Pick? Fingers? Both?

[WalMan]

[quote name='silddx' post='421829' date='Feb 28 2009, 06:07 PM']Some geezer at one of our gigs a while ago said any bassist playing with a pick is not worthy of the name and shouldn't be let near a stage.[/quote]
.....and he is a tosser.

[aceuggy]

I'm actually faster playing with my fingers, but prefer the sound I get using a pick, so I'm working on both. Who's to say which is right or wrong?

[barneyg42]

Whenever a thread like this comes up I straight away go for the keyboard to extol the virtues of Mr Lynott only to find that people have got there before me. (note to self...learn to type quicker). But seriously the band I've just joined are thinking of doing Dancing in the Moonlight so with a nice little chorus pedal off I go. By no means a demanding bass line but it just didn't sound right. Grabbed a pick off me acoustic guitar and bang there we are, on the money! So to answer the OP's question probably 99% fingers and 1 song with a pick. Could Knopfler be criticized for not using a pick? I don't think so. So why are there people out there who think less of a bass player who does? We just have to use the tools that we have........picks,fingers,thumbs,effects,different amps,speakers to get the sound that WE want. Sometimes a straight P-bass through a straight valve amp with a pick is the way, sometimes not. Who cares! Just love the music however it's played.

Hangover rant
Colin
hic!

[johnnylager]

[quote name='silddx' post='421829' date='Feb 28 2009, 06:07 PM']Some geezer at one of our gigs a while ago said any bassist playing with a pick is not worthy of the name and shouldn't be let near a stage.[/quote]
[quote name='WalMan' post='422215' date='Mar 1 2009, 09:11 AM'].....and he is a tosser.[/quote]
I must admit I was trying to refrain from my usual tirade of ****'s in response to the original geezer's comment. Al however has given me the strength to reply in the manner for which I am known.

c***.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='421945' date='Feb 28 2009, 08:23 PM']I don't give a toss what other players use though. They could hit the strings with sardines for all I care.[/quote]

Edited March 1, 2009 by johnnylager

[PURPOLARIS]

I used to play the guitar so using a pick was second nature to me when I took up the Bass. I now use both pick and fingers depending on the song. It doesn't matter what you use as long as you're having a great time doing it.

[bass_ferret]

I use both - always have always will. As for the OP's comments the bloke is making a fool of himself spouting such rubbish, after all the best bassline of all time was played with a pick

[lowdown]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='422280' date='Mar 1 2009, 11:28 AM']after all the best bassline of all time was played with a pick [/quote]

Would this be a Carol Kaye track..?

Garry

[4000]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='421840' date='Feb 28 2009, 06:18 PM']Good job Phil Lynott (Gawd rest 'im) wasn't around to hear that - there is NO playing style that should be outlawed - otherwise we would not have had the innovating talents of so many pros who have different ways of playing to get 'their' sound[/quote]

Amen to that.

Does this bloke complain about [i]guitarists[/i] using a pick? Or painters using a paintbrush, or writers using a pen? What about violinists using a bow? What about using a knife and fork to eat? Or chopsticks? It's exactly the same issue.

[4000]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='421945' date='Feb 28 2009, 08:23 PM']I don't give a toss what other players use though. They could hit the strings with sardines for all I care..[/quote]

I find them a bit soft-sounding. I prefer lobsters.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='421832' date='Feb 28 2009, 06:09 PM']Although this comes up all the time, I'll reply and say that a bassist should use all techniques depending on what is called for in each particular song.[/quote]

i agree...i only play fingerstyle and cant slap
i have tried pick and slap but since i dont need them
i dont make any effort to get good at them

fingerstyle will allow dyanmics to be played...can you do that with a pick?

another point is right from the beginning basses had pickguards...even though the finger rest was for thumb plucking

[BigRedX]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='422361' date='Mar 1 2009, 01:50 PM']fingerstyle will allow dyanmics to be played...can you do that with a pick?[/quote]

Of course. With practice you can get as much dynamic range with a pick as you can with your fingers.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='422367' date='Mar 1 2009, 01:59 PM']Of course. With practice you can get as much dynamic range with a pick as you can with your fingers.[/quote]

good
this is something i wondered...not all use dynamics as opposed to volume settings and the word

c - r - e - s - c - e - n - d - o on a score needs good control

cheers
geof

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='421840' date='Feb 28 2009, 06:18 PM']Good job Phil Lynott (Gawd rest 'im) wasn't around to hear that - there is NO playing style that should be outlawed - otherwise we would not have had the innovating talents of so many pros who have different ways of playing to get 'their' sound[/quote]
+1

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='Golchen' post='422204' date='Mar 1 2009, 08:34 AM']I use fingers, and I love the slapping thing but that's still a work in progress.

