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Forums > Music: Bass

Pick or fingers?

SoulBeats	Date: May 6, 2004 @ 10:43 AM So again another useless thread, but this is the bass forum... do you use fingers or pick when ya play with bass? I use fingers myself. Playing with pick never suited me on bass. No freedom when using pick.
blubat	Date: May 6, 2004 @ 11:05 AM depends on the song and the sound. if its too fast for my fingers i use a pick unless it compromises the sound im looking for...
Carl67	Date: May 6, 2004 @ 11:31 AM I play with a pick most of the time but I still use my fingers sometimes, it just depends on what type of music im playing.
bastardo23	Date: May 6, 2004 @ 12:32 PM fingers mostly, but if i'm looking for an eighties sound sometimes a pick works on the old electric.
kredd	Date: May 6, 2004 @ 12:46 PM i used to play bass with my bro on drums and my current singer on gtr/vox in a cover band and we'd play school functions in college just for fun. i'd switch b/n both styles. when we'd play something older like 'fire' by jimi i'd play with my fingers, most everything else was picked b/c it was faster or i just felt like it...or until my fingers wore out. cliff burton is my standard when it comes to bass so of course i had to play with my fingers every chance i got...
sqrlcub	Date: May 6, 2004 @ 2:09 PM Fingers only. The same goes for guitars. Picks are evil.
XentropyX	Date: May 7, 2004 @ 3:59 PM picks, fingers, thumb, remote control, drum stick, everything...
Vickxxx	Date: May 7, 2004 @ 9:47 PM finger picking..............on everything............
thedarkaeons	Date: May 27, 2004 @ 11:34 AM Both. Mostly fingers though.
bastardo23	Date: May 27, 2004 @ 11:44 AM clif burton was great!! anyone love steve harris?
nicoli	Date: May 31, 2004 @ 4:13 PM Fingers only. When I first started out I used a pick for the faster stuff but I'm faster with fingers than I am with a pick now. Fingers are just more personal.
Miniature	Date: June 1, 2004 @ 9:12 AM I use my fingers... i tried using a pick a short while ago and i couldn't play... its a bit weird considering that when i started using a pick was way easier than fingers... picks are too slow...
zique	Date: June 17, 2004 @ 4:59 AM Fingers.some think i use a pick,but I get certain sounds from raking my strings with my fingers.thumb also.
sqrlcub	Date: June 18, 2004 @ 12:31 PM For those that think picks are faster, listen to some of my guitar work. I don't know anyone who uses a pick that is able to pick that intricately or fast...not a brag on my guitar playing but more a dig at those who think picks are faster and have more control.
Intergalacti...	Date: June 18, 2004 @ 6:39 PM I'm a fingers man myself, I'll use picks on recordings just so I can keep a steady pace but live I'm always fingers. Also when your changin from style to style say if you needed slap it'll be easier to sort out. In a way
dicktruth	Date: June 23, 2004 @ 7:20 PM I much prefer the sound of a bass with a pick. I dunno why, I just think it sounds a lot better. Being a guitarist, I find it easier to play bass with a pick as well.
100thmonk	Date: June 24, 2004 @ 1:23 AM i find the sound od a picked bass quite clicky, and only really appropriate for heavy rock situations. even then, unless i am having trouble hearing myself, fingers are way more accurate, fast and capable of tonal subtlety. plectrums make the sound of the string all mid-laden, and restrains the the deeper tones of the string. as a matter of taste, the only reason i can personally find to use a pick on a bass is to achieve a specific. pingy, and clicky punk, rock or metal sound. but this sound is just as easily achieved with the tone and blend knobs on your bass and amplifier. i have yet to see real evidence that playing bass with a pick is faster.. the fastest players out there are almost all using fingers.
dicktruth	Date: June 24, 2004 @ 4:58 AM Try Sink or Swin by a band called Bigwig. I don't really know what counts as fast, but it sounds pretty damn speedy to me. Can you name a song or two with really fast fingerpicking?
sqrlcub	Date: June 24, 2004 @ 11:38 AM Try listening to any song by Rufus Reid. He plays faster and with his fingers (and a bow). Listen to my song called the Embrace. I play all my guitar parts (bass and guitar) with my fingers and play faster than most picks. I loathe picks.
