Just played with a pick for the first time!

[lefrash]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1376252420' post='2171415']
To inject some controversy , could I say that , despite there being some very skillful pick players who I enjoy very much , there are some incredibly ham-fisted ones , too ? I see a fair few young men in bands who look like they are trying to saw their bass in half with a plectrum . I think a lot of the bad press plectrum playing gets is because it tends to be the default plucking choice of "less able " players .
[/quote]

That is a very good point! Plus you have the whole 'guitar players on bass duties', they're more likely to play pick and make a hash of it!

[davehux]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1376252420' post='2171415']
To inject some controversy , could I say that , despite there being some very skillful pick players who I enjoy very much , there are some incredibly ham-fisted ones , too ? I see a fair few young men in bands who look like they are trying to saw their bass in half with a plectrum . I think a lot of the bad press plectrum playing gets is because it tends to be the default plucking choice of "less able " players .
[/quote]

Yeah - that Chris Squire - what a waste of space

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376252627' post='2171419']
What a good job I'm here to prove the exception to that tendency!
[/quote]

I expect you have no tattoos , have never been on a skateboard and have never had sex with Avril Lavigne , so that takes you well - outside of the demographic of the musicians I have in mind .

[discreet]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1376252904' post='2171428']
I expect you have no tattoos, have never been on a skateboard and have never had sex with Avril Lavigne, so that takes you well outside the demographic of the musicians I have in mind .
[/quote]

I'm impressed! Two out of three's not bad!

[Gust0o]

This isn't YouTube - do what works for you and sounds best

[LiamPodmore]

I hope you don't spend as long as i did finding the right pick. I've been trying different ones for 5 years and now finally settled on Dunlop Tortex .73mm. I've been swapping between pick and fingers a lot in the past, usually for long stints with each. It's definately a useful skill to have in your arsenal.

Liam

[Dingus]

[quote name='davehux' timestamp='1376252748' post='2171422']
Yeah - that Chris Squire - what a waste of space
[/quote]

Unfortunately , for every Chris Squire there are ten bass players like Guigsy from Oasis or that bugger out of Coldplay who looks incredibly awkward and embarrased to be in a band masquerading as a bass player .

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376253074' post='2171430']
I'm impressed! Two out of three's not bad!
[/quote]

I'm impressed with by fact that there is now a 33.3 % chance that I know someone who's knobbed Avril Livigne .And he's handy with a pick , by all accounts .

Edited August 11, 2013 by Dingus

[tonyquipment]

What if u had no thumb?

[gelfin]

Chris squire !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dingus]

[quote name='tonyquipment' timestamp='1376254244' post='2171450']
What if u had no thumb?
[/quote]

Then you would have to join Coldplay .

[iceonaboy]

Can I join the queue for a shot at Avril ?

[discreet]

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1376255457' post='2171476']
Can I join the queue for a shot at Avril?
[/quote]

Pfft! Not worth the trouble. [i]Very [/i]high maintenance.

[risingson]

I started as a fingerstyle player and shunned playing with a pick for years, up until I watched a video of Phil Lynott and got interested in the idea of the attack that a pick could offer on a bass. I scratched the surface a bit and discovered Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Wilton Felder, Paul McCartney, Anthony Jackson and a whole new world got opened to me. I've practiced a lot with a pick the past few years and whilst I'm not as adept as with my fingers I can definitely get by with a pick now.

It's a totally different discipline and I think the prejudices come from the association of pick bass players with guitar players and this endless envy that seems to go on between the two factions. There's also always the suggestion that it's cheating somehow, although by looking through this post it seems like a lot of people really struggle with pick playing always suggests to me it's tough to master properly - just like good finger style is.

Back in the 60's and early 70's Carol Kaye and Joe Osborn did such a good job of studio work with Fender instruments and plectrums that between them they kept a hell of a lot of bass players out of work for quite a while...

[Fat Rich]

Love the sound of a pick but I'm pretty rubbish when I try to use one.

Check out some Bobby Vega vids on youtube, I dug out some slap tuition books and played the lines with pick (including all the muted notes) and it really helps improve your string skipping and accuracy.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r_kvjO7xsc[/media]

Edited August 11, 2013 by Fat Rich

[discreet]

No matter how many times I watch that Bobby Vega clip I always think he's going to inhale the pick.

[Marvin]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376256163' post='2171495']
No matter how many times I watch that Bobby Vega clip I always think he's going to inhale the pick.
[/quote]

Perhaps he does...just after he turns the camera off

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Picking is good for metal;)

[xgsjx]

I think anyone whom dismisses a method for playing is only limiting themselves & being a bit uncreative.
I like to mix styles of playing. Whether that be fingering, slapping, picking, tapping or whatever else, I won't write it off as there'll be a bassline that sounds better played X way.
.73mm for me too. The yellow ones.

[Hobbayne]

I was brought up listening to pick players such as Bruce Foxton, JJ Burnell, Phil Lynott, and finger players such as Horace Panter and Mark Bedford etc, and I can switch between the pick and fingers without even thinking about it!
I prefer the pick on heavier numbers though, it cuts through the mix so nicely!

[WalMan]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1376250832' post='2171375']
I very rarely use a pick for the sole reason I'm sh*t f***ing useless when I do. It all goes disastrously wrong when I use a pick for some reason.
[/quote]which (along with a twisted picking hand) is precisely why I use a pick instead of fingers 99% of the time.

I always have, and while I do try to use fingers at times (with a sort of claw picking thumb & first two finger thing) moreoften than not I switch back because I have been using a pick so long I am just more fluent with it.

Neither is right or wrong, but for me the pick is easier, so ...

3 mm Dunlop Big Stubbies for me, though I did pick up some Primetones at LBGS13 and really like the slightly softer tone they give.

[oggiesnr]

When I first played bass, too many years ago, basses were played with picks so that's what I did. It scars you for life though, now if I play with my fingers I struggle to use more than one of them

Steve

[discreet]

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1376258524' post='2171533']
3 mm Dunlop Big Stubbies for me...
[/quote]

Wow, those are thick picks!

[WalMan]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376259368' post='2171543']
Wow, those are thick picks!
[/quote] They just have better grip & a fuller sound for me. And I'm a thick pick (might have missed a letter there )

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376259368' post='2171543']
Wow, those are thick picks!
[/quote]
[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1376260744' post='2171557']
They just have better grip & a fuller sound for me. And I'm a thick pick (might have missed a letter there )
[/quote]

I also use 3mm stubbies and find that anything thinner just feels "wrong" on bass. Thick strings, thick picks! I'm not a great bass player but I've regularly been told my bass sounds "awesome" at gigs---I think the thick picks have a lot to do with it.

Personally I find playing with a pick much easier, but thats just because I've practiced it a lot more. For anything even slightly on the heavy side I find it just suits the music more. I also play fingerstyle and eventually I suppose I'll learn to slap---there's no point limiting your playing options.