anything a pick can do that fingers cant?

[jsingles]

sorry but i just dont care what anybody says... picking is flat out inferior to fingers..

THAT BEING SAID. bass players who pick can still come up with NASTY lines and interesting tones through other methods (ie. Paul McCartney, Chris Squire...love them both)

 

[Traver]

Who says you can't sweep with your fingers? :S

Invalid Link Removed

 

[GeneralElectric]

There really isn't much that a pick can do that fingers can't. I like the sound occasionally, but a lot of players use a pick as a crutch because their plucking hand isn't fast enough. At least in my opinion.

I still think that every bassist should learn how to play both techniques though.

And yes you can palm mute with bass. Though maybe its just me, as my finger style is weird. (Thumb, index, and then I use the ring and middle fingers as one finger)

 

[dalconthenovice]

Palm muting. You can also stick a piece of foam under there or palm mute and use your thumb, but do people palm mute and play with their fingers?

i like to call it "the floating pinky technique" i play way back and just float my pinky on the strings, its creates the same feel if you do it right so yeah, you can

 

[bkbirge]

Both are good, use whatever the song calls for. I do prefer playing muted lines with a pick and I'm 90% fingerstyle but there are really no rules for this, just prejudices.

 

[Cy_Miles]

by default I am a finger picker

but I find when a song calls for dead on metranome steady beats or a hard stacatto attack then I use the back rounded corner of stiff pick, usually with a thumb/palm mute

 

[Sammy_L_D]

It's a different tone, feel, and style altogether. So yes, there's plenty flatpicking can do that fingers cannot.

 

[Greyvagabond]

ummm....fingers can't sound like a pick. Unless you have a serious, undiagnosed medical condition

 

[kesslari]

You can't throw your finger at the drummer to get his attention.
Or have your phone number printed on your fingers and hand them out to cute girls.

That said, I still don't play with a pick...

 

[Tenma4]

Palm muting. You can also stick a piece of foam under there or palm mute and use your thumb, but do people palm mute and play with their fingers?

I may be a little behind here, but yes, I palm mute and play with fingers. for what it's worth though, In the past 6 months I've switched from being a primarily fingerstyle guy for 8 years to pickstyle.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread while I catch up.

 

[Lesfunk]

I'm a finger player but Bob Daisley plays with a pick. Therefore picks are good too.

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm a long-standing fingerstyle player, and I'm reasonably fast with two-finger technique. However, I'm working on learning pick for songs with extended, fast bass lines. When I have a number like Link Wray's Jack The Ripper backed up with the Fireballs' Bulldog and two or three other numbers with continual 16th-notes, my fingers do get fatigued. Being able to use a pick for fast repetitive lines would be a plus...and I don't consider it a crutch. After I've played fingerstyle for 2+ hours, using a pick would be a relief.

Sound-wise, I prefer the fingerstyle sound. Occasionally there is a number where the percussive sound of a pick would be handy, but moving near the bridge to pluck gets me pretty close.

 

[pizzicato16]

I am mostly a fingers player, but i do practice with a pick sometimes. I was wondering if there is anything a pick can do that fingers cant, other than tone. I mean, notes are notes, right?

i can think of sweeping, but only because i can't. i have seen people do it

Check out Billy Sheehan or Adam Nitti, both of those cats have sweep techniques that don't involve a pick. As for me, the pick just isn't my style. I listen to some bass players who do, but I like touching the string with my fingers. To each his own.

 

[tkozal]

Fingerstyle Facist I am...but when it comes to playing Zep's "Black Dog" I grab a pick.

 

[Tired_Thumb]

You'll never get Lemmy's tone with your fingers. This comes from someone who tried.

 

[RED5]

I am mostly a fingers player, but i do practice with a pick sometimes. I was wondering if there is anything a pick can do that fingers cant, other than tone. I mean, notes are notes, right?

i can think of sweeping, but only because i can't. i have seen people do it

I can't palm mute without a pick, try it.

 

[Ric5]

When I first learned how to play bass I was taught the old Mel Bay thumb pluck method, then I learned to finger pluck, then I learned to play with a pick, then I learned slapping, popping, the Entwistle typwiter method, and some Geddy fingering techniques. Now when I play a song I use whichever method gives me what I need to play that song. The pick can be good for playing fast and clean. I can get better 32nd and 64th notes with a pick. But I really like the tone from finger playing.

 

[doc5string]

Well, I've never seen anyone drop a finger while playing

lol!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gnarlyopossum]

I'm a firm believer in the idea that finger playing is far more advanced than pick playing. Generally, if a bassist plays with a pick, I see them more as a guitar playing the octave down. I know very good bassists who play with a pick, but only occasionally. Finger play offers a wider range of variations on the bass tone and it's much easier to switch between techniques within a song. If you put in enough time practicing, you can do anything you would normally do with a pick, but it will be better because instead of a cop out, it's a well practiced skill. Pick playing is easy to use, but very limited in it's potential of tones and techniques.

 

[spindizzy]

I am completely unable to clean between my teeth with my fingers as well as I can with a pick. This is particularly useful when you have eaten the Jaco fried chicken to speed up your fingerstyle. Just whip out your pick (which even fingerstlye players often keep handy for such an occasion) and poke poke poke yourself for better dental health.

For suggested gauges see your dentist.

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