Pick Rant!!

[Spectre Gunner]

I don't know why more guitarists don't finger pick. I think they have the opposite peer pressure.

I don't play guitar but I would think it's more difficult to finger pick on a guitar. Especially, if you play like Jeff Beck.
He is revered for his virtuosic finger playing technique but not only is he plucking with most of his fingers he also simultaneously works the whammy bar and volume/tone knobs. He will on occasion use a pick (on a song like "Scatterbrain") but that's rare.

 

[bassliner50]

Pick up the Pieces.

 

[devnulljp]

This guy is clearly going nowhere playing with a pick

 

[jnuts1]

I have a theory that the vast majority of people on the internet who look down on pick playing are either teenagers or beginners. It's a very immature stance to think that one technique is inferior, but if you're new to bass and you see all these bass "heroes" like Victor Wooten or Marcus Miller or a lot of these guys who aren't in a famous band or make famous music but are just known among musicians for their technique/chops, they're mostly fingerstyle players. So they figure if the bass heroes play fingerstyle, playing with a pick makes you a lesser player.

I really don't care either way and some of my favorite players are straight up pick players and get some amazing tone BUT pick playing is inferior to finger style just in dexterity/versatility alone. your hand's dexterity are amazing and are definitely limited as what you can do while holding a pick. but there is nothing wrong with using one

 

[jnuts1]

Pick has a steeper initial learning curve. I think people who look down on it are just whiners who haven’t invested the time required to master a pick. There are things you can do with a pick that simply are not possible with fingers, and vice versa. Whatever works for the tone and attack you want, it’s all good. I started fingerstyle, learned pick, I drift back and forth between the two, although I seem to lose my pick chops quicker after a long hiatus than finger style.

This intrigues me. what techniques on pick do not translate to finger style?

 

[BAG]

I have a theory that the vast majority of people on the internet who look down on pick playing are either teenagers or beginners. It's a very immature stance

Actually, there's a lot of older folk who think that way too. The most surprising one for me was the owner of a music instrument shop. Around 50 years old or so and he made the comment "real bass players don't use a pick". I expressed surprise at his comment and left without spending any money. You'll also get some sideways looks and possibly comments from the old folks if you pull out a pick at any jazz jam or gig.

 

[brianrost]

We don't go on and on about bassists using pedals. Or Flats.

Sure, we do it all the time...

So what is the best pick for metal?

 

[Knavery]

I think it comes down to what you're playing. There's nothing wrong with using a pick. Personally, I don't use one, but then I don't play any music that would warrant it. But as a guitar player as well, I endorse it.

 

[Slinger]

Wrong thread. I saw the title and I thought that there was a choice involved. I'd picked a good one too.

 

[diegom]

I'm going back over to the double bass side of Talkbass where this conversation never comes up.

I'm sure someone will start an argument about French or German bow!
Even worse... "You play... PIZZ!!!???!!??"

Diego

 

[James Collins]

I don't play guitar but I would think it's more difficult to finger pick on a guitar. Especially, if you play like Jeff Beck.
He is revered for his virtuosic finger playing technique but not only is he plucking with most of his fingers he also simultaneously works the whammy bar and volume/tone knobs. He will on occasion use a pick (on a song like "Scatterbrain") but that's rare.

I, personally, find it harder to use a pick. I really don't know what would be harder on a guitar. I used to use a pick for guitar solos, but decided to give up on it.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

@jnuts1
It’s not the Technique that doesn’t translate, it’s the Tone. A fast finger stylist can play as fast as any pick player, but the balls of your fingers are never going to produce that sharp pick attack, the diiference between two completely different materials and length of contact with the string. You might get close shredding your fingernails. Geddy Lee often sounds like a pick player because he digs in so hard, but listen to him vs Chris Squire and the difference is obvious. Conversely, I have never heard a pick player produce that burpy Jaco tone. Maybe with a felt pick....nope. Haven’t heard it, but I’m prepared to be schooled if you can find an example of a pick player that really sounds like Jaco. Bobby Vega is superb, but you can easily hear the difference in his pick and finger style playing. He’s a great example of a well rounded player, pick, finger, and slap, he has it all.

