Thumb picks

stufisher

I'm going through a bit of a transition phase at the moment and I'm feeling good about it because I am improving  

•  Splitting time between acoustic and electric and both are improving
•. Pain in fretting-hand is reducing and flex/stretch is increasing
•  Consequent to the above I've widened my focus and wanna play new styles

For 30+ years the thumbnail on my picking hand splits longitudinally. I have to keep the nail short (my other nails are all strong and managed for finger-picking) so I can't get crisp base notes on the acoustic.

What recommendations do you have for thumbpicks?

BillDL

I've finally managed to grow my nails out quite well after a number of years where they kept cracking at the edges and in some instances delaminating at the tips due to repeated finger injuries.  While I was having problems I had success with "Alaska Pik" fingerpicks on my fingers and thumb.  I am at work at the moment and the network blocks a lot of sites, so I can't actually see the company's website (https://alaskapik.com/), but I can see a couple of the images that are from their site and show how they are designed to be worn.





Depending on how you normally hold your hand and how your thumb nail would strike the strings without a thumbpick, they might not work for you as a thumbpick.  They worked better for me than a traditional thumbpick that makes you hold your thumb very parallel with the strings, and I could keep my hand and thumb very much aligned as I do when I am using my natural thumbnail.

3rd-party sellers always show them being worn wrongly.  You are supposed to have the end of your short nail out and over the top of the last section of the pick.  It gives you better control and goes part of the way to retaining some direct contact with the strings. I had to go through a variety of sizes until I got ones that fitted tightly enough but didn't cut off my circulation, and they aren't terribly cheap for what they actually are.  Obviously you're just looking for one large enough for your thumb, and I can't recall if I had to buy a whole set or was able to buy mix and match singles.   Although I can't see this page, I think it is the one that will show you how to measure your fingers and thumb and choose the right sizes:
https://alaskapik.com/size-fitting/

Somebody called Gareth Evans doing a review on YouTube.
He doesn't use one on his thumb though.

There are other kinds like Black Mountain and Bumblebee that are really just small platpicks moulded onto the ring of a traditional hard and sharp thumbpick.  I haven't used any of them, so I can't advise.

Here is a video by somebody named Robert Cassard that compares various types of thumbpicks.

Tommy Emmanuel Thumbpicking Masterclass.

Tannin

G'day @stufisher.

I have never been able to get comfortable with thumbpicks. (Or fingerpicks for that matter.) Instead, I 

* have a big callous on the side of my thumb
* habitually heel-rest lightly on the bass strings for extra thump (if I pluck hard, which I do as a rule)
* Select strings with a reasonably rough finish because these have more friction and give me better bass notes
* occasionally reach up and pick a bass string with index or middle finger when I want more oomph on that particular note
* break all of these rules anytime I feel like it (quite often without any conscious thought at all)

But it sounds as if you are using your actual thumb nail, which is something I have never considered.  I assume that is a classical technique. If this is the case, then you have a completely different right hand angle and none of what I wrote is relevant. In your shoes I'd be looking at

* artificial reinforcement of the nail. (Go to a nail salon. Cheap, effective, takes 10 minutes, and you get to hang round with all the girls.)
* Alaska Pics. Unlike normal thumbpicks which  attach to the side of the thumb, Alaska Pics go over the finger (or in this case thumb if you can get one large enough) and are used just like a normal fingernail. 

BahHumbug

Fred Kelly speed picks

DavidR

There are squillions of thumbpicks on Amazon. They're cheap. Pick a couple and try them out.

 The metal ones are essentially for banjo players. You'll prefer the plastic ones. With a sharp pair of scissors, cut them to shape and then file/emery them smooth. As with nails, the smoothness of the surface striking the string is important. Plastic thumbpicks are made of thermoplastics. They will be tight or loose or awkward on your thumb. But you can carefully heat them in boiling water, mould them to the right shape for your individual thumb and then let them cool. This will not damage them. The hardness or softness of the thermoplastic is also influences tone.

Here's a hard one

Golden Gate GP-5-4PK Pearloid Thumb Picks 4-Piece, Medium : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

 and here's a soft one

Jim Dunlop 9051R Thumbpicks : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ

It will take a while for you to get use to them, but you will, and then you won't even notice them. Lots and lots of trial and error is before you!

:-)

P.S. most fingerpicks are designed to be used opposite to the nail, so on the fleshy pulp, not over the nails. The photos above of the Alaska Piks are correct, for them, but most fingerpicks aren't like that. 

METAL FINGER PICKS & THUMB PICK SET GUITAR FINGERPICKS FOR DOBRO BANJO GUITAR ETC : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ

Gandalph

I'm a fan of the Dunlop shell picks. Cheap as chips and give a nice thump.

https://www.eaglemusicshop.com/jim-dunlop-shell-plastic-thumbpicks?pv=5701

stufisher

Many thanks all ... great advice and insights.

I'll start with the easy option and just order a few of the recommended designs ... although I'm tempted to hang out out with girls down at the nail bar anyway 

I'll update on progress in due course.

Stuckfast

Fred Kelly Bumblebee picks here.

All the other picks I've tried are either too rigid or too long, usually both.

axisus

I tried a bunch when I played acoustic a lot years ago, couldn't get on with any of them! I found that thumb picks had to be so tight as to be uncomfortable.

I was a big fan of amazing guitarist Doyle Dykes, I bought a bunch of his. I have no clue how he plays so brilliantly with them. (just looked, they are Fred Kelly speed picks)

bermudianbrit

Honestly Dunlop mediums. Simple, effective. They work for Tommy Emmanuel, Joe Robinson et al. 

Sambostar

Wish I could find one that wasn't essentially a gastric band for your thumb.  Inch wide plus.  Do they do Gossamer sizing?

bertie

Sambostar said:

Wish I could find one that wasn't essentially a gastric band for your thumb.  Inch wide plus.  Do they do Gossamer sizing?

stick em in a cup of v hot water for a minute - then adjust to suit  (like the old gum-shields from way back) 


Ive pretty much tried them all -   I use (used)  EB Torts they're really comfy, not too tight -  but it seems they dont make em any more,  I file the blade down to a rounded symmetrical point   -  Ive got some JDs that are similar.