Any pick players in the house?

[RocketMusic]

In my 30+ years of playing bass, I've managed to avoid playing with a pick. Mostly because I've never invested the time to learn how to use one well. But now I'm putting together a Pink Floyd project, and the sound of a picked P bass is just so obvious on many of the tunes. It's going to have to become part of my playing now.

So I'm starting from square 1, but I'm motivated and anxious to get up to speed. Where do I start? LOL

I guess pick choice is the first question. Thick? Thin? Shape? I'm sure there's a healthy dose of personal preference involved here, but I'd love to hear from some guys with experience and a strong opinion.

Next question might be strings? I'm playing flats (La Bella 760-FM's) pretty much exclusively these days, but I'm open to putting rounds back on one of my P's. I'll probably just use my ears to see if picking on flats gets me the sound I need. But again - if anyone has an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

From there, I guess the next step would be to identify some exercises to get my pick playing up to snuff. At first glance, playing with a pick seems pretty similar to double thumbing, and I went through a bunch of string crossing and string skipping exercises when I learned how to do that. Are there any other important sorts of exercises specific to a pick?

I always like a new challenge, and this will certainly be that. Nothing like a new technique to make a usually fine bass player feel (and sound) like a beginner.

Any and all advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Bassbeater]

Shout out to rocket music. Blacksburg has some great musicians. Had some good experiences there.
Sorry, I can't help you with picks on bass...

 

[saabfender]

1st: Roundwounds.

2nd: Watch Roger Waters play the bass guitar. He has a very unusual and distinct sound he gets from his idiosyncratic style. He's truly a native pick player who came up with his own way of doing it way back when. I recently watched the Pompeii concert/DSOTM recording documentary (1971) and highly recommend it.

On a personal note, there are times when I picture his playing when I'm using a pick. Helps.

 

[RocketMusic]

1st: Roundwounds.

2nd: Watch Roger Waters play the bass guitar. He has a very unusual and distinct sound he gets from his idiosyncratic style. He's truly a native pick player who came up with his own way of doing it way back when. I recently watched the Pompeii concert/DSOTM recording documentary (1971) and highly recommend it.

On a personal note, there are times when I picture his playing when I'm using a pick. Helps.

I've got that DVD at home, I will definitely break that out again! Great tip, thanks!

And, dang it. I knew I was going to hear Rounds. LOL I'll have to slap a set of Sunbeams on my '75 P - it's got a Maple board, so that might be my best choice if I'm really trying to nail the sound.

 

[Thudnar]

I use a pick when the song requires one. Some stuff either doesn't sound right or is a real chore otherwise. I particularly like the scraping sound you can get with round-wounds and a medium plectrum.

 

[RocketMusic]

Here's an interesting read. I wonder if it's accurate? The money quote: "Roger is predominantly a pick player and used Rotosound flatwound strings on this." This referring to his black/maple Fender P on Dark Side Of The Moon.

 

[RocketMusic]

Man, I should have done this years ago. "Whipping Post" takes on a whole new thang with a pick! My band that does a bunch of Allman Bros tunes is going to love this.

This is coming to me more naturally than I ever thought it would. I think all the time I spent working out the double thumbing nonsense is paying off. I had it built up in my brain like this was going to be a moderate hurdle to overcome, but I might be over it in time for rehearsal tomorrow. LOL

 

[buldog5151bass]

Like anything else, start slow and get the technique right. Make sure your volume is the same with up and down strokes.

 

[BassGtrMic]

Also note that David Gilmour played bass on a bunch of the albums. "One of these Days" is both Roger and David. You can hear it when you listen actively.
I'd stick with whatever strings you like. But round wounds are what I've used. The pick is a personal preference. I use the same size on electric guitar as bass (.73 Dunlop Ultex).

 

[MG Wolf]

I would check out Carol Kaye's method of pick playing.

And I prefer heavier picks, I've been using the triangular 1.4mm Rosewood picks made by Thalia of late.

Good luck Greg & Shine On...

 

[buldog5151bass]

Yeah, I like heavy picks as well. No flex, you know where the tip is.

 

[bdgotoh]

I use a pick regularly, probably 50-60% of the time. I use mediums because I like a little flex but they last a long time. I cut a cross-hatched pattern into the upper part of both sides, it allows for a relaxed grip with very little slippage.

 

[Nedmundo]

Due to a joint problem in my right index finger, I switched to pick playing about ten years ago. Previously, I had used a pick only when required ("White Wedding," etc.), and now I use fingers only when absolutely necessary.

At first, I used the same picks I used on guitar, usually small .73mm with some texture to avoid slippage. Eventually, I came to prefer the large triangular picks, and I use textured 1.26mm Claytons and 1.14mm Dunlop Ultex. I have a slight preference for the Dunlops, which feel stiffer. The large picks don't drop as easily, and allow a stronger grip IMO. I also think thicker picks produce better tone in general, and have a real advantage for hard playing with palm muting, which I do probably more than I should! I just can't resist the chunk. (This is one reason I love G&L basses: the bridges are great for palm muting.)

I had played guitar for years before switching to a pick on bass, so I was surprised how long it took before I felt good using a pick most of the time. But, as the muscles strengthened and my brain adjusted, I started to like it more. With strength, you gain more touch, and can produce lots of different tones and textures with a pick.

