Green Day?
The only hate I have regarding pick playing is towards my lack of skills in said style.
The only hate I have regarding pick playing is towards my lack of skills in said style.
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Why is there so much hate against using picks?
- Thread starter thathatman
- Start date
I simply use a pick because I played guitar for 8 years before I started bass as well.
I'm starting to use fingers more now though. Play what you want.
I'm starting to use fingers more now though. Play what you want.
Check out some "Kraan" Helmut Hatler is an awesome pick player. P bass with a pick is one of my favorite rock bass tones, Eric Avery of "Janes Addiction" being one of my favorites for that sound. I'm a finger player but I have tried getting more familiar with a pick now & again because alot of great bass recordings have been done with a pick. Other examples are Shellac, Jesus Lizard, Tomahawk,Dead Kennedys, The Who (Live At Leeds), GNR, early Hawkwind, Queens Of The Stone Age, etc.
I use a pick because it sounds cool and is appropriate for much of the music I play. I can also play fingerstyle, and will do so when it sounds good for the music I'm playing. I don't play "slap" style on bass guitar because I dislike the way it sounds in general, and it would sound innapropriate, if not downright wanky, for most of the music I like to play.
+1 to Avery! Avery (and Jane's Addiction in general) is really sweet.
Picks rule. I'd be lost without my fingers... but that's how I learned to play. I can't play with a pick for ****. Props to you!
Picks rule. I'd be lost without my fingers... but that's how I learned to play. I can't play with a pick for ****. Props to you!
There is an entire catalogue of music that can only be properly played with a pick both for tonality and attack reasons. No way I could get through an evenings sets without one as a pick is a must for about six tunes per night. In other words, your buddy is stupid and, as you know, you can't fix stupid.
Anthony Jackson, Joe Osborn...etc etc.
This question is just a laugher when it comes up. "Real bassists don't use a pick," INDEED!
This type of question is either a troll or ignorance, whichever.
Kind of like telling upright players that real bassists don't use a bow.
HAH HAHA HA
People will say almost anything. As a player, you just have to get up night after night and lay it down, whatever the stage.
This question is just a laugher when it comes up. "Real bassists don't use a pick," INDEED!
This type of question is either a troll or ignorance, whichever.
Kind of like telling upright players that real bassists don't use a bow.
HAH HAHA HA
People will say almost anything. As a player, you just have to get up night after night and lay it down, whatever the stage.
phil lesh ... pick user, mike gordon ... pick user. I don't think the dead or phish would hire a "fake" bassist! 
Many other great bassists used picks as noted above. I don't personally use them, but firmly believe in using what works for you... conventional or not.
Many other great bassists used picks as noted above. I don't personally use them, but firmly believe in using what works for you... conventional or not.
I'd bet that if you were to ask your friend to name some of his favorite bands/songs/albums/etc., you'd find there are multiple pick players in there. I'd be curious to hear some of his responses just to see if I'm right.
I used to use a pick regularly back in the 70's, but I'm quite a disorganised sort of person and would lose picks with monotonous regularity. I seemed that even if I bought a dozen on the way to a gig there would be none left by the time I arrived. So I switched to fingers and have played that way for the last 30 years, but I've no gripe with picks.
people who say things like tht are really ignorant. i actually thought tht at the beginning when i started to play bass but i realuzed tht it also depends on the genre of music and the type of sound tht the player is looking for. the pik adds a lot of treble to the sound and also make it punchier in my opinion. picking was actually the last technique i learned and im still trying to play the usual stuff i play with my fingrs and try to play with a pik and its still hard. although for the music i like to play i like the sound tht the pik gives me more than my fingers.
I've played with a pick since I started teaching myself bass 12 years ago.
At the time it was out of necessity because I was just starting, in a ska band and couldn't keep pace with my fingers; and since I had strummed a little guitar before then, I already had the picks and knew how to hold them.
Over the years I've learned how to hold the pick in about 10000000 different ways to get a different tone. Also, playing with a pick forced me to change WHERE I pick to get different sounds. Need that twang? Play near the bridge (Ill even rest my hand on the bridge to get some leverage for one hell of an aggressive attack).
If I wanted something a little rounder/warmer, I could just play up near the neck.
Sure, the same is true for finger-style, but (and the dual wielders can prove me wrong here) I feel like the tonal difference is more noticeable with a pick.
The best part of playing with a pick for me is the ability to dig in hard and get some grit instead of relying on pedals/effects. I'm sure guys who are good with their fingers (HA!) can do the same, however I am not one of them and my finger-style is inconsistent and muddy at best.
I know a lot of people say that picks alienate you from the bass 'feel' but once you've played with one long enough, it's as much part of the bass as the strings. Hold the pick loose, tight, or angle it and you can start to hear and FEEL the difference.
I use Dunlop .88's which are pretty thin for a bass pick (from what Ive seen and heard across the inter-webs).
I've also recently picked up some wooden picks from Clayton and a rubber pick from Planet Waves and the tonal difference in material is quite noticeable.
The rubber pick gives me a tone that is VERY similar to finger, but lacks the volume. It still has that "hollowness", but not nearly as hollow as a hard plastic pick.
