Returning to Pick Playing - Now to get the right tone

[BassAdder60]

I’m a lover of playing bass with a pick as it suits the rock stuff I play but I keep holding off using a pick as the fullness of bass tone with fingers is also a great tone and I’m about to set myself a task … 

1: achieve a great tone using a pick with as much fullness as I can get 

2: still achieve that great pick clarity 

3: sit well in the mix ( single guitar band, guitarist uses Marshall 4x12 

 

Im using a PBass loaded with nickel rounds and my ABM600 through my Ampeg SVT212AV cab

 

About to add the Ampeg Opto compressor and Ampeg Scrambler drive pedal for max punch and a bit of grind when required 

 

Will probably use the Shape Out on the ABM and add a little mids back to give me the most full bottom end 

 

Any tips for making this work where I don’t feel lacking in that warm full finger tone sound ? 

Edited March 12, 2022 by BassAdder27

[Lozz196]

I’ve been checking out pickups recently - bear with me on this - and listened to the difference between Fender Custom Shop 62s and Pure Vintage 63s. The 63s have less highs and more low mids and as a result have a more solid/warm sound, so I’d translate this to the eq on the amp, drop some highs a touch and add in some low mids. See the link below for what I mean:

 

 

[Jonesy]

How about looking at some of the softer/thinner pick options? Can't say I've ever tried them (but now you have me thinking they're worth a go!), but felt or rubber picks might get you a tone closer to fingers?

 

When I want a softer tone using a pick I go for either the Jim Dunlop .60mm nylons (it's just annoying they're a boring grey colour) or the red soft sharkfin landstrom. Both of those give me a rounder tone with less of the snappiness you get from harder picks.

[Downunderwonder]

Step 1, back off the bass on the Marshall.

[BassAdder60]

On 13/03/2022 at 05:19, Downunderwonder said:

Step 1, back off the bass on the Marshall.

I agree but my guitarist isnt using a really heavy bass tone

 

I notice the difference more with the drums tone and the bass guitar tone

Edited May 9, 2022 by BassAdder27

[Osiris]

7 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

 

1: achieve a great tone using a pick with as much fullness as I can get 

 

Go for as thick a plectrum (as they were called when I were a lad 😀) as you can as different thicknesses sound different to one another.

 

IME the thinner the gauge of plectrum the thinner your tone is.

 

I play with a mixture of finger and plectrum during our set and a 2.0mm gauge allows me to keep the same EQ for both methods without losing the low end and lower mids, you just get more bite in the highs. A lot of guys on here seem to go for <1mm thickness but to me anything that thin sucks out the depth and weight from the sound and makes the bass sound more guitar like, which may be what they want, but I like my bass thick and chewy to underpin the rest of the band and 2.00mm is perfect for that. My current preference is for the Dunlop Prime Grip plectrum which has a 3D moulded texture so it doesn't slip from my sweaty hands. 

 

And don't cut out too many low mids with the EQ, it may sound great on its own but that's usually where the weight of the bass resides in the mix. If you're playing a jazz or other 2 pickup bass, a little push in the low mids adds a perceived thickness to the bass tone. 

[BassAdder60]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

 

Go for as thick a plectrum (as they were called when I were a lad 😀) as you can as different thicknesses sound different to one another.

 

IME the thinner the gauge of plectrum the thinner your tone is.

 

I play with a mixture of finger and plectrum during our set and a 2.0mm gauge allows me to keep the same EQ for both methods without losing the low end and lower mids, you just get more bite in the highs. A lot of guys on here seem to go for <1mm thickness but to me anything that thin sucks out the depth and weight from the sound and makes the bass sound more guitar like, which may be what they want, but I like my bass thick and chewy to underpin the rest of the band and 2.00mm is perfect for that. My current preference is for the Dunlop Prime Grip plectrum which has a 3D moulded texture so it doesn't slip from my sweaty hands. 

