TOTP 2....70's bands....pick players dominant

[tauzero]

I started playing bass in 1975, and back then it seemed to be [i]de rigeur[/i] to play fingerstyle. The music press would frequently pass comment along the lines of "I was disappointed to see that he was playing with a plectrum". So I don't think that pick playing was as prevalent as you might believe from watching TotP.

[PaulWarning]

Maybe it's just a fashion thing, if you're taking up bass you tend to be influenced by your contemporaries, so if there's a lot of pick players about chances are you'll start playing with a pick, as I did, till the music fashion changes.
I don't know whether there's more finger players about now or not, but if there is it could be something to do with modern recording fashion of having a clicky bass drum and the bass filling in underneath it. You tend to get a deeper bass with fingers

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1375294717' post='2159458']
Once read somewhere that some session bassist use fingers when recording and picks when playing live, don't know if it's true but it does kinda make sense
[/quote]

I recall a quote from John Entwistle saying the opposite was true of him, cos he thought picks sounded better, but fingers looked cooler.
I may have imagined it though.

[Wolverinebass]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1375365780' post='2160339']


I recall a quote from John Entwistle saying the opposite was true of him, cos he thought picks sounded better, but fingers looked cooler.
I may have imagined it though.
[/quote]

Partially true. He said a pick looks less flashy. It's on the hot licks DVD. Plus playing with a pick meant folk thought townshend was playing his bits as it wasn't so obvious what he was doing.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1375431767' post='2161067']
Plus playing with a pick meant folk thought townshend was playing his bits as it wasn't so obvious what he was doing.
[/quote]
perhaps a tad less treble might have sorted that out