jason lee - Posted - 01/04/2019:  11:16:32

Hi,

Many players here refer to shaping picks , I've never done this before- so would appreciate people's thoughts on blade angle , shape etc

Thanks from the UK.

Jason C

eagleisland - Posted - 01/04/2019:  11:42:22

Jason, I assume you're talking about thumb picks here.

Some picks can easily be shaped; others cannot. Picks made of thermoplastic (TP)- Golden Gates, Dunlops, Nationals and the like - are pretty easy to shape. Picks made of Delrin (such as Fred Kellys) are not.

Shaping can happen in several ways. With TP picks you can dip them for a second or two into boiling water (any longer than that and they'll turn into a floppy noodle). Remove them from the water and you have about five seconds to adjust blade angle (back when I used to do this I'd use two small sets of needlenosed pliers to accomplish this task). You can adjust band thickness similarly.

You can also trim and otherwise shape the blades, either by using abrasives (files, sandpaper) or some form of cutter and then smoothing out with abrasives.

As far as blade angles etc., that's really a matter of personal preference. Most TP thumbpicks are pretty inexpensive, so my counsel would be to buy half a dozen or a dozen picks and experiment with them. Here's the key: once you get one exactly the way you like it, use that as a model for two or three more and put that first one in your sock drawer as a reference for future construction.

Mooooo - Posted - 01/04/2019:  11:54:42

Another thing you can check out is this: Look at the wear pattern on your current thumb pick. If it is mostly worn on the tip then keep the new picks as they are, you are hitting them dead on like you should. If it is worn to one side or another, change your attack angle or bend your pick away from the wear marks to get that dead on angle of attack. But if you like the sound you are getting, don't change anything.

Edited by - Mooooo on 01/04/2019 11:57:01

FlyinEagle - Posted - 01/04/2019:  11:56:24

Wasn’t there someone on here who used to claim that fingerpicks should be bent to precisely 32 degrees for optimum contact and power? Or something like that?

Mooooo - Posted - 01/04/2019:  11:58:21

I remember that Jeff. I think he studied some different pickers, including Earl, and concluded that 32 degrees was the optimal angle of bending your fingerpicks. As far as I remember.

Neil Allen - Posted - 01/04/2019:  12:26:02

quote:

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Originally posted by FlyinEagle

Wasn’t there someone on here who used to claim that fingerpicks should be bent to precisely 32 degrees for optimum contact and power? Or something like that?

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Yes!

banjohangout.org/archive/268024

FlyinEagle - Posted - 01/04/2019:  12:52:40

OP, I think this probably one of the many banjo things that fall into the personal preference category, and those type of things take some experimentation to figure out what you like.

I know the picks I use are nowhere close to that 32 degree angle (nor do I want them to be). I’m not sure if you are asking about thumb picks or finger picks, but it doesn’t matter because I doubt there is a correct answer other than “whatever works best for you”.

Russ Martin - Posted - 01/04/2019:  13:17:42

Speaking only for myself:  I used to fiddle with hot water and pliers to get the thumbpick angle “just right”—until I discovered it was actually a lot easier to move the banjo!

Mooooo - Posted - 01/04/2019:  13:35:15

quote:

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Originally posted by Russ Martin

Speaking only for myself:  I used to fiddle with hot water and pliers to get the thumbpick angle “just right”—until I discovered it was actually a lot easier to move the banjo!

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definitely

KCJones - Posted - 01/04/2019:  13:43:01

The theory is to bend them such that the angle of bend compensates for the angle of your finger against the strings. In that way, your picks hit the strings at a direct 90 degree angle. Or so I understand it.

OldNavyGuy - Posted - 01/04/2019:  15:27:32

quote:

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Originally posted by Mooooo

I remember that Jeff. I think he studied some different pickers, including Earl, and concluded that 32 degrees was the optimal angle of bending your fingerpicks. As far as I remember.

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Kenny Ingram as well, as I recall.

pickin_fool - Posted - 01/04/2019:  15:47:21

the only tweaking i do on my thumb pick..(if any)..is i will either make the end more pointed or more flatter...depending on the pick...

with my finger picks tho..i adjust the band so that it holds tightly..without wrecking my cuticle...then i will bend the pick so that there is minimal gap between the pick end and my fingernail..

i honestly hope i dont become so anal retentive that i start measuring angles..its pretty hard..if not impossible to measure an angle on a finger pick anyway..any that i have bought in 40 odd years of playing..the blade is a continuous curve

gtani7 - Posted - 01/05/2019:  01:25:24

If you look in "Masters of the 5 String" by Wernick/Trischka, which I highly reocmmend, they ask each player specifically what and how they fit their picks with closeup photos of most and the answers are all over the board, slightly bent, tightly curved over fingertip, protruding past fingertip etc. These pickers have adapted technique and gear together to the demands of their profesionnal lives

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 01/06/2019:  17:54:29

Pick your banjo in the way you feel most comfortable. Put a magic marker dot on your finger where you feel the strings. Then try to get the tip of the pick just over his spot and you are in the ball park. then watch your hand with the picks on while picking and see how they are striking the string and how you like the sound. You, may have to twist the pick in relation to the bands to get a more perpendicular strike. Mess with it till you feel comfortable and consistent with your sound and strike.
I think most people feel more comfortable picking with just fingers so you want to emulate this as much as possible while putting a pick edge on that spot of your fingers to contact the string.
Disclaimer: i am a hack so proceed with caution.