Finger or pick?

[swafran]

If you were serious about bass, I would say you can't ignore finger style for long. But you're a guitar player who doesn't mind doubling on bass for a friend's project. And a lot of rock guys prefer they bassists to use a pick anyways. Why complicate things?

 

[bushbass]

Someone probably mentioned this already, but try a felt pick to minimize the plastic click against the string.
It will take a bit of playing to soften it up so don't give up if it sounds like a thick plastic pick at first.

 

[el murdoque]

You should be able to play fingerstyle, floating thumb, three fingers, slap, tap and pick.
Then you can basically do it all and choose what the song calls for.

If you don't have time to hone your skills this much, you can simply drop the techniques you don't like.

And then those you don't have a need for.

If you want to sound exactly like somebody else, it is always good to play the style that someone plays.
If you want to get your own style, play what you like most and get good at it.

It is, however, an unfair advantage if one comes from guitar and already can handle a pick, while fingerstyle
has to start from zero. There is more speed, precision and stamina in the pick then.
I started out playing pick and switched to fingerstyle two years later. After a brief period of playing both, i was done with picks. I know it is a weakness not being able to play properly with a pick, but i don't really care. I do this in my own time, mostly to enjoy myself rather than to become a well respected pro.

 

[Mosfed]

I use both. You should learn both. They come in handy in different ways.

 

[mikecd1]

First of all, congratulations on taking the plunge into the deep end! In the late part of the last century I was the worst of three guitar players in a group that needed a bass player. I embraced the idea and haven't looked back. Like others have suggested I would work on your finger technique and do whatever you have to do in the meantime to play. Although I don't use a pick often (wait a minute), I started using the Everly (yup, Phil and Don) Star Picks. They sell them at GC and I think the blue ones are the hardest, then the green then yellow etc. They are really easy to hold onto because of the "star" hole in them. I use them for guitar and have some for bass if I ever need them. Flutters with your plucking middle and index going back and forth and chromatic scales up and down the neck with your fingers are excellent techniques for building up finger style. I still do them for my now arthritic and trigger fingers. LOL Stay thirsty (what's happening to me?) my low-end friend!

 

[nonohmic]

Pick son!!

 

[G On Bass]

In my current projects, there are songs that seems to call for fingers, some for a pick. As a result of taking up the banjo about a year ago, I've been using these thumbpicks for bass lately. In addition to not being able to drop them, it allows me to easily switch between picks and fingers, even in the middle of the song. They are thick and hold up well. I use the plastic style one on the far left but as you can see, there are lots of styles and materials available.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I switched from (mostly rhythm) guitar to bass almost 25 years ago, and used a pick exclusively at first. A couple years in, I briefly was part of a church praise band, and used the opportunity of what was a low-pressure gig to start playing with my fingers. All these years later, I struggle if I try to play bass with a pick. It just feels clunky to me.

 

[3dognate]

Well... as a guitarist that also pulls double duty on bass in a second band... and having played with many amazing and unremarkable bassists over the years. Mainly Rock/Pop. Some of the rock stuff (Van Halen, Kings X, Green Day, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Ozzy, etc..... just needs a pick on for the attack to really sound "right". I am embracing both techniques... my right hand is very effective with a pick... but I'm working up the finger chops to do what i need for finger style playing.

As a band mate that played for years with staunch anti-pick bass players, I found it disappointing that they wouldn't even give the pick a chance when the song really called for that tone that fingers don't really quite get. (and vice versa, a pick on so many songs just sounds wrong.)

I'm giving both techniques the same attention.

Nate

 

[Up the dose]

If you think this is hard wait till you have to choose either tort or another color for the pickguard. That's when the real fun begins

 

[lostreality]

I only use a pick, no fingers or slap.

I use the green Tortex Sharps because they're easy to grip and quieter on the strings than "regular" plastic picks. Play a little lighter and a little closer to the neck if you're looking to dull the attack. The huge Big Stubby picks are also nice but they're distractingly loud on the strings when you play.

