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Playing with a pick?

#21
I play with a pick and have always played with a pick. My first instructor also taught guitar and just naturally started me with out playing that way. I have had people say things but most times it was like, wow, you sound so clean and the tone is great.

That is why I have stayed with the pick...I can get a much much cleaner sound with one. My recent dilemma, if you can call it that, is that I just got a fretless bass and I am trying to teach myself fingerstyle! So, opposite of what most people do I guess. Bottom line, let your tone do the talking!:bassist:
 
#22
Another sometimes pick bass player with a unique style was Rick Danko of 'The Band'; who gives a rats rectum what other people say - are YOU happy with your groove?

"....and every bass player I know can play guitar." Well now, some of us are drummers. I've personally known too many phenomenal guitar players in my life for me to ever even pick one up...
 
#23
MarkTAW said:
"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.
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How exactly is the statement I made in quotations "elitist"?:confused:
I supported the dudes choice to play with a pick, I mentioned that I have played with a pick, and encouraged him to make the most out of his playing, which is something that happens a lot here and is IMO a positive force. I also agreed that anyone giving him grief about it is a moron. I just happen to think that all players should know as many ways to hit the strings as possible. I also think scales and modes are handy too. Does that make me an elitist too or a theory snob?? :scowl:

As an aside, with regards to the impressive list of pick players posted before, many of those players also play or played with their fingers. Are they elitists? It's a good thing they weren't finger snobs or some famous music might have turned out all wrong.

JKT
 
#24
JKT said:
As an aside, with regards to the impressive list of pick players posted before, many of those players also play or played with their fingers. Are they elitists? It's a good thing they weren't finger snobs or some famous music might have turned out all wrong.

JKT
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I agree that we should all have several methods of attack which is why I am working on finger style. Question for you finger style guys....how can you get an even attack and tone? I guess for me, when I play only with my fingers, the tone gets buried more than when I am playing with the pick. I like a good midrange growl but am having a hard time getting that with my fingers. :help:
 
#25
jgroh said:
I agree that we should all have several methods of attack which is why I am working on finger style. Question for you finger style guys....how can you get an even attack and tone? I guess for me, when I play only with my fingers, the tone gets buried more than when I am playing with the pick. I like a good midrange growl but am having a hard time getting that with my fingers. :help:
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For me it depends on the area and angle of your fingertips and also where you pluck the string. Using the very ends and playing back closer to the bridge often give you a sharper attack. Playing closer to the bass of the neck or over the pickup can get a rounder/woodier/bassier tones. There are tons of variations on this concept.

JKT:bassist:
 
#26
I prefer the tone or "attack from fingers, but a pick has its uses. Far bee it for me to tell anyone there not a "real bass" because they play with a pick. My observation thou, most guys playing bass with picks are former guitar player who switched, and most of them are not very good. All they play is the root of the chord. Just an observation from all the local bands I have seen. I am sure there are exceptions, I just haven’t seen one around here.
 
#27
jgroh said:
I agree that we should all have several methods of attack which is why I am working on finger style. Question for you finger style guys....how can you get an even attack and tone? I guess for me, when I play only with my fingers, the tone gets buried more than when I am playing with the pick. I like a good midrange growl but am having a hard time getting that with my fingers. :help:
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The tone knob is the obvious first choice, but playing closer to the bridge will get you a brighter tone and playing closer to the neck (My preference on a Precision bass) will get you a smoother mellower tone.

But seriously, if you prefer the tone from a pick use the pick.
 
#28
Phalex said:
The tone knob is the obvious first choice, but playing closer to the bridge will get you a brighter tone and playing closer to the neck (My preference on a Precision bass) will get you a smoother mellower tone.

But seriously, if you prefer the tone from a pick use the pick.
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Oh, I plan on keeping up with the pick, but like I said, I am using the new fretless on some of the stuff I am writing and cant use a pick on that (doesnt sound right even if I wanted to) And, I can pretty much mimic most sounds and techniques using the pick, from a solid "pocket" groove to pretty funky stuff. "Most" stuff I hear finger style bassists play I can replicate pretty well.

And, another personal observation, when I use fingerstyle and play close to the neck, ala John Entwhistle, I can play much much faster than closer to the bridge. Dunno why that is but it works however like you guys said, it doesnt cut as much in tone.
 
