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pick or no pick?
- Thread starter THE HIPPIE
- Start date
Pick will not necessary sound heavier, that is up to the picking technique, there is not need to hit the strings that hard. Pick can give just as "petite" sound as fingers, it is a matter of finesse, pick or no pick.
Case in point: the middle of Yours is No Disgrace.
Me, I'm better with my fingers, but want to be as proficient with a pick.
For me it depends upon what bass I use. My Hofners and acoustic basses I use a pick. My Modulus's and Fenders I use my fingers. Also, if it turns into a particularly sweaty night, I use a pick towards the end of the night to avoid a blister or 3 on my right hand. Also, I use a pick in the studio.
Used to play with fingers, but since I took pick there's no way back. 
I just play that kind of music where pick-playing suits better and I m much better with pick than fingers.
I just play that kind of music where pick-playing suits better and I m much better with pick than fingers.
:lol:
but to feed into it- all it is is a different tool for a different sound. That's all
LOL! I play way better with fingers but I get a way different groove feeling with a pic. So I just do both depending on the band
It's all about dynamics. I play with my fingers for those times I want a sound that'll blend in with the tune I'm playing, and I use a pick for a heavier song. It's never a "one is better than the other" with me, it simply a question of what tool and technique will allow me to achieve the sound I'm looking for.
+1 to this. I take the Billy Gould approach: use which ever works best for the song.
When I'm just noodling I don't have too much of a preference, it just depends on my mood.
If I'm learning a cover I tend to use what the original player used not only to capture the original sound of the song, but because fingers or picks lend themselves to a style of playing.
I think a bass player should be as flexible as possible and have as many tools at his/her disposal as possible. Being able to do both well is a pretty good idea.
THE HIPPIE said:
Really, I sound much heavier with fingers, and can get a much fatter attack, and I'm certainly faster with fingers too. I rarely play with a pick, unless I want a tad bit more top-end grind, or just a different mentality approach to a new bassline.
The only time you should be allowed to use a pick is when trying to emulate someone who uses a pick. New players are attracted to them because they can make you play great with little effort... yet there's little room for improvement. They're a crutch really. You can play fingers on anything that was made for a pick, but you can't play pick on anything made for fingers. Just ask Alex Webster. They also dilute your unique sound as a bass player by putting plastic between the bass and you, it's hard to sound unique with a pick (although though Chris Squier did). And I also get the impression that gung-ho pick players are people who started bass as an ignorant kid and just imitated guitarists without knowing fingers were even used. Sorry if I'm offending anyone, I just hate those things!
Both. They are two of the most powerful techniques used on bass. Slapping has lost a step in the last decade. Tapping has a place, but you wouldn't find in many genres.
Fingers and pick are tonally different. They are great with other instruments. I feel the synth a lot of times for example, is an excellent instrument to use a pick with. Aggressive guitars generally sound better with a pick. Some funk stuff sounds 10 times better with a pick a la Bobby Vega, Carles Benevent, or Tina Weymouth. New wave music wouldn't be the same without a pick. I've even heard some great Country music bass lines played with a pick like "Sitting on Go".
I love all the tones fingerstyle has to offer, but the pick has it's place. Why not have both options?
Fingers and pick are tonally different. They are great with other instruments. I feel the synth a lot of times for example, is an excellent instrument to use a pick with. Aggressive guitars generally sound better with a pick. Some funk stuff sounds 10 times better with a pick a la Bobby Vega, Carles Benevent, or Tina Weymouth. New wave music wouldn't be the same without a pick. I've even heard some great Country music bass lines played with a pick like "Sitting on Go".
I love all the tones fingerstyle has to offer, but the pick has it's place. Why not have both options?
