Finger or pick?

[rockinbilly]

I should add, muting is paramount to a good clean sound.!

 

[DiMarco]

Both can work better, depending on the song you're playing.

Now then when going pick, which pick suits you better is completely personal!
I taught myself how to play bass with a pick in the last three years only, but have been playing bass for 20+ years.

What I did was buy a bunch of different picks... The small Dunlop Jazz III with its sharp point being my favourite right now.
Yellow (0.73mm?) tortex sounded and played nice but don't stand bass strings very long so I taught myself to play properly with thicker picks. I use the Ultex 2.0mm ones mostly because Ultex gives me a better attack and more treble then Nylon does. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Buy a big bag of all sort of picks and find your favourite one I say.

Edit: typo

 

[A-Step-Towards]

My first instrument was bass. I played fingerstyle 3 years then my sister got a guitar and I tried her picks. Instantly felt right and more appropriate to me. I progressed faster then I had been to. Occasionally I play fingers when im bored at practice but realistically its just always been odd to me. I have always used .60 or .73 picks. Orange, yellow or gray dunlops. Bobby Vega shows how cool you can palm mute and pick.

Oh and that said I love playing slap, which is odd I guess when I dislike finger plucking.

 

[Derp]

I like lighter picks with bass than I use for guitar because you can pick "through" the string like you do on guitar. The Tortex ones seem to last best in this regard. But I don't really play bass with a pick.

This! This! I am astonished at how many people ignore this in fact very important aspect of choosing a pick and using one! Yellow tortex or anything in between 0.7-0.9 mm, and preferably of satin texture is the optimal choice. I have a 0.96 mm pick but it takes a lot of forceful and very aggressive strokes to ram it through the strings. When I use it the whole bass rocks up and down on my lap.

 

[Jefff]

Its a Bass GUITAR, use a pick if you like. I like a heavy pick because once you learn to control it, it increases your dynamic attack. Buy thick I mean 1.5 to 2.o mm

And while they are very expensive, I have 3 Blue Chip picks I use for acoustic guitar and mandolin....and bass when it calls for a pick. They last forever as long as you don't lose 'em.

 

[12BitSlab]

I use both, but use a thumb pick as opposed to a traditional pick.

Sounds different but works perfect on songs like "Zanzibar" where a pick and fingers are both required.

Sir Paul only uses a pick and he is capable of getting many different sounds.

Do what is right for you.

 

[bholder]

first I believe no guitar player can be bass player .
it's really different instrument.
my teacher made me forget all guitar playing and then we start learn bass and now I can't play guitar .
the way you should move and play .
first pick or finger
what tone you need,it's not one instead of other or you will be horrible bass player .
you should know two finger style and pick ,but that doesn't mean one is do other job.
the tone is different .
you should learn finger or you will be a guitar player that just pick a bass .
that doesn't mean we don't have great bass player that play with pick ,no .a lot of great bass player use pick but because the tune and speed they need .
use pick on guitar and bass is different ,one bass your pick should touch like kiss the string but on guitar it should bite it
it's easiest way I cab explain it

in the end you need all basics to be best player and can be a real bass player ,for sure if you want .
if it's not your instrument I think it's better go back to guitar and find a band .
because for sure you wanna enjoy the music .

I disagree, plenty of people play multiple instruments just fine. Sure, an experienced guitar player is going to initially bring "guitar habits" to bass, but that can be overcome by learning to play properly. It's not just a bigger lower guitar, it performs different musical duties. But no reason one person can't do both. I'm a better bass player than guitar player. I'm probably guilty at times of trying to play guitar too much like bass.

 

[Matthew_84]

Which technique sounds best to you?

Work on perfecting that one.

 

[madbass6]

so I'm a converted guitar player and made the switch last summer when an established band asked me if I was interested in playing bass with them.

Sure, just let me actually buy a decent bass and learn a couple of your tunes first.

First and foremost, I'm not really all that good at either. My fingers are long and slow as heck, probably because I haven't trained them properly.

When I switched I tried doing finger picking, but being limited on time learning to play that way seemed like wasting time when I could already pick decently enough.

Then came my next issue. I go through .88 picks fairly quickly. I never played a heavy pick on guitar and actually moved up to .88's for bass. My guitar player seen this and handed me his pick to try, a 3mm!! I tried it and kind of like it. One issue I've always had with picks them shifting in my grip, not so much with these. They have an indent and some girth to hold on to. No more shredding picks but now I have a plain as day plastic picking noise plain as day. I went back to the .88 and the pick noise is minimal in comparison. I think it might be that the thick pick is a hard plastic vs nylon or tortex.

