Just played with a pick for the first time!

[discreet]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1376263289' post='2171584']
I also play finger style and eventually I suppose I'll learn to slap - there's no point limiting your playing options.
[/quote]

There's every point. Finger style? OK I'll give you that - but slap?? NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

[discreet]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1376263289' post='2171584']
I also use 3mm stubbies and find that anything thinner just feels "wrong" on bass.
[/quote]

But surely a 3mm pick doesn't flex? Or does it? What I like about .50mm picks is the flexibility.

[KingBollock]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376251602' post='2171389']
How true. I use a pick exclusively. I just can't get the same level of accuracy, speed, control and dynamics playing fingerstyle.
[/quote]
Me too. I had only been playing for a year when I started playing with a pick. I did it mostly out of necessity from injury, I was a 13 year old lad and teaching myself to solder... Unfortunately, all these years later, I struggle a bit with traditional finger style on anything that isn't slow, which is a shame. So when I do choose to use my fingers I play it as I do a Banjo, I'm a lot quicker that way.

If I had one piece of advice for people starting to use a pick, it would be: Don't forget how to use your fingers!

[KingBollock]

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1376258524' post='2171533']
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.
[/quote]
Those Primetones look very interesting, I shall have to give them a try. I used the normal, lexan, 3mm Big Stubbies for many years, but I switched to the nylon version last year. The main thing I like about them over the lexan is that they last longer.

[KingBollock]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376269186' post='2171609']
But surely a 3mm pick doesn't flex? Or does it? What I like about .50mm picks is the flexibility.
[/quote]
No, they don't. But the shape of the tip makes up for it. It makes them very versatile, from thumping along, with an almost finger style sound, to very, very fast to very delicate but without that scratchy sound you can get from a stiff, thinner pick that doesn't have a graduated tip. It's because you can hit the string with a thickness from almost zero to 3mm and anywhere inbetween.

[Telebass]

[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]
This. And having not done it for the better part of half a century, it causes me physical pain!

[WalMan]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1376274239' post='2171615']
Those Primetones look very interesting, I shall have to give them a try. I used the normal, lexan, 3mm Big Stubbies for many years, but I switched to the nylon version last year. The main thing I like about them over the lexan is that they last longer.
[/quote]Certainly worth a look IMO. Similar in dimensions to the big 3.0 Stubbies, though slightly lighter I think, but they don't seem to wear like the them and the tone is somewhat softer. The difference in tone is subjective, and possibly vereing in to the realms of directional leads & 'special' mains leads affecting sound, but is there I think

Edited August 12, 2013 by WalMan

[Oopsdabassist]

Finger style fell naturally to me, but some songs in the set lists of yore just demanded a pick, I used to get horrendous cramps in my right hand as I gripped the pick so tightly, if I focussed on my right hand to keep a light grip, I'd forget what I was playing! I stuck to pick on really simple bass line/ songs, Doctor Doctor by UFO for example, and eventually it became 2nd nature...took fookin ages though.

Dava picks for me BTW, nice a grippy, pretty colours lol and the sound I wanted.

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plectrum-Dava-Grip-Tip-Pack/dp/B00154OJOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376304652&sr=8-1&keywords=dava+pick"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plectrum-Dava-Grip-Tip-Pack/dp/B00154OJOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376304652&sr=8-1&keywords=dava+pick[/url]

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376269186' post='2171609']
But surely a 3mm pick doesn't flex? Or does it? What I like about .50mm picks is the flexibility.
[/quote]

They don't feel like they flex, which is one of the things I like. You get a very well defined note with none of that crappy scratchy wimpy (TM) attack that thin picks give you.

[Musicman20]

I was a solid 'pick only' player until 3-4 years ago, then I took up fingerstyle.

I'm still incredibly fast and capable with a pick, (15+ years of playing Rancid/NOFX type speedy basslines) but I now 90% play fingerstyle.

[Urban Bassman]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1376258011' post='2171528']
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!
[/quote]

Same for me really. I use either my fingers or pick depends on what the song needs. It's all down to practice (like everything else) but when using a pick the key thing is not to grip to tight and use up and down strokes to keep it even.

[seashell]

I admire people who can play with a pick- I wish I could.

Our guitarist reckons I should use a pick because I'm a bit slow with the fingers in some of our more frenetic numbers.
Unfortunately however I'm even slower with a pick. I feel completely clumsy with it. It clangs against all the other strings and I feel like a chimp trying to play with a surf board.

Guitarist says I should just practice more. Which is no doubt true. If I was 20 years younger and more ambitious I might persevere with it. But I just don't think I have enough years left in life to get profficient with a pick. I think I'd be better off devoting practice time to trying to get quicker with my fingers.

That or join a band that doesn't attempt so many grungey and punky type things. But that is for another thread...

[KevB]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1376313108' post='2171958']
I feel like a chimp trying to play with a surf board.
[/quote]

[URL=http://s30.photobucket.com/user/KevB64/media/untitled_zpsc078c231.png.html][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c307/KevB64/untitled_zpsc078c231.png[/IMG][/URL]

[miles'tone]

http://www.carolkaye.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5jdcM89ttI

The Carol Kaye picking technique makes it easy to play fast as buggery very safely and without causing cramps and or long term damage.
Carol Kaye's 78 years old and still funky as hell (see the youtube link at the top of this post) so she's the living proof that it does the trick
Kinda hard to do it if you sling your bass low but hey it's more important to play well right?

