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Pick vs fingers (kinda)

#5
Voorhees73 said:
No doubt I wasn't ragging on Steve Harris importance in maiden or his talent just the sound. If u can go to YouTube and look up wasted years bass track and you'll see what I mean.
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That's perfectly normal. This is a supportive bass track, which should be judged is the mix. It's not a solo! If I record my bass playing, which I do quite often, it sounds alike.
Noone should "stay away from" a specific playing technique. It's always good to learn, experience and understand other styles. It makes it easier to decide which technique to use. Speaking for myself, I play almost everything I know both finger style and with a pick. This applies to several metal styles as well as blues. :cool:
 
#7
Jay2U said:
That's perfectly normal. This is a supportive bass track, which should be judged is the mix. It's not a solo! If I record my bass playing, which I do quite often, it sounds alike.
Noone should "stay away from" a specific playing technique. It's always good to learn, experience and understand other styles. It makes it easier to decide which technique to use. Speaking for myself, I play almost everything I know both finger style and with a pick. This applies to several metal styles as well as blues. :cool:
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I think you should use your fingers, a pick, or a fish if you want, i was just wondering if people thought that at high speeds if fingers style gets too sloppy ( as in sting clicking)
 
#8
I've listened to that track and the video thousands of times, never deemed it sloppy to me.
Besides he would have his fingers tuned to playing at high speeds, i think anyone that starting out it would be sloppy at higher speeds, but practice makes it better.

I'm going to start getting some picks and finding my favourite, Just to give some ac/dc tracks and stuff some more pop to them than i can with fingers.

Know the best one, Use the best one
 
#11
Jay2U said:
If I record my bass playing, which I do quite often, it sounds alike.
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+1

I'm often appalled at what my bass track sounds like when soloed at the mixing desk. :eek:

And I think you should play however seems good to you. I've used picks and fingers. I slap more often now and have abandoned the pick. But it just happened organically. Must be the music I'm playing or my laziness or something. Not sure. And I don't really care.
 
#13
Heavy attack doesn't exactly mean sloppy playing.

The generally perpendicular striking of a pick means you'll be much less likely to hear any fret buzz or clank no matter the force, as opposed to fingers where the bassist more or less chooses his angle of attack.
 
#14
Do what Geezer Butler did. Use both! Sometimes even in the same song!

IN all honesty, use whatever feels natural to you. If you like the more aggressive and precise sound of pickstyle, use a pick. If you prefer the more physical nature of fingerstyle, use your fingers.
 
#19
Ideally, a player should be able to do both for whatever the song demands. However, speed shouldn't be an issue. Many players rely on picks because they can't play as fast with their fingers, which -in reality- means that they haven't taken the time to learn how to play fast with their fingers! You should be able to go just as fast, if not faster, without a pick.

NOW... with that established, a pick is going to give the bass a certain attack that you simply can't get with your fingers. There are several different kinds of picks made out of several different unique materials, each of which are specially designed to apply a different attack for the notes your hitting.

So it's pointless to think of it as, "Pick vs. Fingers"; it's better to think of it as, "Pick, or fingers?"
 
#20
KingLucCole said:
Ideally, a player should be able to do both for whatever the song demands. However, speed shouldn't be an issue. Many players rely on picks because they can't play as fast with their fingers, which -in reality- means that they haven't taken the time to learn how to play fast with their fingers! You should be able to go just as fast, if not faster, without a pick.
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I don't really care about that, though. It's true that if the world went crazy and I was suddenly called upon to do a finger style metal song, I'd probably turn in a less-than-stellar performance. But being able to do better at that is pretty far down on my to-do list. If that means I can't put in a 100% performance with any band in the city, so be it. I think it's ok to not be everything to everyone. "Pick a thing and do it well" is OK too.

KingLucCole said:
NOW... with that established, a pick is going to give the bass a certain attack that you simply can't get with your fingers.
Click to expand...

Quite true. I used to use a pick about half the night in a cover band ten years ago. These days I just haven't used one. I'm playing mostly original music, maybe that's the difference. I'm no longer trying to emulate players who might be using a pick, so I don't feel obligated to use one myself. And left to my own devices, I tend not to use it. But to each his/her own, I say.
 

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