 

And don't cut out too many low mids with the EQ, it may sound great on its own but that's usually where the weight of the bass resides in the mix. If you're playing a jazz or other 2 pickup bass, a little push in the low mids adds a perceived thickness to the bass tone. 

Just ordered some 2mm Prime Grip to try 👍

[NHM]

I've played in a classic rock band with a similar set up to yours, and started to play with a pick to get greater speed, consistency and clarity required. 

I've tried a few types of pick and settled on a standard Dunlop 1mm - but I play closer to the neck, to offset the 'click' of the pick with more natural 'thump'.

[Dankology]

I'm currently trying a similar experiment and picked up a selection pack of felt, leather and possibly lino plectrums on Ebay for about £5.

 

I can't say that I've really got on with any of them yet in terms if feel although they have tamed some of the sharp attack. Create a lit of dust/fibres too.

[ezbass]

Turning the pick around to use the rounder corners will also soften the attack.

[Paul S]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

 

IME the thinner the gauge of plectrum the thinner your tone is.

 

 

I find this, too - the thinner picks don't give me the sound I want.  For some years now I've been happy with the Dunlop 1mm nylon ones.  I tend not to drop or lose them and, in time, the point get worn to a more rounded profile -  at this stage it gives a softer attack than a new point that I find easier to control than using the back shoulder of the pick.

[SteveXFR]

I find that once you get up to a 1mm pick, going and thicker doesn't really change the tone as 1mm is already pretty rigid. 

I use lots of gain, plenty of bass and mids and back off the treble a bit. 

A lot of the best rock pick players have a tone that sounds bloody awful in isolation (Lemmy for example) but sounds great in a mix.

[ezbass]

57 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I find that once you get up to a 1mm pick, going and thicker doesn't really change the tone as 1mm is already pretty rigid. 

I use lots of gain, plenty of bass and mids and back off the treble a bit. 

A lot of the best rock pick players have a tone that sounds bloody awful in isolation (Lemmy for example) but sounds great in a mix.

That extends beyond pick players too, Geddy and Entwistle spring to mind.
 

I started with 2mm picks, using my guitarist brain that thicker picks give a more pleasing tone and I still think that for guitar this applies, at least to my ears. However, since then, I reduced the gauge I used until I was down to .73mm, not least due to Bobby Vega’s use of that gauge and using the rounder corner. Although it does add a sharper attack, it does make the bass punch through, whilst still retaining good low end. This might be desirable if you have a guitarist who insists on a low end heavy tone.*  I still mess about with other gauges, but I don’t stray too far above the .73 (never lower), a Dunlop Jazz 3 being about as heavy as I’ll go. I was wondering what Chris Squire used, he being one of the more famous pick users and a Google search revealed a Herco Flex 75, which, despite the name, is apparently around the 1mm mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I’d be inclined to put a sticker over his EQ section that says, “You already have a bass player.”

[uk_lefty]

I was thinking something similar recently... I'm going to try sticking some of the soft velcro stuff to one side of a pick to see if I can maintain the speed of the attack but soften the tone a bit.... If that makes sense.

[SteveXFR]

16 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I was thinking something similar recently... I'm going to try sticking some of the soft velcro stuff to one side of a pick to see if I can maintain the speed of the attack but soften the tone a bit.... If that makes sense.

 

A bit of sponge under the strings at the bridge might achieve that. I would think felt or velcro on a pick would last no time before it's shredded.

[uk_lefty]

14 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

A bit of sponge under the strings at the bridge might achieve that. I would think felt or velcro on a pick would last no time before it's shredded.

Good point!

[Boodang]

Where on the bass are you using the pick.. near the bridge? I like to pluck over the fretboard around the 17th fret, so I started to play with a pick around the same area with the obvious result of a fuller tone. Whether that gives you the attack you need is another matter.

