Using a PICK!

[BobVbass]

0.6mm orange Totex for me - 25 years and I'm not changing now! Tortex wear down rather than snapping and you can play really fast and really syncopate (can't spell sorry!) - between string changes are still slower than fingers but the attack and rhythm matching are superb

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='TKenrick' post='704411' date='Jan 7 2010, 04:45 PM']Bobby Vega is probably my favourite pick player. Not that much of him on youtube but he's one of the few guys that can really groove with a pick...

[/quote]
That's funky as hell!! Never heard of him before but will check out what else he's done now...

As far as picks go, I use Dunlop 0.73s & 0.88s and they work really well for me in a lot of different styles. Having part of the pick serated, so that you can actually hold onto it properly is the most important thing - there's nothing worse than a pick that slides out of your hand whilst you're playing!

[Happy Jack]

+1 on the funky bass thang, but what's that fascinating bass hanging on the wall behind his head? Looks like an EUB of some sort, but might be a radical design for an electric bass.

[Conan]

Sorry, I still can't fathom how to embed youtube videos...

Still - some great funky pick playing here... Bass player is listed as "Mick Ward". Nice player.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY6vYnnkfaY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY6vYnnkfaY[/url]

Edited February 7, 2010 by Conan

[allighatt0r]

[quote name='Conan' post='712666' date='Jan 14 2010, 03:30 PM']Isn't that a Pink Floyd track?!

Great player BTW - thanks for posting that, I'd never heard of him before. Who does he play with?[/quote]

You're thinking of Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict?

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='TGEvans' post='707517' date='Jan 10 2010, 11:46 AM']Some good links guys, Thanks. Becoming a bit obsessed with this now. As far as playing live with a pick is there much difference eq wise? I know the tone will be different [b]but will I need to alter my settings much?[/b] I sound dumb now! Or would I be better getting a separate eq so that I can switch between fingerstyle and pick?[/quote]

No-one seems to have chipped in with this....

I find that I get a volume drop switching from fingers to pick mid set. Not a huge amount, but just enough to warrant considering some kind of modest boost arrangement. Tonal differences can be minimised/accentuated by picking over the end of the neck or shifting down to the bridge.

Pete.

[mep]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='703654' date='Jan 6 2010, 11:22 PM']How long's a piece of string?*

Seriously, you're likely to get as many different answers as people that reply - rather like strings

It took me ages & much experimentation before I settled on Jim Dunlop 1mm Black Nylons, so I'd suggest a hunt around on Ebay, get an assorted "grab bag", & see what suits you best.

From what you've stated I'd probably tend towards the heavier/stiffer picks, as I guess you want to enhance the edge & clank. Slightly thinner/more flexible ones are good for high-speed "drilling" - for me anyway.

Pete.


[size=1]*twice the distance from the middle to one end[/size][/quote]

I'm one for Jim Dunlop 1mm Black Nylons too. I play covers and will use a pick if it was used on the original recording. I'm first and foremost a fingers guy but love rocking out with a pick.

Never really took any advice or lessons, although there were some usefull lessons and exercises in Bass Guitar Magazine. You will need to put in some practice to get up to speed. One trick is to use a lot of up strokes as they are more powerfull. I have an odd way of holding the pick, I hold the thinner end and pick the strings with the fat end, opposite to guitarists, or a lot of bass players I pressume. It works for me. Find what works for you and got for it.

[Marvin]

I had to give up using a pick, just couldn't get to grips with it.

[attachment=42224:images.jpeg]


Seriously, I think the ones I've recently bought are too thick, and I can't get used to how rigid they are. Unfortunately I can't find my old ones, the house seems to have eaten them!

As an aside, a guitard reprimanded me the other day for referring to them as picks and was adamant that they should be called plectrums.

[Low End Bee]

My current theory is thinner teardrop shaped ones probably work better for people who don't use them all the time and big thick triangles work better for agricultural players like me who don't use fingers.

[Marvin]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='740132' date='Feb 9 2010, 04:40 PM']My current theory is thinner teardrop shaped ones probably work better for people who don't use them all the time and big thick triangles work better for agricultural players like me who don't use fingers.[/quote]

I'm rather agricultural (apt given my Devonian heritage ), so that would explain why I'm struggling with the teardrop picks I've been trying to use. Just remembered what the others were that I used to use, Jim Dunlop Tortex (little pic of a tortoise on them), nearing 1mm.

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='740132' date='Feb 9 2010, 04:40 PM']My current theory is thinner teardrop shaped ones probably work better for people who don't use them all the time and big thick triangles work better for agricultural players like me who don't use fingers.[/quote]

Well, the big triangles were a bit of nightmare for me - and I'm an agricultural player too! Always had them slip out of my fingers when shredding during long playing sessions. I used to have really strong hands and fingers at the time because of factory work I was doing. I prefer teardrops as they're faster for me to use. That said, up until recently I did use 1.14mm Tortex picks.

[Doddy]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='707537' date='Jan 10 2010, 11:59 AM']Thinner pick, faster pace! I have done this before and you can get upto some very fast speeds. Awesome fun and once you pair it with a fast fretting hand it looks impressive.