So, do I switch back to .88, keep the 3mm, learn how to play with my long dumb fingers, or something else?

Depends on style of music!
Some are better with and require picks some dont!

 

[guy n. cognito]

long story short, thanks for contributing absolutely nothing meaningful with your response

Welcome to talk bass. Type the title of your thread into the search engine. Clear your calendar for the next three weeks. Start reading......

It's been asked thousands of times .

 

[ofajen]

I like lighter picks with bass than I use for guitar because you can pick "through" the string like you do on guitar. The Tortex ones seem to last best in this regard. But I don't really play bass with a pick.

I prefer lighter picks than most here use on bass. I typically use the gray Dunlop .60 mm nylon picks. It's actually my preferred pick for both guitar and bass. Anything thicker takes away some of the nuance and dynamics I can achieve with those picks, though there are occasions where that is what is called for.

Also, having played both guitar and bass for about the same time (about 33 years), I'd say there is no reason to shy away from either pick or finger style playing on bass, providing you enjoy playing both ways.

Otto

 

[BAG]

I had a similar situation when i started. I had a week to learn 6 songs on bass. I could learn and play them no problem with a pick but if i tried fingerstyle i had to concentrate so much on my right hand that the fretting hand ended up making mistakes. I didn't have to think about my right hand at all with a pick and found that i could get a large range of tones using palm muting. I was also crap at fingerstyle on guitar too.

Unlike you, I've found that the heavier tortex picks are a little darker sounding than the thinner ones. In the past I've also find that the harder plastic types have more "clack" to them than the tortex which i find annoying.

I do play a bit of fingerstyle these days but only on slower songs. I always end up grabbing the pick again pretty soon as i tend to prefer the sound of my playing with a pick anyway.

 

[bassbenj]

Correct answer is you learn to play with both finger-style or pick because they each give a different sound. Picks give you a sharp attack that can be very useful. Also coming from guitar your pick training can be taken advantage of by playing at first with a pick. Finger style gives you a softer sound and more control over your sound. This whole finger-pick thing is just like the matched -traditional grip thing in drums. Correct answer there is also to learn both as well.

Let me say that I went to guitar from bass so I tend to not like those little dinky guitar picks for either playing guitar or bass. I very much prefer those large triangular Fender bass picks in either medium or heavy. And that goes for guitar too where I play a lot of resonator metal guitars and I use the bass picks to sort of push off the strings to get the big tone. I"m not much for letting the amp do the work and using tiny flimsy picks. I"d suggest that if you want to use tiny thin guitar picks on a bass you'd best have the action set super low and never "dig in". Many bass players do like that way of playing even though it is certainly not me. But just try those big Fender picks in medium or heavy (again I find light too flexible unless your bass action is really low).

 

[ubernator]

The correct answer is always know both.

Pick is easier for players who can't maintain an even attack note to note with their fingers, rick savage from def leppard admitted to that, as the reason he prefers pick.

In one band I use a pick because it is a tribute and the real guy uses a pick, so it is the sound that fits. Also, certain techniques like using an all down stroke, don't quite come off the same way with fingers (punk hardcore metal etc). Mobility between strings is easier with fingers.

As for pick choice, I am a jazz III guy on guitar (small thick and pointy), but a yellow tortex .73 for bass. It is just the perfect pick for playing fast and heavy.

I don't even bring picks to rehearsal for my other band, so generally I prefer fingers, but I don't shoehorn fingers into every song and every style like many bass players at an earlier point in their development do, before maturing out of the "only sucky bass players use picks" phase of self ego stroking. I'm guilty of that myself, but grew out of that about 15 years ago.

There are things both can do that are very difficult to do the other way, so being able to switch is good for versatility.

 

[Shpigel]

You should learn how to play with both fingers and pick!!
Usually I play with my fingers but some songs sound better / easier to play with a pick.
BTW I play bass with .94 pick and I think it sounds great

 

[ZenG]

Turning down the treble you can EQ some pick noise out.

But it's IMO just a matter of finding the right pick, really.

I have a container full of them and no two sound the same.

 

[KillerEddie]

I don't condemn the picks people in fact I envy them: I simply cannot play with a pick and I wish I could. I guess I learned finger style first and it's hard to convert. Those who started on guitar may have less trouble. I started on drums

 

[micguy]

I play bass with my fingers, though I always have a few picks on hand just in case.

Oddly, I also pick my nose with my fingers. Always.

 

[rafitoprtx]

I use both. Depend of the song and tone needs.

 

[RedJag]

I also play guitar, and while I can finger pick I almost always use a pick for comfort. When I play bass, I am way more proficient at finger style than pick.

Go figure.