Side note: I don't even know how to play guitar, for those who think "only failed guitarists use picks"

 

[Watchootognbout]

Fingers?Yes!
Pick?Yes!
Tap?Most definitely!!
Slap?A little!

A pick makes it easy to do speedy sixteenth notes,but harder to dampen unused strings.
Fingerstyle is easier to mute unused strings with right hand fingers on strings.
But sixteenth notes are not as fast as when a pick is used.

At least for me.

 

[BAG]

In the meantime, I suggest you try the purple Dunlop Tortex ones (they are 1.15mm or so).

That's what i've used for a long time. I bought some Gator Grip 1.5mm (dark green) ones and I find they have less "clack" and slightly darker tone. Unfortunately i've lost most of them already and still have a stack of the Purple Tortex 1.15mm ones so i'll continue with them till I need to buy more.

A pick makes it easy to do speedy sixteenth notes,but harder to dampen unused strings.

And yet I can dampen using palm muting much more effectively than with fingers. I find that when using fingers, I have a problem with being able to sustain a note on a lower string while playing a note on the next highest string as I tend to pluck the higher string and the follow through of that pluck touches the lower string killing the note. That's OK for some lines but not for others. I'm still working on my technique but my picking gives me so much more versatility..... at the moment.

 

[Watchootognbout]

That's what i've used for a long time. I bought some Gator Grip 1.5mm (dark green) ones and I find they have less "clack" and slightly darker tone. Unfortunately i've lost most of them already and still have a stack of the Purple Tortex 1.15mm ones so i'll continue with them till I need to buy more.



And yet I can dampen using palm muting much more effectively than with fingers. I find that when using fingers, I have a problem with being able to sustain a note on a lower string while playing a note on the next highest string as I tend to pluck the higher string and the follow through of that pluck touches the lower string killing the note. That's OK for some lines but not for others. I'm still working on my technique but my picking gives me so much more versatility..... at the moment.

I find that it is hard for me to dampen the unplayed strings without dampening the played strings while picking.
I can't dampen a few and not dampen one or two.
Either none or all.

I end up palm muting the played strings.
I don't want to do that.

I guess that's where left hand damping comes in.
I have to learn to leave my fretting fingers on a string a fraction of a second longer to dampen the string when picking.

 

[kkaarrll]

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?

Yeah I wouldn't trash the pick. But pick up finger style as time allows. Trial by fire is the best way to learn in my view anyway.

start on pick--you already know it, it will warp speed your bass playing


then start using fingers

This is what I have done and I am now decent with fingers--fantastic with pick

but still learning the bass and music theory

 

[BAG]

start on pick--you already know it, it will warp speed your bass playing

then start using fingers

This is what I have done and I am now decent with fingers--fantastic with pick

This^

I was able to get up to a decent level of playing very quickly with the pick. I'm still working on playing fingerstyle and am very mediocre at best but continue to practice.

 

[Rocker949]

If I were a guitarist asked to play bass for a band I liked, I doubt if I'd spend much time trying to learn finger style. Playing only with a pick didn't seem to bother people like Paul McCartney, Carol Kaye, Felix Pappalardi, Chris Squire and others The only reason I even bother with finger style is because I've got some whiplash injuries now and playing that way is more comfortable for my neck. But I've played plenty of gigs through the years only using a pick.

 

[Badwater]

If you're going to be a serious bass player, you'll need to work hard on developing your right hand technique. There are no short cuts to getting better. As a guitar player, using a pick will give you more consistent attack, and speed.

With that said: Play the fat part of the pick will get you a fatter thump. Holding the pick correctly will get you a snappier sound using the tip. Palm muting your strings while you use the pick will get you a driving funky bass tone. There are so many ways to hold and use the pick for different sounds and tones. You'll need to experiment with them, and use the ones that suits your goals.

 

[_sky_]

Both! There are tones you can only get with a Pick and others you can only get it fingers

 

[ThudThudThud]

Long fingers shouldn't stop you.

BTW: This is Gary Thain from Uriah Heep. Longest fingers ever.