chrismacmanus	Date: June 24, 2004 @ 1:07 PM I agree sqrl, haven't played a huge amount of bass, but I certainly know that using your fingers allows for more versatile playing. Fingerpicking on the guitar, you can pick a bassline with your thumb and play the melody over that with the rest of your fingers, just can't be done with a pick. It's probably worthwhile making sure you have your fingerpicking down before you start relying on a pick, you might just get stuck with one style of playing otherwise.
dicktruth	Date: June 24, 2004 @ 2:09 PM Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been using a pick since I started playing guitar, and it's taken me a lot of work to play some basic finger-picking with messing up.
Remember2Bre...	Date: June 28, 2004 @ 2:46 PM i start off with picks and then sometimes i finger or slap.
meisdead	Date: June 28, 2004 @ 5:31 PM i'm with remember on this one I use a pick but sometimes for fun(like when i hit the low B) i'll slap or if I just wanna mess around sometimes i use finger.
Yeah45454	Date: August 1, 2004 @ 10:50 PM Fingers are better cause u go much faster
DaveHall	Date: September 20, 2004 @ 11:01 AM I use my fingers, My guitarist uses a pick because of his fast and wicked riffs...
fleaflicker182	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 11:10 PM 50/50 I'd say. They both have their ups and downs. Picks are more even in tone and are good for percusion but fingers are so versatile.
iluminati	Date: September 28, 2004 @ 1:51 AM Aside from playing speed metal runs, you are MUCH more versatile learning to play with your fingers.
iluminati	Date: September 28, 2004 @ 1:52 AM also...a large number of players who think they are good with a pick dont realize that they arent paying attention to their downstrokes/upstrokes and end up with uneven sounding tones. This is more apparent on guitar then bass, but still holds true. Either way better with fingers.
biggles1	Date: November 7, 2004 @ 6:14 PM its gotta be fingers!!!! tho picks play a harsher sound, love the sound of fingers!!!
DeltaF86	Date: November 13, 2004 @ 2:24 AM Sometimes I like to hold a pick bewteen my thumb and pointer while using my middle and index to pluck. This gives me alot of freedom to change during a song (or a riff). there is no comparison to slap though!
Intergalacti...	Date: November 15, 2004 @ 4:40 PM Slap is THE bass technique, some times at band practice I find myself throwin it in anywhere just cos i love the sound. Like over a slow love ballad il pop it a couple of times and its really clear. shivers down spine
imemine	Date: November 15, 2004 @ 4:55 PM What ever gets the job done. What ever gets the tone you seek. I used to be a purest and only use my fingers but now I sometimes find that there are uses for picks. (I believe that I came across this revelation while playing the little guitar with those six tiny strings) The great thing about not using picks though is that you never find yourself looking for one!
DetRedWings88	Date: December 17, 2004 @ 10:23 AM bass was made to be played with the fingers so im a FINGER guy.......I hate bassists that use picks....just shows they cant play the instrument how it was intended to be played
imemine	Date: December 17, 2004 @ 10:30 AM "just shows they cant play the instrument how it was intended to be played"---Bullshit! Open your mind! That’s like saying that because cars only had stick shifts in the beginning, anyone who drives an automatic can’t drive across town.
zedsalt	Date: December 17, 2004 @ 11:41 AM I play guitar and bass with just about every surface of my hand except the back of the palm. If I wanted to record a clicky and/or attack-heavy bassline, I'd have to dig through my supplies to find my old picks. I realize there are loads of great bassists who use a pick, including a few who don't always sound clicky and/or attack-heavy; it's just not my bag. Speaking of bags, that's what makes my picks so hard to find: I have mine all stuffed in those teensy tiny little Ziplocs.
GTLive	Date: December 17, 2004 @ 1:59 PM I started playing as a kid by emulating my 1/2 brother who plays There I was playing bluegrass picking a guitar with 3 fingers. As I got older and started playing my own stuff, I began using a thin pick. I have finger picks, but am kinda spastic with them. I use a medium when playing lead parts and a thin when playing rhythm. Agree the right tool for the right job.