 

[jnuts1]

@jnuts1
It’s not the Technique that doesn’t translate, it’s the Tone. A fast finger stylist can play as fast as any pick player, but the balls of your fingers are never going to produce that sharp pick attack, the diiference between two completely different materials and length of contact with the string. You might get close shredding your fingernails. Geddy Lee often sounds like a pick player because he digs in so hard, but listen to him vs Chris Squire and the difference is obvious. Conversely, I have never heard a pick player produce that burpy Jaco tone. Maybe with a felt pick....nope. Haven’t heard it, but I’m prepared to be schooled if you can find an example of a pick player that really sounds like Jaco. Bobby Vega is superb, but you can easily hear the difference in his pick and finger style playing. He’s a great example of a well rounded player, pick, finger, and slap, he has it all.

I am totally behind the tonal properties that a pick can produce and the differences but I was mainly asking about technique and the "things you just can't do" remark. I didn't realize you were talking about tone

 

[zontar]

I mostly use fingers--sometimes 1, sometimes 2, sometimes 3, but mostly 1 or 2.
Depends on the rhythm of the song & feel I want for it.
Sometimes I do up/down picking with my index finger--almost like a pick.
Sometimes I add in my thumb.
Sometimes I use a pick

Depends on the song, rhythm, feel, sound that is right for the song

 

[iriegnome]

So for the record, I started 39 years ago on bass. Used a pick. About 35 years ago I began using finger and pick. About 30 years ago, all finger style. About 20 years ago, I began using a pick every once in a great while and that is where I am at today. I am completely adept at either. I prefer finger because of the feel of it all. Pick is for when I get a hand cramp or start to blister my fingers due to moisture, sweat, heat, or something or another

 

[songwriter21]

A pick on bass is not easy...like using only one finger for all strings.

 

[MDBass]

Case in point: a pick, like your fingers or thumb, is just another tool to get sound out of an instrument.

Make music, that's all that matters.

 

[matante]

I really don't care either way and some of my favorite players are straight up pick players and get some amazing tone BUT pick playing is inferior to finger style just in dexterity/versatility alone. your hand's dexterity are amazing and are definitely limited as what you can do while holding a pick. but there is nothing wrong with using one

I'll put it another way. If you want the most versatility you need to know how to play with both techniques, but versatility may or may not matter to you depending on what you want to play. I play both ways but find that as I get older I greatly prefer the sound of a pick with flats for my personal originals. So I choose a pick for that sound I can't get any other way. This is a creative/artistic decision that I'm making that has nothing to do with craft or technique. As a musician I'm ultimately concerned only with sound, and I need to use a pick to get that sound. It would be highly ignorant and immature for anyone to say that my music was inferior, my bassline was inferior, or my ability as a bassist was inferior because I'm using the technique necessary to achieve the sound I want.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Starting out with a pick does feel weird, that small disconnection from the strings. I used to drop them all the time, or they’d twist in my fingers, so I used the huge triangular ones. Imagine how beginner violinists feel, their movements have to translate over a foot of space through the bow. As time went on the picks got smaller, now I just use standard tort Fender mediums. Lately been studying Squire licks, that’s one way to improve with a pick, he was fast and immaculate. Somebody mentioned Andy West, I saw the Dregs only once, that guy was a killer with a pick. I like pick so much now I have to remind myself to use my fingers once in awhile to avoid losing that ability.

 

[zontar]

A pick on bass is not easy...like using only one finger for all strings.

Sometimes I use only 1 finger because it sounds better than using two--and I don't find it tricky--in some ways it is easier for me--but then maybe that is due to starting on classical guitar & then playing guitar with a pick--before I learned bass.