Finger or Pick

[Kromwarp]

Originally Posted by troll

but Cliff never used a pick and neither do I for all his material

some people are fast, some are not.

very true, sir, very true

[bhass]

Originally Posted by 7stringAtheist

ok umm...theres no argument, play with your hands, not a stupid plastic pick. picks are for the weak, and hack bass players, im tired of people riding the fence on this, if you play with a pick, then give it up, you are no good, and worthless, you inspire NONE!! and tone? are you kidding me? experiment around you goons. there is
SHAME in using a pick. ive seen so many fat dudes just stand there like a ball of waste, strummin their bass, are you kidding me? in the words of the late bill hicks "PLAY FROM YOUR F***ING HEART!!!" there is no argument, there is no compromise, there is no inner dialogue, play with your fingers, if not, then give it up, quit now, cause you will be a shame to the instrument.

Wow, 2 paragraphs and not even one valid point!

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by bhass

Wow, 2 paragraphs and not even one valid point!

Good thing a 9 year old thread was bumped for the sake of those comments.

There's really no denying that you can be a lot more versatile in terms of tone with your fingers (just talking straight fingerstyle not tapping or slapping) but it's also true that there are things that are easier or sound better using a pick. Learn both.

[primus150]

Originally Posted by Kromwarp

Hey man, calm down. There are a lot of succesful bassists that played with a pick and still had a crapload of talent

Absolutely right. Think of the Clash's Paul Simonon. He ended up as one of the steadiest bass players in history, and was inducted into the RnR Hall of Fame. Sorry 7stringatheist, but you are wrong in saying that.

[Dertygen]

Originally Posted by primus150

Absolutely right. Think of the Clash's Paul Simonon. He ended up as one of the steadiest bass players in history, and was inducted into the RnR Hall of Fame. Sorry 7stringatheist, but you are wrong in saying that.

People who have use or had used picks:

Justine Chancellor
Stuart Hamm
Tom Araya
Lemmy Kilmister
Billy Sheehan
John Myung
Chris Squire
Paul Gray
Carol Kaye
Anthony Jackson
T-Bone Wolk
Oteil Burbridge
Allan Woody
Steve Swallow
Duff McKagan
Mike Gordon
Dave Schools
dd verni
Phil Lesh
Gene Simmons
Berry Oakley
Peter Cetera
Scott Thunes
Anthony Jackson
Allen Woody
Joe Osborne
John Paul Jones
Roger Waters
Jason Newsted
Rex Brown
Matt Freeman
And of course Paul Simonon

[anon65884001]

A versatile bass player should be able to play both

[Flongoid]

This thread is an absolute embarassment. A bassist should be able to use both. If you're going to argue that 'oMg ReAl BaSiStS uSe fIngErs BuRtOn DiDn'T nEed a piCk!!!' please just go and cut your right hand off.

[cowsgomoo]

Originally Posted by 7stringAtheist

ok umm...theres no argument, play with your hands, not a stupid plastic pick. picks are for the weak, and hack bass players

Scott Thunes and I totally own j00 with a pick

ah... it was April 1st... more fool me

[wysiwyg248]

If the guy who basically put the Fender (electric) bass on the map of music used a finger -and only one-, then finger it is.
And if the guy who put the electric fretless bass on the map of music also used fingers, why trying to reinvent the wheel?
You want to sound like playing with a pick?
Your gig or recording engineer is asking for this?
Then practice using your thumb like Larry Graham.

Picking is for noses and guitars...someone said it previously, and IMHO it is correct.

[bThumper38]

THUMB

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by 7stringAtheist

ok umm...theres no argument, play with your hands, not a stupid plastic pick. picks are for the weak, and hack bass players, im tired of people riding the fence on this, if you play with a pick, then give it up, you are no good, and worthless, you inspire NONE!! and tone? are you kidding me? experiment around you goons. there is
SHAME in using a pick. ive seen so many fat dudes just stand there like a ball of waste, strummin their bass, are you kidding me? in the words of the late bill hicks "PLAY FROM YOUR F***ING HEART!!!" there is no argument, there is no compromise, there is no inner dialogue, play with your fingers, if not, then give it up, quit now, cause you will be a shame to the instrument.

OK, thank you. Now be sure to study real hard in junior high school tomorrow.

[Sailboat339]

When I'm playing for 4 or 5 hours, 90% of the time i use fingers, but I do like to use a heavy pick on certain songs, and it gives my fingers a rest.

[Greevus]

I can do both, but prefer a pick. I also play guitar and I like to be able to double the lines if I choose. Most of my faves use fingers, so go figure. I am also rebellious, hate rules, and like to be very LOUD. Playing metal for years made me compete with the guitars, so I love using picks. I think it made my style different than so many metal players too. If you use fingers, be powerful. I can't stand those fluttery, wimpy featherweights. Play like Geddy or Claypool.

[Dogbertday]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

[CharlieCraver]

I used to play with a pick.
One of the best decisions I've made is switching to finger style

[Notfondofrotos]

Finger or Pick? - Who Cares? If you can get your message across there's no point worrying.

I play with a pick - when I started playing I played with my fingers I changed because I couldn't get a consistent tone with my fingers and I find I can do this with a pick.

The easy answer is to try for yourself.

[MEKer]

will someone put this all to bed? Gawd, read the other zillion posts on this and get all the bull about it from those. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHICH YOU USE AS LONG AS YOU CAN BE SAID TO BE A GOOD BASSIST. If your a cruddy bassist of either persuasion I don't wanna hear ya. And please, all the intermittent "real bassists..." comments really reveal some immaturity (just so you know).

[Stumbo]

The Vampire Thread....the one that will never die....

[ChaosBass]

Hey... has anyone been considering playing with BOTH pick and fingers? Since I like the sound of both techniques, I came up with the idea of combinig pick and finger playing.
You can see how I use it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH7ACHn1g90
and here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dlOjh4H81A

Hope to say something new in this thread