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Playing with a pick?

A

adamrobertt

Dec 14, 2007
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#1
Hey. I've recently started playing the bass in a 3 piece, and I've gotten several comments about "not being a real bassist" or that I play the "bass guitar" and not the "real bass" because I use a pick and a short scale instrument.

I much prefer short scale basses because they have faster necks and smaller bodies. I'm a really small guy (5'5'') with small hands, so they're just much more comfortable to me.

I prefer a pick because I'm already really good at using a pick (from playing guitar for about 8 years) and I also much prefer the sound and biting attack that you get from using one. Why is there so much of a stigma against these things? It's getting a bit annoying.
 
#2
Don't worry about what other people say.

Given your stature, a short scale instrument only makes sense to have as is.

Plenty of great bassists have used a pick. Especially great in certain rock and punk genres. If you look at the following a guy like Justin Chancellor has, there are plenty of people who love and respect the pick players.
 
#3
Stigma?? Tell it to Chris Squire man. Fingers. thumbs, or picks are a means to an end. If the end result rocks, you do too.

I tend to play six string guitar with my fingers more than I do with a pick. No one has ever given me any crap about that.

Don't listen to the snobby bassholes. If it works for you keep workin it man!
 
#4
adamrobertt said:
"not being a real bassist" or that I play the "bass guitar" and not the "real bass" because I use a pick and a short scale instrument.
Click to expand...

Whoever is telling you this is a complete and absolute moron (I guess they never heard of Paul McCartney.) You shouldn't waste your valuable time playing with such an idiot. if I were you I'd find some "real musicians" to play with!
 
#6
The only reason 34" is the standard is that is the length Leo Fender picked when he designed the first Precision bass in 1951.

Why is there stigma? Mostly prejudice and ignorance, the same as with most stigmas. But there is a small detail to be aware of:

If the scale of the instrument is shorter and the string diameter remains the same, the string will be at a lower tension. The lower tension causes the strings to feel "floppy." The lower string tension also results in a note with a less complex harmonic content. The tone of the instrument will be duller and "thumpy" or "muddy." Increasing the string diameter to increase the tension also results in a "bassier" sound.

If the scale of the bass you play allows you to be a better bassist, you are playing the correct bass.

The stigma about playing with a pick comes from the concept of "tone" being developed by your fingertips. While it is true that a softer, fuller, rounder attack can be produced by using your fingers, it is also true that a sharper, crisper attack can be generated by using a pick. Notice I used the term "attack", not "tone". The critics confuse one with the other.

If you prefer the sound and biting attack of using a pick, you are playing correctly for the "tone" you are trying to produce.

EQ is the great equalizer - bad pun. Pick players can attenuate the mids and treble to soften their attack, and finger players can boost them to sharpen their attack. This, IMHO, is why the tastes have changed to "hifi" and/or solid state amps, roundwound strings, etc. They provide compensation for the attack that is desired by finger players.

Final 2 words about short scale basses played with a pick: Paul McCartney
 
#7
Any player not willing to at least entertain becoming proficient in multiple playing styles is IMO shortchanging themselves.

Lots of great player with picks. Lots with fingers,and thumbs.
I used to play quite a bit with a pick. I don't anymore, but every so often miss that type of attack.

+1 to the moron factor regarding people giving you static about certain playing styles. Don't listen to them.

JKT :bassist:
 
#9
hey man i have fairly large hands but i actually prefer medium scale(32") basses. don't worry about it. they're probably just insecure because you're better than them so they're trying to find something to put you down on. as far as the pick, i prefer finger style. It is my OPINION that there's plenty of ways to get great attack just from different finger techniques and what not. in the end though, it all comes down to preference. so hats off to you and keep true to yourself:)
 
#11
Screw 'em. It's your instrument, your band, your music. There are tons of great bass players who play with picks. Do what makes you happy. Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Chris Squire, John Entwhistle (sometimes), JPJ (sometimes), Eric Avery, Duff McKagan (and just about every other punk bassist), Justin Chancellor, Paul D'Amour, Kris Novoselic, and many others do the same.
 
#14
I play short-scale and I WISH I could get more comfortable with a pick. I didn't start trying to play with a pick until I was 19 years into playing and I've had trouble staying motivated to keep the pick in hand. I really do love the sound and attack and would cop Mike Gordon's tone 80% of the time (except it isn't "my tone").
 
#15
The stigma is purely visual. Playing with your fingers is exhilarating from a visual standpoint. Chris Squire playing with a pick always looked great and so did some punk/new wave types like Peter Hook and others, but for the most part it just looks kind of pedestrian unless you put your whole body into it. So find a method of playing that shuts up the naysayers. I've found that my need to go back and forth between picking and plunking has caused me to use a thumb pick so I get the best of both worlds. So far only one bassist friend of mine has been a liitle ticked at that technique.:p
 
#16
"Any player not willing to at least entertain becoming proficient in multiple playing styles is IMO shortchanging themselves."

I don't play slap style, and at this point, probably never will.

"Why is there so much of a stigma against these things? It's getting a bit annoying."

Elitist snobs. My favorite are the guitar players that tell their friends that want to play music "play bass, it's easier" when they themselves can't play bass and every bass player I know can play guitar.
 
#17
adamrobertt said:
Hey. I've recently started playing the bass in a 3 piece, and I've gotten several comments about "not being a real bassist" or that I play the "bass guitar" and not the "real bass" because I use a pick and a short scale instrument.
Click to expand...

well, they (and others who say that kind of stuff) are idiots, end of story.. if they're not musicians themselves, you shouldn't be listening to their opinions anyway.. no-one I'd ever take seriously for even one millisecond has ever said anything even slightly resembling 'bass is easier than guitar'...

tell them to go listen to Scott Thunes and ask them if they think he's a real musician.. actually these bozos wouldn't know the difference between good & bad anyway
 
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#20
Dude, I must tell you this. You'll have that. I played with a pick for the first 6 years of my bass playing life. I played guitar for 20 years and then switched over to bass for the church since they needed a bassist so that's the only style I knew being thrown into that position like that. I've heard it all, from I'm not a real bassist to I play like a kid. I've since learned different techniques and can pretty much hold my own with other basists but I still like to tease these bassists from time to time by borrowing a pick from the guitarist and shredding.

Do what you know to do for now. That's what you're comfortable with and don't let these moronic bassists intimidate you or make you feel like less of a bassist. Try to work on different techniques just to make yourself an all-around better bassist but don't people get to you.
 

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