Why do you pick? (aka, pick thread)

[nonsqtr]

Pick attack! And pick noise too. And sometimes string scraping.

Dunlop 1mm.

 

[kanti]

Why do I use a pick?

Because Roger Waters uses one.

And for size, I like the 1mm picks.

 

[helgasmoustache]

I am trying to improve my picking and i was wondering if anyone can tell me how to improve my accuracy. Is it better to do most of the moving around with the forearm up and down or focus more on moving the wrist for up and down picking?

 

[crazybassplyr]

i play almost exclusively with a pick, for one i am a former guiter player that has evolved into a bass player and using a pick is second nature to me. secondly, my finger picking abilities are just not that great, i broke my hand a number of years back i think that has had something to do with it. third, i like the tone alot better with a pick. i play mostly hard rock/ metal type stuff and i find a pick gives me a ton of attack and also allows much faster playing. what picks do i use ? i use Dunlop 1.14mm “shark-tooth” picks, at least i think thats what they are called. i mostly use the very pointy part of this odd looking pick. although if i want a smoother more mellow tone i might use a felt pick.

 

[Blackbird]

Whenever our songwriter brings in a new song, I try to make the bassline different from the ones on other songs. After doing fingerstyle for a long time, I've decided to play a song with a pick. I like the stronger attack, plus it makes you pay more attention to the Rhyhm.

 

[corinpills]

I'm equally adept at either technique (fingers or pick), but the tone that I just adore is heavy flatwound splayed with a pick near the neck. I'm not so into the mid boost of picking near the bridge (although I'm realizing more and more that I move my right hand to differnet spots for different song sections), but that big boomy spot over the neck pickup (and you know I'm talking a big humbucker- like a Gibson EB pickup or the ones on my Guild Starfire), I love that. Different strokes and all that, but while it seems like everyone else is working on some hi fi full-range tone, I'm rolling the high end off and looking for more boom.

 

[LeftyBassPlayer]

Hello Everybody

Now, here is my opinion on using a pick. If you feel like using a pick then go ahead, there is nothing wrong with using a pick.
But, see for me it just feels natural to use my fingers but on certain songs like Metallica's "One" and "Fight Fire With Fire" I use a pick.

My favorite type of pick is a 1.0-gauge blue Tortex Dunlop Triangle pick if I can find any.

My favorite finger playing style:
I just use three fingers but sometimes you just have to slap your bass strings around.

 

[The Golden Boy]

When I first started playing bass, I didn't have an amplifier, so I used a pick so I could hear myself play.

That's why I started using a pick. I feel I have more control with a pick than I do with my fingers. I like the tone more. I can be more dynamic more consistently. I can hold the rhythms I want more consistently-

Basically any excuse you can find to use your fingers, that's why I use a pick.

Besides, if McCartney did it...

Herco 75mm Nylon (dark grey)
or
Jim Dunlop 1mm Nylon (black)

 

[BassGod]

I don't use picks because I can't get used to them.

I used to play Green Day's "When I Come Around" with a pick (to get the same tone as Mike Dirnt), but I kept missing notes with that damn thing, so I started using my fingers but plucking a bit harder, à la Steve Harris.

I like the tone of a pick-played bass (when it is well executed), it's just not my style. But I still love Chris Squire!

'When I Come Around' is the only song I ever play with a pick... that and 'Don't Forget Me' by Red Hot Chili Peppers, because that song is mostly chords, and chords sound better with a pick, IMO.

~Graeme

 

[Agmundr]

I use Jim Dunlop 0.73 picks. They have a little more flex for when I am playing fast. They are made of nylon I think and they last long. They have a rubber feel to them almost. I also like the consistancy and speed I get with a pick.

 

[dirtgroove]

I use picks when I'm playing passages that require lots of double stop, or are almost entirely chords. It helps me retain a nice sharp attack and stops the sound from going all muddy.
I'm still inbetween camps as far as the picks/fingers argument goes. I have noticed that my sound shifts a huge amount depending on how which technique i'm using. Using a technique makes things sound much more bouncy. playing with fingers helps me play things with bit more feeling.

