Getting a pick tone with fingers using EQ

[BassAdder60]

Has anyone found a way to get close to a pick tone but using fingers ?

Im trying to get close to Lounge Act by Nirvana and would prefer to play finger style ideally 

It has a great tone and I know folk will say use a pick etc etc but just curious if anyone has got close without sticking something on your fingers etc and tweeking EQ etc 

[BigRedX]

Using a pick changes the attack of the notes relative to their decay. There is no way you can replicate that with EQ.

[AndyTravis]

Only way close without a pick is to have slightly longer nails on your index and middle...but the idea of that technique for a prolonged period sets my teeth on edge.

as BRX says, it’s not a “solvable with eq” situation.

I suppose if you had a compressor or Hard limiter on in the chain, you could get the hard stop...but you’d have a really odd bass sound - the thing with Lounge Act (my favourite Nirvana bass part) is that it’s the dirt/grit and plumminess of the Gibson bass through an SVT - I’d say try to master it with a pick...it’s a bit of a finger twister initially so if you’ve come this far...

[Lozz196]

Can you play as if using a pick but with the fingernail on your index finger? I sometimes do that and I really like the sound.

[Steve Browning]

13 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Can you play as if using a pick but with the fingernail on your index finger? I sometimes do that and I really like the sound.

I do the same. A version of Bernard Edwards 'chunking'.

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

2 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

Im trying to get close to Lounge Act by Nirvana and would prefer to play finger style ideally

That's not so much using a pick as it is having a new set of light gauge round wounds. Entwhistle got very close to that tone finger style, though you wouldn't know it after ham fisted mouth breathing producers were done. Listen to 'My Generation', one of the few tracks that managed to get past them with his real tone.

[la bam]

I've tried to do this for years with not much success.

Closest I could get is to wind back the bass, up the mids and treble, and find a good bright amp and a punchy clear cab. And lozz's nail trick works well too.

 

[dudewheresmybass]

Just use a pick. 
😉

[Happy Jack]

Or of course just buy a Wal with the 'Pick Attack' switch ...

 

[Chopthebass]

Use superglue on your fingertips. Use the activator and it goes rock hard. I only used this when I split my fingertip and had a small but very painful tip. It actually worked a treat! Brightened up the sound too!

[walshy]

9 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

Has anyone found a way to get close to a pick tone but using fingers ?

Im trying to get close to Lounge Act by Nirvana and would prefer to play finger style ideally 

It has a great tone and I know folk will say use a pick etc etc but just curious if anyone has got close without sticking something on your fingers etc and tweeking EQ etc 

I mainly use finger style. Even for Foos tribute. Joined a Nirvana one too, tried fingers but sounded too nice, used a pick and now I do for Foos too. It just attacks better and gets ‘that sound’. If it’s right it’s right! 
BTW Lounge Act is a tune!!

[Baloney Balderdash]

The EHX Steel Leather pedal was made exactly with this purpose in mind : 

 

The right compressor dialed in just right (the attack and release time set so that the transient of the attack is let through fully before the compression kicks in, and with a hard knee) and boosting some upper mid frequencies (in the about 800Hz to 1,5kHz region), ideally with a fairly narrow Q value (bandwidth of curve around the center frequency(s)), might get you closer to a picking tone using fingers as well.

Though nothing really beats using a real pick for that specific snappy emphasis of the attack.

Edited December 25, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash
specifying

[ped]

Set your compressor to allow the initial attack before kicking in (attack time). Might help 

[Stub Mandrel]

 

[Dood]

Finger-picks should make a come back!

I have used a thumb pick in the past but I remember watching a local bassist using finger picks, being able to play quite quickly with them too 

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Finger-Pick-Set-by-Gear4music/2L8W?origin=product-ads&msclkid=73f3a027b26715abfc6affc28627fb7f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA Shop | Gear4music&utm_term=4583726538765100&utm_content=Guitars

 

 

[bazzbass]

just use a pick, sheesh, you might improve your playing, it certainly won't destroy your playing

Only other way is to use your nail, but it's easier to use a pick lol

[Beer of the Bass]

In the band I'm with at present, the first two bass players before me were both pick players, and while I have used one at times, fingers are "home" to me. When playing the bands older songs, I've tried it with a pick and never been quite happy with the feel I get. I feel like I can own those lines better with a percussive finger style even if it doesn't entirely replicate the sound when they recorded them.

[Bigwan]

I'd recommend you try Ashdown's James Lomenzo signature pedal... 

 

[DiMarco]

On 25/12/2020 at 14:05, Beer of the Bass said:

In the band I'm with at present, the first two bass players before me were both pick players, and while I have used one at times, fingers are "home" to me. When playing the bands older songs, I've tried it with a pick and never been quite happy with the feel I get. I feel like I can own those lines better with a percussive finger style even if it doesn't entirely replicate the sound when they recorded them.

I have played for about 30 years now, 25 of those exclusively fingerstyle and slap.
But then I got my Ric and wanted to sound like Chris Squire. It can ONLY be done with a pick, especially on a Ric.

So I ordered a big box of picks of all shapes and sizes, while practicing I would switch between them based on how they feel and how they sound... It took me just two or three weeks to learn to play with picks and make it both sound good and feel natural.

So have a bit of faith and go for it! is my advice. You can do this.

[Stub Mandrel]

I don't really like playing with a pick but the thing I've found is that for bass I need a heavier pick and for guitar and to hold it looser - you don't always need to smack the strings as hard as you expect to get the attack you want.

But it is like playing a totally different instrument!

[Beer of the Bass]

12 hours ago, DiMarco said:

I have played for about 30 years now, 25 of those exclusively fingerstyle and slap.
But then I got my Ric and wanted to sound like Chris Squire. It can ONLY be done with a pick, especially on a Ric.

So I ordered a big box of picks of all shapes and sizes, while practicing I would switch between them based on how they feel and how they sound... It took me just two or three weeks to learn to play with picks and make it both sound good and feel natural.

So have a bit of faith and go for it! is my advice. You can do this.

I actually quite like using a pick in some places, for a bit of click on the attack with flatwounds, vaguely in the manner of Carole Kay or Joe Osborne and others of that era. It's when it gets more into driving rock lines with a lot of repeated 8th note downstrokes that I find that the feel I get isn't quite there. I can play the lines, but somehow when live with the band I get slightly better energy with fingers. I've worked on it to some extent, but I also think there's nothing wrong with leaning more towards being a particular type of player.

[BassAdder60]

I can play both to a similar ability and my original aim was to get a similar punchy sound minus the pick as I like using fingers mostly 

Strange thing I played in my garage today for a change ( harder surfaces etc ) and the pict tone was way too twangy yet finger style sounded great and punchy

I think setting EQ to the room plays a part but for now I’m back with finger style I think as it just feels more in contact with the instrument ( which you are of course ) 

[hubrad]

Nobody seems to have mentioned fingernails yet.. mine seem to work so that , depending on finger angle, I can use pads or nails as I wish. 

[Paul S]

3 hours ago, hubrad said:

Nobody seems to have mentioned fingernails yet.. mine seem to work so that , depending on finger angle, I can use pads or nails as I wish. 

I think if you read the 3rd and 4th posts, they mention fingernails.

[HowieBass]

It's OK to use a pick, honestly!