How do YOU like to play?

[Tupac]

Slap is easily the most fun.

 

[Russell L]

On bass I'm 95% rest stroke finger style. Mostly index and middle fingers, although once in a while I'll use my ring finger, too. Once in a rare while I'll use a pick. Yet, on guitar I'm free style finger picking or just playing with a pick.

 

[FaithNoMan]

Pick, for tonal reasons.

Another thing is... I like the immediacy of the attack when you accentuate the drums and being able to do sharply attacked ghost notes in between sounded notes to give a piece forward rhythm and a bit of funkiness.

 

[Pockett]

1. Fingers
2. Thumb (slap)
3. Pick (only in rare cases when the song demands it)

Same order goes for me.
There's a finesse to fingerpicking that I really enjoy. Slapping I use to get a point across. I find I rarely go to a pick... for me, it's good for speed.

 

[Bryann]

Forced myself to use fingerstyle only for the first 3 months of bass playing. Got it better than using a pick and more comfortable too. But im using both styles equally now as I play rock and funk.

Playing with a pick somehow makes me want to headbang with that aggresive sound.

 

[Womricot]

Fingerstyle, I dislike the feel of the pick. Plus I play lots of double notes which I can't with a pick..

 

[Oobly]

Fingers mostly, can get the most "feel" and tonal range, sometimes pick when I need the aggressive tone. Can't slap, tried to learn, but got frustrated, partly due to the tight string spacing on my bass (about 14mm near the neck join).

 

[garak7]

I use the three mentioned, but lately, I have been diggin' the fingerstyle funk with just a pinch of clank thrown in.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Gotta say that my favorite way of playing is slapping, and strangely, pretty much the ONLY time I ever do (or did) it was here , or when I'm alone. I've played in 20 or more bands in the past 10 years and I don't think I used slapping in any song other than when I was trying to get a RHCP tribute together. I think I like the percussiveness behind it, plus it's fun. Maybe the fact that I never do it with any bands is what makes me do it everytime I pick up a bass, too. I'm slap deprived.

Fingerstyle is what I do most, and much prefer that to pick playing. I think I like the feeling of the connection with the strings, plus it's way more dynamic than playing with a pick.

Pick playing I do only when I have to. Guitar was my first instrument (for over 10 yrs) so it comes naturally to me, but it just doesn't feel right with a bass. I can do much much more with my fingers.

 

[bigswifty1]

Finger style exclusively. Haven't used a pick since the 70's when I was doing the Detroit Iggy-MC5 kinda deal.

I would love to play slap, but I've never got to the level where I'd be happy to do it in public. Part mental block and part some very old nerve damage in my right thumb.

A: Finger style

 

[deste]

Fingerstyle.
I can use a pick, or thumb, or slapping, when needed. But fingers is "home".
Anyway, it's the music that rules: we only have to serve it the best we can.

 

[jnewmark]

I chose finger style, mainly because you can get different tones just by moving your fingers around, digging in, plucking different ways. It just seems to bring out the best on a bass guitar. I started out playing guitar, and when I made the switch to bass, I started out using a pick, but found it very awkward and clumsy for me, and I was always dropping the pick ! Finger style came very natural to me, so I've stuck with it. As far as slapping goes, I use it to accent notes, or to drop in a little funk style slap in a song, not as an ongoing style in my playing. I admire the guys who can play that style all night, but, frankly, and imho, they all begin to sound alike after awhile. Since my main gig is a variety of genres as far as music goes, finger style just seems to do it all.

 

[drummer5359]

I'm the 173rd person to say fingerstyle. I knew that fingerstyle was the most common way to play, but I'm stunned that 84% here answered that way. I also figured that more than 2% would say slap.

I guess that the rest of the slap players couldn't respond because they are all at their local Guitar Centers. lol (Just kidding, but it does seem that way...)