 

[cowsgomoo]

like everyone else, I learned to play by trying to copy what the bass players I admired were doing... one of these was Scott Thunes from Frank Zappa's 1980's bands - his 'P-Bass with a pick' tone was just my idea of a great bass sound.. I also like the idea of looking like a moronic punk rock root note plodder sans pick and then whipping out a bunch of 32's

I use Jim Dunlop Jazz III's (the red ones, which are a bit more flexible than the black)

as for 'which is faster, fingers or pick?'... i think if you practice properly, you can get sufficient technical facility to play whatever you need with either.. anecdotal evidence of the 'I switched to [insert technique here] and was faster' variety only means that you hadn't practiced enough with the other

it brings up a few questions about how important it is to have a wide range of techniques available to you as opposed to just being able to do one or two things really well - do you think it would have been appropriate to tell Jaco he should really get his picking chops up to speed in order to be considered a good all-rounder... or to tell Jamerson he's pretty good but should probably learn to play with more than 1 finger?

 

[Garrett Mireles]

I like picks because they are more practical when it comes to playing heavy/fast music. I recently gave up trying to play fast with my fingers. I always wind up with ******* blisters or some sort of set back, even AFTER the callouse forms.

 

[bogart]

on many of my bands songs, I'll play certain parts with a pick (dunlop .88mm tortex) and go to my fingers, or even thumb for other parts. Sometimes, you'll need to slap, or play it with your thumb and fingers. Other times, you'll want a pick or traditional fingerstyle. My best advise is to learn as many different techniques as you can. Expeiriment with where on the string you attack. ie; next to the bridge, in front of the neck pickup, or in between pickups. There is a whole world of change depending on where you attack. When practicing try to experiment with all of this. Let your ears be the judge of what works. Hit band members up for input. Something as simple as slapping octaves over your standard chord progression can lead the band in exciting new directions.

 

[Squidfinger]

I'm a finger player 90% of the time. I just feel like I have more control with my fingers. I'm also alot more partial to the finger sound. Sometimes picking just sounds too harsh to my ears. Picking definitely has it's advantages though. Evenness of tone being the main one. My lines have a totally different feel when I'm picking. More pulsating. With fingers I just groove better. I guess that's all that matters .

 

[Squidfinger]

Why do I use a pick?

Because Roger Waters uses one.

And for size, I like the 1mm picks.

Good answer

Roger Waters is a big hero of mine too.

 

[Mudfuzz]

I use a pick for about 68% of the time. Why, feel, that's what it's all about for me. If I use a pick or my fingers it comes down to how a song or part of a song [I can palm my pick to play with my fingers and visa versa mid song] is suppose to feel and grove. For me there isn't that much of a difference in my sound between pick or fingers that can't be adjusted by hand position and most listeners can’t tell the difference.

 

[SuperSluggard]

I am trying to improve my picking and i was wondering if anyone can tell me how to improve my accuracy. Is it better to do most of the moving around with the forearm up and down or focus more on moving the wrist for up and down picking?

Focus on moving your wrist, but you'll notice your forearm will move a little too. Make sure you have good transition between upstroke and downstroke.

I use Heavy Fender Picks cause I like to. And finger picking hurts my fingers bad.

 

[denjerre]

I started out with the thumb, because that's what bass was to me.. you slapped and popped.. then added two alternating fingers.. Then there was this friend/bass player playing these superfast 16ths with a pick, so I though I'd learn that later on as well... until I saw Billy Sheehan. He can do the pick sound with his fingers and his bass, and at an incredible speed... so I just practise more, and since I love playing, that worked out just fine.. Now I'm focussing on Wooten's thumb style. I'm trying em all.

for what it's worth, the most important lesson I ever got was from this guy at our local music store, trying out a Ken Smith 5 stringer and he did it all... amazing... But it was more what he said that really stuck in my head: "It's your bass, it's your playing, you paid good money for it and you want to enjoy yourself so do whatever you want. If you wanna play using a coathanger, fine, have fun. There are no rules!"

He also added: You'll end up finding easier ways to play and you'll probably end up using the 'standards'. But you also may add another different technique of your own, which everybody else may start copying... Experiment! Bust most importantly: Have Fun!

I will learn to play with a pick someday.

 

[Mudfuzz]

Oh ya, I use Triangles:*fender heavy for recording [smoother sound] and Dunlop 1.14mm for live [they don't break and they don't slip as easy].