Pick, sounds better to me. Other day I was listening to some early early Judas Priest when bassist played with pick instead of fingers. Sounded better. With very few exceptions my fave bass players thru the decades have been pick users. Just sounds better and lets you do tricks guitar players use with picks to. Lol.
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Pick or Fingered?
- Thread starter GladToBeBack
- Start date
I have played with a pick when I first started(former guitarist)I developed a finger and thumb style.Flash forward a few decades I am doing a cover thing and get hit with a Yardbirds cover now I cant get anywhere near his sound so I Youtube the Yardbirds and here is the bassist with a old EB-2 ( I want one) and he is using a pick,mind you I dont use a pick but the only way I can get the sound he does is with the pick but it does open up some new ideas
Mostly pick. I like the attack. Fingers when called for for more laid back feel. I used to use a thumb pick quite a bit so I could do both styles during the same song without dropping the thing.
Mrdak has it. Personally I don't get musicians who get into big discussions over whether one should play this or that style. By far the biggest on-going argument is among drumbers over traditional vs matched grip. The answer, as should be obvious, is that if you call yourself a musician, you should be practiced to the point where you can do BOTH!
When there are two ways of doing something it automatically follows that EACH way will have certain advantages over the other. The skilled player needs to be ready to take advantage of those on EITHER side! On the one hand a pick is the only way to develop some serious attack in your tone. Skin on strings just doesn't do it. But on the other hand replacing fingers with a piece of plastic automatically limits the amount of expression you can bring to that plucking. You've inserted a mechanical device into your tone-generating system. So which is better? Obviously NEITHER is "better". Each brings what it can to your music.
As Mrdak implies, if you don't want to bring a big gaping limitation to your basslines, then you really need to have a tool box fill with more than one tool you can bring to the mix.
I do both. Fingerstyle and pick, sometimes in the same song. I never really set out to teach myself to switch back and forth between pick and fingerstyle. I just ended up in band with some very mellow parts that called for fingerstyle followed by hard rocking parts that screamed for pick. So I just started doing that one day.
I use the yellow dunlop tortex. A bit thinner than most bassists use, but I find that it sounds more consistent, I can play faster, and I NEVER break strings. That whole green, blue, purple tortex thing. Swear it's compensating fro shortcomings elsewhere.
I use the yellow dunlop tortex. A bit thinner than most bassists use, but I find that it sounds more consistent, I can play faster, and I NEVER break strings. That whole green, blue, purple tortex thing. Swear it's compensating fro shortcomings elsewhere.
both have there place. I use both. I finger pick for just about everything and tend to only use a pick one covers that sound better with it or if i'm just messing around trying different things. Even though I primarily use my fingers there is always a pick ready to go in my pocket or on top of my amp.
Unless a song unquestionably calls for a pick, I much prefer fingerstyle, and would play that way most of the time if I could. So that's how I voted. However, due to a joint problem in my right index finger, I have to use a pick almost all the time. I've gotten used to it, and can usually get a sound I like, even in tracks I'd rather play fingerstyle. I play rock exclusively, where a pick has advantages in many tracks anyway.
i used to use my fingers and a pick every now and then...then i learned how to slap and never looked back =)
jk, I use a pick when the song requires it or if it adds to the vibe of the music. Don't be afraid to do everything! Versatility is a gift I gladly receive when it comes my way
jk, I use a pick when the song requires it or if it adds to the vibe of the music. Don't be afraid to do everything! Versatility is a gift I gladly receive when it comes my way
Depends on the sound I want... I play fingers mostly, but I love pick tone. Problem is, I suck with a pick.
I used my fingers for pretty much everything but I can get down with a pick when I want. Learn both and you won't have any issues.
. I'd like to get into pick sooner or later just in case I mess my fingers up.- Dec 21, 2008
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- ALSO also really wants to be Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez
I like pick. A lot. But I wear my bass pretty high so I tend to play fingerstyle just for comforts sake.
I can more or less play well enough with a pic (as long as there's no fast scale runs or anything like that) but I MUCH MUCH prefer playing fingerstyle. Not a fan of playing with a pick, or the sound, unless you're Rex Brown recording Far Beyond Driven.
