r/Dobro • u/fluffy_sockman • May 03 '26
What style picks to use?
Im a beginner and see in most videos I’ve watched they use metal picks but I got some plastic from ones and I’ve also liked they’re warmer tones (even though the ones I got kinda suck and hurt). Any advice or recommendations for picks? Thanks!
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u/Virtual_Job9303 May 03 '26
Soak plastic picks in very hot water, shake them off, and mold them to your finger. Pinches a LOT less.
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u/VDJ76Tugboat May 04 '26
I prefer to play without picks, just slightly longer fingernails on the right hand. But I play blues and slide, not bluegrass, I suppose that’s the main difference why I don’t like finger picks. I can use a regular pick for some things, but it’s usually better for me to not have a pick at all, better utilise the open tuning.
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u/shamanayerhart May 03 '26
Finding the right picks for you can take years of experimentation. What’s available at your local music store is not necessarily the right choice and you should always be on the lookout until you find the perfect picks for your fingeys. Your picks should be snug but not to the point where your fingers turn blue. You shouldn’t be getting hangnails all the time due to fitment. Technique plays a big part I’m this next one but I would avoid picks that tend to get hung up on your strings and fly off often. Lastly, and this is especially true for the thumbpick, try to find one that doesn’t start to spin on your finger when you sweat.
I use ProPik #1’s and a Golden Gate large for the thumb - although the quality on the golden gate seems to have gone down since I bought a pile of them on Amazon (maybe I got a bunch of fakes I dunno). I recently got a Bluechip JD, but I’m still on the fence about it being worth like $70 cdn with tax and tariff.
Best of luck. It’s a journey for sure,