no pick but finger nails

[Alv82]

hey everyone, i am new here around (and playing bass too - 2 1/2 months) and i just had 2 questions
- is it alright if i do not use a pick but my fingernails?
and
- what can i do to stop this metal sound while fingering? ( i do put my left hands fingers in the right position )

thanks a lot
i hope i am not doing spam
Alv82

[PBass101]

I think Geddy Lee picks with his fingernails. Just be careful not to break your nails or anything like that and you might be alright.

If you're getting too much fret clack, you might consider a relief adjustment or something along those lines.

[bhass]

Playing a lot with your fingernails would eventually start to detatch them.

[Mike Shevlin]

Ya - they can't stand up to a constant pounding like that.

[jmain]

Yeah, not so good. I about wore through mine a couple times. Just gotta use the pick if the song calls for it.

[Alv82]

thanks for the nails thing hahaha i dont wanna get them ****ed up! lol
and i dunno, can it be that i hit much the strings while fingering? :S
i mean my bass is not such a expensive one, its one from a start up ibanez box XD
but still good, thinking already about a Epiphone thunderbird anyways, is it the bass or me? :S
sorry for my broken english
Alv82

[kreider204]

I used to play with my fingernails, never had any problem.

[WillieJ]

IME - it depends. I'm pretty much a fingerstyle player, and f I want a little something extra while playing, I do use a touch of my nails to 'perk up' the sound--all the time. Or if I only need that effect in a part of a song. But for a whole tune, I have to agree w/other here and go for a pick. If we call an audible off the set list, and I can't get to a pick in time, I 'll play one tune w/nails. But it can get pretty rough done regularly.

[bassrique]

I "claw" my picking hand up to get the nail attack all the time - perhaps most of the time. I also straighten my picking fingers out for the traditional pizzicato technique. I knew a guy that grew his nails a bit longer and always played with his nails. I don't know where this talk of nail detachment is coming from.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by bassrique

I "claw" my picking hand up to get the nail attack all the time - perhaps most of the time. I also straighten my picking fingers out for the traditional pizzicato technique. I knew a guy that grew his nails a bit longer and always played with his nails. I don't know where this talk of nail detachment is coming from.

Granted a little nail or some fingerpicking is technique where it is adding to the tone.

But just kicking punk rock or some metal without a pick:

double picking, maybe get a little detachment going on
downstrokes with rounds, get some filing going on

[ErebusBass]

That "metal" sound may very well be your strings clacking into the poles on your pickup.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by ErebusBass

That "metal" sound may very well be your strings clacking into the poles on your pickup.

Yep.

Or fret buzz, springs on the bridge or loose truss rod. It may be easier to isolate when playing acoustically.

[Ammioz77]

Originally Posted by jmain

Yeah, not so good. I about wore through mine a couple times. Just gotta use the pick if the song calls for it.

I would have to think that result would be more a function of how hard you are playing. If you're using a light touch ala Willis and others, I wouldn't think the wear and tear would be that excessive. Nail material is pretty strong stuff and coupled with the proper diet (the normal amount of vitamin A) I would think the nails would be fine. Now if you're digging in, hard core, night after night for hours on end, i could see that perhaps. Has anyone actually known anyone who's nails have detached?

[jaywa]

I've done it before, on a couple gigs where I forgot my picks! (My guitarists all use weeny picks so I couldn't bum one off them...)

I only use a pick on about three songs of a four-set show, so it didn't bother me. And actually, I thought, sounded kind of good! The attack of a pick, without that detached, lack-of-control thing. I just clamped my thumb and forefinger together as if a pick were between them, and struck the strings with the top of my index fingernail. Slight modification to my usual picking technique, but nothing major. I do keep my nails short so I had to use all downstrokes, but no big deal.

[Stealth]

Geddy Lee used the technique, after learning that tidbit of information I followed through. If you trim them to maybe 2 or 3 mm length you should get just enough clank without the hazard of tearing the nails. Then again, as someone already said, vitamin A is a good friend.

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by Stealth

Geddy Lee used the technique, after learning that tidbit of information I followed through. If you trim them to maybe 2 or 3 mm length you should get just enough clank without the hazard of tearing the nails. Then again, as someone already said, vitamin A is a good friend.

That would explain how Geddy gets so much attack, but yet the warmth and round tone... as I assume after the nail hits then it's followed with the fingerpad as in traditional finger style.

Chris Squire, although a pick player, has kind of the same thing going on... he holds his pick such that the pick strikes the string, followed immediately by the skin of his thumb. (He has absolutely gi-normous hands so the pick pretty much disappears under his thumb naturally.) He has explained this in several interviews, it's pretty interesting stuff.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by Ammioz77

I would have to think that result would be more a function of how hard you are playing. If you're using a light touch ala Willis and others, I wouldn't think the wear and tear would be that excessive. Nail material is pretty strong stuff and coupled with the proper diet (the normal amount of vitamin A) I would think the nails would be fine. Now if you're digging in, hard core, night after night for hours on end, i could see that perhaps. Has anyone actually known anyone who's nails have detached?

Post #10 - I can't play punk or metal with a light touch, whether it calls for a pick or fingers. That's just me. But don't play much of either anymore.

[Trapezius]

I'm not sure what you mean.. Playing fingerstyle with nails, or pick style with nails? I play fingerstyle, and my nails are always hitting the strings, giving me an aggressive tone. I never have any pain or problems with them, and I hit the strings pretty hard.
But I guess some people don't have strong enough fingernails for that style. Try it, and if it hurts, don't do it.

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by jaywa

Chris Squire, although a pick player, has kind of the same thing going on... he holds his pick such that the pick strikes the string, followed immediately by the skin of his thumb. (He has absolutely gi-normous hands so the pick pretty much disappears under his thumb naturally.) He has explained this in several interviews, it's pretty interesting stuff.

Hm. That'd certainly explain why playing with the same finger+nail technique gives off such a similar tone.

[megadan]

I use my fingernail as a pick in songs where I have to switch quickly between fingerstyle and picking. I use light strings and a fairly light touch, my fingernail is a little scuffed but so far no detachment