Picks: yes or no poll

[Rib 13]

This is a research inquiry for an upcoming video on my YouTube channel.....
I'd like feedback on pick useage on bass. The reasoning is that pick useage was a very accepted practice for decades, especially in the 80s and 90s, but they seem to have become a bit of an albatross over the past decade and Im trying to find out why. There's a "real bassists don't use picks" philosophy thats appeared in the past decade and there's even memes out about it

Personally, I have zero issue with picks, plus I love the tone

comments arent necessary - just a poll vote is appreciated

 

[Lee Moses]

I'm not sure what the question is. I have no moral qualms with using picks, and many of my favorite bassists in the rock world have used picks. But I really never use one myself. So are you asking whether we're generally opposed to using picks on bass, or whether we use them ourselves?

 

[Killing Floor]

Yes and No. Both. It’s a valuable technique.

 

[BGroovy]

I was anti pick for a long time (just silly kid elitist stuff). Never played my bass with a pick until I hit 40 (seriously). Now I appreciate the versatility of sounds and especially the attack a pick can give. It’s an extremely useful tool and technique musically.

 

[NickyBass]

I voted 'Yes.' Not because I've always been and always will be primarily a 'pick player', but because I am using it for my current situation and it just sounds right. I try not to put too many boxes around my technique or gear. It's the same with slap or 3 finger plucking technique or active basses or tube amps. I use everything when appropriate.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Picks, fingers, toes, etc. Use whatever is needed.

 

[KenD]

I picked no polls.

 

[MonetBass]

Your poll is missing the 'carrots' option, because the answer is, as usual, "it depends". Sometimes I want the attack of a pick, other times I want to use fingerstyle.

 

[RattleSnack]

This form of poll oversimplifies the whole question. BTW what is question? Should picks be used or not? Are they usefull or not? Picks on any, every instrument, bass guitar, double bass?

 

[pingvuiini]

I can't pick worth a damn, but I wish I could. I think you should be proficient with both methods.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

I think slapping has gained a more negative connotation than playing with a pick. The bottom line is whether or not each is performed well. That’s all that matters.

 

[Isaac_James]

There's a tendency in communities to create barriers that separate the ins from the outs. Happens in any group over time, every community has its own shibboleths that mark "real" members from the outsiders (and those who want to join).

Fingers vs picks became an easy way for bassists to do this. We've created a story where anyone who primarily plays with a pick is a guitar player faking it on the four strings. We can tell ourselves that knowing how to play with fingers is the mark of a REAL electric bass player.

Of course this is silly, the pick is a tool just like any other. I prefer to use my fingers as that's how I learned and where I feel most nimble, but I can play with a pick if I want a sound with a sharper attack. Sometimes that's what the music calls for. Knowing a wider variety of techniques makes you a more well rounded musician, and more easily employable if you're in this to earn money.

 

[Gigas444]

I use both pick and finger, it depends by the sound I need in a song

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

This vid speaks for itself.

 

[Ggaa]

I don't.

 

[bassdude51]

Although I hardly ever use a pick, almost never............back in the late 60s when I was a kid, I learned how to play bass using only a pick. Then in the early 70s, I switched to finger plucking. And do you want to know why? Because it looked more cool to play bass with fingers than a pick. That was my incentive for switching from pick to fingers.

It's not a sin to use a pick for bass. I actually love the sound of a bass played with a pick and with the strings muted towards the bridge with the palm of the hand.

There's not right or wrong. Whatever one likes and wants to do!

These felt picks are an excellent compromise for plucking with a pick but kind of sounding like fingers.

 

[mrcbass]

Not a yes or no question - when you need one, use one.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I never use a pick live, but I've used them a lot on studio sessions. I like the bite and zing they give to overdrive tracks but I just can't control one on a stage.

 

[gln1955]

Who can guess what question is being asked here, but the whatever it is, it's a false dichotomy.

 

[XLunacy]

Sir Paul.

/thread