Chet's thumb pick preferences

Discussion of history's greatest guitar player.

Chet's thumb pick preferences

Postby Doug Working » Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:20 pm

In the recently posted video of Chet and Paul playing several tunes, I got a good look at Chet's thumbpick, and in the earlier video it appeared to be a Herco, which makes me feel good, like I've at last made a good choice in my life, as I stick to Hercos and have for many years. I LIKE 'EM! Now if I could only make it sound as wonderful as Chet!

But in the later video, he is using a totally different thumbpick.

I wonder if he had a "preference", or if he kind of just experimented around, or perhaps preferred a certain pick with a particular guitar.

Doug
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Re: Chet's thumb pick preferences

Postby lakepikr » Thu Jan 25, 2018 8:45 pm

Doug .... I think our hero Chet could have used an "ice pick" and made it sound beautiful.
I so much enjoy watching some of his later teaching videos. He looked happy, handsome, and distinguished in a shirt and tie.

And when he finished playing a song, he "smiled" with satisfaction in how he'd played.
That always makes me think "thank you sir for what you gave us in your music, and in the person you were".

bill
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Re: Chet's thumb pick preferences

Postby Doug Working » Thu Jan 25, 2018 8:53 pm

I can only 100% agree. With all my heart.
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Re: Chet's thumb pick preferences

Postby Hendrik » Fri Jan 26, 2018 5:27 am

Here is what Craig Dobbins had to say about Chet's thumb picks. Took it from a similar Chetboard topic from 2011.

I don't know about the D'Andrea thumbpicks, but I have a couple of thumbpicks that Paul gave me that he and Chet used. One is a creamy white one that he gave me about 1980 or so. It looks like a National, but there's no name or logo. It's made of celluloid. The other is a Herco flatpick/thumbpick. You can see Chet use one of the white ones in his instructional video, and I saw him use the Herco a lot in the 1990's.

In photos and videos from the '50's Chet is using pretty big, thick thumbpicks, with a longer shaft. It looked like he usually wore them pretty far up on his thumb, too. I always wondered if that was to keep from hitting the front pickup.

In the late '60's and early '70's Chet used a very narrow brown celluloid thumbpick. You can see him use one of those in the Johnny Cash show appearance, about 1970. I think he's wearing one on the cover of the Now and Then LP, too. Paul said when he joined Chet, he convinced him to start using a bigger pick, to get a bigger sound.

Later on, Chet used the little Herco blue thumbpicks for a long time. I have a Frets magazine issue where he talks about how to cut and reshape and smooth the pick to his liking. I have a lot of those, and use them quite a bit.

Well, that's more than you wanted to know about thumbpicks, I guess...

Craig
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Re: Chet's thumb pick preferences

Postby Norm » Fri Jan 26, 2018 3:09 pm

he was always looking. He also trimmed some of them and rounded the tips on them perhaps, as Craig said, to avoid hitting the fingerboard pickup. I know he had a little square of Velcro on his road Gibson to keep the noise down
Paul said some music store guy provided the pick he and Chet used at the end days but provided no description

But, as I said he was always looking and you should too
...that's how it looks to me...The opinion expressed above is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of this station. Your mileage may vary...

Audio samples: http://www.youtube.com/user/acountrygent/videos
That should do it.
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Re: Chet's thumb pick preferences

Postby Doug Working » Sat Jan 27, 2018 7:06 pm

I recall when he was a boy, if memory serves, that he said there just WERE NO thumbpicks to be had in the hills, so he would take an old toothbrush and file it down,, and heat it in hot water till he could bend it and mold it around his thumb.

Latter on in an interview I think I remember reading that someone once asked him how he felt in the wave of great new players that were coming around, and Chet said he reached into his pocket, and he had a bunch of thumbpicks in there, which apparently was a habit with him, and he said (I'm paraphrasing) I feel the picks in my hand, and I think it's ok. They are who they are, and I am who I am. (again, paraphrasing)

The picks were kind of like a security thing to him. And he didn't worry about other players who might eclipse him.

Not that anybody ever could!!!

Doug
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