fleabag Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 If a thumb pick is too awkward ( you wont know till you try one ) and you find you need to use a regular pick that you have to grip, then hows about putting some double sided tape on it ? PS Standlake ..thats like the the Australian bush isn't it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 [quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1457690505' post='3000945'] If a thumb pick is too awkward ( you wont know till you try one ) and you find you need to use a regular pick that you have to grip, then hows about putting some double sided tape on it ? [/quote] Personally I find a thumb pick *much* more awkward than a normal plectrum. I have to admit, I'm a converted guitarist so I find using a plectrum pretty natural, but I'd just suggest getting a medium weight pick and not gripping it too tight - I use the dark grey jim dunlop ones, but it's a personal preference thing. I also switch between pick and fingers depending on song - some stuff (particularly some pop songs) just don't sound right played with fingers, and vice-versa on a lot of other stuff. If you can get past the pick/fingers and guitar/bass philosophical debates learning a bit of 6-string guitar is actually a brilliant way to develop some finesse with a pick IMO and the technique translates well to bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I love thumb picks for bass. Best of luck with the gig anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1457691603' post='3000953'] Personally I find a thumb pick *much* more awkward than a normal plectrum. [/quote] What doesnt suit some might suit someone else, though. And Dave has not been shaped by using a pick before, so he is fresh to the idea. A thumb pick my be just what needs. Or it could be a disaster - who knows. There's nothing to say that cos you dont get on one with one, neither will he. Suck it and see . Matron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I find the all plastic thumb picks very uncomfortable, I much prefer metal ones that can be shaped. I use those for banjo, but because the pick part is metal too, they don't work so well on bass. But you can get them with the metal thumb strap and a plastic pick. There is also the Chris Broderick Pick Clip, which is a metal thumb strap that you can fit normal picks into, but they're not easy to find. Edited March 11, 2016 by KingBollock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 As a guitarist turned bass player I've always played with a pick and I've never even thought about any of the above re grip, pressure etc...it's just how I play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 [quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1457690505' post='3000945'] PS Standlake ..thats like the the Australian bush isn't it ? [/quote] That's right, it's miles from anywhere, even further from Witney than Ducklington! Just tried shortening my bass strap a couple of inches, that and a night's sleep made pick playing a bit easier this morning, not likely to have another chance until tomorrow's gig (the Swan pub & brewery, Farringdon, as you were too polite to ask;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefrash Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I am currently going on a similar journey. Playing with pick for the first time in 17 years of playing. It has really renewed my interest in the instrument! I'm finding that I prefer bendier picks as I can get a better range with them. As in, I can hold it closer to the tip making it a little more rigid anyway. I hadn't played the bass in 2 months and for the past few weeks I've only played with a pick.... My right hand finger technique has totally gone! Just feels really weird! Really wished I looked at pick playing years ago. Edited March 11, 2016 by lefrash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Try different types/shapes of plectrum? I don't play pick often, back in the dim and distant past I was having a stab at playing guitar and I remember these: http://www.reidys.com/pr/guitar-accessories/rhm-plectr-o-sample-pack-1532/ Hole in the middle might make things better, or maybe make things worse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 always played with a pick, after coming over from the dark side, and all the bass players that inspired me play with a pick, Macca J J Burnell etc, I use a Dunlop fluorescent luminous nylon 94mm picks and rest my wrist on the body of the bass and like someone else mentioned I have my bass low, if I play it sitting down resting on my knee my elbow soon starts to ache, but like anything else it takes practice, I've tried finger style but playing almost exclusively punk couldn't see the point so I never stuck at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I normally play fingerstyle, and to start with I wouldn't use a pick, almost religiously, but I play in a coverband, and there are some songs that just sound better with a pick, especially punk based songs, like turning japanese and some of the jam stuff. So I always have one for those songs, but also there were occasions where I did a few gigs in a row and played too loud so blistered my fingers, they are handy for those times too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I have hundreds of picks... Being a bloke, if you have an interest in anything then people buy you tat related to that interest every single birthday / Christmas... as normal people have no idea whatsoever what a bass guitar is, family etc all assume I play regular guitar so I get mugs, picks etc depicting strats, les pauls etc. In fact my coffee coaster in front of me here at work was given to me last Christmas. ... those are not bass guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnyboy Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 If your having difficulty gripping the pick what about double sided sticky foam type stuff, cut to appropriate size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I don't play so much from the wrist, but from the thumb & forefinger & the wrist only moves slightly. Then for digging in, it comes from the elbow too (probably