PICKS

[Lokire]

Originally Posted by Codger

Carol Kaye, Berry Oakley did alright with a pick. I'm 98% fingers, but when I pick it's with a V-pick.

Ooooh, I like those! The insanity pick is 11.85mm thick

[Solarmist]

Originally Posted by azarias

About resting your hand. Try to float above the strings and learn to use the edge of your hand as a mute on the lowest strings to keep things clean. It will take time to get used to it.
I highly suggest practicing your picking attack until your up and down strokes are identical in tone. start very slow and practice daily speeding up gradually.
Play simple string crossing exercises to train your right hand where the strings are without the need for anchoring the palm on the bridge.

+1 - Great Advice

You can really fly with the right pick, and your technique down

[PBass101]

Originally Posted by Lokire

Just so we're clear here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXceSuYEn9o

That is unacceptable, correct? Sounds crappy and makes me a bad bassist and such, right? Just making sure

I guess some people don't realize that you do in fact use your fingers when you play with a pick. Awesome video(s), man.

Folks, there are bad pick-style players, and there are good pick-style players - kinda like how there's bad fingerstyle players, and good fingerstyle players, right? As long as you have good technique and good tone, you can play with your **** and I wouldn't be offended listening to you.

[Craig_S]

I like using a pick, sometimes. A lot of the time, I'm lightly palm muting. What a cool sound! P-Basses are great for that. My Franken P/J sounds good with a pick, too. I use 1 mm plastic picks, I had made at In Tune (great quality!). I don't use a stiff grip, but I dig in here and there. My JV P-Bass, with Chromes, sounds great with a pick. Especially when I dig in a bit.

[Sufenta]

Rats! I always thought that all of those people in the audience were screaming for me because they loved my playing. Now I know its because they were trying to tell me,

Originally Posted by aurian4parker

that's a guitar pick bro. not a bass pick

.

[IbanezATK]

I've decided that I prefer the 3mm Dunlop Big Stubbies when I use a pick, after much back and forthing today.

[kanonfodr]

I use Dunlop 3mm stubbies, as well as Fender thumbpicks when I go pickstyle. I like the thumbpick because I can go fingers or pick and switch in an instant. Pretty cool change in sound on Garbage's Cherry Lips between the verse (fingers) and chorus (pick).

Peace,
Greg

[Memitim]

Originally Posted by Lokire

Ooooh, I like those! The insanity pick is 11.85mm thick

LOL. I've got a bunch of those around my pool, although for some reason Lowe's had them labeled as "stones."

[Lokire]

Originally Posted by Memitim

LOL. I've got a bunch of those around my pool, although for some reason Lowe's had them labeled as "stones."

Well played, sir

[nsmar4211]

Wow, I'm the first one that uses Snarling Dogs Brain Picks?
http://www.snarlingdogs.com/products/brain.html

I use the 1.0 mm (grey) for bass, and got some .88 for when I mess around on acoustic guitar chords. I have sweaty fingers and those don't slip. They also don't seem to wear out, I've not broken or worn one yet..... tend to lose them instead. They rock! They're flexible enough not to snap like some guitar pics I was using, and the grip thing works great.

Technique wise I'm a beginner so however I can hang on to it. We're doing boys of summer which is a ton of 16th notes and needed to be done pick style, so I learned quick I hafta relax and definetly use up/down strokes (versus all up or all down). Anchoring wise, I don't.......keep trying by wrapping my pinky around the E string but no luck yet.... the strings are far enough apart that my hand position tells me which string I'm on . I did take one piece of advice from my teacher and I use the rounded corners instead of the pointed one, I get a better tone and it's more forgiving of technique .

[mike costelow]

i have to use a pick when i sing,i believe they are called wedgies,they are thick and made out of some type of rubber,they attack the string similar to your finger and have a similar sound.

[bearshimmy]

as far as pick choice

go to a store, get one of every pick and play them all, pick the one that sounds best and is easiest to play with

[lowendblues]

I use plastic mediums or tortex heavy's depending on the tune.

If I want a Chris Squire type of sound I'll use a plastic medium, (even though Chris uses a Herco heavy!). If I want to lay back and palm mute, I'll choose a heavier tortex. Different picks really do change the tone.

Experiment.

[Greevus]

i prefer the dunlop .73 mm yellow ones. a lot of players use the really heavy ones, but i can't get off the strings fast enough and causes some hand pain. i would say get a bunch and experiment. lotsa different style players too. i always hate when a guitar player picks up a bass cause they usually 'scrape' the strings due to the scale being larger. however, bass players that pick usually play guitar 'cleaner' than they do. i have to remind the finger snobs that it is a bass GUITAR and comes with ELECTRICITY and even FRETS. what will they think of next? distortion? if i wanted to play double bass with a bow or fingers, then I would!

[skulletwhip]

Originally Posted by BassHue92

Don't use picks. Learn how to play right. Play with your fingers.

This guys profile sites John Paul Jones as an influence too.

Research reasearch research. JPJ used picks from time to time.

Use a crowbar if it gets the sound and feel you want.

I don't get how a tiny piece of molded plastic is the deciding factor for people on right and wrong.

Peace,

Mike

[The Golden Boy]

For years I used the Dunlop nylon picks, usually the .88 and 1mm. For about the past 10 years I've used the Herco .75s and the Brain 1mm.

I prefer the "grippy" nylon picks, they're easier to hold on to when you're sweaty (or dry).

As far as where to play... it depends on what sound you're trying to go for. The closer you play to the bridge, the brighter the sound of the attack is going to be. Some people like to anchor their hand, some people just float. Best advice is to find how it's comfortable to you and how you want the instrument to sound- once you do that, it's all about developing proficiency with it.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Didn't realise people moved to the more rigid side of picks. I've used some thick ones (3mm dunlops etc etc), I've used most incriments in size, and 0.88mm tortex picks for the most part (wish I could just buy a big tub of them or something for the amount I go through/loose etc). Sometimes use the 1mm ones, but they are generally too thick for me. The 0.88 are great for both guitar and bass

I use those exact same picks for both guitar and bass though I luckily don't share your problem of constantly loosing them.
I HAVE to use tortex picks since I absolutely annihilate celluloid picks.

Back when I first started playing and used fender picks, I would take a fresh one out, start playing hard and fast, and within five minutes I'd have completely eroded the tip away, leaving a flat "plateau" behind.

Once I switched to tortex, I never looked back.

When I first switched over I used the purples(1.14mm) and blues(1mm) but they were just a touch too big. Thus my switch to the 0.88mm greens.

[ishouldbeking]

i know there are a lot of pick recommendations above, but the the best advice is to try a bunch and see which work for you. I use a pick 98% of the time, and over the last dozen years or so my preferences have changed a little here and there as I experimented. Currently I'm using 1.0mm Dunlop Ultex picks, and tortex when i can't get my hands on those. I tend to use relatively heavy gauge strings (medium or thicker), and my tone comes from a strong attack, so the 1.0mm is about as light as I can go and still have control over the thicker strings the way I like. Heavier gauge picks are alright, but I find them a bit cumbersome when you get to extremes (not sure how anyone uses those Big Stubby picks, but more power to those that do). At times I'll use lighter gauge nylon picks, which I find work particularly well for different styles of music than my customary rock tone. but experiment with size, thickness, shape, and material to see what works best for you. And no matter what, above all else, ignore every idiot who tries to tell you not to play with a pick. Play what you like.