Thicker pick, more meaty tone but difficult to go incredibly fast.[/quote]

I can't get any speed with a thin pick.I find them much to floppy.When I use a pick
I go for either Dunlop 1.something(the purple/reddish ones) or Stubbys. Although I really
like using the Ibanez Steve Vai models too.
I find that I can get more speed and better tone from a heavier pick.Using a pick while palm
muting gives a great sound.

[andy till]

Hello there!

Here is an article i have wrote for a few websites about playing with a pick, hope it helps!

Andy



Playing bass with a pick / Pick style bass playing.


A lot of bass players have talked about the wrong and right way to play the bass guitar, what way should we play? What sounds do we get and is it right to play bass with a pick or plectrum?

Different people have many answers to this. Yes there are right and wrong ways of playing bass, but however there is nothing wrong with playing the bass with a pick, there is nothing wrong playing bass with fingers and also slapping away on your favourite bass grooves.

Learn pick and finger style, to be a great bass player you should play both! However there is nothing wrong in playing the way you want to play bass, get your sound, and enjoy the style and technique that is for you. Playing with the pick is what I enjoyed and a style I have worked close with.

My article is focusing on the pick player, the pick style of bass playing! I myself am a pick style bass player, I love playing with a pick, love the sounds I can make and the great part of making people dance and enjoy the music! If you are a player starting out, a player who wants to know more about the pick or a player who never looks to the pick this is looking at the side of the pick style, the players, some history, how to play and things I have learnt in this style of many styles on the bass guitar…. the pick player!

Not to go on too much, but some brief history here. When the fender bass first ever came out it was made to be heard, made to be easy to carry not big like the upright bass, made to be electric and one thing made to be easy for guitarists to play so they could double up, get more work playing bass as well.

The electric bass was played with the thumb to start with; the guitarists came along and started to use their picks on the bass!
This started to become a technique with the electric bass player in the studios. The attack of the pick could be heard, it didn’t get lost and worked well with the studio equipment and sound at that time. It was a very precise sound with a high end and a good cut through sound. Session bassist Carol Kaye picked up the fender bass when a bassist didn’t turn up for a session. She put down her guitar and picked away on the fender bass. From then on she made pop music history. Take a listen to hits from the Beach Boys, the Doors and the original mission impossible theme tune.

Carol developed the flat wrist pick technique and the deep sound with the click. She has taught and published many books on this subject. For me Carol is an influence in the way to play with a pick. For me this was the start of pick playing, there are other players who played with the pick, on big hit records and also helped to shape this style of playing.

So what sounds can you get? Playing with a pick you can get a range of sounds depending on how you set your amp and bass up and the way you play! If you play with a pick properly and not sloppy you can get some great deep tones, tones with a click or if you wish a trebly sound.

Also where you play on the bass with the pick comes in to play.
Play near the neck you get a deeper sound, play near the bridge you get a more treble sound. Work and experiment playing in various parts around the bass’s pick ups to get different sounds.

Picks are for punks and heavy metal players with wristbands! I hear this all the time! Not really you can apply a pick to any style of music, any groove, play any song you desire if played and practiced well.

When I’ve been out recording or working live I was doing a show in the north of England. After the show someone came up and said “ I was amazed to see you played with a pick, the sound out front was so deep and great, but like fingers”. When doing a recording session I used the pick, one track I was asked to play very bright with the pick, the other tracks deeper sounding with the pick and a very slow acoustic number with the fingers…. that’s part of the job and knowing your chops…

Working with the pick. Good performance and pick technique is what is required to get the sounds and get the feel. A pick is very percussive where you can keep the rhythm of the wrist going when you are not playing a note, light muting is good for keeping a tight feel and sound! Always keep the wrist flat and keep it on the body of the bass, like you are hugging the bass! Use your wrist and don't move your whole arm....

Like alternate fingering with fingers it’s important to play down – up picking.

Down-up-down-up-down-up…. This makes your picking clean and constant witch is very important. DOWN the pick goes to the floor, UP the pick comes up to you. I have seen some players who just use down picking, great if your Jason Newstead and you will use down picking on slower more ballad type songs. Practice is the key to keeping your picking strong and feeling good. Mute the left hand on the stings and just play away with the pick different rhythms, up and down stokes. I still do this every day to keep on top of my pick style.

Holding the pick is important! I have seen many players holding the pick in different ways. The way I hold the pick is between the thumb, first finger and the second finger. Now some bassists play with just the thumb and first finger. I find I have more grip and control using three fingers. Also there is open and closed hand position. Open you can let the fingers hand open and closed you close up the fingers like a fist. I prefer using the close fist and hand holding the pick with three fingers. I get a better attack with the pick and feel. I feel more in control playing this way. Don’t tense up the hand, keep it relaxed and in control.


Two types of picking are scratch picking where you can get a scratchy sound by using the edge of the pick and digging in the string more and flat-picking where you are flat on the string. It depends on what sounds you want to get and what songs you are working on. Practice really digging in the stings to playing with more light and shade from heavy to lighter picking. It all works well learning the different way with the pick and opens up more tones and sounds.

