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Famous Pick Bassists

#43
RobBass33 said:
Most pick bass players aren't too special, for instance Jason Newsted, who in my opinion could be player a little less lazily, but as somebody said before, Chris Squire from Yes is probably the best pick bass player, as well as one of the greatest rock and roll bass players. If you're going to play with a pick I would certainly watch his playing style. Also this one Youtube bass player, MarloweDK, is a great bassist, who plays phenomonally with both his fingers and pick. He uses the pick in a more funky manner. Two great bass players you should check out right there.:smug:
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And most fingerstyle bassists are special? gotta love sweeping generalizations.

I love pick bass - in fact it's may preferred way to get biting distortion

Jesse Keeler of the now defunct DFA1979
 
#52
sometypeofplay said:
Matt Freeman from Rancid is an animal with a pick! A few others that spring to mind:

Joe Osborne and Carol Kaye- studio players from the 60's-present
Steve Swallow- modern jazz player
Anthony Jackson- a master of the instrument
Justin Chancellor- of Tool fame


...and a whole lot more, but that should give you a good start.
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+1million!!!!

matt freeman is awesome, you need to hear his playing, however he has played loads of those tracks with his fingers.

i saw Rancid at leeds years ago and he played his bass solo in Mawell Murder with his fingers, thats fast playing!
 
#53
Ric5 said:
John Entwistle
Chris Squire
John Wetton
Paul McCartney
Greg Lake
Roger Waters
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Wow....some heavy hitters listed here! This should end the discussion about pick players not being "too special"! They don't get much more special than these guys! I'd LOVE to sound as good as any one of them on their worst day!

I use both styles, depending on what I'm playing so, does that mean I could be considered "special" when playing fingerstyle and I'm just another hack when using a pick?

Kind of closed minded....IMO :hiding:
 
#54
Pretty much most Prog bass players are pick players. Squire is one of the best, incredibly melodic and creative. Style should adapt to the style of music you are playing. Ultimately, it serves a bassist well to know several styles (pick, fingers, thumb, slap, etc), as this will give you the most options, but everyone inevitably focuses on one main style.

Right now, I play in a Yes tribute band, so I'm pretty much exclusively using a pick, though there is also a lot of chording and octaves that require pick and third and fourth finger work. Squire also claims to play by using his pick and the side of his thumb at the same time, though I've never really been able to do that very well.
 
#56
bjlevine said:
Pretty much most Prog bass players are pick players.
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I am not completely sure about this statement.

Maybe because so many bands can somewhat be classified loosely as prog rock.

I believe it's more 50/50. Below just a short list to make my point (and yes, I forgot some bands, and others can loosely be classified as prock):

Fingers:

Geddy Lee (Rush)
Jim Crichton (Saga)
John Deacon (Queen)
Tony Levin (King Crimson, Yes, ....!!!)
Pete Trewavas (Marillion)
...

Picks:

Roger Waters (Pink FLoyd)
Roger Glover (Deep Purple)
Chuck Panozzo (Styx)
Dougie Thomson (Supertramp)
Billy Greer (Kansas)

...
 

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