• 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.

OMG, He's using a PICK!!!!

#242
Personally, I have never attempted the bass line to "Steppin' Out". I'm intimidated. Pick, what???
And don't ignore the bass solo on "You Can't Get What You Want". Amazing!
Maby's oplaying is an example of a bassist who does not play simply (this is a reference to another discussion), yet what he plays sounds exactly right. I think much of the credit for this must go to Jackson who has "big ears", and recognizes Maby's ability to put notes together. Some in the other discussion would call Maby's work overplaying. I strongly disagree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChrisWright, Andrew 17 and Bassbeater
#243
Neither here nor there. But regarding techniques... This bassline to Janelle Monae's "Tightrope" is sometimes played by the synth player, who starts on electric bass and finishes on synth, and sometimes with a dedicated bassist who sounds like he's using an octaver. Seems like she uses a selection of session players live. It always sounds good, it's a very well written rhythm section arrangement. I play it on 5 string with some inversions. I found that band by accident a few years ago and liked it immediately. Pretty fun piece for any style player to bang on it but I find it difficult with a pick to hit the octaves that quickly(the ghost hit with the kick). I'm curious if someone who plays with pick exclusively runs into that or if you get good at traversing octaves quickly with time. Another example of style specific line would be one of my favorites Yes's "Heart of the Sunrise" which I cannot play well with fingers but makes complete sense with a pick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: B-Mac
#244
Finger style only, it doesn't matter if I thump (slap), play funk, death metal, black metal, R&B, or contemporary, I only know finger style and I cling on to nickle flats, when playing the extreme music I have to turn the high kids up (400hz to 800hz) for more charity.
Finger style definitely provides a more rounded bottom end.
I will say this, using a pick and doing intricate fast lines is definitely a difficult technique to master.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bassbeater
#246
EricMordus said:
In my 35 or so years of playing I started as a pick player and stuck to that until @ 10 years ago, when I put the picks away and forced myself to develop a finger style. I have stuck with playing almost exclusively with my fingers ever since.... until @ 3 months ago.

I haven't really played in a cover band in @10 years, but now I'm playing some songs that simply don't work as well with fingers, they need that attack and precision of a pick. So now I'm at @50/50 fingers/pick during my bands sets.

Anyone else coming to this realization?
Click to expand...
 
#247
EricMordus said:
In my 35 or so years of playing I started as a pick player and stuck to that until @ 10 years ago, when I put the picks away and forced myself to develop a finger style. I have stuck with playing almost exclusively with my fingers ever since.... until @ 3 months ago.

I haven't really played in a cover band in @10 years, but now I'm playing some songs that simply don't work as well with fingers, they need that attack and precision of a pick. So now I'm at @50/50 fingers/pick during my bands sets.

Anyone else coming to this realization?
Click to expand...
Try playing Ace of Spades without a pick. It doesn't work
 
#251
Happy New Year to all. After posting last week, I also thought about Tiran Porter, formerly of the Doobie Brothers. Another masterful, melodic player, with excellent timing, note selection and feel. He played with a pick through most of the earlier Doobie Brothers albums. In addition to great playing on the older, pre-Michael McDonald albums, his playing is particularly impeccable on three albums, Taking it to the Streets, Living on the Fault Line, and Minute by Minute. Intricate, soulful bass parts all played with a pick I believe. A high bar and worth striving for. Reading up on him, apparently, he eventually transitioned to playing finger style later, and now only plays fretless bass as well on musical projects. Well worth listening to his work, if you have an opportunity. Another example of what is possible using a pick and an inspiration to be as well-rounded and diverse a bass player as possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stumbo and B-Mac
#254
hombass said:
No i play only with fingers aaaaaand here is a good place to put my advert in for string longevity! ALWAYS ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER BEFORE PLAYING YOUR BASS, WHEN YOU GIG, GO TO THE CAN AND THEN WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER AT EVERY BREAK!!!! Your strings will last longer your tone will be consistent and never EVER loan your 2100$ fender strat+ with lsr roller nut, schaller locking tuners, and hipshot tremsetter bridge to the guitar guy who hands the shagger back to you after the gig and the fretboard stinks from his scurvy ass hands ever! Loool been down the road on some of this stuff guys and it dont pay to let ANYONE ELSE EXCEPT YER MAMA HANDLE YOUR AXES!!!! LOL
Click to expand...

This is a practice I ALWAYS have adhered to!
Great advice!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: hombass
#255
descendent22 said:
" @ " means "at" FYI. Sticking to the topic, I was a finger player for years and I thought that was the only way bass should be played. I completely blocked out and was in denial about people playing bass with a pick. I thought that they were wusses or were just a guitarist who couldn't use there fingers so they used a pick instead. That all changed about 4 years ago when I noticed my bigger influences like Dee Dee Ramone, Paul Simonon, Duff Mckagan and Tommy Stinson all had this tone and it came from mainly a pick. Naturally i progressed to using a pick as my curiosity got t better of me. Now i'm primarily a pick player and prefer to use a pick. I do still use my fingers but if I can use a pick instead I will.

A couple years ago I too also got into a rock n Roll cover band covering songs from the 70's, 80's & 90s era. Theres no doubt that even if I were I finger player primarily that I would need to be using a pick a lot of the time. It came to the point that the 10 songs or so out of the 35 we played that I was using my fingers on I ended up using a pick on thosenes any. Like I said I prefer to use a pick and I will say it gives a different tone that stands out and cuts through the other instruments and gave me a different kind of control and groove.
Click to expand...
i know, I'm lazy, #@foraround
 
#256
"ALWAYS ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER BEFORE PLAYING YOUR BASS, WHEN YOU GIG, GO TO THE CAN AND THEN WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER AT EVERY BREAK!!!!" -hombass
I would definitely clean the entire bass, pass a micro fiber cloth under and between the strings after playing. I need some oil on my hands when I play to protect the calluses and move my hands, but cleaning the sweat and oil off the bass and strings I feel is very important before putting it back in the case. When I play a set sometimes I actually rub my fingertips around my nose offstage before I start. A little gross but true. Enjoy that fingerstyle imagery pick people. hehe.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back