Are finger players a dying breed

[vonbladet]

No, we would all be singing and clapping our hands.

I play djembé, and the aesthetic there is very "organic" - our drums are shipped in from Africa where they are made by removing the middle bit of a tree-trunk, and they are strung with goatskin, tensioned by ropes. (Bungee-style ropes, in a rare concession.)

Congas are all about the plastic skins and metal tensioning thingies, but that's not "organic" enough for the djembé crowd.

 

[Ric5]

The pick is a tool that bass players should know how to use … some songs are better with a pick and some are better without a pick and some can go either way.

 

[Robscott]

This guy:


from this band:


This dude:




from lots of heavy bands.

Wow! He's a looker!

 

[fretlessguy]

no No. NO!

 

[JaamE]

I'm 51 and have never used a pic on my bass.
I also tend to use the side of my thumb instead of fingers, most songs it gives me better control.

 

[Arnel M.]

Definitely NOT! Go to a gospel, jazz, pop concert and you'll see the opposite.

One source doesn't give you the whole picture.

 

[Badwater]

nope,

 

[McBassHead]

In my 48 years of playing, I've never used a pick. Never will.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

No we're not, we are changing a little bit but we're not a dying breed...

 

[Funky Ghost]

95% finger player. Pick only on songs that obviously need it to achieve the right sound/attack. A few Riverside tracks come to mind.

 

[Larchi]

Learn how to "hide" your pick in your 3rd or 4th fingers, then you can switch between techniques at will!!!
I played with 3 fingers for 23 years, then moved over to pick. BECAUSE I LIKE THE SOUND!
Am I f**king allowed to do that? Or have I been kicked off some sort of elitist team?

 

[GIBrat51]

Yes...yes, they are. Here's one of them now, in fact. Big Brother has decreed: "Finger pickers are double plus ungood. They must be rehabilitated at once - or they will become an Unperson." So, Comrade; better grab a pick and start practicing - with a smile. You-know-who is watching....

 

[Rib 13]

In my early 50s - lifelong slap/fingers/tap guy. I would use a pick on occasion for studiowork when requested (which happened a lot in the 80s and early 90s for rock genres -- not so much as time went forward). I freely admit that I like the pick focused attack sound........In the past year, I have been using pick for some studiowork by my own volition and have been really enjoying the results...I may start adding it live

 

[andruca]

I switched to pick for anything punk/HC/metal related about 10 years ago. Still do fingerstyle for pretty much anything else including other rock/pop stuff. The move in my case was totally groove motivated, some grooves simply flow better with a pick (and yes, there's still a groove even in 200BPM+ HC punk).

 

[Ghook]

Started with a pick in the mid 60's, still use one. I suspect it was due to that fact our band needed a bass player more then a rythm guitarist, haveing added keyboards. Carol Kaye .... die hard pick player

 

[zontar]

Well in one sense we are all dying--in that we are moving towards the day of our death--(hopefully a long way off) and away from the day of our birth
But as a breed?
Mostly play with fingers--sometimes with my thumb & sometimes with a pick
Currently I'd say it's about 97% fingers, 2% thumb, 1% pick
That can change over time.

 

[richntiff]

I dunno. I've literally seen two guys in my area play with a pick in the last 2-3 years. Both are hacks. There are WAY less pick players than there used to be