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All you pick users...

#21
Like all the other guys said, practice is practice, not magic. However if you have trouble skipping strings, try playing some songs that use octaves a lot or that just, well, skip strings alot. focus on your weakness.

Just as a suggestion to try, I use dunlop jazz picks and they work great for me. To me they just feel more accurate and less clumsy.

Props to you for going out of your comfort zone and learning pick. I'm not yet as brave as you, for I should really pick up (lolz) on using the fingers
 
#25
i like .88 (green) dunlop tortex in the normal "pick" shape for both guitar and bass.

but my absolute favorite pick ever is a Pickboy Carbon Nylon 1.0mm in the pointy jazz shape - it's bigger than a Dunlop jazz pick, and a little pointier. downside is they are almost $1 a pick ... but the one i use every day is about 11 years old!

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#26
tk421 said:
i like .88 (green) dunlop tortex in the normal "pick" shape for both guitar and bass.

but my absolute favorite pick ever is a Pickboy Carbon Nylon 1.0mm in the pointy jazz shape - it's bigger than a Dunlop jazz pick, and a little pointier. downside is they are almost $1 a pick ... but the one i use every day is about 11 years old!

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how do you keep the same pick for 11 years? I lose one every 11 minutes
 
#29
i played guitar for years before picking up bass, so naturally its no problem to me. i just find it really boring. unless the song demands it, ill use fingers. 3 if i have to.

however, when i started playing guitar i had a hard time getting used to holding a pick. i was much cleaner with my thumb. i had to get comfortable with it, and that took time. turns out i use my thumb and middle finger instead of my index finger. i use the index finger for stability if im trem picking or something. i also anchor my pinky under my high E string unless im strumming. there are wear marks on some of my guitars to prove it.

unorthodox.. sure.. but i do just fine with a pick. i turned out to be an extremely picking hand strong guitarist (a james hetfield type).

perhaps you need the same breaking in period. take your time. figure it out at home then take it to practice.

btw, i find it weird that my mid 50's neighbor who is a total 70's groove monster (incredible taste and timing) normally uses a pick, whereas im off playing punk, prog and thrash metal with my fingers. we are both 5 string only players. we just go at the instrument entirely different.
 
#30
tk421 said:
i like .88 (green) dunlop tortex in the normal "pick" shape for both guitar and bass.

but my absolute favorite pick ever is a Pickboy Carbon Nylon 1.0mm in the pointy jazz shape - it's bigger than a Dunlop jazz pick, and a little pointier. downside is they are almost $1 a pick ... but the one i use every day is about 11 years old!

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Click to expand...

i switched to .73 ultex sharps because regular ones were to slow and dull, but i couldnt imagine going at a bass with something tiny like a jazz III
 
#31
snaverb said:
how do you keep the same pick for 11 years? I lose one every 11 minutes
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i used to be that way. much like me with writing utensils, i had to make a conscious effort to keep track of them. im fairly certain i played like a half year of gigs on one that i keep around my neck most of the time. ive got a giant bag. ive only taken a couple from it.

im also very particular about plectrums, and i dont like buying them. i dont go for the super cheapos, so i keep track of mine. unfortunately they are a transparent yellow-y brown and impossible to find when dropped. especially on a dark stage or brown carpet :mad:
 
#32
I started way back when down stroke thumb was the style, then tried felt picks, picks weren't cool in the '70s so learned finger style, using fender heavy and extra heavy. Dunlops .8 or thicker. Just tried out 3mm Big Stubby!!! Phat tone!

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I tend to move from bridge to neck and do down and up stroked depending on need.
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Mostly index and middle finger plucking, sometimes three or four fingers for flourishes.

Post your positions! for fingering and picking... (your bass) ;-)
 

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