As someone who learned electric and folk guitar before learning bass, I started out with a pick and went through a lot of the same gyrations. I tried a lot of different pick materials before settling on Dunlop 0.88mm-1.00mm nylon (NOT Tortex!) picks. I adopted a right hand picking position much further away from the bridge than I would normally pick a guitar (or play bass fingerstyle). I rolled off treble on the bass. I used mild distortion (back in the day, a ProCio Rat with the tone all the way off and the distortion around 30%. I would not have bothered with any outboard EQ/compression hardware to sound more like fingerstyle because I wasn't coming from fingerstyle, I was just trying to get the bass tone in my head while playing Rotos with a pick. It should be far easier for you to get a GOOD sound with a pick than to get the SAME sound as you get playing fingerstyle.
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Need a pedal for playing with a pick !
- Thread starter surfpurple
- Start date
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
you need a bass eq pedal ... there are several to choose from.
Also don't hold the pick like a guitar player ... hold it between the pads of the thumb and index finger. shredding guitar players hold it on the side of the index finger.
use a derlin pick for a less harsh tone.
i prefer 1.14mm triangle shaped
I totally get you! I play almost exclusively with a pick and I have always been looking for ways to eliminate the particular sound you are talking about. People who don’t use pick a lot don’t seem to understand the question and don’t really seem to notice the sound you’re referring to, so it’s been hard to get good advice. Here are the ways I’ve learned to mitigate it:
1) sometimes when you are playing with others, it just gets lost in the mix and you don’t hear it. This depends heavily on what you’re playing.
2) thick picks like felt picks or the aforementioned Big Stubby will reduce it, but I find they also take away the pick characteristics that I DO want and they sound too much like fingers. Also, I like the feel of those Dunlop 77s you mentioned, that’s my fav pick also because I can do so many techniques with it due to its flexibility.
3) turning down the high-mids on some amps can do it, but I find that I also lose some sounds that I do want, and i get lost in the mix so I don’t love this strategy
4) rolling off the tone knob can do it, but again I start to lose the kids that I need to be heard in the mix
5) the best answer for me BY FAR has been the Darkglass products, though I actually use the fake Darkglass modeling on the Zoom B1 Four multieffect pedal. To me it seems that the signature sound of all their products removes the sound you’re talking about. I got a cheap used Zoom for $60 to test that theory before investing in a real one, and I found that I got the results I wanted with the Zoom so just kept using it. The patch I use is the preset patch called DrivNClean, it’s the Darkglass preamp into (If I remember right) SWR amp and cab sim. This is my “always on” pedal for pick now.
6) most of these strategies involve reducing a particular frequency in the high mids, so I would think a powerful EQ on the amp or a pedal (like many have suggested) could get you the same results with a little trial and error.
I hope this helps!
1) sometimes when you are playing with others, it just gets lost in the mix and you don’t hear it. This depends heavily on what you’re playing.
2) thick picks like felt picks or the aforementioned Big Stubby will reduce it, but I find they also take away the pick characteristics that I DO want and they sound too much like fingers. Also, I like the feel of those Dunlop 77s you mentioned, that’s my fav pick also because I can do so many techniques with it due to its flexibility.
3) turning down the high-mids on some amps can do it, but I find that I also lose some sounds that I do want, and i get lost in the mix so I don’t love this strategy
4) rolling off the tone knob can do it, but again I start to lose the kids that I need to be heard in the mix
5) the best answer for me BY FAR has been the Darkglass products, though I actually use the fake Darkglass modeling on the Zoom B1 Four multieffect pedal. To me it seems that the signature sound of all their products removes the sound you’re talking about. I got a cheap used Zoom for $60 to test that theory before investing in a real one, and I found that I got the results I wanted with the Zoom so just kept using it. The patch I use is the preset patch called DrivNClean, it’s the Darkglass preamp into (If I remember right) SWR amp and cab sim. This is my “always on” pedal for pick now.
6) most of these strategies involve reducing a particular frequency in the high mids, so I would think a powerful EQ on the amp or a pedal (like many have suggested) could get you the same results with a little trial and error.
