Using a pick

[Ric5]

 

[direwolf333]

.6 is a Cobain pick and they last about 1 show.
Dunlop 41R1.5 Delrin, Lavender, 1.5mm last for years and are quiet, not clanky.

 

[foothilla]

John Entwistle … Live at Leeds

Entwistle always ditched the pick in this tune during the solo.

 

[wideload]

A 3mm is mighty thick. I w
I recently got into this Japanese hard rock band called Band Maid. They have a weird gimmick with the costumes, but they are Japanese, so whatever. Their bass player has incredible picking technique. She was probably trained as a guitar player, but it pretty rare for a guitar player to transition to bass and get the fundamental understanding of bass right like she does.

Check out the Japanese group Girlfriend. They have a great bassist- no pick that I’ve seen, but very nice bass lines!

 

[dr doofie]

You need to listen to Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes eg. “Prove My Love”, “Rejoice and Be Happy”... I picked up bass because of him. He played primarily acoustic bass unamplified in the early days and his attack makes this guy look like he’s petting the strings. And it’s right and it’s legal and it sounds awesome

I use fingers almost exclusively now, but I always keep one of these tucked under my pick guard partially...

 

[Ric5]

here's me using a pick on bass at a summer party about

 

[newtonbassist]

I like the Dava Control picks. They don't slide out of my fingers when I am playing fast and I've never broken one.

 

[newtonbassist]

Pick, fingers/plucking, slapping/popping. That's your right hand palette.
Someone saying a bass player shouldn't use a pick is like someone saying a painter shouldn't use the color red.
Use the whole palette.

 

[lespaulbass]

I know using a pick for bass is illegal but for some songs I find it just works better for me than using fingers.
Anyway, to the point. I've been experimenting with different thickness picks and had settled on a 3mm Dunlop pick but recently watched this video

Is this a normal pick technique for bass? It sounds amazing but I'm finding it really tricky to be accurate with this aggression.

I use a pick for many songs. OFTEN for recording. I also play with my fingers. All 10. Try to get the best sound possible for every song. Be a musician.

 

[lespaulbass]

I use a pick for many songs. OFTEN for recording. I also play with my fingers. All 10. Try to get the best sound possible for every song. Be a musician. Play the song, not the instrument.

 

[XL12]

Look at Paul McCartney, Chris Squire, Steve Swallow, and many others. Innovative pick players who have added so much to music. Don't listen to the critics. Different picks give different sounds and feels, just like finger style techniques, and what about Tony Levin and his "Funk Fingers". Experiment and play with your sound that's how new things are created.

 

[Giffro]

My Preferred Pick.
It is thick enough to attack, but also flexible.
The heat from my fingers causes it to mold slightly to my grip. (not actual size)
View attachment 3639154

Ive always used a pick in over 50 years of playing bass. I usually choose a pick with some raised lettering or such to give the finger and thumb a grip. One tip I will impart if you find the pick slippery or too smooth is to drill a small hole in the top half of the pick so that thumb-skin on finger-skin contact through the hole prevents slipping from your grip. Hope it helps some players who struggle to keep hold of the pick especially when playing in hot sweaty environments.

 

[retslock]

I certainly wouldn't call that normal picking technique for bass but I also wouldn't take bass advice from a guitarist.

I wouldn’t reject advice from anyone if I thought it would be useful. I’m not likely to reject advice out-of-hand simply because it came from a guitar player. I’d make my judgement on a musical basis rather than idealogical or political. If a guitar player has a good suggestion I’ll listen.

 

[flyeguy]

McCartney uses a pick.
The Gold Standard.
Nuff said,

 

[notJaco]

McCartney uses a pick.
The Gold Standard.
Nuff said,

And plays wicked guitar, too. (solo on 'Taxman' and 'Good Morning' to name a couple)

 

[Flemming]

I use a .5mm pick which is unheard of for bass but it works for my technique.
Develop your own techniques for this relatively new instrument.

Have tried a lot, and 0.50 feels right for me too:

 

[ElectricBass72]

My Preferred Pick.
It is thick enough to attack, but also flexible.
The heat from my fingers causes it to mold slightly to my grip. (not actual size)
View attachment 3639154

Orange Tortex. This is the perfect pick, IMO... great for bass, electric guitar and acoustic guitar. I have about a hundred of these.

 

[Captain Comet]

Chris Squire of Yes and Roger Glover of Deep Purple are favorite bass players of mine and both used picks a great deal of the time.

I was already a guitar player when I first picked up bass, so it was natural for me to start off with a pick. The band I was in played a lot of early metal and the pick usage also made sense.

Later, I started playing without using a pick, and found that is a lot easier on you physically. Pick usage involves a lot more of your entire arm, and playing using fingers moves almost everything into your hand.I almost never use a pick now. When I was using a pick, the tendon that runs across the back of my right elbow got absurdly large compared to the left one.

 

[SteveXFR]

I got some 0.6mm Tortex picks this morning. Definitely an improvement over the 3mm picks I had been using. Im able to pick through the strings using the flexibility and get a more consistent sound than with an absolutely rigid pick.
Lemmy and Justin Chancellor are my two favourite bassists and both used a pick.
I use one when it works best for me.

 

[fretter]

Don't know whether they still make these. I have a bunch.

This is not the best D Ellefson video, but it's short & to the point.