Applying pick vs fingers

[Wes Whitmore]

I have never posted anything like this before, and I haven’t seen one, but I would like to have your opinion on which song you would use a pick, and which song you would use fingers. I am dominantly fingers, but on faster 4 note 16ths (like punk), it think a pick sounds better. Sometimes it is tough to tell what the original artist uses. An example is any one from the Foo Fighters. It is mixed down in such a way that it doesn’t sound like a pick on many songs, but I know the bass player does use one. You don’t have to do the whole list if you don’t want to. Anything will help.
Also, if anyone is covering any of these songs, please let me know if you are using any particular effect to achieve your sound. I can’t get Song 2 to sound right with what I have. This might be the wrong forum for the effects though.
Thanks,
Wes


Song 2 – Blur
Little Things – Bush
Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters
Long Way Down – Goo Goo Dolls
Geek Stink Breath – Green Day
Hate to Say – Hives
Celebrity Skin – Hole
Papa Don’t Preach – Kelly Ozborn
Rock & Roll All Night – Kiss
Look What the Cat Dragged In – Poison
Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three
Sex Type Thing – Stone Temple Pilots
Fat Lip – Sum 41
Gasoline – Seether
Hit That – Offspring
All My Life – Foo Fighters

[j-bass-kreep]

Pick
nice guys finish last - green day
bonzo goes to bithburg- the ramones
lounge act- nirvana
maxwell murder - rancid
sacrifice theory- AFI
fingers
Pulling theeth -metallica
Nib- Black sabbath
All around the world - RHCP

[Adam Barkley]

pulling teeth is fingers same with Nib. All around the World is slapped isnt...

[Wes Whitmore]

Hmmm...I think that was a post theft!

[Don W]

I could be mistaken, but from what I've seen and heard, this is how most of the bands play the songs you listed.
Blur - Not Sure
Bush - picks
Foo Fighters - picks
Goo Goo Dolls - picks
Green Day - picks
The Hives - picks
Hole - picks
Kelly Osbourne's band - not sure
Kiss - picks
Poison - pretty sure it was picks
Seven Mary three - not sure
Stone Temple Pilots - fingers
Sum 41 - picks
Seether - not sure
Offspring - picks

I don't know if this helps at all.

[Adam Barkley]

just setting the record straight.

Parallel Universe by RHCP - Pick

Happy Now

[Wes Whitmore]

Wow, I had no idea that many songs we cover are done with picks. I guess I can safely 'justify' using one on those songs now. Thanks for the help.
Wes

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

I'm primarily a fingerstyle player (three or two fingers), but have started using a pick in the last year for various covers songs,

re. Foo fighters,
at last night's covers gig I played "all my life" and "break out" fingerstyle for a change, and found I them more enjoyable this way.

you can't really hear the pick tone on Foo Fighters songs, even though Nate Mendel uses one.

I think i'll save the pick for songs where you can hear the pick attack on the original-
eg. Violent femmes, Nirvana, The Cult, Blink182, Metallica (Newsted era).
I was using a pick for Green day's "basketcase" but found I couldn't play fast string-crossing fills I'd thought up when I played it fingerstyle, so I've reverted to fingerstyle with a high-mid boost on that.

Bob Daisley used a pick on Ozzy Osbourne's "crazy train", but you can't really hear it, also there's a fast octave-skipping fill in the chorus that I find difficult with a pick, so i play it fingerstyle.
(conversely the 16th note gallop under the guitar solo is trickier fingerstyle)