TheUnfoldingBox	Date: December 18, 2004 @ 10:34 AM I'm a guitarist first, percussionist 2nd and bassist somewhere in there...when i do play bass, i use my fingers. I don't use picks for guitar anymore either...and since i don't practice with a pick, when i use one my alternate picking and tremelo picking is atrocious. Small price to pay for some good fingerpickin'!
hueseph	Date: December 23, 2004 @ 5:00 AM I just can't seem to fit the picks up my nose. I'll have to go with fingers. A Q-tip works nice too.
meisdead	Date: February 1, 2005 @ 5:56 PM I play with fingers when possible. Fingers are faster when it comes to switching strings but when you have really fast stuff on one or two strings(right next to each other) it's faster ... for me anyways. I play a lot of metal so the pick sound works just fine for me.
BOWILLIE	Date: February 3, 2005 @ 4:56 PM i do it all.... but on bass.. fingers.. i need to feel what im doin..
machinehead5	Date: March 11, 2005 @ 8:03 PM Honestly i cant play with a pick for shit... I have to be able to feel the strings to play, if i cant feel them then i wont know what string im hitting... so... Picks never work for me...
ska-alex	Date: May 26, 2005 @ 8:07 PM i use both, it all depends on what attack im looking for.
TheOwl	Date: September 25, 2005 @ 5:25 PM Fingerstyle player myself though there are great pick players out there too (Chris Squire, Anthony Jackson, Steve Swallow as examples). Nothing against pick playing on bass, it just feels physically awkward for me personally.
K3VIN	Date: September 25, 2005 @ 5:30 PM my step dad uses his fingers!
Intergalacti...	Date: September 25, 2005 @ 5:31 PM Finger it will you?
Traf	Date: September 26, 2005 @ 7:30 PM Fingers and thumb..
FraDonaghy	Date: September 26, 2005 @ 7:35 PM Fingers... and I have never broken a string since I made the switch I also get a nicer sound from the strings I find.
GeneHilbert	Date: September 26, 2005 @ 7:42 PM Hybrid......... both simultaneously
Intergalacti...	Date: September 27, 2005 @ 5:24 PM Thats a point I've never broken a string while playing with fingers..... oh I tell a lie I broke one that was about 6/7 years old.
evansorchid	Date: September 27, 2005 @ 8:01 PM ............ I started with a pick, then I gradually started using my fingers once I began playing live gigs. The little buggers would slip out from between my fingers. Besides, I think the ladies out there like to watch bass players use their fingers. But, I still use picks when recording.....sometimes...
Alecs	Date: September 27, 2005 @ 11:42 PM totally dependent on the style and what type of sound you want
GeneHilbert	Date: September 28, 2005 @ 1:10 AM I thinking it's orifice dependent
LostYears	Date: September 28, 2005 @ 2:41 AM wheni pick up the bass i usually play pick because i enjoy playin technical stuff on bass...... and its hard to play technical with ur fingers
Intergalacti...	Date: September 28, 2005 @ 6:03 PM i don't neccessarily agree with that unlewss your idea of technical is different to mine?? care to ellaborate?
LostYears	Date: September 29, 2005 @ 3:01 AM i dont like to follow, i play a melody to time........ but i still prefer guitar
thought-fox	Date: September 29, 2005 @ 7:01 PM dirty little boys that pick get their hands slapped
DJChillie	Date: October 3, 2005 @ 3:32 AM I slap. Picks seem so figity and annoying. All i use my pick for it chewing on -DJ
laalaaloo	Date: October 5, 2005 @ 7:26 PM I get a more raw sound using a pick but I prefer to use my fingers, just depends on the sound I'm after an my mood.
TheOwl	Date: October 27, 2005 @ 10:50 PM For bass, strictly fingerstyle for me with occasional slapping.
MitchWillis	Date: October 27, 2005 @ 10:58 PM Fingers - Jazzy/Funk Pick - Heavy stuff (hardcore/rock), for speed and sound. But i dont play bass a whole lot.
