did most pick players use felt picks until the 70s?

[bon viesta]

when you think of “pick players” you probably just think they all used plastic guitar picks, even people like paul mccartney who had a thumpy sound. well, i don’t remember exactly where i saw it, but it was either ELP on beat club, or the who on the rock and roll circus, but john entwistle/greg lake had a pickguard stash of felt picks, rather than plastic picks. and it made me think “man… even they had felt picks??”. apart from players like chris squire, peter cetera, joe osborn, and other standout examples, i really do think that most pick players of those early days sound so thumpy just because they used felt picks rather than your usual hard plastic ones. perfect example would be macca. have you ever tried to replicate that sound with a plastic pick?? i’ll tell you one thing, it’s very hard.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Remember, a lot of early bassists switched from guitar. I imagine they used what they were comfortable with.

I started bass in the mid 70s, and almost never saw a felt pick.

 

[Element Zero]

Think too in the early days, most people tried to emulate the sound of an upright with their newfangled electric basses…

 

[godofthunder59]

They had a brief period of popularity, I had some back in the day, more of a novelty really. Cumbersome and not a lot of control if one wanted a softer sound it was just easier to use fingers or thumb.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

The sound of those earlier bassist’s was as much the result of flat wound strings, mutes, and recording techniques, as it was a pick or fingers.

 

[chris_b]

I had a felt pick when I started, but I never got on with picks, so they all went.

It was a round, warmer sound, with none of the pick attack, so it had no real advantage over using fingers.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I tried felt picks early on, and like a lot of people, gave it up for plastic picks pretty quick. They just disintegrated after a few hours use, and didnt sound any better than fingerstyle, so I didnt see the point. The technique I see most often on old videos from the 50's was the "thumb pluck" using the tug bar, I havent seen much pick use. Squire was the first player who I was keenly aware of as a Pick player, it was immediately obvious he wasnt getting that tone with fingers. It took me a while to get used to plastic picks, they'd get slippery and twist in my grip, so I used the giant triangular Fender tort picks and gradually reduced size. The felt picks were easy to hold, about the only positive I found.

 

[bobyoung53]

I remember buying a felt pick sometime during the late 60's when I was new, I'm pretty sure the salesman or someone in my band said something like "all the bassists use these" but I think he was just trying to get a new market. I didn't like them, they were more of a curiosity to me than anything.
I did find some in the case of a '65 EB-3 I bought about 5 years ago though, they're still there. I hadn't seen one in years. I really don't remember many people using them.
I quickly changed to fingerstyle but now also use a pick for certain sounds. I love the sound Carol Kaye got with a pick, mute and a P bass. That pick slap with P bass and mutes was very common during the 50's on easy listening music. I still like it.

 

[GreyBeard]

I started playing in 1968 and still have never seen a felt pick.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Tried one in the late 70s and it didn’t work for me. Tried again about 10 years ago with the same results.
I use a plastic pick possible 20% of the time.

 

[jd56hawk]

when you think of “pick players” you probably just think they all used plastic guitar picks, even people like paul mccartney who had a thumpy sound. well, i don’t remember exactly where i saw it, but it was either ELP on beat club, or the who on the rock and roll circus, but john entwistle/greg lake had a pickguard stash of felt picks, rather than plastic picks. and it made me think “man… even they had felt picks??”. apart from players like chris squire, peter cetera, joe osborn, and other standout examples, i really do think that most pick players of those early days sound so thumpy just because they used felt picks rather than your usual hard plastic ones. perfect example would be macca. have you ever tried to replicate that sound with a plastic pick?? i’ll tell you one thing, it’s very hard.

I wouldn't dream of using a guitar pick, but I wouldn't waste my time with felt picks, either...and I play with a pick all the time.

 

[OOD]

I had a felt pick when I started, but I never got on with picks, so they all went.

It was a round, warmer sound, with none of the pick attack, so it had no real advantage over using fingers.

You should get more consistency with a felt pick than fingers. That might have an advantage for recording. Of course you can get that playing with one finger too, but I feel like the felt picks would allow you to play faster than one finger will.

 

[adamrobertt]

It's really not that hard to cop a fingerstyle sound with a plastic pick. With flats its even easier.

 

[40Hz]

Most bass players I knew in the early 70s who were using a pick were using a plain vanilla Fender medium or heavy tort celluloid pick. A few, following the example of Greg Lake, were using a celluloid triangular pick.

Felt picks were more a mid 60s thing where I was. About the only people I knew still using felt in the 70s were autoharp plus the (back then rare) uke player.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

In the 70s, when I went to the music store, they almost always had them.
Right there next to the celluloid ones that said Fender, and the plastic ones that said Dunlop. So I tried one.
Nope...no
Not for me.
Once the Tortex ones came along, I was done trying different picks.
Cant break em, can't bend em, Can only lose em...and I do.
What can I say......I like turtles.

 

[bobyoung53]

I use the wide side of either a Fender medium or a Fender heavy regular pick. In Bobby Vega's last column for Bass Player he mentioned to try using the wide side of a triangular pick instead of the point. I really like it and whenever I use a pick I use the wide side and think of Bobby Vega, it was a great tip, try it, it sounds bigger and is much easier to control especially going from string to string. I never liked picking with th point, maybe on a guitar but not a bass, it opened up a whole new world for me

 

[JimmyM]

Felt picks were never very popular for bass. Most of the pick users I know of in the 60's used regular picks, and those who wanted fatter sounds with less pick attack used fingers. Not to say you can't use them...the late Monk Montgomery, the first person to record with an electric bass, used his thumb but switched to a felt pick when his thumb one day quit working. I never got on with them, though.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I recently saw a rubberized felt pick - felt pick tone and doesn't dissolve before the end of a set. But still not my thing.

 

[Tom Bomb]

We started a revolution here, not so long ago, and picks again came to the fore Thank you, Bobby Vega — Champion
​

 

[msb]

I used to keep a felt pick in my case just in case a guitar player asked if I had a spare pick .