Need a pedal for playing with a pick !

[surfpurple]

Hi all, this might be my first ever thread I've started here?
I need some advice here. Short story, I am looking for a way to get a better tone when I play with a pick. (I mostly play fingerstyle).
Long story, I'm only a weekend warrior, a budding bassist, but I'm in a covers band, and we gig every now and then, and we play a diverse range of songs/genres. Anything from the Beatles, Black Keys, Offspring, Pink, Greenday, Bob Marley, you get the picture, a typical covers band. So, there are quite a few songs that work better played with a 'pick' and I also like playing with a pick, although I'm more a natural fingerstyle player, but I'm working on my picking technique (which is a whole other story).
So, when I change from fingers to pick, the sound is rather tinny, mid-honky, as I use a fairly light gauge pick (Dunlop .77mm) because it's a lot easier to play with. I've tried the thicker Gator 2mm picks, and they sound great, and if I could use those for every song, I wouldn't need to change the tone, they're thumpy and ballsy, but I'm not accomplished enough.
And my basses atm are a Fender precision 'Lyte' and a Custom Precision, made by a local luthier (very P sounding) to give you an idea of where my sound is starting from, though a Markbass iii/ or Aguilar TH500 (still undecided) and a Bergantino HT 112 cab (which I may change , not sure yet).
So my thoughts have been to find a way (pedal I'm thinking) to engage when I play a 'picking' song that gives me a tone shaping option to dial out the tinniness and high mid honkyness, or rather just dial in more lower mids and grind that sounds right in the mix.
And I know, as I've read in numerous threads, to cut back my treble, and upper mids on my bass, but I've done that as well as cutting the hi's and taking upper mids back on my 'amp' but I lose a lot of nice tone doing that, and also it's a pain to do every third song for example, and then have to dial everything back again for fingerstyle!
Sorry for the long winded post.
I would appreciate any advice given,
Cheers, Dave (from Australia)

 

[leonard]

I take out the mid honkiness for the occasional slap part with the Sadowsky preamp pedal. Markbass boost pedal has a mid scoop adjustment and does the same with a slightly different vibe. The cheap Mooer boost has bass and treble adjustment and works in a pinch. Both the Sadowsky and Markbass are boost only so they might not work for you.

Playing with a pick I often switch on my Basstortion and back down with the volume control on the bass but I guess you weren't looking for that kind of thing.

 

[jking138]

Rolling off on the tone knob for picks works well to even out fingers/pick playing. Otherwise try a dark sounding overdrive (or a regular overdrive with the tone down) like a TC electronis mojomojo or a muff on minimum drive. This should also compress a little and make to bass sound a little more even. Also some drives, like the muff are somewhat mid scooped as well which will help with the honkiness. This is basically the same as leonard's suggestion but a little dirt always sounds good especially when you want the aggression of the pick sound.

 

[surfpurple]

Thanks Leonard and jking for your replies.
Like I said, I've rolled off the tone on the bass and the amp , and it helps a lot.
I do use a Keeley 'bassist' compressor. I've seen a few options mentioned on other threads like Sansamp DI's etc.
I'll look at those pedal suggestions. I think I'm going to have to listen to all advice I find here, and then do some research and maybe look for used pedals to try out and see what works for me.

 

[Jazz Ad]

This pedal exists, although it wasn't meant to be used this way in the first place.
You want an EHX The Mole. It's a bass booster, somewhat muddy, really powerful if you push it.
It perfectly fills the gap between the tone of a soft pick and fingers.
It's discontinued but pretty common and not even expensive.

As an alternative, you can try and buy a felt pick. They feel soft and sound pretty bassy.

 

[two fingers]

It seems the easiest fix would be an EQ pedal. Then you could boost or cut whatever you need to.

 

[sifrancis]

Hi all, this might be my first ever thread I've started here?
I need some advice here. Short story, I am looking for a way to get a better tone when I play with a pick. (I mostly play fingerstyle).
Long story, I'm only a weekend warrior, a budding bassist, but I'm in a covers band, and we gig every now and then, and we play a diverse range of songs/genres. Anything from the Beatles, Black Keys, Offspring, Pink, Greenday, Bob Marley, you get the picture, a typical covers band. So, there are quite a few songs that work better played with a 'pick' and I also like playing with a pick, although I'm more a natural fingerstyle player, but I'm working on my picking technique (which is a whole other story).
So, when I change from fingers to pick, the sound is rather tinny, mid-honky, as I use a fairly light gauge pick (Dunlop .77mm) because it's a lot easier to play with. I've tried the thicker Gator 2mm picks, and they sound great, and if I could use those for every song, I wouldn't need to change the tone, they're thumpy and ballsy, but I'm not accomplished enough.
And my basses atm are a Fender precision 'Lyte' and a Custom Precision, made by a local luthier (very P sounding) to give you an idea of where my sound is starting from, though a Markbass iii/ or Aguilar TH500 (still undecided) and a Bergantino HT 112 cab (which I may change , not sure yet).
So my thoughts have been to find a way (pedal I'm thinking) to engage when I play a 'picking' song that gives me a tone shaping option to dial out the tinniness and high mid honkyness, or rather just dial in more lower mids and grind that sounds right in the mix.
And I know, as I've read in numerous threads, to cut back my treble, and upper mids on my bass, but I've done that as well as cutting the hi's and taking upper mids back on my 'amp' but I lose a lot of nice tone doing that, and also it's a pain to do every third song for example, and then have to dial everything back again for fingerstyle!
Sorry for the long winded post.
I would appreciate any advice given,
Cheers, Dave (from Australia)

The Darkglass Vintage Microtubes is perfect for this - adds some lovely thickness and anything from barely there drive to light distortion. The slight compression the circuit gives also really helps with pick playing too.