As for a pick, they have never entered the equation for me although I see nothing wrong with them. I do sometimes play as if with a pick but without one (if that makes sense??) I read recently that it was called something like 'chucking'??? - don't know if anyone can shed any light on that?[/quote]
I think Bernard Edwards used that technique; it's kind of using the thumb like a pick IIRC.. There's one particular Chic song where it's particularly evident but I can't remember which song..

[Bay Splayer]

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='422382' date='Mar 1 2009, 02:23 PM']I think Bernard Edwards used that technique; it's kind of using the thumb like a pick IIRC.. There's one particular Chic song where it's particularly evident but I can't remember which song..[/quote]

beginning and end of EVERYBODY DANCE
















and picks are for girls , [i]imo[/i]

[WalMan]

Sometimes picks are a necessity.

I used a pick for years because I preferred the sound for the rock & punky stuff we did (and yes I am well aware of Steve Harris and Billy Sheehan thanks).

Got into using fingers, and reasonably proficient, in our bluesy phase.

Now we are back doing rockier stuff I just prefer the attack of a pick - that and my right hand fingers are twisted with arthritis so that, other than on the occasional slow number or broken down section when I might use fingers, I get p155sed off with middle, ring and pinkie getting tied up with each other.

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='422280' date='Mar 1 2009, 11:28 AM']after all the best bassline of all time was played with a pick [/quote]

[quote name='lowdown' post='422308' date='Mar 1 2009, 12:29 PM']Would this be a Carol Kaye track..?

Garry[/quote]
Bass Guitar Magazine voted Peaches the best bassline

[4000]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='422361' date='Mar 1 2009, 01:50 PM']fingerstyle will allow dyanmics to be played...can you do that with a pick?[/quote]

Guitarists seem to be able to do it fine, so there's no reason why bassists can't. But I think you've hit on a commonly held misconception which is that pick playing is either off or on. Not if you're any good with it it isn't.

[leschirons]

Mail him any Thin Lizzie MP3 and call him a pillock. Nice to be able to use all methods if you can but surely it's what works best for you and the song.

[4000]

From Cliff Williams at one end of the spectrum to Anthony Jackson at the other with Phil, Chris Squire, John Entwistle, Carles Benevant, Steve Swallow and a zillion other great players in the middle, I think the point is soundly proven.

[OutToPlayJazz]

As a classical cellist & double bass player, I went straight for finger style at the beginning. I tried some pick stuff but it never suited me, I never found the accuracy & I hated the sound.

Horses for courses

[thepurpleblob]

I'd love to be able to play with a pick but it's a complete mystery to me how to do it. How the hell do you keep a slippery bit of plastic from falling out of your fingers??

[dlloyd]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='422925' date='Mar 2 2009, 09:48 AM']I'd love to be able to play with a pick but it's a complete mystery to me how to do it. How the hell do you keep a slippery bit of plastic from falling out of your fingers??[/quote]

Practice mainly, but there are picks out there that are less slippery than others.

I don't use a pick for bass, but for guitar I use Wegen picks, which don't go anywhere thanks to their design...



Expensive though.

[BigAlonBass]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='422925' date='Mar 2 2009, 09:48 AM']I'd love to be able to play with a pick but it's a complete mystery to me how to do it. How the hell do you keep a slippery bit of plastic from falling out of your fingers??[/quote]

Take a fine soldering iron to the bit that you hold. You can either just rough it up or put holes right the way through, like I do. (Making sure to leave the melted bits standing proud) On the rare occasions that I have to use a plec, it stops me worrying about slippage and allows me to work on my technique a bit more.

(I use flexible nylon/plastic plecs-don't know if it would work for other types)

[Bassassin]

I'm only using a pick about 1/3 of the time these days - but Dunlop nylons have a textured gripping area, been using them for years & never dropped one yet. It helps to hang on like grim death, too.

Jon.