I hope this helps!
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I'm sorry, but with that setup you don't need a pedal to move from playing with fingers to playing with a pick. How are you EQing your amp?
Where do you stand when you play? If your butt is against the grill of your cabinet you'll only hear the high frequencies. Bass waves take time, so try standing further away from your cab.
If you are playing super near the bridge you'll get a thin-ish, burpy sound. It will probably never change, no matter what you throw at it. Try picking a bit closer to the neck.
And after all these buy all the pedals you want.
Where do you stand when you play? If your butt is against the grill of your cabinet you'll only hear the high frequencies. Bass waves take time, so try standing further away from your cab.
If you are playing super near the bridge you'll get a thin-ish, burpy sound. It will probably never change, no matter what you throw at it. Try picking a bit closer to the neck.
And after all these buy all the pedals you want.
I too switch from fingers to pick. Fingers 80% or as the song requires.
I know you asked about pedals, but.....
When I switch to a pick I kind of lightly mute the string with the back of my ring finger. I’ve tried different picks and ended up with the Dunlop 88 green.
This seams a good combo for me.
I’ve had EQ pedals in the past with various results. I’m just not a pedal guy.
I know you asked about pedals, but.....
When I switch to a pick I kind of lightly mute the string with the back of my ring finger. I’ve tried different picks and ended up with the Dunlop 88 green.
This seams a good combo for me.
I’ve had EQ pedals in the past with various results. I’m just not a pedal guy.
Dunlop Nylon .73 mm and choke up on the pick.
A Muff with the gain and tone near 0.
A Muff with the gain and tone near 0.
Nothing has helped me more in this area than the Voicing control on the Mesa 800+ amp.
So much so I missed it when I sold it to get the TT800. ergo I purchased the Mesa Subway+ preamp, which
is the 800+ preamp in a smaller box. Doesnt have an on/off though, but i use it in 1 of the 2 TT800 channels.
So much so I missed it when I sold it to get the TT800. ergo I purchased the Mesa Subway+ preamp, which
is the 800+ preamp in a smaller box. Doesnt have an on/off though, but i use it in 1 of the 2 TT800 channels.
My first thought is that the .77 is really quite thin - I’m not surprised that you’re getting a light clicky sound. But a 2.0 is a whole world of technique away. There may be a sweet spot between. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to but a range of picks of increasing thickness and try them all out. One may give you the right level of flex and tone. I know that I’d hate either a .77 or a 2.0. My ideal pick happens to be a Jim Dunlop Tortex 1.0 or 1.14 - the blue and purple ones. Tried many and don’t like them thinner or thicker. Don’t like shiny, slippy ones, don’t like nylon ones (on bass - red nylon Dunlop .45 works for me on acoustic guitar).
It’s all down to finding YOUR gauges. And that’s a darned sight cheaper than buying a pedal that won’t fix your problem anyway!
Where are you playing with the pick (in relation to bridge, p/u, etc.)?
How tight are you holding onto the pick?
If you hold it loosely and play closer to the neck, you can get somewhat of a finger style tone.
Most people seem to gorilla-grip the pick and play close to the bridge…and yeah that will give you tinny tone. You should be able to switch between finger style and pick without changing ANYTHING on your rig and it should be able to cut just fine…if you’re playing with a pick properly and not like you see in 99% of YouTube videos.
How tight are you holding onto the pick?
If you hold it loosely and play closer to the neck, you can get somewhat of a finger style tone.
Most people seem to gorilla-grip the pick and play close to the bridge…and yeah that will give you tinny tone. You should be able to switch between finger style and pick without changing ANYTHING on your rig and it should be able to cut just fine…if you’re playing with a pick properly and not like you see in 99% of YouTube videos.
Yes - the Wedgie Hard Rubber picks are the BEST! Good feel and sound without the problems that you describe, and they are made to be easy to hang on to. There are 3 different hardnesses. I see them on Reverb and eBay - don't know why they are so hard to find.
