Pick Players - A question ?

[BassAdder60]

Still seeking the tone from pick playing  on my PBass and I have a question ? 

I miss the fullness of tone that I get finger style so the question is with a pick should I just 

1: dial back the tone control

2 : increase the bass on my amp 

 

I’m sure I’ve tried this but maybe not enough extra bass and backing off the tone control 

Why do I still seek pick playing, speed of playing and it just suits the rock style better 

[Paul S]

Are you talking about this in the context of playing in a band or by yourself?

[ambient]

If you don’t like the sound of a pick then don’t use one.

[BassAdder60]

17 minutes ago, Paul S said:

Are you talking about this in the context of playing in a band or by yourself?

Band context 

[BassAdder60]

14 minutes ago, ambient said:

If you don’t like the sound of a pick then don’t use one.

But I like the dynamics using a pick just miss the depth of tone 

[Paul S]

3 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

Band context 

Is this tone appraisal whilst actually playing or have you heard recordings played back and find it lacking?  I just find it hard to imagine you need more bass.  For me and what I am aiming for - blues rock 3 piece - guitar bass drums - I set my eq for a slight bass cut, slight low mid boost, slight high mid cut, treble flat.  Weeny bit of drive that fattens the sound, plus a smidgeon of compression.  Then vary the tone knob depending upon the song.  But maybe the tone I aim for is different to the one you are?  I don't know - all so very subjective.

[Lozz196]

Strangely I’ve found that using a thinner pick, around 0.88mm gets me a sound fairly near to finger style, anything more and the sharpness of the attack makes it evident it’s now a pick.

[PaulThePlug]

Move a little more away from the bridge?

[ambient]

I think what you don’t like about the sound is the reason people do. The envelope of the sound and the click is I think why people use them. 
 

I’m not a pick player. The only time I’ve ever used one was at uni, and that was spectacularly unsuccessful. The thing fell out of my fingers mid song and landed at the feet of the examiner. 

[BassAdder60]

I can play equally well pick or fingers 

 

There is a tone I love playing with a pick yet with the band ( in particular against the drums ) I have found the pick tone is without roundness and depth that fingers give you. 
 

I think I might be getting close and need to get my old finger tone out of my head so as to accept the pick tone and get on and use it live with the band. 

[Ricky 4000]

Carole Kaye does what you describe with a (felty?) pick. I think.

[Bassfinger]

I play both, but mainly use a pick when live playing as I can't feel all the fingers on my right hand so Im more prone to mistakes playing finger style. 

 

For all the talk of tone and stuff that folk trot out, I find that when I listen to recordings of my playing I cant tell which method I was using at the time.

[PaulWarning]

I've found I can get fairly near by using EQ, but not increasing the bass but cutting the treble,  of course there's not a lot you can do about the faster attack you get with a pick, I don't think Macca sounds like he's playing with a pick

[NancyJohnson]

I've pretty much always played with a pick, for me it's more of an attack and speed thing. 

 

You can woolly things up and sound more like a finger player easily enough.  Felt picks anyone?  Failing that, adjusting the tone controls post bass; personally I'd just leave everything open on the bass and alter things via the amp or any pre-processing. 

[Rich]

15 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I've pretty much always played with a pick, for me it's more of an attack and speed thing. 

 

 

Likewise. The songs I use a pick on are all about either attack or speed/rhythm. Rancid's 'Time Bomb' doesn't sound aggressive enough fingerstyle, and the rhythm of The Beat's 'Mirror In The Bathroom' only really works with the regular up/down pick strokes.

In terms of tone, I've never noticed a lack of bass when switching between fingers and pick. For some of the more aggressive songs, I use an SVT model on the MS-60B with a bit of grit, but even then the 'tone' controls on the model are set fairly flat. Likewise the fliptop model I use for some of the more old skool sounds.

Edited August 22, 2022 by Rich

[Bassfinger]

53 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I've pretty much always played with a pick, for me it's more of an attack and speed thing. 

 

You can woolly things up and sound more like a finger player easily enough.  Felt picks anyone?  Failing that, adjusting the tone controls post bass; personally I'd just leave everything open on the bass and alter things via the amp or any pre-processing. 

And attck the string with the pick angled so its more the edge stroking the string than the side plucking it.

[Russ]

15 hours ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Carole Kaye does what you describe with a (felty?) pick. I think.

She uses little teardrop jazz plectrums. She sent me some about 20-odd years back, when she was offering lesson materials by post over TBL (the mailing list). She just palm-mutes a lot. 