[shoulderpet]

On 12/03/2022 at 22:25, BassAdder27 said:

I’m a lover of playing bass with a pick as it suits the rock stuff I play but I keep holding off using a pick as the fullness of bass tone with fingers is also a great tone and I’m about to set myself a task … 

1: achieve a great tone using a pick with as much fullness as I can get 

2: still achieve that great pick clarity 

3: sit well in the mix ( single guitar band, guitarist uses Marshall 4x12 

 

Im using a PBass loaded with nickel rounds and my ABM600 through my Ampeg SVT212AV cab

 

About to add the Ampeg Opto compressor and Ampeg Scrambler drive pedal for max punch and a bit of grind when required 

 

Will probably use the Shape Out on the ABM and add a little mids back to give me the most full bottom end 

 

Any tips for making this work where I don’t feel lacking in that warm full finger tone sound ? 

Seymour Duncan SPB-2 Hot pickup, lots and lots of low mids, lots of warmth in the lows and somewhat rolled off highs, I'm a fingerstyle player but I think that pickup would sound great with a pick

[BigRedX]

Bef0ore you go changing EQ or replacing pickups spend some time testing out all the different pick materials, thicknesses and sizes. The only difference you have made is to swap from using your fingers to pluck the string to using a pick, therefore the pick is the first thing you should concentrate on to get the sound you want. It will probably take some time and may work out expensive, but ultimately it will be the best solution.

 

If it was me, I'd start by going to my local musical instrument store and buying one of every type of pick they have, and using that start narrowing down what you like and dislike about each one. 

[BassAdder60]

12 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Bef0ore you go changing EQ or replacing pickups spend some time testing out all the different pick materials, thicknesses and sizes. The only difference you have made is to swap from using your fingers to pluck the string to using a pick, therefore the pick is the first thing you should concentrate on to get the sound you want. It will probably take some time and may work out expensive, but ultimately it will be the best solution.

 

If it was me, I'd start by going to my local musical instrument store and buying one of every type of pick they have, and using that start narrowing down what you like and dislike about each one. 

Did this earlier this year 

 

I must own every variant of pick you can buy now !! 
Im liking the variation I can get in different pick gauges and materials 

 

I think I’ve found the pick for me now so that part of the equation is nearly sorted. Amazing the difference in tone from using say nylon to Tortex or Delrin 

 

[BigRedX]

48 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

Did this earlier this year 

 

I must own every variant of pick you can buy now !! 
Im liking the variation I can get in different pick gauges and materials 

 

I think I’ve found the pick for me now so that part of the equation is nearly sorted. Amazing the difference in tone from using say nylon to Tortex or Delrin 

 

 

Good work!

 

One thing to watch is that the sound of your bass when played with a pick doesn't disappear behind similar-toned guitars. In a previous band I found that using hard picks for the bass while sounding great on it's own, when I played with the band that included one guitarist who favoured a clean sounding Stratocaster, all but disappeared in the band mix. Changing to a softer nylon pick made the bass guitar sit in the correct place in the mix.

[BlueMoon]

A thick felt plectrum will get you close to the same sound as using fingers.

[BassAdder60]

Ok folks so an update after rehearsals night.

Played all songs using a pick ( Nylon Jim Dunlop 1.25mm ) 

The most important point I noticed was I had to back off a load of low mids in the EQ section of the ABM600 

Using Shape Off ( On sounding too boomy ) and this gave the tone a perceived depth yet still punchy. High mids and treble still present for clarity and tone on PBass backed off for some songs and opened up for others ( Green Day etc ) 

I was back to using my Ampeg Opto Compressor and that works really well keeping a tight thumpy sound. 

The image shows my settings just before I turned up to band level on the master volume ( around 9/10 o clock ) 

 

Next I’ve got the Ampeg SCR-DI coming to run up front before the compressor which I think will sound good and give me the scrambler drive option. 
I think I’m getting close to the tone I like and that fits with the band 

 

[BassAdder60]

Will be adding both pedals to a Pedaltrain Metro 16 and later add a floor tuner too 

[SteveXFR]

The metro 16 might be a bit small if you're using a proper power supply. I'm using the metro 24 and its just big enough for four pedals and a small power supply.