Short Scale Playing - Pick? Fingers?

[jazzyvee]

I've been a short scale bass player for a number of years and never used a pick. As for the rattle, like has been said, that sounds to me like a setup issue which should be easy to rectify. I use Alembic or D'addario 45 - 105 strings which feel great, not loose at all. My scale length is slightly longer than yours at 30.75"

 

[zubrycky]

I have a few short scales and, depending of the song, I play them with fingers or pick.

 

[zubrycky]

Jack Bruce played his short scale EB-3 without a pick.

 

[Iristone]

Could be the 'failed guitarist' thing - guitarists accustomed to picks might find short scale basses easier to play when they transition.
Personally I play with a pick more often on my long scales (strung with stainless rounds) than I do my short scale (strung with flats). In the end it's to get a good sound for the song, and a good playing feel.

 

[Groove Doctor]

I play finger/pick/slap, long/short-scale, flats/rounds/Tapewounds, fretted/Fretless. Its about tonal variety & whatever sounds best for the song.

A pick gives more treble which really helps with single pickup basses. No need for EQ tweaking & adjusting the bass’ knobs between songs.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

While doing some investigating of players on short scale basses I see more and more playing with a pick. It may be the style of music but I am wondering is it also due to less string tension also? I like the basic blues motown style of playing and play basically play or attempt to play with fingers. Should I be looking into a longer than 30" scale bass to get good sound without a lot of rattle? Trying to get back into bass again after selling all of mine.

I play with fingers on my short scales, but have to pay more attention to playing clean and not digging too deep, compared to a higher tension bass. I can see why a pick would be a good option on a bass with looser tension.

 

[msb]

I have around ten short scales . I’ve been known to use a pick , but infrequently , I mostly bounce between using my thumb to pluck with palm muting for a soft uprighty sound , or traditional fingerstyle . Floating thumb , three fingers . But sometimes now I’m using thumb and fingers , guitar style . I started doing that after getting a Bass VI as the string spacing is tight , and I get a little more nail happening so it almost sounds like a pick !
So three very different finger techniques .

 

[ejaggers]

Playing with a pick has always been exhausting to me,
maybe because the songs where I used them were always fast.
The same song would be more comfortable finger-style,
So I hardly ever use one.
Plus, I can't think of one Motown song that calls for one.

I have five shorties and none of them rattle,
so I agree that "Bad Setup" is probably the culprit.

I don't care for low-tension strings, especially on SS.
I tried a set of TI's and couldn't wait to get them off.
Maybe I will have better luck with them on one of my LS
but right now they're just gathering dust.
My point is, that certain strings may also cause the rattle....057912

 

[One_Dude]

I came to bass from the guitar world and always used a Fender Jazz Heavy pick for both. I switched over to fingers a few years back and that is now my preferred style. The only time I use a pick for bass now is when I don't have control over the mix, and I feel like I'm not cutting through effectively. The band I play in runs everything through the PA, and there are times when my volume pot is on full and I still can't be heard well in the mix. Thats when my pick comes out, it adds a sharper attack and a bit more volume.

I feel that playing with my fingers gives me the ability to vary my sound much more than playing with a pick. With a pick I pretty much get one kind of sound; with my fingers I can change the sound by using a different part of my finger to pluck the string. I play both short scale and long scale and find the only real difference to be that shorties are easier to reach, and tend to provide a deeper sound.

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[Rib 13]

If this thread is a guessing game, I'd surmise that a short-scale is a more comfortable fit to guitar players and a lot of those pics you are seeing are of bass players with extensive guitar history in their backgrounds....but I'm just guessing

Could be the 'failed guitarist' thing - guitarists accustomed to picks might find short scale basses easier to play when they transition.

EDIT: beat me to it lol

 

[west al]

Aways fingers for me. Picks, and I don't get along well, at all. My Epi EB-0, strung with D'Addario ETB92S Nylons.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I think a reason we see a lot of short scale players using picks is because they’re converted guitarists. If you look on nearly any gear forum, and find a thread from a guitarist contemplating the switch to bass, you will undoubtedly see several responses advising that person to try a short scale because it will feel more familiar.

That’s my theory on the prevalence of the shorty w/ a pick phenomenon.

That said, I switch between both depending on the sound I want. The thing about picks is that they’re like strings, you gotta find the right gauge that gets you the sound and feel you want. I don’t like anything thinner than .73mm, though I prefer a good 1mm. Others I know only like thin flexible picks. It’s a personal preference.

