bass players play w/ a pick?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Axis
  • Start date Start date

w/ a pick or w/out a pick

  • With A Pick

    Votes: 88 46.8%

  • Without A Pick

    Votes: 116 61.7%
  • Total voters
    188
I can't play with a pick...

I've been playing bass for 7 years now, and playing with a pick just seems wrong to me. The feel, I guess, just will not sit right with me.

I need my thumb on the pick-up, and the old one-two
(sometimes three ;) ) takes over.

Some of my favorite bass players (Lesh,Gordon) use picks and sound amazing....I love the sharper attack it brings. I agree it must be a treat for recording.

I have blistered my fingers over and over and over again, I can light 'em on fire without feeling a thing.

When I have trouble playing a song with my fingers (cover band), I usually get really creative in my choice of notes, and let the audience listen between the lines.
 
McCartney plays at least half his stuff with a pick - including tons of Beatles classics we all know well.
 
i started out as a guitarist before moving to bass. so i started playing with a pick but once i found the funk of the fingers i have never looked back.
 
pick or fingers no

i prefer playing bass with my bare toes so i can play the guitar with my hands.
:p :p :p :p
 
JKestle said:
I have blistered my fingers over and over and over again, I can light 'em on fire without feeling a thing.
Click to expand...
God I love that. It freaks people out when I hold a lighter to my calluses. Great party trick.
 
once a purist, now a convert

when I originally learned to play I was strictly "fingers only." once I started playing harder music (metal, punk, thrash) I jumped over to pick and never looked back.
 
I always play with a pick, it just seemed easier when I started.
 
I started out playing almost all with a pick (wasnt very good with the fingers... plus i originally started out on guitar) but now more and more I do what I think the song best calls for... the tone, how fast i need to play, if the guitar is really heavy or not, etc... are factors i take into consideration.
 
I play with my fingers most of the time... but not always... when a song calls for a pick, I use a pick. :)
 
While I play the bass, I wouldn't call myself a bass player. But I prefer fingers for some things, pick for others. All depends on what you need for the song.
 
I play guit and bass.. when I practice bass, I use my fingers... when I record, I always end up using a pick, cause the tape shows I'm not as good with my fingers.... sad but true!
 
Fingers. Sometimes I have to use my thumb on a slow jazzy one we do because the ends of my fingers are so calloused they clack the strings like a pick :( Do use a pick on one song though, and often experiment with it but usually come back to fingers.
 
.....I use....fingers,side of fingers,pick,thumb,side of thumb,pick palmed with fingers for certain parts of a song,hand damping strings with pick,damping with flat of thumb,pulling with fingers,slapping,finger nails,pinch snapping,pick between the first finger and thumb plus the last three fingers for speed,felt picks,hard nylon picks,use of thumb to limit length of notes and fingers.......is there more?

Bass= 1956 Fender P-bass.....stock. are there other basses made? if so....why?
 
Garry Sharp said:
Fingers. Sometimes I have to use my thumb on a slow jazzy one we do because the ends of my fingers are so calloused they clack the strings like a pick :( Do use a pick on one song though, and often experiment with it but usually come back to fingers.
Click to expand...
I know what you mean... and, even my thumb is calloused. :(
 
Studios used to make you play with a pick to get more attack on to tape.

Mind you they also used to mix you way down to nothing more than a low rumble accompaniment to the the guitars, no matter how brilliant your bass part was.

I prefer finger style but I'll use whatever's needed for the song.

That rasping picked rock sound is hard to get with the higher action needed for clean finger style playing though.
It really needs an action change not just picking up a pick.
 
"action change"

It's nice having different basses already setup for different styles, etc. ;)
 
i'm not a bassist in the most liberal sense of the word. however, when i do pick one up i play with my fingers. i'm sure thats partly because of the style of music. i like the softer attack of fingers compared to a pick.
 
Chris Squire used a pick, then he switched to using his finger... and found he liked using a pick better so he switched back to using a pick... the point is, try both and use which ever works best for you and the style of music you play.
 
Chris Squire (Yes) used a pick, then he switched to using his fingers... and found he liked using a pick better so he switched back to using a pick. It was the other way around for me, and I'm comfortable with either, but perfer using my fingers more... anyway, the point is... try both and use which ever works best for you and the style of music you play.
 
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