Struggling with considering moving back to a pick

[Ryno1330]

Sorry - a little long background first.

I learned bass as a high schooler (25 years ago) and played for 4-6 years all with a pick and gave it up due to life/no band. I picked up acoustic and electric guitar in the years since because they were more enjoyable playing alone. But in the past 3-4 years my love for bass has come back full force and I've been full out playing and practicing a bunch (live also). All with fingers this time.

But for as many thousands of hours I've spent practicing with fingers and work on my tone I can't seem to overcome
1) the inherent dark and round tone of my very short, thick fingers and 2) to get the tone I want I need to really play with my fingertips and make my attack a lot harder and it kills my speed and I can't play stuff I should be able to play.

This is a long way of saying I know I can get great tone and be proficient with a pick but it just feels wrong for some reason. Has anyone transitioned to a pick and been glad they did? Should I just say screw it and play more proficiently with a pick?

 

[jallenbass]

Sorry - a little long background first.

I learned bass as a high schooler (25 years ago) and played for 4-6 years all with a pick and gave it up due to life/no band. I picked up acoustic and electric guitar in the years since because they were more enjoyable playing alone. But in the past 3-4 years my love for bass has come back full force and I've been full out playing and practicing a bunch (live also). All with fingers this time.

But for as many thousands of hours I've spent practicing with fingers and work on my tone I can't seem to overcome
1) the inherent dark and round tone of my very short, thick fingers and 2) to get the tone I want I need to really play with my fingertips and make my attack a lot harder and it kills my speed and I can't play stuff I should be able to play.

This is a long way of saying I know I can get great tone and be proficient with a pick but it just feels wrong for some reason. Has anyone transitioned to a pick and been glad they did? Should I just say screw it and play more proficiently with a pick?

It's not wrong to play with a pick (or fingers for that matter). Do what gives you the sound you want. Use your fingers when you want a real dark and round sound. Play with a pick the rest of the time. Remember that you need to be happy with your sound otherwise it won't be fulfilling.

 

[Lobster11]

If playing with a pick gives you the sound you want, do it. No shame in that at all.

I played about 15 years exclusively fingerstyle, then decided to work on learning to use a pick. These days I play about half and half, depending on the song or (more often) what happens to feel right at a given moment.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Play both.
More tools in the toolbox.

/

 

[Peteyboy]

I play fingerstyle while palming a pick so I can produce it when i need that aggressive attack.

 

[DirtDog]

Some tunes need a pick, some don't.

To add another layer of complexity, I also play guitar. When I sing lead and play bass, I always use a pick - way more comfortable and more control in a situation where i've got to concentrate on more than playing bass.

But some tunes just need fingerstyle!

 

[Stumbo]

I gigged a ton using a pick exclusively for decades. Never a problem. Nice clean tone, especially for all the echo chambers we played in.

I only took time to master finger style after joining TB and finding out that I was a two-bit, flea bitten, rat-bastard douche bag for only using a pick.

 

[G On Bass]

I use a thumbpick, allowing me to switch between fingers and pick when I want, sometimes mid-song. As sacrilegious as it may be - and I care zero about what other people may think - I also have fingernails on my index and middle finger just are just barely long than the pad of my finger and that helps.

Sometimes a pick is best, sometimes fingers. There are no absolutes.

 

[luciens]

I'd love to learn to play with a pick - if I could I wouldn't need a fretless bass and I could play only a rickenbacker 4003 for everything until the day I died.

I've tried off and on for many years, but I can't get string crossing down. I've seen some different techniques for guitar that are intriguing for making that easier, but I don't have a pick in the house right now to have a go.

But I love the sound of a pick and that's all I'd play if I could, to be honest.

L

 

[Ryno1330]

If playing with a pick gives you the sound you want, do it. No shame in that at all.

I played about 15 years exclusively fingerstyle, then decided to work on learning to use a pick. These days I play about half and half, depending on the song or (more often) what happens to feel right at a given moment.

Thanks. Do you feel like you gave to re-EQ or not when going to a pick? That's my issue - with short fingers and a dark sound they're so different I have to change the eq. Maybe I can just boost the bass and cut the volume though with a pick...thats simple and I'll have to try that later.

 

[Ryno1330]

I play fingerstyle while palming a pick so I can produce it when i need that aggressive attack.

Thats a cool idea but my tiny hands are stretched to their limits and there's no way I'm palming a pick while playing fingerstyle. That would be nice though!

 

[Ryno1330]

I use a thumbpick, allowing me to switch between fingers and pick when I want, sometimes mid-song. As sacrilegious as it may be - and I care zero about what other people may think - I also have fingernails on my index and middle finger just are just barely long than the pad of my finger and that helps.

Sometimes a pick is best, sometimes fingers. There are no absolutes.

I've actually though about a thumbpick for exactly this reason and have tried them on guitar but haven't found a comfy one. Which do you use?

 

[Lobster11]

Thanks. Do you feel like you gave to re-EQ or not when going to a pick? That's my issue - with short fingers and a dark sound they're so different I have to change the eq. Maybe I can just boost the bass and cut the volume though with a pick...thats simple and I'll have to try that later.

Yeah, I sometimes adjust the EQ when switching between pick and fingers -- usually just a minor tweak of the tone control on the bass.

 

[G On Bass]

I've actually though about a thumbpick for exactly this reason and have tried them on guitar but haven't found a comfy one. Which do you use?

Either these Golden Gate ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gate-...=golden+gate+thumbpicks&qid=1591717074&sr=8-6

Or these Dunlops:
https://www.amazon.com/Dunlop-9072P...rds=delrin+thumb+picks&qid=1591717191&sr=8-15

At first, I used a nail file to make the tips shorter, but now I'm used to them unaltered.

 

[Lobster11]

I'd love to learn to play with a pick - if I could I wouldn't need a fretless bass and I could play only a rickenbacker 4003 for everything until the day I died.

I've tried off and on for many years, but I can't get string crossing down. I've seen some different techniques for guitar that are intriguing for making that easier, but I don't have a pick in the house right now to have a go.

But I love the sound of a pick and that's all I'd play if I could, to be honest.

L

I "tried off and on for many years" too, to no avail. I didn't make any progress until I made a serious commitment to it rather than giving up whenever I started to get frustrated. It just takes patience and perseverance!

 

[SunByrne]

Nothing wrong with using a pick. There are some weirdo purists who get down on this, and I still don't understand why.

Noting wrong with not using a pick, too.

I started entirely fingerstyle and have since learned to use a pick. Good to be able to do both. I'm working a little on slap-pop as well, and eventually I'm going to want to learn to tap. I like having options.

I find that for me, some songs really feel like they need to be played with a pick, and some songs feel like they shouldn't be played with a pick, and for some songs it just doesn't matter either way. But that's just me—there are people who seem to be able to get that wicked attack and clicky ghost notes without a pick, and people who can get that rounder tone with one. I'm not that good so I need a wider toolbox.

 

[cnltb]

Struggling with considering moving back to a pick
I wouldn't overthink this!

 

[Killing Floor]

You simply get different tones. Play any/all ways you wish.
Picks can be a great tool. Or you can grow your fingernails. But eww.
It's not a right or wrong issue. The only hard rule in music is never let the drummer drive.

 

[MrLenny1]

A pick is just a tool like your fingers.
Try working with Eq and fingers to get the tone
your looking for.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Wow.... Fingers work for me. Just takes some diligence and imagination. But that's just me.