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What is the best bass for using a pick?

#102
E.J. T.N.T. said:
+1 on the pick choice.
When I started playing with a pick, I went with the biggest, thickest and hardest one I could find. Hell, I was a step away from using a Bachi. Over the years I have concluded that the best material for me is the dunlop tortex. Gauges have been constantly dropping and I am seriously close to going to .50mm ,their lightest gauge, from the one I am currently using, the .60mm. By the way all this pick thing started when I picked the guitar.(Incoming flaming in 3,2,1...)
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I've gone the other direction. I played guitar before bass, so at first I just used regular guitar picks for my occasional pick playing on bass, and favored the yellow and green Dunlop Tortex.

After I switched to pickstyle most of the time, I gravitated toward the large rounded triangular picks, which provide better control IMO. I started with the .83mm I liked on guitar, but found I could more closely approximate my fingerstyle tone with thicker picks, so now I use 1.26mm Claytons almost exclusively. I use 1.00mm Claytons and Dunlops too. The Dunlops seem stiffer, so their 1.00mm is similar to the Clayton 1.26.
 
#104
Nedmundo said:
I've gone the other direction. I played guitar before bass, so at first I just used regular guitar picks for my occasional pick playing on bass, and favored the yellow and green Dunlop Tortex.

After I switched to pickstyle most of the time, I gravitated toward the large rounded triangular picks, which provide better control IMO. I started with the .83mm I liked on guitar, but found I could more closely approximate my fingerstyle tone with thicker picks, so now I use 1.26mm Claytons almost exclusively. I use 1.00mm Claytons and Dunlops too. The Dunlops seem stiffer, so their 1.00mm is similar to the Clayton 1.26.
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I use the Dunlop Tortex 1.5mm and 2.0mm picks (the light purple and dark purple ones). I really don't like anything lighter, as they just feel too floppy.
 
#107
jeff arddun said:
So, what exactly is the Shadow Hills mod? Some of the guts out of a Gama preamp or something?
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thoe arent the normal knobs. THat looks a lot like a Shadow Hills esthetic as far as knobs goes, or, maybe its a Death By Audio pedal?

As far as the pick thing goes, I settled on the yellow tortex about 20 years ago and bought a gross of those picks. Just thick enough to push the string hard, just soft enough to play fast. I am only just now running out of them! Using the same exact thickness of pick really helped improve my technique. I have even gotten it down to where I can switch off between pick and fingerstyle mid song. Whichever tone suits the part!
 
#109
madmatt said:
Seriously, I have decided I want two basses, one for fingerstyle, and one for using a pick.
I already have my fingerstyle bass, now I need the "pick bass".
Obviously it will be for playing Rock n Roll, it will wear rounds, it should probably have a fast neck, and it will NOT be a P-bass (that is my fingerstyle bass).
I like to play the pick closer to the bridge, or right around the 19th fret.
I am pretty aggressive on the attack too.

Should it be a Jazz?
A P/J?
A Ric (God forbid, I do not have that kind of cash:()?
A (insert bass here)?
?
Please chime in.
I do have to admit I like the look of those G&L SB-2's, but obviously I can't buy one of everything.
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I'm sorry, but questions like this are such a waste of time. Only YOU can decide what instrument sounds best with a pick. Go and try as many instruments as you can and then make a decision based on what your ears like.
 
#113
jeff arddun said:
All basses are pick basses or finger basses or thumb basses. You're waaaaay over-thinking this.
What I'm talkin' 'bout...
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Amen to that - find a bass you like and play it however you want , with fingers or a pick, for metal or funk - stop over thinking everything and just play bass.

Do you think Jaco was asking what would be the best bass to use? Not likely - he found the bass he liked, ripped the frets out and now there is the Jaco sound that everyone is trying to duplicate.

People need to do what feels and sounds right to them and stop worrying about following the herd...

my two cents
 
#119
This one:hyper:
 

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