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From fingers to a pick

#81
Used to be vehemently against using a pick when I first started playing, mainly because that was the ONLY thing bassists in my high school were doing. A lot of them were the guitarists who were like "Oh man this is easy!" and all they did was playing straight 8ths on the E string. So it actually took me a while to get over the whole "pick hatred". Guys like Justin Chancellor and Chris Squire gave me more respect for pick players. When I got older, people like Carol Kaye would come onto my radar and further cement that using a pick can be done well and is a good technique to acquire.

Since I played guitar as well, it didn't seem that alien to me until I started doing some string skipping and quick transitions between strings. The spacing threw me off, but now I have difficulty arpeggiating on a guitar, while bass is pretty natural for me. It takes some concentration to play a song I "know" on pick with my fingers only, but with a little focus it's doable pretty quick. Just pick some songs that are originally on a pick and practice those until you get comfy, then try playing songs you knew how to pluck and play those with a pick. If you don't mind their music, Strutter by KISS is a pretty fun bassline that I use to warm up my pick playing.
 
#82
mattattack187 said:
I was practicing some songs from the Punk genre last night and finger picking just wasn't cutting it so I switched to a pick. I've never played with one for more than five minutes. It feels like a whole different mind set playing that way and it exposed my poor left hand technique when it comes to muting and going up and down between strings. It almost felt harder moving from fret to fret. The good thing is, I really liked the tone. A P Bass through the VT Bass DI produced a pretty aggressive monster of a sound. I'll keep practicing but do any other players who primarily play finger style have similar issues translating over to a pick?
Click to expand...

Good move on making the best-sounding choice for the situation. But yes, there will be a learning curve. If you've never played guitar, you might want to get some basic skills going on that too, to help change your mindset and physical habits. Of course guitars and lessons aren't free, but if you have the means, the more you can immerse yourself in a new world, the better. Ultimately it takes a combination of left and right handed muting of unwanted strings to play picked bass (or guitar) cleanly. Start with basslines you already know, record yourself and listen for sloppy open strings and other assorted garbage, and go slow to figure out how to mute it. Sorry to say it but scales, arpeggios and a metronome are the best tools to learn a new technique cleanly and as quickly as possible.
 
#83
mattattack187 said:
I was practicing some songs from the Punk genre last night and finger picking just wasn't cutting it so I switched to a pick. I've never played with one for more than five minutes. It feels like a whole different mind set playing that way and it exposed my poor left hand technique when it comes to muting and going up and down between strings. It almost felt harder moving from fret to fret. The good thing is, I really liked the tone. A P Bass through the VT Bass DI produced a pretty aggressive monster of a sound. I'll keep practicing but do any other players who primarily play finger style have similar issues translating over to a pick?
Click to expand...

I use these now. Allows me to switch from pick to fingers and back, mid-song.

thumb_picks-0315.jpg
 
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#84
It took me a L-O-N-G time to get used to a pick. I would start with one and after about 30 sec's to a minute into the song, I'd ditch it. I finally decided to give it a go again and promised myself I would play the entire song (live gig) without dropping the pick no matter what happened. My mindset is that live is different than practicing. Being live, you automatically subcontiously think you gotta do it. It's sort of like when the band practices a new song. It's not officially on the setlist until you cop it live a few times. Don't give up.
 
#85
mattattack187 said:
I was practicing some songs from the Punk genre last night and finger picking just wasn't cutting it so I switched to a pick. I've never played with one for more than five minutes. It feels like a whole different mind set playing that way and it exposed my poor left hand technique when it comes to muting and going up and down between strings. It almost felt harder moving from fret to fret. The good thing is, I really liked the tone. A P Bass through the VT Bass DI produced a pretty aggressive monster of a sound. I'll keep practicing but do any other players who primarily play finger style have similar issues translating over to a pick?
Click to expand...

I'm going through the same thing. I've never really played with a pick much, and now that I want to, it's like learning all over again. I never realized how much muting was going on with my plucking hand and how naturally it happened. With a pick I've got all kinds of noise from open strings just droning...
 
