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Why the hostility towards plectrum ?

#81
Fred Hammon said:
There are lot's of recording where the bass player is using a pick and people don't notice or even question it...
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Exactly! If I let you hear me play (and I use a pick), you most likely would NOT be able to tell if I used one or not (assuming I didnt tell you in the first place) I can do funky stuff, ghost notes and pretty much anything else you can do with your fingers (and no, Im not a converted guitarist) If I want a rounder sound, I adjust the tone on the bass. Its not all 1972 Chris Squire Rickenbacker with a pick you know.
 
#82
I used to play using a pick, but I prefer fingerstyle now.
It lets me alternate between thumbing notes and slap techniques and gives me a better feel of the instrument.

But fine with me if a player chooses to play with a pick.

I saw Carol Kaye play in a very rare live performance; she used a pick.
And this great session player was doing jazz standards for this gig, walking bass, complete with pedals, glissandos, etc. with the great sound and tone of a fine bassist, either upright or electric (Of course she was playing Fender bass!)

Remember "pick-haters"...
There are those who STILL feel that the bass guitar is invalid as an instrument for jazz, etc.
Shame on them!
 
#86
My hostility towards picks comes from the way that picks treat me! They are never there when I need them. I put them in my pocket, they disappear. Leave them on the amp or the music stand - they disappear. Leave them on the dresser - you guessed it! They disappear from every place that I have ever put them. Then, when I don't want a pick, they are everywhere! When I have company coming over and the entire house has been cleaned from top to bottom - they magically appear on the stairs and next to the couch or the coffee table so that my house looks like I just leave things laying around all over the place. If I want to try a thin pick, only the thickest picks in town will show themselves. If I want a thick pick, it will send all of it's thin pick brothers out to mock me. When I really think about how picks have treated me over the years, it really does make me angry. Screw you picks, I'm going home!
 
#89
It's as simple as using the best tool for the job at hand. Anyone who hangs s**t on someone for using a pick is a complete moron.

Do chefs use one knife?
Do carpenters use one type of saw or chisel?
Do painters use one type of brush?
Do golfers use one type of club?

I use whatever suits the task and usually that task is heavy rock and punk music so invariably I use a pick but I continue to practice with both a pick and fingers.
 
#91
My first day on Talkbass, so here goes, with both feet in. Face it, there are tones made by finger technique that you'll never make with a pick. There are tones and sounds you can make with a pick that you'll never attain using your fingers. E.g., after many years of pick, fingers, and thumb methods, I am learning/working on 3 slap techniques: thumb, fingers, and pick. Each produces a different sound and harmonics. Finger slap, at least for me, gets more harmonics than thumb slap. Pick slap produces a sharper tone.
The coolest thing about electric bass is that it doesn't have 100's of years of history; it goes back to 1951. It has no set rules, no one way of doing it. Do it your way, but try to learn every method, work on your weaknesses more than your strengths, and play what the song needs.
 
#92
65FJB said:
...there are tones made by finger technique that you'll never make with a pick. There are tones and sounds you can make with a pick that you'll never attain using your fingers...The coolest thing about electric bass is that it doesn't have 100's of years of history; it goes back to 1951. It has no set rules, no one way of doing it. Do it your way, but try to learn every method, work on your weaknesses more than your strengths, and play what the song needs.
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Well said. It's about what sound you are trying to attain; any way you get there is a legitimate way.

I started (and still play) fingerstyle. Used to shoot to nail U2's bass tone, really loved the round warm focused sound; got pretty close with good gear and nice TI flats on a G&L... and then saw it was being played with a pick. Never would have guessed. Lesson learned -- get your tone however you can; just get it.:bassist:
 
#98
Hostility towards plectrums by bassists exists because the bassists who are hostile are the ones don't know anything and sit in the back drooling over their instrument, telling themselves how important it is to keep the "groove" by plucking open string whole notes every bar, and that if they weren't in the band the band would seize to function and thus they are the most important member.

Just because you suck with a pick, doesn't mean you should rag on anyone elses parade. :smug:
 
#100
wideload said:
I use a pick because a spinal cord injury left me with diminished strength and speed in my hands. It lets me play (about half of what I used to do) and I am grateful to be able to do that.
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I too am suffering from some nerve related problems in the right hand. I'm waiting to see a specialist and hopefully surgery. A pick may be in my future out of necessity though.

JKT
 

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