#34
SmittyG said:
I used a pick on a fretless bass for years. If you don't like the tone, that's cool. I always liked it.
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Like I said, I am almost strictly a pick player (and am not a converted guitar player just playing root notes), but on the fretless, IMHO when I use the pick it makes it sound less like fretless and more like a fretted bass (did that make sense? lol)
 
#35
Don't let anyone tell you how to play or what to play or you risk taking the pleasure out it for you. If you decide to change or if it becomes part of a need to get work that may be a different matter.

Your so called small stature however should not, long term, be an obsticle to changing such habits if you desire to expand your skills or just have new tools at your disposal.

I am 5' 6" tall with very small hands. I started playing bass some forty years ago using a pick and playing a Dan Electro short scale bass. Today I use everything from slap to pick to three fingers and a thumb to play my seven string 34" scale bass (spacing at the bridge 19mm). Most folks who see it on the stand wonder out loud how I can play it with my small hands but I really don't feel that it deters or affects my ability one little bit.

The short story here is that it doesn't matter how you start out it only matters what you get out it and how you end up. I can tell from experience you will change and evolve throughout your entire life. As long as it is achieving what you want out of it who cares what anyone else thinks about your choice of how you get there.

Spin
 
#36
Screw what anti-pickers say.

Playing with a pick with your bass slouched somewhere around your waist knees looks way more badass than some mongrel with a limp wrist slouching over his bass that's up near his chest.

They're just jealous that they will never look as sick as you.

The only people who actually care about the fingerstyle tone versus the pick tone are the individuals who need a new hobby.
 
#37
Sammy_L_D said:
Screw what anti-pickers say.

Playing with a pick with your bass slouched somewhere around your waist knees looks way more badass than some mongrel with a limp wrist slouching over his bass that's up near his chest.

They're just jealous that they will never look as sick as you.

The only people who actually care about the fingerstyle tone versus the pick tone are the individuals who need a new hobby.
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Hey! I represent that!! I am that limp wristed mongrel you speak of!
 
#38
jgroh said:
I agree that we should all have several methods of attack which is why I am working on finger style. Question for you finger style guys....how can you get an even attack and tone? I guess for me, when I play only with my fingers, the tone gets buried more than when I am playing with the pick. I like a good midrange growl but am having a hard time getting that with my fingers. :help:
Click to expand...

I hear ya. Nice attack is one reason I'm again practicing with a pick after being fingerstyle-only for decades. I've always said it's a good idea to use both techniques, and now I'm finally practicing what I've been preaching.

I have fleshy fingertips and have a tough time getting a strong attack. That's also in part because I use P-style basses without a bridge pickup.

To get a stronger attack when playing fingerstyle, I hit the strings fairly hard. If the bass is set up well enough, I can get the string to bottom out briefly: not so that it buzzes or flops, but so that it slaps the fingerboard lightly on the initial pluck. The end result is a nice chimey tone with well-defined attack. Right-hand placement is also a big factor: pluck too close to the bridge and you can't get the string to slap at all, too close to the neck and it bottoms out too much.
 
#39
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.
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The electric bass IS a bass guitar!

Paul McCartney played a short scale bass with a pick... He's a real bass player.

Carol Kaye and Joe Osborn played with picks too... well they started out as guitarists. Actually so did Paul. Lots of forward thinking bass players were guitar players first... but that doesn't matter, because they are both instruments in the guitar family.

How about Steve Swallow? He's surly a real JAZZ bass player. he uses a copper pick! How about Anthony Jackson? Try telling him he's not a real bass player.. and then run away! lol

I played with a pick for the first 25 years, and then I switched to finger style and a 5 string at the same time! Talk about feeling like you just started playing. I played fretless with a pick for about 5 years too. At that time, the old timers used flats and fingers, and played in the background. The progressive players used a bright tone, and played more up front... i.e., Entwistle, Squire, Ray Shulman, etc.

The Fender bass was designed to be played with a pick.. that's why it had the covers over the pickups, so you could rest your hand there, and why it had the finger rest UNDER the strings. For pick playing. When I started the teachers had you use felt picks.

It's all about the music you make, not how you make it. People get hung up about being different and not fitting in.. they buy the same bass or guitar as everyone else, and use the same tone, play the same songs, etc. Just listen to half of the singers today... they all sound the same.

Just say what Zappa said... "shut up and play your guitar!" ;)
 

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