a bit later I will do one just to demonstrate my clumsy thumbpick
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Clever! I had not thought of trying to make my own shark tooth type thumbpick with one of my favorite plectrums.
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I always feel that the angle of the thumb pick is “wrong” as it hits the string - which pick do you use? Originally Posted by pcjazz
Last edited by nbevan3; 03-19-2025 at 10:14 AM.
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I use a Dunlop medium thumb pick. By angling the pick forward, so that the leading edge crosses the string, I can get a pretty comfortable feel. For speedy runs I usually alternate the pick and my middle finger. Originally Posted by nbevan3
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… any chance of a photo showing the “attack” on the string please? The standard design of thumb pick does not work for me so I am experimenting with my own design. Originally Posted by RobSilver7
Last edited by nbevan3; 03-21-2025 at 03:22 PM.
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My design ‘worked to a point’, it gave me the correct (for me) attack on the strings when using as a conventional plectrum but it ‘got in the way’ when playing finger-style. It surprised my how much my right hand moved up and down the strings and how much my right-hand position compensated for this. Originally Posted by nbevan3
I think that I am going to stick to using the flesh of my thumb and just content myself with playing slower!
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