Playing with a pick: why so unpopular?

[FrenchBassQC]

I have been a finger style player only for as long as I have been playing bass. I have used a pick in the past when the fingers were blistered from a short hiatus (they used to be that picky). But I am trying to start using a pick when it feels like it would benefit more in the context of the sound the song is inspiring for (I am playing bass in two bands doing original material).

 

[Pings Bass]

When you need the hard attack sound, nothing does it like a pick. I haven't needed it for years, but back in my rock days I was known to use a pick on my P with roto sounds from time to time.

 

[TuneIn]

playing with a pick has never been unpopular. unless played with poor technique and eq, flat strings, then it sounds like a dead lifeless drum, and that, that is very unpopular.

 

[beaglesandbass]

Same answer I have every time this comes up

Because people are closed minded

 

[PrairieThunder13]

I like playing with a pick. Probably about 45% pick 45% fingers 7% slap 3% everything else (drumsticks, leather belts, thumb but not thumping etc). Pick plus thomastik jazz flats is a great sound. I know there's still some stigma on "oh you're supposed to play with your fingers" and some are just not able to use one so they dont. I can't justfy otherwise why you don't see it as much though in some circles that i play in playing with fingers seems to be less common. Interesting stuff, though, i have never really given this much thought.

 

[Paul New]

I started playing bass with a pick out of necessity when I starting singing lead vox. I’ve played guitar for 40 years so a pick in hand is not unfamiliar to me. I play guitar both with a pick and finger style depending on what’s called for.

I suppose I play bass these days 90% with a pick and move to fingers when a particular passage calls for it…whether I’m singing or not.

If I was back in a proper blues band, I’d probably be playing almost all fingerstyle again. Last time I sat in with a blues band, I didn’t use a pick (wasn’t my bass).

One of the best blues players I ever heard played exclusively with a pick.

There's something to be said for precise articulation in the bass.

 

[WillyW]

I use fingers more on treble geetar than I do on bass. (Travis picking).

Sometimes I'll try a song with fingers on bass but I always go back to a pick.

I do find it funny that when someone disputes that Carol Kaye played on a track that it's not glaringly obvious that a pick was or was not used.

AND no one can "pick" out the type of bass used...

And no one can tell if it was a maple or rosewood fretboard...

And no one can tell what "tonewoods" were used in the construction of the mystery bass....

 

[Paul New]

Benny Turner.

 

[Chicken Wing]

I play with fingers and also with a pick. Sometimes I play with fingers and pick on the same song... Just depends on the vibe and tone I'm after. No other rhyme or reason other than the sound.

 

[jschulman]

I love recording with a pick. Any time I record takes fingerstyle, I'll try to do the same lines with a pick as a just-in-case. 90% of the time I end up with the pick. There's something about the transient, especially on flats or tapes with a little saturation and compression, that sounds so much better to my ears. The sound pops and it's easier to sculpt later on with an EQ, and the instrument doesn't lose too much character if I low-pass a kick drum in the sidechain. Obviously this isn't always the case and the final determinant is how it serves the song, but I'm definitely biased towards a crunchy, picked recorded bass tone.

I also think that picking a bass is a much more difficult technique than converted guitarists and fingerstyle dogmatists* give it credit for. Strumming chords or picking solo notes on a guitar is not the same thing as mastering the nuanced difference between, and difficulty of, alternating upstrokes and downstrokes on fatter, widely distanced, less resonant strings. It's rare that a player new to picking will be able to immediately lay down mutes and ghost notes in a rhythmically interesting, or even useful way, without some practice.

On the other hand, I didn't have as much fun picking until I started using felt ukulele picks. Plastic action never felt good to me, but Mick's Picks have a nice flex that feels satisfying, just as much as fingerstyle does.

*Do these people actually exist?

 

[higain617]

I think it's only unpopular on here.

 

[SemiDriven]

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.

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

I use a pick 25% of the time.

I agree that finding the right pick is important for developing a predominant picking style.

I use the Dunlop Max-Grip .88.

 

[HolmeBass]

Carol Kaye, Phil Lesh, Bobby Vega, and Anthony Jackson! There are many others as well.

Just ignore people who say bass shouldn’t be played with a pick, they have no idea what they’re talking about.

 

[shnapper]

I don’t pick, but some have been caught……

 

[Biggbass]

Who ever said playing with a pick is unpopular? Listen to just about anything from the massive volume of hits from previous decades and you'll hear a picked bass the majority of the time.
Finger picking is great when it's applicable to the song, but so it a plectrum.

When you want punch, bite, grit, and tight that is so tight you can't slip a dollar bill between it,
use a pick.

Or don't, it's your choice.

 

[scott sinner]

It just depends what tone you're going for. I find my pick tone to be too thin, so I play with fingers mostly to get a thicker tone. It's good to be good at both so you can use whatever the song calls for. YMMV

+1
I play probably 90% fingers, but that's very much a stylistic thing. I am totally capable on a pick too. Some songs want it.

 

[micahwc]

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.

when I play live shows the 1mm tortes picks I use wear out in about two sets + rehearsal.

 

[707GK]

I like playing with picks, it helps me get a tone that I want and also seems easier to me to consistently reproduce that tone.

 

[Bruiser Stone]

Using a pick is ok. Sometimes it’s essential.

 

[devnulljp]

My theory is that a lot of bassists are converted guitarists who find it easy to play bass with a pick but often struggle to learn to play fingerstyle. In contrast, those of us who started on bass -- "real" bassists -- almost always start out learning fingerstyle (and later struggle to learn to use a pick). So, I think converted guitarists sometimes feel like using a pick on bass is "cheating," since "real" bassists use fingers.

Personally, I played fingerstyle exclusively for 15 years, occasionally trying to learn to use a pick but always giving up in frustration. Eventually I decided to really commit to it. It took a long time for me to get to the point of being equally comfortable either way, and now I go about half-and-half depending on the song or, more often, my mood at the moment.

I started out on classical guitar, so I still play guitar with fingers. Always found I dropped guitar picks when I tried, so just tend not to. Weird though, I played bass with a pick for a good 20 years until I started playing upright. Now I play mostly fingerstyle, but keep some picks on hand if needed.