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Sansamp instead of pick?

#61
try using heavier pick gauge first that is how i improve my picking technique, i used to play finger exclusively until i tried a very heavy gauge pick to learn picking.

I used a really really heavy 3mm wooden pick when i start learning bass...i am not sure why its just easier learning it that way.

Right now i exclusively use a 0.88mm Dunlop Tortex and never once break a pick

i am a heavy user of effect myself, but getting a box does to solve technique question should be avoided as much as possible.

I rather change your learning technique instead of getting a box trust me on this.
 
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#63
I use a sansamp to get a pickish tone sometimes. It's close enough for me. I do understand why people say it's not good enough. The attack is what makes it sound so good. A sansamp isn't going to give you more attack. A really nice compressor might help but picks are way cheaper.
 
#64
Maybe its the actual bass and not an effect that's the answer to your dilemma.

Try looking up Wal basses, the volume knobs on the preamp has a push/pull, when it is pulled out you are activating the "pick attack".
 
#65
In trying to think of someone who does this really effectively on a consistent basis, the only one I can come up with is Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, dude gets some pretty hardcore attack when he gets that gallop going, and he's using a pbass and telephone cables for strings, his case it's all in his fingers. Has he ever made in instructional DVD?

Of course there was the OX, so what I'm saying is you need an Alembic, 30 grand in amplification, and slightly supernatural powers. :)

 
#66
you can get close enough that you wont be able to tell on a recording by adjusting to a lot of brightness on your amp and bass, but it will feel different to you. Thats probably the biggest component. I was a gig below, and I play this song with a pick, I busted the pick about halfway through. It just dipped the volume a tiny bit, I dont even know if its that noticeable. If you can though, as has been said, learn to incorporate all kinds of picking, plucking and slapping styles into your playing.

that being said, I have very calloused fingertips, but Idk, see if you can tell a difference. I break the pick at about 2:01 and switch to fingers there.


 
#68
A Sansamp will definitely get you there, if you turn up the Presence control (which accentuates the part of the upper mid range where all the string click/attack is). If you boost the treble a bit, and use high gain, you can get a SERIOUSLY snarling sound with your fingers (which I do, albeit with a digital model in my Zoom B3).

That said, being able to play with a pick is a very useful skill, so I highly recommend you practice with one until you're comfortable using it in a band. You'll find the skill useful later on for sure. But a Sansamp is worth buying anyway because they're great for recording bass DI'd.
 
#69
michaelwayneharwood said:
I can fully empathize with your plight as I never play with a pick, but sometimes crave the ability to emulate the sound on songs like Yes' "Roundabout". I have found that I can approximate the "pick sound" by using a thumb technique with alternating up and down strokes and employing the thumb nail to accentuate the transient.
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I don't use a pick. My approach to getting this sound is to 'hit' rather than pluck the strings really sharply (but not necessarily hard), a bit like a piano hammer, somewhere between the neck P/U and last few fret positions at end of the fingerboard where one might traditionally slap. Even with a fretless I can get a real picky attack with plenty of growl. John Entwistle was the master, if not creator, of this technique.
 
#70
ole Jason said:
Practice is the answer here. No shortcuts :)
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This is the correct answer.
SunnBass said:
I feel that the easy answer here is to try banjo style finger picks.
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This is not the correct answer. I use these sometimes on guitar and banjo, and it has been MUCH more difficult to get the hang of than a flat pick, though the tone is fairly similar if you use the polycarbonate ones. Just be sure you put them one facing the right direction! (hook pointed away from the strings so the pad of your finger is covered, not the nail! You're trying to *strike* the strings with a solid object, not hook them).

Fingernails are also not a bad idea. They will get you closer than anything else that is not a pick -- but they still are not a pick. (finger picks do sound more like a flat pick than fingernails, but they are technically a type of pick).

Playing with a flat pick has a learning curve, but it is not bad. Almost everyone who picks up a guitar learns to become more proficient with a flatpick than any other plucking method. It is not difficult. It just takes a little practice. Run scales and exercises with a pick instead of jumping strait to songs. You will master it quickly.
 
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#71
SteveCS said:
I don't use a pick. My approach to getting this sound is to 'hit' rather than pluck the strings really sharply (but not necessarily hard), a bit like a piano hammer, somewhere between the neck P/U and last few fret positions at end of the fingerboard where one might traditionally slap. Even with a fretless I can get a real picky attack with plenty of growl. John Entwistle was the master, if not creator, of this technique.
Click to expand...

This is a great technique, but it does not sound like a pick. To my ear, it sounds a lot more like slap than it sounds like a pick. They both have a much sharper attack with more overtones than finger tips, but they sound quite different. The "finger strike" technique (to coin a phrase) is a very aggressive sound with a lot of overtones. A pick can be much smoother, though still with a very defined attack.
 
#72
I've used the ehx steel leather mentioned earlier for pickish attack to good effect.
I found it was a really easy way to get a Steve Harris esque tone really quickly while not changing everything.
I also use a pick from time to time. I use a 1.14 tortex with my swing bass 50-110, and I can get a really biting sound that way too
 
#73
ninjaaron said:
This is a great technique, but it does not sound like a pick. To my ear, it sounds a lot more like slap than it sounds like a pick. They both have a much sharper attack with more overtones than finger tips, but they sound quite different. The "finger strike" technique (to coin a phrase) is a very aggressive sound with a lot of overtones. A pick can be much smoother, though still with a very defined attack.
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Yes, you are probably right - I was just 'struck' by the Roundabout reference and how I approach achieving a percussive grunt/growl tone without using a pick.
 
#75
ninjaaron said:
This is the correct answer.

This is not the correct answer. I use these sometimes on guitar and banjo, and it has been MUCH more difficult to get the hang of than a flat pick, though the tone is fairly similar if you use the polycarbonate ones. Just be sure you put them one facing the right direction! (hook pointed away from the strings so the pad of your finger is covered, not the nail! You're trying to *strike* the strings with a solid object, not hook them).
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So, it didn't work for you...that doesn't mean it's "not the correct answer".
It may work for someone, it may not.
Notice in my original post I stated: "I feel the easy answer..."
Semantics are everything.
Ease up brother.
We're all here to learn and share.
Guaranteed, no one has all the answers.
But collectively we may find one.
 
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#76
Thank you guys for the replies, learned a lot!

FYI:
Eventually I bought a sansamp bass driver DI. It is unbeliavably (misspelled maybe) AWESOME! But I cannot replace pick as all of you foretold. But with a pick AND a sansamp my bass souns just..... incredible... words cannot describe the perfection :D So yea, there is no easier way than picking up the pick!

Peace!
 
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