...I get really aggrivated when people bash pick playing, I just had to say that. There should be a sticky thread called Pick vs Fingers.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Mike Dirnt..
- Thread starter BassSurfer
- Start date
MammaryVest said:
No, there really shouldn't. I think the topic all together should be banned because of threads like this. The topic is old and tired. We've all seen it, we all know already.
Look, this is how it is: Different players have different preferences. Some feel more comforatable with 1 to 2 to 3 fingers (Like me. I'm a finger style player myself.). Some feel more comfortable gripping a pick. Some like the rounded tone and warmth that fingers provide. Some prefer that edgy, cut-through tone that a pick provides. They are COMPLETLEY DIFFERENT. One is NOT better than the other. They are just DIFFERENT!!!!
I think BassProfoundo and several others on here are being Immature in arguing over this opinion like little elamentary school kids. Which is a shame beacuse this thread is talking about a bassist that I, and many others here, highly respect.
And purely in defense of the Pick (BassProfoundo, like I said, I'm a finger player, but this is just how it is). You think playing with a Pick means you've got bad right hand technique?
-How about Mike Gordon from Phish? He's one of the most highly regarded slap bassists of current, but on tunes where he isn't slapping (75%, roughly) he's using a pick to cut through. He's also suprisingly fast in finger funk.
-Flea perhaps? Flea, like Mike, is one of the most highly regarded slappers, mainly through the 90s, and currently is doing some of the craziest right hand technique I've seen on the Staduim Arcadium tracks. He's used a pick on several tunes, including Parallel Universe from Californication.
-Probably the most highly regarded right hand technique in bass history, JOHN ENTWHISTLE, used a pick often. That man single handedly (no pun intended) invented right hand technique, using the 3 fingers for the triplets, type-writer stuff, his TWO DIFFERENT style of right and left hand tapping, his first inclusion of popping strings in Mainstream rock music. But he still used a pick a good percentage of the time because he felt it delivered what he needed for those songs.
Playing with a pick does not mean you suck. Sure, you don't like it. And I can respect that. But don't go off, first exagerating your opinions into something out of hand, and then go stating them as facts.
Thats all just my two cents.
I get really sick of people bashing people because they play with a pick, can't play 1000 notes a minute or whatever. My Berkley educated teacher taught me Sultons of Swing by Dire Straits because I asked him to. This was his comment "Very simple line, but he's locked into the drums perfectly and it fits the song. He's a very good bassist." Remember Claypool auditioned for Metallica and lost to Newstead. A good bassist plays what the song needs and makes the song sound better and Mike does that very well. Although I must say I'm ambivelent towards the band and only own superhits.
Guys not even super hits, the tracks that no one knows about..
I URGE TO DOWNLOAD NO ONE KNOWS FROM KERPLUNK..
your mind will change completly...
sassafras roots... sweet fills and the bridge is cool.
16- cool bass solo/bridge.
stuart and the ave.. from insomniac.. ( sweet intro )
80- very cool bass line.. which changes key's
a ton more.. but still dont judge him on american idiot only..
cause thats what ALOT of people do nowadays..
I URGE TO DOWNLOAD NO ONE KNOWS FROM KERPLUNK..
your mind will change completly...
sassafras roots... sweet fills and the bridge is cool.
16- cool bass solo/bridge.
stuart and the ave.. from insomniac.. ( sweet intro )
80- very cool bass line.. which changes key's
a ton more.. but still dont judge him on american idiot only..
cause thats what ALOT of people do nowadays..
MammaryVest said:
there's one in the technique forum... BassoProfundo should be reprimanded with a wet fish round the face for turning this thread into a pick vs fingers one... send the karma police round now
Bring it! I was joking about the idea of there being a seperate thread for this. sorry. The ideal would be that certain someones would stop being asses and just accept that someone else's technique might just be as valid as theirs. That probably won't happen though. Playing with a pick is just as valid as using your fingers, but there is a huge difference between choosing a pick, and being forced to use one because you're too lazy and gay to learn anything else.
BassSurfer said:
I agree with all of this. No One Knows is one of his sickest recordings ever. Its insane. And so fun to play. But hard to get down just right (took me a little more than an hour to get all of the changes and timing down for the song).
All great songs. Of course we all know Longview. So many other greats.
And in recording A.I., Mike said he wanted to return back to basics, because Billie was getting more melodic in his guitar playing, so that was covered, and Mike could do less (NOT AN EXCUSE!!!
