Playing with a pick: why so unpopular?

[JW56789]

I've used one off and on whenever I need 'that sound', as my fingers don't have that bony structure to get that tone. Metal guys and hard rock guys use it a lot, but I think it's overshadowed by slap these days in a lot of other places.

 

[Topkat13]

I didn't know it is unpopular. It's more of a need I believe.

 

[micahwc]

The older I get the more I play with picks. I do wish I could find one that didn't wear out so quickly.

 

[akukulich]

I rarely used a pick for many years. But during the pandemic I decided to use my extra time at home to get my pick playing together, and I've really enjoyed it. Finding the right pick went a long way toward getting more comfortable with the technique. It's a great sound in the right situation. I have a whole new appreciation for it now.

 

[kmon]

I think a pick sounds flippin' great on bass, especially in certain contexts. I also feel at least 20% cooler when playing with a pick vs fingers.

 

[electracoyote]

Proficient with pick, slap, finger style. I also play a wide variety of stringed instruments, so it goes with the territory. In your typical mainstream pop variety cover band, playing bass, I will use a pick on around 25% of the songs. You can really coax a lot of useful and interesting tones out of your bass by varying the attack and techniques. I recommend it as a fairly obvious straightforward way to increase your versatility. When I was teaching I always stuck a pick in my bass students' hands and encouraged them to learn practice pieces with both finger style and pick, and we would talk about primarily pick players and how they used them to good effect.

 

[Ric5]

I have exclusively (well, with rare exceptions) played palm-muted, with a pick, since the ‘70s. Lets ignore the many years here/there where I didn’t play at all. Only ever played for fun: parties, church folk group, and drum/bass jams.

Anyway, in starting up again, I have been playing exclusively finger-style and slap for a few months now. Getting pretty good with muting, but individual note duration and articulation needs work.

Anyway, listening via headphones - I have been playing unplugged a lot, and not using amp to bother family - my picking sounded much better than finger-style. Also, I am much faster with a pick.

Any pick players out there? Not just occasional, but all-the-time pick players, perhaps Carol Kaye style (showing my age here)?

I want to keep-up with slap, but not so sure about finger-style.

yes playing with a pick and palm muting is a very under-rated approach to bass playing

 

[electracoyote]

The older I get the more I play with picks. I do wish I could find one that didn't wear out so quickly.

I play acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, as well as bass. Finding the ideal pick is important. I got tired of chasing four different types of pick and adapted this (below) to all my stringed instrument pick needs. Pretty sturdy, and can be re-shaped or sharpened with a sanding block to make them last twice as long. Long ago I used Tortex but they are a little too soft for the tone and longevity I prefer.

 

[silvertone]

If a pick is good enough for Chris Squire, Phil Lesh and Paul McCartney - what's stoppin' ya?

 

[Sharko]

The older I get the more I play with picks. I do wish I could find one that didn't wear out so quickly.

I only play with a pick. When a song calls for a finger sound I roll the tone down and kick on a preset on my pedal.

I know pick material and feel is very personal preference, but can I recommend Dunlop nylons? They come in a lot of thicknesses and they don’t seem to wear down. .88 is my favorite

 

[Malcolm35]

Of course with rhythm guitar I strummed with a pick, however one note at a time my thumb works best. I tend to miss the correct string with the pick. Never spent the time to get the pick down as I feel the ole thumb does it for me.


Now I see nothing wrong with pick playing, I really don't care how the other bassists play. If it sounds good its good.

 

[Killing Floor]

I have no issue with picks. I like the percussive tones sometimes. I will always keep picks for some songs. Sometimes it sounds right. And if you don’t know how to use one it’s a skill anyone should learn.

Honestly I play guitar with fingers too but sometimes a pick sounds better.

Learn it.

Plus they make them in tort.

 

[40Hz]

It’s generally wisest to practice with whatever rig and bass you’re going to be playing.

If you’re playing fingerstyle on an unplugged solidbody you can develop a habit of playing too hard in order get enough volume to hear what you’re playing. So that’s something to be aware of and watch out for because it usually doesn’t sound that great once you do plug in. It can also seriously slow down your plucking speed.

If you want to practice privately, an inexpensive headphone amp or even a small mixer with a headphone out jack is a better option. And definitely better than nothing.

 

[Lobster11]

At this point, I am probably 40% pick/60% fingers - one thing I did when I was younger was try and play stuff I played with pick with fingers and vice versa (actually slapping too at that time). But I also find that I often play differently with a pick - it helps me express different aspects of my musicality. There are times when I want to sound like me, other times (usually with a band) where it's more about the song - using the pick (or not) can be part of that - or not!

Yes, this is all true for me too (except the slapping part). Most people who play both ways seem to choose based on the song (e.g., what the original bassist used, if it's a cover) or based on the desired tone/attack/etc. For me, though, it's more about the fact that using a pick inspires me to play differently than I do fingerstyle. Also, I really like the physical motion of picking -- especially using downstrokes on downbeats and upstrokes on upbeats, which really helps me to feel and lock into certain kinds of grooves.

 

[g-dude]

Pick is definitely the way to go for the upright. For the bass guitar, a nicely bowed solo can be amazing.

 

[themickster]

I have exclusively (well, with rare exceptions) played palm-muted, with a pick, since the ‘70s. Lets ignore the many years here/there where I didn’t play at all. Only ever played for fun: parties, church folk group, and drum/bass jams.

Anyway, in starting up again, I have been playing exclusively finger-style and slap for a few months now. Getting pretty good with muting, but individual note duration and articulation needs work.

Anyway, listening via headphones - I have been playing unplugged a lot, and not using amp to bother family - my picking sounded much better than finger-style. Also, I am much faster with a pick.

Any pick players out there? Not just occasional, but all-the-time pick players, perhaps Carol Kaye style (showing my age here)?

I want to keep-up with slap, but not so sure about finger-style.

I'm a picker. I can't get any speed with fingers, and I like the sharper attack with a pick.

 

[Johnny Fingers]

Used a pick mainly when I was in a rock band, mostly fingers nowadays for worship.
Acoustic and electric guitar always used a pick, just a strummer I suppose.

 

[FRoss6788]

Another tool in the chest....

Many great pick players, Bob Daisley, Glenn Hughes and Bobby Vega come to mind

 

[Stewie]

I wish I could play with a pick, you get that snap attack that is impossible with fingers. Pretty sure that Lynott always used a pick, and he was no slouch

 

[Marc valero]

I started out on guitar, so playing bass with a pick was the way I went when I started around 1980.
As you can see my middle finger is "at the ready" to pluck a double stop octave when needed. Never had any complaints and I get many compliments on my playing.