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Struggling with considering moving back to a pick

#61
Ryno1330 said:
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?
Click to expand...
Compression and EQ might help you out a bit.
 
#63
Use whatever makes you happy.
If you chose to use a pick, be ready to join the "Loser's Club" ;) , which includes the following players:
Chris Squire (Yes)
Noel Redding (Hendrix)
Paul McCartney (Beatles)
Phil Lesh (Dead)
Scott Tunes (Zappa)
Carol Kaye (Studio legend)
John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia)
Roger Glover (Deep Purple)
Graham Maby (Joe Jackson)
Rick Danko (The Band)
Justin Chancellor (Tool)
And many, many more!
 
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#64
(This was referred to me by a staffer at the 'DON'T OVERTHINK THINGS' desk . . . . .)

No struggle to decide. Choose one:

Play with a pick:

Yes_______

No________

Decide. Struggle with deciding BIG things. This ain't one of them. Later you can ask:

Did it work:

Yes_______

No________

Tune in next week to see how our audience voted !
 
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#65
Ryno1330 said:
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?
Click to expand...
Go for it!! I''m just the opposite. I started with a pick in early 70's. Now, I started training with fingers only because my Bro's in the band said I should try it just for an extra option. For me a pick is easy but fingers are more complicated than I thought. But I know it's just PRACTICE that will improve it. So anyway,go back and use pick again and you have both worlds.
 
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#66
JW56789 said:
(This was referred to me by a staffer at the 'DON'T OVERTHINK THINGS' desk . . . . .)

No struggle to decide. Choose one:

Play with a pick:

Yes_______

No________

Decide. Struggle with deciding BIG things. This ain't one of them. Later you can ask:

Did it work:

Yes_______

No________

Tune in next week to see how our audience voted !
Click to expand...
Ha! This thread ended up being a lot bigger than I intended. I explained this earlier but I probably misworded things a bit. I was more frustrated that I maybe spent a few years fighting through something I shouldn't have. A lot of people here have skimmed this and assumed I'm not proficient with a pick - I am as I'm also a guitar player and used to play with one on bass.

Anyway I was just having some thoughts and I ended up getting a Dr. Phil session! Your response was hilarious though.
 
#67
Ryno1330 said:
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?
Click to expand...

Do whatever you want but don't feel bad about playing with a pick. It just depends on what sound you are after.
 
#68
You're welcome, Brother 1330.

I started in the late 70's where you just heard pick bass a lot more than now. As a beginner, my right hand didn't keep up with my fretting hand, but I could with a pick. Over time I graduated to fingers, and kept the pick for certain things. I too have 'flatwound fingers', I just can't get a hard attack with them unless I run a bunch of high-mids and treble, which just isn't me. So, the big triangles are always lurking . . . . . .

355 Fender.jpg


(Actually, 355-style Fender Heavy's have gotten hard to find, so now I get the equivalent from D'Andrea in celluloid and Delrin through Musicians' Friend, they're equivalent, excellent, and a bit cheaper.)
 
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#70
do you, it's your bass, play it how you want. Nobody says that you have to choose between playing exclusively one or the other. The way I'd like you to play your bass the most is the way you'd be most satisfied to do so.
 
#71
Ryno1330 said:
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?
Click to expand...
I played with a pick a lot when I was a kid. Probably 50/50. After a long hiatus, I started back fingers only. I can’t use a pick worth a darn now and working on it is frustrating. I so want to be able to be better at it. I say use what works.
 
#74
All because of your glorious struggle I played with a pick only for over an hour today. Also I had a lot of free time because there is a pandemic and my schedule has opened up as a result. But mostly due to your quest.

Update, I found a couple really cool copper picks in a pocket of a case. I yanked a couple notes and it sounded sort of boingy cool but then I decided not to wreck my bass or strings. So I used some Tortex which is plastic made from melted sea turtles allegedly.
 
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#75
"It seems like you might be a little picky about this...alas, i just can't put my finger on it..."
Seriously, I only play finger style so far...haven't graduated to a pick yet. But then again, the music I play/record doesn't really require the type of sound a pick produces, but that could change down the track.
 
#76
Lobster11 said:
A lot of folks have been focusing on tone differences between fingers and pick, but the main reason I personally like playing with a pick isn't so much about tone as it is about the physical up-and-down motion. I generally try to play downstrokes on downbeats and upstrokes on upbeats, a la Carol Kaye, and sometimes this motion seems to help me feel the groove in a way that I don't get playing with fingers. There are some songs that I (almost) always play with a pick because they (almost) always feel better that way -- e.g., Grateful Dead and Beatles -- but mostly it's a matter of how I'm feeling it at that particular moment, and I choose to play with or without a pick on a whim.
Click to expand...

hmmm...the upbeat/downbeat thing is very interesting. I didn't know that was a thing. I shall ponder this and try it out...
 
#78
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#79
I don't play with a pick but when I need the quick attack that you get with a pick I use the 'invisible pick' method. I hold my thumb and index finger like I have a pick between them and then strike the string with the fingernail. Works good in short spurts.
 

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