Another winning option would be the TC Spark (full size) - cheaper and more "transparent"/less coloured than the Darkglass. The EQ points are perfect, and in either "Fat" or "Mid" mode you'd be sure of a nice thick tone. The gain can again be used to bring in some wonderful light drive and compression.

 

[surfpurple]

Yeah, maybe a bass booster type pedal. I was thinking a pedal with some EQ but I don't want to complicate things.
Also I've been thinking it would be good to have 'two' settings? with another option of just a boost for when the band cranks up and I want to keep up. Our band is a bit on the loose side in terms of 'volume' wars!! Our drummer love to step it up at times and we don't spend 'any' time on actually getting everyone's levels right. grrr...

 

[surfpurple]

Just regarding previous replies. I've seen the felt picks, but I've spent countless hours trying out lots of different picks, and I've settled on the Dunlop .77mm. So I'm basing my whole EQ around that.

That Darkglass VM looks nice! I've read a little on the Darkglass pedals but wouldn't know the difference between them all. I'm a bit of a GAS tragic, so it wouldn't take too much persuasion to spark my interest and try one of those out

 

[knumbskull]

Not to state the obvious but have you tried picking a bit nearer the neck?

 

[surfpurple]

Actually, good point, and I have. But I'm still learning to play with a pick and I prefer to play further back between the bridge and neck PU. If I'm playing a slower song and I've got more time to focus, then I will try and play further up and if I'm hitting the D and G strings then I'll try and play further up.
But in all honesty, technique aside I just want to play anywhere without worrying about where I'm picking, as I said I'm only a budding bassist and I want something I can dial in a good sound while picking and leave the stress behind and enjoy my playing.

 

[RattleSnack]

I would just get EQ pedal and setup sound I like for pick. Then turn pedal off when you go back to finger style.
Having said that, there is big value in learning to get a good sound with slap, pick, palm muting and fingerstyle with same settings on your bass and amp. And having consistent output with all of them. I feel bigest plus from knowing multiple picking techniques is in tastefully mixing them.

 

[surfpurple]

That's what I've been thinking about, get an EQ pedal and just engage it when I pick.
I know what you're saying about technique and I'm getting better with being able to use more dynamics, BUT I've done a lot of experimenting with picking while not actually playing a song but just listening for the different nuances by playing as varied with the pick as I can, and there's just no apparent technique that can alleviate the sounds I'm getting with the pick I'm using. And if there was, well I'm obviously not accomplished enough to overcome them, given my play time.
A .77mm nylon pick is only going to go so far sound wise on my bass/amp/cab set-up.

 

[Lobster11]

I've tried the thicker Gator 2mm picks, and they sound great, and if I could use those for every song, I wouldn't need to change the tone, they're thumpy and ballsy, but I'm not accomplished enough.

You don't have to be more "accomplished" to play with a thick pick than a thin one; you just need to practice with it until you get the hang of it.

BTW, what exactly is the problem you're having with the thick pick that you don't have with the thin one? Maybe it's a technique problem that someone can help you with.

 

[marchone]

I used to play a tune in a power trio that called for both finger style and plectrum. In order to achieve a uniform tone on the plectrum parts I strummed rapidly near the bridge. I always used Herco Flex 75s. Very stiff. They may be called Holy Grails now.

 

[bigcupholder]

Try a Dunlop nylon Big Stubby (2 mm). It's a warmer sounding pick due to the material and the way the edge is rounded. For tone it's about halfway between a tortex and fingers for my playing.

I also pick closer to the bridge because I palm mute a lot and I've had success getting different sounds by using different picks. A Dunlop carbon fiber pick is good for brighter stuff. How you pick also makes a big difference: twisting the pick, so you're picking with the edge instead of the flat surface will be a lot brighter for example.

Otherwise a simple 5 band EQ pedal should do the trick.

 

[Deleted member 365158]

It would be cheaper to use a thicker pick and learn to play with it better. Personally i play mostly with a pick. I have found that thin picks are tinnier sounding. Also the material that the pick is made of matters (for me).
A thin pick kinda brushes the strings but a thicker pick can really HIT the string and how you hit the strings (same with fingers) changes how it sounds.
I landed on Clayton 1mm picks.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Sounds to me like you are trying to get rid of the very reasons why you would want to to use a pick in the first place, but in any case some sort of equalizer pedal ought to be able to do the trick.

I personally prefer using a pick over plucking with my fingers, and the .73mm Dunlop USA Nylon one is my preferred pick for that, but that is because I actually like the tone it gives me, sounds like you don't though, so try a thicker pick, eventual softer too, like rubber or felt, or simply stick to playing with your fingers.

No one forces you to play with a pick if you don't want to, and since the only reason having to absolutely use one would be the sound of it, but that it seems to me like you are trying to find a way of getting rid of that sound, I can't think of a single reason why you would want to do so, unless you are physically prevented from using your fingers.

 

[akukulich]

Different pick materials can sound very different. Even picks made of the same material can sound very different at different thicknesses. Experimenting with a lot of different picks can be pretty revealing. I find that a very stiff pick improves efficiency, but very thick picks are harder to hold. The best solution that I've come up with is a Bluechip pick. They're expensive, but they last forever, are super comfortable and have the least resistance when they contact strings. They also have a warm tone. I found that the "50" thickness works best for me. YMMV. I'd experiment a little more before I added a pedal to the mix.

 

[LonesomeKris]

I love Wedgie rubber picks. You get close to the sound of your fingers, a bit more muted and thumpy, without the attack or string click of a standard pick. I have flats on all my basses so the picks last a long time.