Here are the Dunlops I use:

ULTEX® TRIANGLE GUITAR PICK  

 

[Watchootognbout]

I use thick,inflexible picks.
Why?Thick Inflexible Picks.That's the way.

All the pick motion energy is transferred to the string.
Because there is no flexing that there is no delay of energy transfer.
The blunt,rounded tip slips easily over the string.
Moving the string only.

Some have a bright clicky sound(the agate and V-Pick)
Others have a dark,round tone.(Prime Tone and Wegens)

Top left to bottom right:
3mm Big Stubby,Dunlop Primetone 5mm,Timbertones Agate 4.7mm picks.
SikPik D35,Wegen 5mm,Wegen 7mm,V-Pick Big Fattie 5.85mm.

 

[Nedmundo]

@gebass6 I need to get some of those V-Picks Big Fatties. I also like picks to be thick and inflexible, and clearly haven't gone far enough! In high school I sometimes used quarters as picks on my T-40. The rough edges produced a nice grind -- or so I thought at the time.

 

[oren]

I haven’t played bass with a pick regularly in a long time, but I used to do a fair amount of it back in my punk rock days. One band I played with told me they wanted me to play “like Dee Dee Ramone, but faster and harder!”

In those days I always used rounds, but I think a pick would sound great on some modern flats like Chromes. I used to like these picks:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HE210P

 

[RocketMusic]

I've gravitated to a Dunlop Big Stubby 1.0 mm for now, but I'll be experimenting a lot. I've got the thicker Big Stubbys, and I ordered a sampler of those Thalia rosewood picks to see what they're all about.

I used a pick for 3 hours at rehearsal last night, and it was a blast. I don't have the touch yet to bring dynamics like I can with my fingers, but I'll get there. Playing the notes I want to play in time wasn't much a problem. Just a few licks I wanted to hit, but sort of stumbled over getting the pick where it needed to be.

My big takeaway was how much control a pick gives you over your tone. I play a 4-string P pretty much exclusively these days, and I've gotten very accustomed to moving my right hand to vary the thickness of the tone I get from the strings by changing where I pluck relative to the bridge. When using a pick, though, that change is even more drastic. What I love is that even when you get close to the neck or even out over the neck, you still have a well-defined punch on the front of the note when you hit it with a pick. Playing that far from the bridge with fingers can start getting pretty indistinct/muddy.

I was using my usual LaBella flats last night, and I thought it sounded fabulous. I was really nailing Water's tone. The basslines from "Money" and "Have A Cigar" were absolutely jumping out of my speakers, I loved it.

 

[filmtex]

Herco 50’s for me. Been using em for many many years. I used to use a pick exclusively but now only a few times a night. On Whipping Post for sure.

 

[Road Hat]

I would check out Carol Kaye's method of pick playing.

And I prefer heavier picks, I've been using the triangular 1.4mm Rosewood picks made by Thalia of late.

+1 in CK method. This method book is a good place to start, and fun too.

Here’s the pick I use, and it matches well to the grip shown in the book.

Good stuff! Enjoy the new playing experience, always fun to learn something new.

 

[Thank You Leo]

When I was just starting out back in the stone age, there was no internet, no MTV, no Bass Player magazine. What we did have was Guitar Player magazine, which had a column written by Carol Kaye. I learned a lot from those columns including proper left hand technique, but probably the biggest thing was her use of the pick. I had started out playing with my fingers, but began to incorporate using a pick in my playing. Unlike today where there seems to be some kind of stigma attached to using a pick by some people, they were lots of respected players using a pick. Maybe because I didn't know any better, I just played both ways. If I was playing a tune where the original guy played fingerstyle, that's what I'd do and if they'd used a pick on the record, then that's what I'd do.

As a lot of folks have pointed out, Carol Kaye is a great resource for learning to play with a pick. She always used flats with a hard pick and also played pretty hard. Based on recent videos, she still does.

Based on my own experience, unless you are going for a sound like Chris Squire or Live-at-Leeds-era John Entwistle, flats are perfectly fine with a pick. Pick selection is very personal and it sounds like you are trying a lot of different shapes and thickness, which is what you need to be doing. I like a little flex in the pick, but some people like them perfectly stiff. Good news is that finding the right pick is probably the cheapest gear investment any of us will ever make.

While you are getting your technique together I would recommend you practice using different pick directions: all down strokes, all up, alternating, sweep, etc. Eventually when you are playing the tunes you will naturally gravitate to the technique you need for the song you're playing.

There are a couple of little things that I never really appreciated until I had been playing with a pick for a long time. These may sound dumb or insignificant to some people, but I've found that spending some time focusing on them was very beneficial to me. First off is learning to hit the string with the pick flat against it rather than at an angle and with the pick perpendicular to the top of the bass. I've found that you have better control that way and you can always vary the angle of the pick for a different tone, which I do sometimes. Also be cognizant of how much of the tip of the pick you are using. You don't need much to get a good sound and, generally speaking, the less you use the faster you can be ready to strike again. OTOH there are tones you really can't get unless you dig in and use a lot of the pick, though that can tend to slow you down. The idea is to just to realize that you have options and find what works for you.

Hope this helps.