 

+1 on using thin picks. I'm a big fan of Dava Control picks, they're thick in the centre and thin at the edge, and they're flexible and bend a bit in the middle. You get the pick "click" then it rounds off nicely. 

[bertbass]

The type of pick and the material it's made of make an unbelievable difference to the sound.  My preferred pick is a Jim Dunlop, nylon, 1 mm, the black ones.  These give the sound I'm after, other makes / materials sound different and not to my liking.  Try different picks before altering the tone.

[Dan Dare]

17 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Strangely I’ve found that using a thinner pick, around 0.88mm gets me a sound fairly near to finger style, anything more and the sharpness of the attack makes it evident it’s now a pick.

 

I find this, too. A little give in the pick seems to produce a rounder sound, perhaps because it pushes the string aside a little less aggressively. Hardness of the material the pick is made from affects the sound, too.

 

16 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

Move a little more away from the bridge?

 

Good point. I find I tend to play closer to the bridge with a pick. I guess that's due to body mechanics - it's more difficult to play near the end of the fingerboard with a pick in my experience.

 

16 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

I think I might be getting close and need to get my old finger tone out of my head so as to accept the pick tone and get on and use it live with the band. 

 

To an extent, this is true. The sharper attack from a pick means it will never sound like fingers. You should be able to warm things up with experimentation, though.

[FinnDave]

14 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

I play both, but mainly use a pick when live playing as I can't feel all the fingers on my right hand so Im more prone to mistakes playing finger style. 

 

For all the talk of tone and stuff that folk trot out, I find that when I listen to recordings of my playing I cant tell which method I was using at the time.

I've been playing bass for about 50 years, always finger style until 2017 when a motorcycle accident meant I couldn't use my right hand fingers properly So, I switched to using a pick. Took a week or two to get used to it, but as Bassfinger says, when I listen to recordings of the same songs played with the same band, I have to check the date to know whether I was using pick or fingers. 

I found the best pick for me was a 3mm Dunlop, absolutely no chance of any flex, so it had the feel of direct contact with the strings that finger style did.

About two years ago, I was fiddling around with one of my basses and realised I was playing fingerstyle, but bending from my knuckle joint instead of the base of my finger as I had previously, until the loss of  tendon ruled that out. I don't think I have played with a plectrum since.

Still can't tell in recordings which I was using, though! 

[Supernaut]

Stingray?

[BassAdder60]

22 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Stingray?

PBass 

[Ralf1e]

Not read all this thread so apology if I'm too late.

A pick gives faster attack in theory and therefore can cut through the mix better.

Playing with fingers is softer more subtle and controlable IMHO. But if you hit it hard it's devastating. 

Wind back the tone to treble and double your power and you have your pick sound. Lots of players like that for slap style ect. 

Bottom line is what do you want to sound like?

I'm gonna upset people here and say if you want to sound like a frustrated guitarist go buy a guitar. If you want big powerful booming bass. Use your fingers and teach them to caress stroke and snap and pound when required.

Just my view others will not agree. Such is life

Hope that helps

[Bassfinger]

7 hours ago, FinnDave said:

I've been playing bass for about 50 years, always finger style until 2017 when a motorcycle accident meant I couldn't use my right hand fingers properly So, I switched to using a pick. Took a week or two to get used to it, but as Bassfinger says, when I listen to recordings of the same songs played with the same band, I have to check the date to know whether I was using pick or fingers. 

I found the best pick for me was a 3mm Dunlop, absolutely no chance of any flex, so it had the feel of direct contact with the strings that finger style did.

About two years ago, I was fiddling around with one of my basses and realised I was playing fingerstyle, but bending from my knuckle joint instead of the base of my finger as I had previously, until the loss of  tendon ruled that out. I don't think I have played with a plectrum since.

Still can't tell in recordings which I was using, though! 

I mainly bend from my knuckles rather than the joint up at the hand proper. 

 

I also have the benefit of great big hands so can play comfortably anchored almost all the time, and only need to move my thumb onto E if the song requires extended time up on G.

 

I do enjoy finger playing and practice it daily. Sadly all the pracrice in the world won't repair nerve damage, so when accuracy matters it's out with the Tortex triangle 1.0 mm.

[FinnDave]

I think I have managed to independently arrive at the 'floating thumb' technique. Whatever it is, I now have the speed and feel I had before my accident and no longer need a pick. Having said that, I played some of my best gigs using a pick - but I think they would have been even better if I had been able to use my fingers.