Another important part of playing with a pick and I learnt this in the early days, stick to the same pick. You want to get a sound of your own, the rite sound! If you use different picks, different gauges and weights of picks or just nick picks of the guitarist that are flimsy or the wrong size before a gig, it wont work.
I used to change picks all the time. The sound changed, some picks were too heavy, had no grip and I struggled.
I tried out lots of different picks and plectrums, gauges, thickness until I found what worked for me! I have stuck to the same pick, same size, good grip and same gauge. I find a 1mm tortex blue pick works great for me as I am not a heavy pick player, although everyone is different, so find what works for you and feels good. Stick with the same type of pick!

Well, we have had a brief insight in to playing and performing bass with a pick and looking at the bass pick style.
I hope it helps if you are playing bass with a pick, wanting to learn pick style as another style along with finger style, wanted more info about playing with a pick or just interested in the bass guitar and the way its played or simply what is bass pick playing.



Andy


[url="http://www.andytill.com/news.asp?newsid=229"]pick playing [/url]

Edited February 10, 2010 by andy till

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='707537' date='Jan 10 2010, 11:59 AM']Thinner pick, faster pace! I have done this before and you can get upto some very fast speeds. Awesome fun and once you pair it with a fast fretting hand it looks impressive.

Thicker pick, more meaty tone but difficult to go incredibly fast.[/quote]
I don't mean to deny your experience and I rarely play with a pic but I would expect a thicker stiffer pick to be faster than a thinner more flexible pick.

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='742461' date='Feb 11 2010, 07:55 PM']I don't mean to deny your experience and I rarely play with a pic but I would expect a thicker stiffer pick to be faster than a thinner more flexible pick.[/quote]

That depends on individual factors, I reckon. How you play, what you play, and then perhaps other factors such as how strong your hands are, etc.. I started off playing with thick picks but found that they were counterproductive for faster playing. Over time I've used thinner and thinner picks, used 1.14's for ages but now use .88s. I may even go one size thinner. Perhaps this is just because I'm 'getting old', mind you

[bassbloke]

I've had a staphylococus infection in my right index finger for some weeks so, out of neccessity, had to start playing with a pick again (i did 2 gigs playing my usual fingerstyle with an infected finger and it was v unpleasant).

I play guitar as well and have also settled on 1mm nylon picks. They're stiff enough to produce a decent attack. The nylon gives a cleaner less scrapy tone and they're a little bit of flex in there to enable faster picking without too much attack or a knackered wrist. They biggest problem with them is that they're quite slippery.

My pet hate with pick style playing is striking the strings at an angle because it produces a nasty scraping sound. I also think it's important to keep muting with the right hand. So, I pick with the fleshy part of my wrist over the bridge, but with the pick over the rear pickup more a more defined attack. It takes some getting used to, but I can mute the string for fast triplets and 16th notes.

The ability to play fingerstyle, thumb style, pick style, slap are all essential for the rounded bass player. The key is to develop an effective style for each.

I'm tempted to try some dunlop tortex sharps again. Years ago I used the green (0.88) so I might try them again.

[Jerry_B]

Tortex's are good when they're brand new as they have a 'chalky' sheen and thus are easier to grip. Even when that wears off they don't tend to get shiny. As for the scraping sound you might get, I think that's down to technique. Sometimes you can use it to add to the sound, but with a small adjustment to the pick angle you can cancel it out. You will tend to notice it more when playing near the bridge though.

[Baxter]

I use a thumbpick, I don't know any other Bass Players who do! Any here?

[discreet]

[quote name='TGEvans' post='702503' date='Jan 6 2010, 09:53 AM']Im quite enjoying using a pick but feel that there may be something missing with my technique.[/quote]

After a long process of trial and error, I have found these to be an excellent balance between speed and tone:

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='Baxter' post='743535' date='Feb 12 2010, 09:50 PM']I use a thumbpick, I don't know any other Bass Players who do! Any here?[/quote]

I tried one for a while many moons ago but didn't have much fun with it.

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='discreet' post='743970' date='Feb 13 2010, 01:40 PM']After a long process of trial and error, I have found these to be an excellent balance between speed and tone:

[/quote]

Are they metal coated?

[witterth]

Quote:"As an aside, a guitard reprimanded me the other day for referring to them as picks and was adamant that they should be called plectrums. "Unquote

Guitar Knob

[Musicman69]

[quote name='discreet' post='743970' date='Feb 13 2010, 01:40 PM']After a long process of trial and error, I have found these to be an excellent balance between speed and tone:

[/quote]

Yeah, I use these too. Really easy to grip, the .75 is perfect for me.
BTW not metal coated! Grey plastic.

[discreet]

[quote name='witterth' post='744001' date='Feb 13 2010, 02:07 PM']Quote:"As an aside, a guitard reprimanded me the other day for referring to them as picks and was adamant that they should be called plectrums. "Unquote

Guitar Knob[/quote]

Shouldn't that be[i] plectra[/i]?

[discreet]

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='743994' date='Feb 13 2010, 02:03 PM']Are they metal coated?[/quote]

No, bronze-coloured plastic, just to be pedantic