Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Picks: yes or no poll
- Thread starter Rib 13
- Start date
Same here. I started with a pick (1992) but before I could get the hang of it I noticed that (at the time - it seemed like) I was the only one using a pick and at he same time started hear "Real bass players . . ." so I switched to fingers and never looked back. Now I can't use a pick to save my life. I have a variety of picks and from time to time will pick one up and try to play No More Tears for a few mins, and then I put the damn pick down and just play the song.
Same
Same
I can't play with a pick but I've learned how to get a much sharper sound when I need it by using the space in between my fingernail and the padded part where my fingerprint is.
I'm thinking alot of the so-called flack directed at pick players is often times just razzing the person, but not really meant to be real. . . like when guys that insist on "Tort and Flats" get razzed sometimes for it, but nobody actually has a problem with it.
"Truthfully, there is no right or wrong way to play a bass guitar. There isn’t even a preferred way. Any method you use to get sound out of the thing—fingers, pick, thumb, those weird stick things Tony Levin uses, telekinesis, whatever—works just fine. It’s purely a matter of personal preference."
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
90% of the time, fingers only. 10% of the time, pick(s). It all comes down to personal preference. Most of the time I prefer none.
Goes without saying. But seriously, who would pay an artist to use or not use a particular pick or picks? I can't find a bassist who endorses or has ever endorsed a particular pick.
Huh? I just mean when you go into a pro session situation you need to be proficient with pickstyle in the event its called for. Nothing about "particular picks", though I like how that rolls off the tongue!
Never needed to learn with a pick, so I didn’t. I carried one in my pocket for a few years hoping it would motivate me to finally learn to use one, but like slap, I don’t play anything requiring either pick or slap so I’ve never worked very hard at learning either technique.
I feel like the only people that pretend picks aren’t needed, are the people that aren’t proficient with them.
It’s pretty much like any other technique. It’s music. There isn’t right or wrong. But if you want to play a part originally played on pick exactly right. You need to be able to play with a pick.
Plus like. I dunno. It’s fun? So. You know. Why limit yourself from having fun over something so silly?
It’s pretty much like any other technique. It’s music. There isn’t right or wrong. But if you want to play a part originally played on pick exactly right. You need to be able to play with a pick.
Plus like. I dunno. It’s fun? So. You know. Why limit yourself from having fun over something so silly?
I could answer based on my own playing (strictly fingerstyle) but it's not so much of a preference as just a habit. When I got my first bass, my brother gave me a couple of guitar picks, but I just couldn't get the hang of using them, so I gave up and have played fingerstyle ever since. That was in 1977. I also gave up on frets soon after that.
I always advise young players to put more effort into learning the full breadth of bass techniques while they're still young. That would include frets, and picks.
The bands I've played in have simply never noticed or don't care.
I always advise young players to put more effort into learning the full breadth of bass techniques while they're still young. That would include frets, and picks.
The bands I've played in have simply never noticed or don't care.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Yes. While I play with my fingers 80% of the time the pick is warranted when the pick is warranted, and it's a good tool. No need to limit yourself.
Two thoughts:
Pick became real popular when guitarists moved over in the 60s
I think popularity waned a bit when slap started really catching on
I pick 1/2 the time
Pick became real popular when guitarists moved over in the 60s
I think popularity waned a bit when slap started really catching on
I pick 1/2 the time
I like using my fingers and I like using picks.
Normally, I kind of split the difference and have my nails on my plucking hand grown out a bit. Subjectively not as "bright" as a pick and not as "warm" as just the flesh of the fingers. As a bonus when I trim my nails my bass sounds totally different.
Normally, I kind of split the difference and have my nails on my plucking hand grown out a bit. Subjectively not as "bright" as a pick and not as "warm" as just the flesh of the fingers. As a bonus when I trim my nails my bass sounds totally different.
Yes. I’ve never been able to get through a song with a pick but it’s a tool I’m trying to get better at.
I'm very old school, first started playing the bass in 1965. At the time I played bass with my thumb (just like Jameson). In 1966 when I bought my 1965 Fender Jazz Bass, I used the tug bar as it was designed, that is I held onto the tug bar with the tips of my fingers and played the bass using my thumb. Then in 1966 I switched to using a pick and used a pick until 1968 when my drummer convinced me to transition to finger-style, which I've done ever since. I will still pull out a pick if a song really calls for it but really play just about everything using finger-style, not a pick.
So even though I occasionally will use a pick if necessary, I rarely play bass with a pick. So I voted no.