Get accomplished with them and problem solved for free. Nothing happens in music without putting some work in, and getting used to a pick that is better for you is part of the work. Besides, many of us believe that thin picks can lead to injury in your hand because they make your hand do most of the work while with a thicker pick, the pick does the grunt work. They are exceptions, I suppose, especially if you're younger, but I get pain in my hand immediately if I try to use anything lighter than a heavy.
Work on your picking. A thinner pick shouldn't make you sound honkey compared to a heavier pick. It should give you a more relaxed, fuller, more articulate sound. I saw an interview with Fat Mike from the punk band NOFX who was demonstrating why he uses a thin pick to provide a fuller, more pillowy support for the guitars and vocals. Here are some possible advices:
1) While continuing to play with a thin pick, bump the thickness up ONE level and see if you're getting a little more traction. I use a Dunlop .88, which is my compromise between a thinner pick, which I feel sounds better but which I have trouble holding without cramping, and a fatter one which sounds too aggressive.
2) If you have access to a compressor, I'd borrow or rent one, or even buy a cheap one so you can see what you're working with sonically. Experiment with it. Once you even out the sound and bring up some of the nuances, you may find that you sound better than you thought.
3) In the realm of pure equipment, an EQ pedal or even a boost could help.
4) I play with both fingers and a pick, but I still play about 2/3 of "fingerstyle" songs with a pick. Could you switch to fingers for some of the problematic songs.
5) Good luck!
You may have to do a pick drop test........Get a bunch of picks and drop them on a solid surface from about an arm's length above and listen to the tone. The different "plinks" of the pick tell a lot about the pick: bright "tinks" mean a bright pick, muted tones mean a softer/warmer attack.
It's easier to solve this by technique and a different pic.
A pic is the fastest tool to master.
If you insist on a pedal I had an EBS valve drive and you cant sound thin with it
A pic is the fastest tool to master.
If you insist on a pedal I had an EBS valve drive and you cant sound thin with it
As you can see there are a lot of ways to tackle this. An EQ used to boost soft frequencies and cut the ones that are too prominent. A compressor, yes, a compressor. Because the best thing a compressor does when used properly is level up the soft notes and put a ceiling on everything that needs it. A boost but that won't help your mids. Given your description I'd probably look at EQ first, you could stomp On when you use your pick, paint it in a scoop with mids slightly cut, maybe bottom end boosted. Good luck.
Wow, just woke up (from my timezone) to read some many replies. Thank you to all, I'll read through all when I finish work today.
A couple of points after skimming through is that I made a few main points in my OP about the pick I'm using and why, and also the settings I'm using.
So to recap, I Have tried numerous picks, and the 2mm gator sound great, but I'm not as comfortable as using the .77 nylon because of it's flexibility.
Also it doesn't matter so much where I pick, the sound is just thinner by default.
And, YES, I have turned down my treble!
AND I know that working on technique etc etc , all good points recommended here, I don't have the time and will, as I'm a budding player who mainly wants to enjoy playing at this stage.
Which brings me to my original thread title of looking for a pedal to overcome the thin sound while picking with my .77 pick.
A few suggestions of EQ pedals are interesting, and recommendations of particular basic, not too many frills pedals would be good.
Someone mentioned a Darkglass VM ?
A couple of points after skimming through is that I made a few main points in my OP about the pick I'm using and why, and also the settings I'm using.
So to recap, I Have tried numerous picks, and the 2mm gator sound great, but I'm not as comfortable as using the .77 nylon because of it's flexibility.
Also it doesn't matter so much where I pick, the sound is just thinner by default.
And, YES, I have turned down my treble!
AND I know that working on technique etc etc , all good points recommended here, I don't have the time and will, as I'm a budding player who mainly wants to enjoy playing at this stage.
Which brings me to my original thread title of looking for a pedal to overcome the thin sound while picking with my .77 pick.
A few suggestions of EQ pedals are interesting, and recommendations of particular basic, not too many frills pedals would be good.
Someone mentioned a Darkglass VM ?