Here's an interesting discussion on the subject from our bass bredren over at talkbass:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f21/why-i-keep-hammering-carol-kaye-pick-method-452467/

Edited March 24, 2014 by icastle
Link fixed.

[Grassie]

I'm pretty much exclusively a pick player these days, after I started to get pains in my right (plucking) hand the morning after a gig. A lot of constant eighth and sixteenth notes over a couple of hours did for me. I have found however that using a pick has given me more note-for-note consistency, clarity and a certain amount of attack which I can temper by rolling the tone control right back when I need to. I use Dunlop .71's. They have just the right amount of flex in them so that the pick doesn't ping out of my fingers. I also use a hole punch to..er... punch a hole in the centre of the pick for added grip.

[seashell]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1376313943' post='2171972']
[url="http://s30.photobucket.com/user/KevB64/media/untitled_zpsc078c231.png.html"][/url]
[/quote]

[Lozz196]

I`ve used a pick ever since I started learning. Have only really learned to play with my fingers in the last year or so, but in a band situation I prefer the attack a pick gives. I tend to have a thuddy, warm eq, and also lock in with the drums so the percussive attack of the pick is ideal. I use Dunlop 1.14mm triangular picks (3 for the price of one, makes sense).

[Urban Bassman]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1376313108' post='2171958']
I admire people who can play with a pick- I wish I could.

Our guitarist reckons I should use a pick because I'm a bit slow with the fingers in some of our more frenetic numbers.
Unfortunately however I'm even slower with a pick. I feel completely clumsy with it. It clangs against all the other strings and I feel like a chimp trying to play with a surf board.

Guitarist says I should just practice more. Which is no doubt true. If I was 20 years younger and more ambitious I might persevere with it. But I just don't think I have enough years left in life to get profficient with a pick. I think I'd be better off devoting practice time to trying to get quicker with my fingers.

That or join a band that doesn't attempt so many grungey and punky type things. But that is for another thread...
[/quote]

It's very much down to practice. It might be worth starting with a simpler song in your set and getting comfortable with that before moving on to something that's more frenetic. If you do any Green Day songs for example I'd start there.

[seashell]

[quote name='Urban Bassman' timestamp='1376320404' post='2172084']
It's very much down to practice. It might be worth starting with a simpler song in your set and getting comfortable with that before moving on to something that's more frenetic. If you do any Green Day songs for example I'd start there.
[/quote]

Wise words and thanks UB.
But I literally think it would take years to get profficient with it.

We do do some Green Day. I'm tempted to add 'unfortunately'.
Guitarist wants to take us in a direction that doesn't really suit me, I think. We'll just have to see how it all pans out.

[iceonaboy]

I switch between the two styles regularly in order to get the right sound but I admit I'm more at home with finger style although my sound is pretty toppy , so I only need the pick for a sharp attack . I don't see any way in which one is better than the other, it's just your taste or the sound of who you are trying to mimic

[spongebob]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1376319875' post='2172073']
I`ve used a pick ever since I started learning. Have only really learned to play with my fingers in the last year or so, but in a band situation I prefer the attack a pick gives. I tend to have a thuddy, warm eq, and also lock in with the drums so the percussive attack of the pick is ideal. I use Dunlop 1.14mm triangular picks (3 for the price of one, makes sense).
[/quote]

Very similar to my situation.

I use a pick every gig, just find I can guarantee speed and accuracy when required. Especially in a fast-paced R'n'B band!

I use fingerstyle at home most of the time now, just for practice to essentially 'have' the skill. In a different band, I would love to gig with it in the future - however, I always find the tone I get is so muddy, whereas a pick gives clarity and definition. I'm not a heavy player, so it works pretty well.

Jim Dunlop 1mm Tortex for me - great pick!

[clauster]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1376321038' post='2172089']
Wise words and thanks UB.
But I literally think it would take years to get profficient with it.

We do do some Green Day. I'm tempted to add 'unfortunately'.
Guitarist wants to take us in a direction that doesn't really suit me, I think. We'll just have to see how it all pans out.
[/quote]

It's not just down to tons of practise. I struggled with pick on and off, until I found the right picks for me, now it's almost as natural as fingerstyle.

[Paul S]

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1376323834' post='2172133']
Very similar to my situation.

I use a pick every gig, just find I can guarantee speed and accuracy when required. Especially in a fast-paced R'n'B band!

I use fingerstyle at home most of the time now, just for practice to essentially 'have' the skill. In a different band, I would love to gig with it in the future - however, I always find the tone I get is so muddy, whereas a pick gives clarity and definition. I'm not a heavy player, so it works pretty well.

Jim Dunlop 1mm Tortex for me - great pick!
[/quote]
Exactly my situation, too. Working hard on my finger style and getting better but still default to pick for accuracy and speed. Get away with finger style on some tracks where it is more appropriate, which is good, but still need a lot of work to get it faster.

[Phil Adams]

Soooo (that should upset a few people) I'm a born again. Been playing fingerstyle and after lots of playing last week my RH finger (lost the top of my index when I was a lad, so I pluck with my 2nd, is sore as hell today, so borrowed a 2mm big stubby from the guitarist and what a revelation. After you get used to holding it, piece of cake.
Goodbye blisters.............

[phil.i.stein]

i prefer to play fingerstyle, but there are some tempos of tracks where a pick just works better (too fast for two fingers, but too slow for three to sound cohesive.)

whatever suits.