I have heard good things about the Helix stuff and wouldn't mind messing around given the opportunity. Damn they charge an arm and a leg though..must be worth it!
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I have heard good things about the Helix stuff and wouldn't mind messing around given the opportunity. Damn they charge an arm and a leg though..must be worth it!
That said, anything I actually DID try from them...maaan...like hundreds of sounds on board, and not one of them were usable. They kind of turned me anti-Multi..
The Bass Guitar is played 3 ways, with your fingers, with a pick and with your thumb. Any real bass player will know how to use all 3 methods and when to use what method...(Jimi Hendrix invented a 4th method, with your teeth). The pick gives tighter attack,the fingers give smooth flow, and the Thumb gives explosive pops and secure downbeats. I love all 3 methods, it's time to experiment with what works best for the particular song...
Damn right. This guy's got it. Seriously, if the song calls for it, play bass with your wang..
His reasoning is remarkably flawed. If he does, in fact, sound better than you, why in the world does he attribute that merely to the fact that he uses a pick? My playing improved significantly when I stopped using a pick. Has he explained specifically what it is about your playing he feels needs to improve? Has he explained how a pick will address what that issue is? He really has to address the specifics on this one.
Didn't read thread but wanna observe that if it's a cover band, then a lot of '80s tunes featured pick on the bass, and that may be what drumhead is looking to hear. This really sounds like a discussion over the sound he has in his head, rather than how you get it, which would be smart discussion to have, in any event. Do you two talk about your grooves, lock and tone/timbre choices? If not, then there is a lot of nuance and groove being left on the table. And the 80's pick sound can be covered by fingerstyle, particularly if you hit hard down by the bridge, using flat wounds on the brighter side of flat, and are using an MM or otherwise emphasizing the bridge pickup.
Depends entirely on context, I've been in bands where I've never used a pick and others where it wouldn't work without......and all points in between, whatever the music calls for.
When noodling about myself these days tho, I've tended more towards using a pick....
When noodling about myself these days tho, I've tended more towards using a pick....
Everyone says that 'bags' of dicks are the way to go. Why not tell him to eat a pallet of dicks, containing several bags of dicks...or maybe a truckload of dicks containing several pallets containing several...you get the picture.
Whether you want to use a pick is up to you, but there are sounds I can get with a pick that I can’t get with fingers. If I want those sounds, I use a pick. The various suggestions in here for playing near the bridge and EQing the bass might suggest a pick but they won’t nail the nuances of the real thing.
I also have no issue with musicians in a band taking about the overall sound. I’ve never been asked to use pick or fingers, but I have need asked to use a specific bass. No issue to me. When we are arranging as a band, we suggest lines and techniques to each other.k and we comment on the sounds each other have. The result is usually better than what any of us would create alone.
I also have no issue with musicians in a band taking about the overall sound. I’ve never been asked to use pick or fingers, but I have need asked to use a specific bass. No issue to me. When we are arranging as a band, we suggest lines and techniques to each other.k and we comment on the sounds each other have. The result is usually better than what any of us would create alone.
Ask the drummer what they think is missing from your sound/playing. Then decide if that "thing" is actually missing. Either way pretend to work on it and smile a lot.
If it’s a cover band and he’s the band leader, you’d better darn well do exactly what he says and you better not ask any questions....
Sorry, I got all worked up from a different thread.
Sorry, I got all worked up from a different thread.
This might get me flamed, but here goes. I tend to believe something i read long ago. A pretty well known rock producer (i forget who, this was years ago) claimed that a lot of rock bassists, even well-known pros, play fingerstyle sloppily. When he got guys like them in the studio, he would ask (sometimes insist) they use a pick, claiming they instantly played more evenly and accurately, and therefore the recordings would come out better. Then they would go back to fingerstyle live.
To summarize: Your guitarist *might* not be wrong. If you’re great at fingerstyle, awesome. Use it. But fingerstyle is harder to master and play rhythmically accurately just by its nature (/flame suit on). So if you haven’t mastered it yet, you might indeed sound instantly tighter/better in a band mix using a pick.
One of our guitarists preferred the sound of a pick on the bass.
And with some songs I did use one, because the bass-line wouldn't sound like the original that we covered.
Then he tried to let me play a fretted bass, because he didn't like a fretless bass sound.
First he tried to convince me to continually play his Jolana Rick copy, but I didn't like the sound and output of it's pickups. Later he gave me a battered up Cimar Jazz bass copy, that I did use from time to time, but he insisted that I didn't adjust or change anything on it. So I left it as a backup. (The wiring of that bass was clumsily done and it had other issues that needed to be fixed.)
Next thing was an Epiphone Genesis bass that he'd bought. He said it would look good next to his Epiphone Genesis guitar. He suggested that he would donate it to me if I'd sell my fretless PJ. I liked the Genesis bass, but felt it was too heavy and less versatile in sound compared to my PJ. He appeared agitated after that.
Which also started to show during rehearsals, where too much time was spent on petty arguments with the drummer, me and other band members. After a while we suggested that it might be better for him to start a band which would suit his preferences.
So he played in a couple of other bands, all of them ended in arguments.
And with some songs I did use one, because the bass-line wouldn't sound like the original that we covered.
Then he tried to let me play a fretted bass, because he didn't like a fretless bass sound.
First he tried to convince me to continually play his Jolana Rick copy, but I didn't like the sound and output of it's pickups. Later he gave me a battered up Cimar Jazz bass copy, that I did use from time to time, but he insisted that I didn't adjust or change anything on it. So I left it as a backup. (The wiring of that bass was clumsily done and it had other issues that needed to be fixed.)
Next thing was an Epiphone Genesis bass that he'd bought. He said it would look good next to his Epiphone Genesis guitar. He suggested that he would donate it to me if I'd sell my fretless PJ. I liked the Genesis bass, but felt it was too heavy and less versatile in sound compared to my PJ. He appeared agitated after that.
Which also started to show during rehearsals, where too much time was spent on petty arguments with the drummer, me and other band members. After a while we suggested that it might be better for him to start a band which would suit his preferences.
So he played in a couple of other bands, all of them ended in arguments.
Concurr with TCT....certainly if I were producing a recoding / track and there was lack of clarity in the bass dept shall we say, I'd be saying "use a pick mate" to the bass player..
Playing should be fun. If it’s not then fix it. If you’re the bass player, then the buck stops with you deciding how to play. Input from other people is considered and either used or discarded.. or else get someone else.
Sounds like your drummer needs an ego check. Regardless what his intentions are in telling you this, he comes across as a condescending know-it-all. Next time he says you would sound better with a pick, tell him he would sound better playing drums with his hands instead of sticks.
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