Fingers and or pick ( that old chestnut )

[Raslee]

I’ve been learning to use a pick on/off over the last 12 months - it’s bleddy hard work, I still haven’t cracked it. 25 years of fingers to blame. 

[Adee]

18 hours ago, fingers211 said:

For me, it has to be pick...........I have no choice !!😁

Snap!

[Guest]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

that's quite impressive pick style. I'm amazed at that. 

Nice.

Dave

YouTube decided I needed to see the TAB of it, too

Played on a Squier Jazz

[mingsta]

I suck at pick playing, I can just about pass at home, but always chicken out of playing pick in a gig situation as I'm more sure of my fingers. Anyone that says that it's not proper bass playing needs to have their head shoved down the loo and made to watch Bobby Vega vids on YouTube when they are let up for air. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by mingsta

[DaytonaRik]

Jason Newstead at home with some great pick work - especially at 1:40 or so playing the bass line from Iron Maiden's Phantom Of The Opera with a pick!

 

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by DaytonaRik

[petecarlton]

On 28/02/2021 at 09:20, Cuzzie said:

try Dava picks as they have a rubber grip area - joy to use and if you rotate them and hit strings with the rubber bit, it takes the click away and gives you more that Motown thud, granted being a bit more sticky on the strings

Fender also now do picks with a rubber grip - I have some and they make a lot of difference for someone like me who's all fingers (and thumbs!).

[Sparky Mark]

On 28/02/2021 at 12:12, dmccombe7 said:

Cheers @Cuzzie

Ordered a set will be here tomorrow.

Can always depend on you sir. 👍

Dave

My heavy duty DAVA control power grips arrived today and they're very different to Jim Dunlops. Just look at how much thicker they are compared to a JD 0.88mm. They feel really secure in use and unsurprisingly give a slightly meatier less toppy tone than the JD. 

I might order some of the standard versions to compare.

[Adee]

31 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

My heavy duty DAVA control power grips arrived today and they're very different to Jim Dunlops. Just look at how much thicker they are compared to a JD 0.88mm. They feel really secure in use and unsurprisingly give a slightly meatier less toppy tone than the JD. 

I might order some of the standard versions to compare.

 

Oooh they look good, I currently use Jim Dunlop Gator Grip 2mm so might be right up my street ... ORDERED!!

 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

On 02/03/2021 at 09:25, DaytonaRik said:

Jason Newstead at home with some great pick work - especially at 1:40 or so playing the bass line from Iron Maiden's Phantom Of The Opera with a pick!

 

 

He's STILL playing Supernaut wrong!

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Sparky Mark said:

My heavy duty DAVA control power grips arrived today and they're very different to Jim Dunlops. Just look at how much thicker they are compared to a JD 0.88mm. They feel really secure in use and unsurprisingly give a slightly meatier less toppy tone than the JD. 

I might order some of the standard versions to compare.

I haven't used a pick in such a long time but the HD DAVA ones are pretty good bits of kit.

Dave

[Cuzzie]

Yeah I tried them but they weren’t for me, I preferred the thinner ones, gave the big ones to a mate who plays gypsy jazz and he loves em 

[cetera]

How refreshing to not see anyone spouting any of the 'pick playing is not real bass playing' type of cr*p so prevalent on social media groups...

Well done everyone!

[dmccombe7]

There's no right or wrong way to play bass as long as you can play with confidence and enjoyment.

I see pick playing as an added tool. No different from slap or finger-picking styles.

I don't deny i prefer fingerstyle and it feels more natural to me but that's probably down to 40+ yrs of fingerstyle.

Then again i'm no expert or even competent at slap as a style but i muck around a bit with it just for fun. To get to a decent level using pick i want to try and play our full set where appropriate with the pick and eventually i can pick and choose when i want to use it.

Dave

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by dmccombe7

[Cuzzie]

Wahey-pick and choose......🤣

[dmccombe7]

Ran thru first half of our set with a pick and the song in particular i wanted to use it for was mainly the Sweet Ballroom Blitz. Guitarist in our band now wants to do the live version with more attack.

Good news is that i found the pick not too difficult after all. Still needs a lot of work to get my confidence in using a pick. The bit in middle where bass is prominent is the bit i struggle with. Not fast and not technical its all about the rhythmic feel of it. Comes so naturally with my fingers.

Good first stab tho. The DAVA picks have certainly made a big difference.

Dave 

[Cuzzie]

14 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Ran thru first half of our set with a pick and the song in particular i wanted to use it for was mainly the Sweet Ballroom Blitz. Guitarist in our band now wants to do the live version with more attack.

Good news is that i found the pick not too difficult after all. Still needs a lot of work to get my confidence in using a pick. The bit in middle where bass is prominent is the bit i struggle with. Not fast and not technical its all about the rhythmic feel of it. Comes so naturally with my fingers.

Good first stab tho. The DAVA picks have certainly made a big difference.

Dave 

God man - glad to hear - I love pick playing exercises - things like jumping between E and D or E and G string, not playing notes of any worth, but getting used to moving around, also doing octaves whist fretting.

Cody Wright has a nice video somewhere on practicing.....

 

found it

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Cuzzie

[Cuzzie]

And Bobby if you can get past Scott!

 

[Guest]

More Dave Ellefson, the 70 seconds from 1'20" to 2'30" 🔥

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Ricky Rioli
+10 sec

[Cuzzie]

20 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

More Dave Ellefson, the 70 seconds from 1'20" to 2'30" 🔥

 

Lacking accuracy...........

What a player he is

[Cosmo Valdemar]

26 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

More Dave Ellefson, the 70 seconds from 1'20" to 2'30" 🔥

 

That is tight!

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Lacking accuracy...........

What a player he is

 

2 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

That is tight!

Ooh, here it is with the drums added. The drumming is equally tasty!

 

[Cuzzie]

Not just tight,it has groove,that is the most important part

[Walliebal]

I have always refused the pick until I decided to really try it. Then I discovered that the bass can definitely cut better trough in a band situation and on recordings. One of the reasons I did not like the sound of the pick is that in my mind it sounded harsh and thin. But that all depends on how you use it and your tone settings. I turn the treble a bit down when using a pick. Also, I really like the sound of picking the strings on my Fender Mustang JMJ with flats. So now the pick, for me, is a great tool for different purposes, just like fingers or slapping & popping. I currently use 1.14mm nylon max-grip Dunlops. I have one in purple 1.14 pick which just sounds better than the standard black ones, just because it's purple. I think I also want to try the Dava's 😊.

Edited March 4, 2021 by Walliebal

[attackbass]

I play both and enjoy both. I feel more connected with fingers but sometimes, especially in recording situations the pick wins out in terms of tone and feel..

I was always anti pick and begrudgingly used them for recording If the producer pushed for it but then I saw Chris Chaney play and I realised how cool it was to be great doing both well! 

 

It's all about music at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you get it out as long as you get it out!! (Music that is) 🤣

[Killed_by_Death]

 

I played with fingers for about 5 years & was dead against using a plectrum. Eventually I came to realize many of the sounds I was after were easier achieved with a plectrum, & I found The One:

I soon realized strings last longer when using a plectrum, so it's here to stay. I play almost exclusively with V-Picks, except the occasional time that I want an abrasive attack, which means I use Tortex:

No teardrop-shaped plectrums for me, only the unilateral shape, so that all 3 corners feel the same & you essentially can use it 3 times longer.