).
man, i switch between all the techniques and after 2 years of playing as a finger purist i finally went back to pick, it makes a world of difference depending on the context. i cut through that much better with my band, mainly because i play a more melodic role than most in the local scene (though the way our producer decided to eq our EP you could barely tell 
)
they're all valuable techniques, i rarely use a pick at church because it doesn't fit what we do there but anywhere else i play it works well. tirrade over.
durnt is by far one ofmy favorite basists, if only for his skill with his right and lefft hands, many people may not have trouble playing those parts, but hell. could you write the part?
)they're all valuable techniques, i rarely use a pick at church because it doesn't fit what we do there but anywhere else i play it works well. tirrade over.
durnt is by far one ofmy favorite basists, if only for his skill with his right and lefft hands, many people may not have trouble playing those parts, but hell. could you write the part?
SnakeAnthony said:I agree with all of this. No One Knows is one of his sickest recordings ever. Its insane. And so fun to play. But hard to get down just right (took me a little more than an hour to get all of the changes and timing down for the song).
All great songs. Of course we all know Longview. So many other greats.
And in recording A.I., Mike said he wanted to return back to basics, because Billie was getting more melodic in his guitar playing, so that was covered, and Mike could do less (NOT AN EXCUSE!!!
Dude thank you so much i have 100% respect for you. finally someone knows the old sweet mike dirnt. and i dident even list all of his sick songs.. those are just some of them...
thank you so much dude.
MAJOR EDIT: Ok everyone this is the video for wake me up when september ends.. however. it has no one knows in it..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ebCkD781HEU
thats it... its true about that song No One Knows.. about the real mike dirnt anymore.
AND... no one knows about billie playing on slappy hours... for a 16 year old those solos were really good... the whole band is good. just nobody see's it and judges them for songs like american idiot, or things like that
I dig his lines on Slappy Hours and Kerplunk. They aren't overly complicated, but there's usually a catchy little riff or something to make things interesting. Adds a bit of a twist to the "standard" punk sound.
I'm not an expert on Green Day but I like what I've heard and Dirnt's playing stands out to me more than other punk bassist. I love his tone as well... I'm always fascinated by technique fuelled debates because in the long run who cares? I'd prefer to be remembered for the music I make rather than the methods used to make the music (presuming i ever get the chance to display my music). Dirnt might not be out to show how well he plays bass but he's great in the context of a rhythm section.
And anyone who claims that pick playing is an inferior technique should check out Scott Thuness with Frank Zappa. Isn't Anthony Jackson also known for the occassional use of a pick too? The tone might not be to everyone's taste but you can't dispute someone's talent based on personal preferrence.
And anyone who claims that pick playing is an inferior technique should check out Scott Thuness with Frank Zappa. Isn't Anthony Jackson also known for the occassional use of a pick too? The tone might not be to everyone's taste but you can't dispute someone's talent based on personal preferrence.
Eminentbass said:
seconded... there's a bunch of Thunes transcriptions on my site that might be an eye or ear-opener to anyone who thinks pick playing is only applicable to punk rock 8th note pounding
(link below)
i love his stuff
not a big punk fan here but really dig green day (and clash, and the jam and fIREHOSE, among others)
i really like the a ideas and specially his tone. I really think is not the "classic" punk rock bass player.
i really don`t think he has AMAZING chops or anything but he has tons and tons of great ideas (wich is much more important than a amazing technique).
he plays with pick. So what? I don`t use pick (i can`t even hit one string with it) but a guy called Chris Squire also uses a pick and i think he plays pretty well. Isn´t he?
i think people should credit him as one of the most original punk bassist, or someone should show me more punk songs with that simples but really cool arragments that green day has.
anyway, just a matter of opinion
peace
Manu
PS: im talking about punk while im listening 2112, this is just hilarius =P
not a big punk fan here but really dig green day (and clash, and the jam and fIREHOSE, among others)
i really like the a ideas and specially his tone. I really think is not the "classic" punk rock bass player.
i really don`t think he has AMAZING chops or anything but he has tons and tons of great ideas (wich is much more important than a amazing technique).
he plays with pick. So what? I don`t use pick (i can`t even hit one string with it) but a guy called Chris Squire also uses a pick and i think he plays pretty well. Isn´t he?
i think people should credit him as one of the most original punk bassist, or someone should show me more punk songs with that simples but really cool arragments that green day has.
anyway, just a matter of opinion
peace
Manu
PS: im talking about punk while im listening 2112, this is just hilarius =P
I like Mike Dirnt's earlier stuff, but I'm not really too fond of anything after Nimrod for some reason....
BassoProfondo said:
Your points system has a big gaping hole in it, because Geddy is a student of the Chris Squire style of playing..
Yes has some basslines that sound very Geddy-like..except Yes came first...
Sorry, Mike Dirnt fans...
why are we comparing mike dirnt and geddy lee?
when there different music? like were did this come from???
when there different music? like were did this come from???
