I primarily pluck the strings of my bass with a pick, because I love that special snappy emphasis on the attack you get from it, but I have been working on 3 finger plucking technique and flamenco flickering with the index and middle finger, separately or together synchronously, for a while, and have now started practicing on combining those two techniques with classical guitar style finger picking, double thumbing and 2 finger plucking technique, already having the 3 latter techniques fairly secure down, and beginning to have flamenco flickering and 3 finger plucking technique fairly decently together as well. Still a pretty long way till I will be as proficient with this combined 5 fold finger style technique as I am with a pick, but when I finally hopefully get there it seems like that in many way will be far more versatile and in most ways, perhaps only except for sounding like a pick, superior to using a pick, or any other single technique really. Anyone else who combine all these 5 finger plucking techniques, like not just sticking to one at a time but altering between them, even in the course of one single song, dependent on which approach fits best to what is played, and anyone using this 5 fold super fusion finger plucking technique as their go to main plucking technique?
Ya but I pretty much have to be trying to write something or an exercise that absolutely requires it. Now, I may have an intro that uses double thumb/pluck triplets (still can't get the middle finger in there) or classical guitar style picking and then go to more traditional stuff. That finds a place. I also don't flamenco flick with my middle if plucking (will 3 finger rake/strum if appropriate, which is very, very little), but I'll purposefully play stuff going RMI/IMR/RMI+index flick and then back to regular 2 finger plucking. That's more just to get the muscle memory in case I find a use or it inspires me to write something unique. So, yes, but specifically for things written for it. Odd exceptions might be something that uses fast octaves or strange string skipping. I'm terrible with a pick, so that can be a place for it. EDIT: Only thing I can recall playing that really requires a mix of most of that is "Primus - Nature Boy," particularly the solo: Also thumb slapping chords instead of the Les flam thing in there seems more ergonomic to me (been a while; re-figuring out what to do where not immediate).
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