The wooden picks are somewhere in between the two and may replace my 88's as my go to pick if they can prove to be durable/cost effective enough.
Both the wooden and the rubber picks are a bit thick compared to the 88's, but they still give that great, quick attack.
Another thing to try if you want to mellow the brightness but still use a pick would be using flatwound or ground-wound strings. I have Hofner V knockoff with flatwounds and it sounds very buttery smooth, especially when you roll the treble down a bit.
Random tid-bit: I still casually play guitar (mostly acoustic) and almost never use a pick. All finger-picking and banjo-claw. Different strokes...
At the time it was out of necessity because I was just starting, in a ska band and couldn't keep pace with my fingers; and since I had strummed a little guitar before then, I already had the picks and knew how to hold them.
Over the years I've learned how to hold the pick in about 10000000 different ways to get a different tone. Also, playing with a pick forced me to change WHERE I pick to get different sounds. Need that twang? Play near the bridge (Ill even rest my hand on the bridge to get some leverage for one hell of an aggressive attack).
If I wanted something a little rounder/warmer, I could just play up near the neck.
Sure, the same is true for finger-style, but (and the dual wielders can prove me wrong here) I feel like the tonal difference is more noticeable with a pick.
The best part of playing with a pick for me is the ability to dig in hard and get some grit instead of relying on pedals/effects. I'm sure guys who are good with their fingers (HA!) can do the same, however I am not one of them and my finger-style is inconsistent and muddy at best.
I know a lot of people say that picks alienate you from the bass 'feel' but once you've played with one long enough, it's as much part of the bass as the strings. Hold the pick loose, tight, or angle it and you can start to hear and FEEL the difference.
I use Dunlop .88's which are pretty thin for a bass pick (from what Ive seen and heard across the inter-webs).
I've also recently picked up some wooden picks from Clayton and a rubber pick from Planet Waves and the tonal difference in material is quite noticeable.
The rubber pick gives me a tone that is VERY similar to finger, but lacks the volume. It still has that "hollowness", but not nearly as hollow as a hard plastic pick.
The wooden picks are somewhere in between the two and may replace my 88's as my go to pick if they can prove to be durable/cost effective enough.
Both the wooden and the rubber picks are a bit thick compared to the 88's, but they still give that great, quick attack.
Another thing to try if you want to mellow the brightness but still use a pick would be using flatwound or ground-wound strings. I have Hofner V knockoff with flatwounds and it sounds very buttery smooth, especially when you roll the treble down a bit.
Random tid-bit: I still casually play guitar (mostly acoustic) and almost never use a pick. All finger-picking and banjo-claw. Different strokes...
I play both pick and fingerstyle. I mostly play with a pick only because I love that sharp consistant sound I get with a pick. There is nothing wrong with playing with a pick or fingers its up to you.
I think what it comes down is the lack of credibility the bass is given. Being in the shadow of the guitar for so long, I think its a defense mechanism. Anything to distance itself from the guitar.
IMO its true. A REAL bass player CAN use his fingers. Many techniques are finger style dependent. From the thumb style, slap and pop, triplets with your 3 fingers. But a REAL bass player can also use a pick when needed. Punk and Metal CAN be played with your fingers. But its nearly impossible to replicate that sound a pick makes.
I think when its used as a crutch, is when it gets a bad rap.
IMO its true. A REAL bass player CAN use his fingers. Many techniques are finger style dependent. From the thumb style, slap and pop, triplets with your 3 fingers. But a REAL bass player can also use a pick when needed. Punk and Metal CAN be played with your fingers. But its nearly impossible to replicate that sound a pick makes.
I think when its used as a crutch, is when it gets a bad rap.
I used a pick when I played in rock bands.
When I do my country thing, or blues, I use my fingers.
Anyone who says, "real bassists dont you picks" is an idiot, and pretty ignorant.
For me, personally, I like the tone and attack that a pick gives, especially when playing riff oriented songs, or just rock period.
I used to play in a rock cover band 10 years ago. Prior to that, I was a finger player exclusively. However, we started playing a mini set of Ramones songs. I tried playing all those Ramones songs with my fingers, but the tone was dull. The attack was weak. I lacked speed. So I tried a pick, and the rest is history.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
I learned to play double bass before I learned to play electric bass, and I never saw anyone playing with a pick in person except guitarists, who usually played really awful bass parts.
I remember hearing a very distinctive attack on recordings in the late sixties that I was unable to duplicate with my fingers - it was eye-opening to discover that some bass players were using a pick. Cool, one more tool in the bassist's arsenal.
I remember hearing a very distinctive attack on recordings in the late sixties that I was unable to duplicate with my fingers - it was eye-opening to discover that some bass players were using a pick. Cool, one more tool in the bassist's arsenal.
Current pick player, but mostly because I can't keep time while singing and playing with my fingers & haven't tried to get over it yet. Plus the pick tone suits my current band more than fingers. I do use my fingers when I practice though & feel pretty comfortable with either.
I started out with using a pick only. I've never played guitar. It was mostly to help me with consistant attack and tempo. Now i have been focusing on fingerplaying with nice results. I agree, each has their own place depending on the style of music and even type of bass being played.