got that from my keys playing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Another ex six stringer who now uses a pick maybe 30% of the time. The nylon picks with a rough surface for grip work better and last longer. I play dunlop 0.88mm ones which are flexible enough but still give a sound. I am still gripping much harder than when I used to play 6 strings, but then so is my left hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) Finding a pick that suits you if the most difficult thing, I've been using picks on bass & guitar since I started playing & I'm still trying different ones. I have found that, contrary to what I first believed, really thick picks are not that good. I started using thinner but rigid carbon nylon picks a few years that I really liked but I now use Pyramid cellulose picks in medium & heavy gauges & I really like these. I love these but unfortunately they are very difficult to find. I've always found thumb picks to be more trouble than they're worth. Don't get too hung up on how you hold the pick. I always found that the pick naturally rotates in my grip so that I end up using one of the rounded corners rather than the pointed bit. It used to bother me until I found out that's how Pat Metheny holds his picks - if it's OK for Pat it's OK for me. Edited March 11, 2016 by RhysP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I've played with a pick for ages, there are options but this is what I find best and may work well for you: Hold as in the picture below. Use something like a .73 nylon with grippy surface. You [b]don't[/b] need to grip it hard and holding it as in the picture will help as you will be holding a larger surface area. Use a guitar pick not a 'bass' pick. Learning alternate picking (up/down/up/down) will reap long term benefits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Unfortunately, I can't get make a fist with my finger to hold the pick against the side of my index finger like that, there is not enough movement post-accident to allow that. I'll get through tomorrow's gig somehow, I am sure (and stubborn enough) about that. How much pain I'm in on Sunday is unimportant. I have plenty of painkillers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I used to play both fingers and pick (.73 dunlop) but I have suffered nerve damage as a result of a slipped disc in my neck which means my 3rd and 4th fingers on my right hand are permanently semi-numb and I have a strip of numbness all the way up the back of my forearm to the elbow. This results, strangely, in severely diminished grip strength in my right hand. When it first happened I couldn't even hold a pen and effectively had to learn to write again. I also couldn't turn the key in the ignition of my car - so I bought a keyless starter I just can't hold a pick long enough to get through a song which means the songs that use a diggadigga rhythm have had to be sidelined..... ...but I'd not thought of using a thumb pick...perhaps I'll give that a shot.. The Doc offered me an operation to fix my neck but when the Doc told me " There's a significant risk of quadraplegia..." I decided probably living with it would be easier Edited March 11, 2016 by Twigman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1457712265' post='3001258'] Unfortunately, I can't get make a fist with my finger to hold the pick against the side of my index finger like that, there is not enough movement post-accident to allow that. I'll get through tomorrow's gig somehow, I am sure (and stubborn enough) about that. How much pain I'm in on Sunday is unimportant. I have plenty of painkillers! [/quote] Sounds like thumbpick is the way to go then, good luck, take it steady! P.S the mistake a lot of people make with a pick is plucking it too hard, which can be fun too, but you usually get a better tone if you pick it softly - more roundy. And that should ease your discomfort also. Edited March 11, 2016 by tedmanzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 [quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1457719074' post='3001337'] ...the mistake a lot of people make with a pick is plucking it too hard, which can be fun too, but you usually get a better tone if you pick it softly - more roundy. And that should ease your discomfort also. [/quote] Yes, as said above it's less strain on your wrist to use a flexible pick relatively softly and turn your amp up rather than dig in with a thick pick and aggravate existing injuries or get RSI, or whatever. Less is more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) The best thing about having a moderate picking attack, and setting your amp up for that, is that you then have somewhere to go if a part needs a softer attack or if it needs some welly. I also think it allows for better precision. Pick playing can actually be very versatile. I have to confess that my finger style is woeful. I am not so bad with two fingers and thumb, rolling like with my banjo, but if I want to have a sound that sounds like fingers I just use a different pick (3mm Dunlop somethingorothers, I used to use Big Stubbies, but these are black) and play closer to the neck. Edit: Dunlop Primetones! Edited March 11, 2016 by KingBollock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I don't make a fist when holding the plectrum. More like how you hold a pen, but finger & thumb touch opposite way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1457725115' post='3001390'] I don't make a fist when holding the plectrum. More like how you hold a pen, but finger & thumb touch opposite way. [/quote] Even with a pen in my hand, I can't quite work out the 'opposite way'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1457725278' post='3001394'] Even with a pen in my hand, I can't quite work out the 'opposite way'! [/quote] It would have made more sense had I just said "like pinching between your thumb & left side of your index finger nail, but not touching the nail". Ignore the pen comment, the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me too! Edited March 11, 2016 by xgsjx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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