switching between pick and fingers during song

[KayXero]

Just wanted to see how many others do this.

For a few songs my band is playing I like smooth pluck tone for verses and a more punchy pick tone for the chorus.

So if its doable on the song,(you know depending on the speed of the song, or how involved the bass line is) ill switch. I usually put the pick in my palm and hold it with my ring finger while I pluck. And slide it to my other fingers when the time comes.

Sometimes I store it behind the E string bridge saddle. I have dropped it a time or two, but then I just continue finger style.

I do have to also ask, any of you guys who do this find yourself having a hard time finding how firm to play each way, so that the volumes are at least the same for the bass throughout a song?

[jlt5x]

I have also used a thumb pick - stays on your thumb while you are using your fingers

[twistedbydesign]

I Have a Fender Jazz Bass, I loosened a few screws near the top around where the pickguard and fretboard meet. I have one pick wedged into my pickguard so there is a gap and I just slide the pick i'm using in there. Makes it real easy to switch mid-song.
I recently started aching to play my Schecter Bass though which doesn't have a pickguard so Im not sure what I'll do then.
When I'm not picking I do some Slapping which is a bit trickier when you are tryin to hold a pick.

One strange issue I have when playing with my fingers is that i use my pointer finger more than any others (on my right hand) So it is more calloused and makes it more difficult to get a real soft smooth bass sound (almost sounds more like a pick, though not as intense). So i sometimes use my middle and ring finger to do fingerpicking.

[lunarpollen]

I do this sometimes... I'll hold the pick with thumb and forefinger and pluck with my middle finger... I didn't even have to practice this technique to get it right, I just sort of consciously noticed myself doing it one day and was doing it pretty well.

[WalterBush]

I put it in my teeth when I need to switch. Old habit. So far, I've only had a slobber-coated pick slip out of my fingers once live, so I'll stick with it. Plus, it keeps people from asking to borrow my pick

[tangentmusic]

Originally Posted by jlt5x

I have also used a thumb pick - stays on your thumb while you are using your fingers

I too use a thumb pick. No worries about dropping it on a dark stage in the middle of a song.

[JTE]

Work on learning to palm the pick. I used to do this (decades ago, I still had hair) and I'd move the pick to hold it against my palm with the ring and little fingers while playing with my fingers. Then quickly swap it up to the first finger/thumb for playing with the pick.

There's also (not the same sound, but it might work for you) the Stephen Stills' method of just holding your first finger and thumb together as if you did have a pick. Stills has played guitar this way just about his whole life, and it allows him to switch from finger-picking to playing single notes. Bernard Edwards of Chic did the same thing and a recent issue of Bass Player Magazine has an article on his technique which he called "chucking".

John

[robertusf]

Check this one out... the bassist for Sick Puppies ...she switches from fingers to pick in this and explains how she does it

http://www.ultimate-guitar.tv/bass_l...ss_lesson.html

[cjmatt]

I use to do this in my last band, as songs needed it. Recently not as much, but I still have a pick holder device wedged in my strings up by the tuners....some gizmo just for holding picks...that was given to me.

But, I have noticed I play more with my thumb now when I want to dig in to something...cause I dont have a pick to grab....and, I just tired the slight of hand magic trick Emma Anzai uses and dropped the pick three times....I wont be trying that live anytime soon. Dang it!

[wagstaff]

I've done that before, I had to switch from pick in the verse to fingers in the chorus.
I was mimicing a synth playing 16th notes which were too fast for me physically yet cause I'm not a pick player, I found the chorus difficult with a pick because the bass line I played for it was quite busy.

To get around this I developed a finger technique only using the middle finger when playing the chorus part so the change over would be quicker as the pick wouldn't have to move about in my hand. Confused the hell out the drummer when he first saw it. Kinda looked like a wriggling caterpillar

Mark.

[LuckyBassPlayer]

You could act like a rockstar, get a pick holder for your mic stand, attach it, when you need to switch from picking to plucking, just throw a pick into the crowd, and get another pick when you need one again

[drewfunk]

If i need to switch to finger style for a soft part of a song, i usually just keep the pick in the same fingers and pluck with my middle finger, so i dont have to fiddle around with the pick. Otherwise i just keep it between my teeth

[bobbybass85]

+1 to the teeth users... plus it keeps your guitarists from wanting to steal all your picks.

[Plays_For_Dog]

You could always pick up a pick holder that clips to the guitar stand and simply drop your pick when you're done with it and snag another one next chorus.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by JTE

Work on learning to palm the pick. I used to do this (decades ago, I still had hair) and I'd move the pick to hold it against my palm with the ring and little fingers while playing with my fingers. Then quickly swap it up to the first finger/thumb for playing with the pick.

In his video Bass Lessons In Tone Vol. 1 Bobby Vega shows how he does this using the thumb to slide the pick into the joint where the ring finger meets the palm. Seems to me the cleanest most efficient way of changing from fingers to pick and back. Since it's something I can effectively work on away from the bass it's coming together pretty quickly for me.

[KayXero]

yeah Ill prolly have to do a pick holder until my switching technique gets better. Cus during practice today I dropped it a few times and while I can continue fine with my fingers, the sound i wanted for the song is lost since Im not using the pick as I wanted to.

And I cant do teeth. I sing lead in half the songs.

[BassBob1]

i put it in my teeth as well. But i dont often use a pick. sometime ill have a few on top of my amp but they sometimes rattle off. I will have one in my pocket generally just incase i feel like it will get my the sound i want.

[anonymous122511]

Here's how I'm doin it sliding the pick from point A to point B with my thumb:

[WarPhalange]

That's a shiny pick.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by WarPhalange

That's a shiny pick.

You like this one better?