#89
I used to be a finger style purist but then I started playing with a Pick and now play with a pick about 84% of the time and most of the producers I work with like the consistency with a Pick and the fact that they don't have to use more compression. I like both and think both are equally important to know how to use.
 
#90
Nothing wrong with playing bass with a pick. I'll use it for a few tunes a night. Usually when I'm trying to go for a hard rock feel. Channeling my inner Duff Mckagan!

I also will reach for a pick when I feel like I'm having an "off" night. Sometimes switching it up a bit can get me going back where I need to be. I heard Mike Gordon say something like, when you are using the pick you limit your options. It also allows you to have a very consistent attack and cut through any mix nicely.

Pick combined with palm muting is a really fun way to get some grooves going as well. Check out Bobby Vega and Cody Wright for some cool options for this.

Some others to check out:

Sir Paul
Mike Gordon
Phil Lesh
Anthony Jackson
Tony Levin
Steve Swallow
Dave Schools

Special shout out to Mike Gordon who plays so many different styles with Phish and manages to keep the pick going through all of them. He was my biggest inspiration in playing the bass with a pick.
 
#91
mattattack187 said:
I was practicing some songs from the Punk genre last night and finger picking just wasn't cutting it so I switched to a pick. I've never played with one for more than five minutes. It feels like a whole different mind set playing that way and it exposed my poor left hand technique when it comes to muting and going up and down between strings. It almost felt harder moving from fret to fret. The good thing is, I really liked the tone. A P Bass through the VT Bass DI produced a pretty aggressive monster of a sound. I'll keep practicing but do any other players who primarily play finger style have similar issues translating over to a pick?
Click to expand...

Try playing with the pick back by the bridge and then try some palm muting with the right hand
 
#92
At the urging of my purist bandmate, I never had to use a pick until I was in a Beatles trib. So, now I can do it, luckily not that hard of an adjustment for me as I play lots of guitar anyway. (I cheat a little though, for example Penny Lane and a few others which I sing lead on...fingers, esp. on that intro...)

But alas...other than Beatles, I play virtually no other styles that use a pick. FWIW anyway...
 
#94
96mm Dunlop Gator Grips for me :cool:

I haven't been playing with a pick for a really long time or anything, but of all the picks I've used, these feel perfect. Firm enough to allow me to dig into the string a bit, but just enough flexibility to feel it give under pressure a little. I'm sure the more picks I play with, the more likely I am to find something I like even better, but for now, these just feel good.
 
#97
This is something i've always struggled with too. I've always been a finger-style player, and rarely use a pick for anything more than McCartney-isms, which are obviously not too fast, so I don't have to much trouble navigating a pick there, but i've always craved that Chris Squire speed and attack. I guess practice makes perfect no matter how infuriating it is.
 
#98
Total fingers guy here.
Previously I was a snob about it. Erroneously equated using a pick with an inability to play true bass correctly.
Truth is, being able to play in all styles; fingers, pick, thumb, slap and tapping all make for an accomplished bassist.
What turned the corner for me was two things;
One, got hired into an 80's band, many songs require pick or require slap. Boy did I have to get up to speed quickly.
Secondly, I saw one of my all time favorite bassists in concert. Total fingers guy also.
Lo and behold, a half dozen songs in he starts using a pick, a few songs later he's slapping.

Weird thing is, I have always used a pick with guitar and am quite good at it but somehow using a pick with bass feels awkward, like a total different animal.
 
#99
Double thumbing can be an explosive technique in the Punk genre. But it can take awhile to develop good even tone, but once you do, things just hum as fast as you want. Primus/Les has some examples. Old punk like Suicidal Tendencies 1st LP are easy double thumbing, and you can add slap octaves or fourths/fifths to many melodies(or switch to finger style real fast or tapping etc). You can also double index or middle finger(or both at the same time, eg, Stanley Clarke riffs). Double thumbing is an aggressive tone similar to a pick, but with the connection of finger playing(but slapping is inherently right there anytime you want it, or tapping or finger style etc). Both doubling up on the fingers and the thumb take time. Well worth the efforts though. If it sounds good and you like it, do it. Try both or all and try to work on each every so often, once you get a technique, it will rarely ever leave you.
 

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