 

[etoncrow]

My three Birdsongs (two 4's & a 5) are my primary players and I never use a pick. I don't notice any difference in string tension between them and my Warwick (5), Roscoe (5) or Precisions (4). All are fretless with flats if that is a factor.

 

[micguy]

Ultimately, do what you want, but if there was a real need to change technique with a scale length change, you'd think you'd need to change whenever you went past the 1st fret on a long scale.

 

[bmusic]

No rattle for me. Mostly a finger player, but I love a shorty with La Bellas, played with a pick (not too close to the bridge). That big, round, woody tone, with a nice strong transient from the pick—that’s the sound, man.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

While doing some investigating of players on short scale basses I see more and more playing with a pick. It may be the style of music but I am wondering is it also due to less string tension also? I like the basic blues motown style of playing and play basically play or attempt to play with fingers. Should I be looking into a longer than 30" scale bass to get good sound without a lot of rattle? Trying to get back into bass again after selling all of mine.

Go back to the 34" scale. I have short fat fingers that should disqualify me from being a bass player, so the short scales basses fit my hands better, but I have the same reaction to the sound you do. It is extra effort for me to play a 34" scale. I can't to the "one finger per fret" technique because I can't stretch that far in the lower frets, but I have, over the years, developed my own fingering technique, that works for me.

 

[mellowgerman]

Yeah, if a short scale is getting excessive fret buzz, it's either an issue of non-level frets, twisted neck, bad setup, and/or bad technique (which are the same reasons you might get fret buzz on a long scale).

Pick or fingerstyle will not make a difference if the above 4 issues are not present.

I only play short scales (just out of preference) and switch off between fingerstyle and pick, depending on what serves the song.

 

[2cooltoolz]

The only time I use a pick for bass now is when I don't have control over the mix, and I feel like I'm not cutting through effectively. The band I play in runs everything through the PA, and there are times when my volume pot is on full and I still can't be heard well in the mix. Thats when my pick comes out, it adds a sharper attack and a bit more volume.

Thump on,

One_Dude

Dunlop mini volume pedal, last before DI, as a master. Looks about like any other pedal and no one checks the bassist's gear anyway. Set it just a little past half at soundcheck, then use it judiciously. I've never been called on it.

 

[Aussie Player]

I came to bass from the guitar world and always used a Fender Jazz Heavy pick for both. I switched over to fingers a few years back and that is now my preferred style. The only time I use a pick for bass now is when I don't have control over the mix, and I feel like I'm not cutting through effectively. The band I play in runs everything through the PA, and there are times when my volume pot is on full and I still can't be heard well in the mix. Thats when my pick comes out, it adds a sharper attack and a bit more volume.

I feel that playing with my fingers gives me the ability to vary my sound much more than playing with a pick. With a pick I pretty much get one kind of sound; with my fingers I can change the sound by using a different part of my finger to pluck the string. I play both short scale and long scale and find the only real difference to be that shorties are easier to reach, and tend to provide a deeper sound.

Thump on,

One_Dude

Interesting, because I always cut through the mix and I dislike immensely the whole bass worlds' addiction to obtaining treble from a bass guitar. If you listen to Andy Fraser's tone on Free Live, that is my preferred tone and Gibson's, Alembic or Warwick through Marshall's will get you there easily. The tone and note definition carries well even in larger sized rooms or open air and the bass players come out of the woodwork at every gig to ask how you got it. Where are the pedals etc.

Seriously, treble bass offends the hell out of my ear which is why I hate slap and most bass reviews. I am not aligned with today's bass players and am very content with that.

As for losing control over the mix, I learned a cure for that. Most of my amps have built in DI which I refuse to use. I got around that by using an old Marshall for those gigs which forces the FH to mike a cabinet which they hate because that is more work for them.

My logic established over decades, is that the speaker contributed to the tone which is why we scrutinize speaker cabinets so heavily, so why let the FH guru (most of which couldn't mix a fruitcake) tamper with the sound you spend perhaps years developing? Makes no sense to hand over your contribution to a mostly stranger. As I have alluded to several times, when the bass players come see you about your sound, you hit a nerve and gave pleasure to your most tuned in critics.

My recommendation to any bass player is like what you like and do as you like, because that is how the pioneer bands stood out in the first instance. Being different is good.

 

[Ric5]

Short Scale Playing - Pick? Fingers?

YES and YES