GeneHilbert	Date: October 27, 2005 @ 11:24 PM finger your pick or pick your finger
hate9wicket	Date: October 27, 2005 @ 11:44 PM Never a pick, if I want a bright sound, I use my thumb down on the bridge, never slap, mainly fingerstyle high on the neck side.
Intergalacti...	Date: October 28, 2005 @ 7:59 AM Always fingers for the same reason as the wicket from number 9 eere above me
celtaidd	Date: October 29, 2005 @ 8:42 AM I tend to use fingers or finger and thumb together like you are holding a pick, but without a pick; If that makes sense
GreatGooglyM...	Date: November 6, 2005 @ 4:20 PM Both.
EtherEclectic	Date: November 7, 2005 @ 7:05 PM for bass i prefere pick, cause i use them 80% of the time with guitar. i can tripplet pick with my fingers on the bass ironically, just cant really control it well. now with a nylon string guitar i prefere fingers.
ironmike55	Date: November 7, 2005 @ 10:06 PM It's a no-brainer. Learn and practice both, and you'll be a more versatile player. It's just that simple. Me, I'm about 60% pick and 40% fingers. Probably because like most bassists, I started out on the guitar. Oddly enough, I use a medium pick for bass and a heavy or extra heavy for guitar. Go figure. Where the anti-pick crowd misses the point is that they fail to realize that using a pick is a distictly different style thatn fingerstyle. It has to be learned, developed and practiced. If you just grab a pick and start slamming away, it won't work. You need to deveolop the right 'touch' with the pick just like you do with fingers. And most importantly, leave the slick celluloid jobs for the six-string. The bass demands Tortex. God bless and shine his favor u[pon you all.
shouhei	Date: November 22, 2005 @ 7:09 AM I use fingers because it gives me a nicer tone and I can play faster and more accurately than any pick player with my right hand technique. however if I need a sharp pick kind of tone for a rock track or something I would possibly use it. I don't really have the rig for it anyway.
sparkotronic	Date: November 22, 2005 @ 1:42 PM
TameasDust	Date: November 22, 2005 @ 2:24 PM I take it this is NOT nose-pickers-anonymous
TegidC	Date: November 22, 2005 @ 2:27 PM I have been picking my nose for 14 years now. I accept it's a problem but I just can't stop. Discuss. I use my fingers. A pick hurts my nose. With a guitar though it varies with the tone, volume, general sound I want.
Veracohr	Date: November 22, 2005 @ 10:09 PM Floss. Oh wait, this isn't the dentistry thread?
TameasDust	Date: November 23, 2005 @ 10:28 PM
WalkingStick	Date: December 1, 2005 @ 8:56 PM I use my fingers a lot but ever since I started doing what I'm doing now with my band I got one of them picks that wrap arround your thumb so it don't fall off so I can pick with my infers and then strum chords with the pick because afer you play everyday with out one you get a fucked up bruse underneeth your finger nail and you can't grab suff so easily Dave The Wolf Man
BlackMage	Date: December 2, 2005 @ 6:38 AM That sure is a long sentence.
WalkingStick	Date: December 3, 2005 @ 3:00 PM not a sentence just rambling that doesn't express punctuation
TameasDust	Date: December 6, 2005 @ 12:13 AM I still say this should be a NOSE MUSIC forum
Alstroph	Date: December 8, 2005 @ 10:30 AM I definitely use fingers when playing bass. I get a lot more speed and I like the muffled sound.
zedsalt	Date: December 8, 2005 @ 11:57 AM I use my fingers when playing any instrument I have up my arsenal ( http://files.dmusic.com/music/z/e/zed/studio2.jpg ). The tambourine that's sitting behind the melodica basso can be played with one's foot, but I don't play it that way. And if I'm playing the bass pedals on the '63 Silvertone organ, I'm always playing the keys with my fingers at the same time.
Alstroph	Date: December 8, 2005 @ 12:49 PM Eh I dunno Zed... I love to play my piano with mallets.
TameasDust	Date: December 9, 2005 @ 4:08 AM ever get snot on your guitar ...
zedsalt	Date: December 9, 2005 @ 11:36 AM It just occurred to me- there are three twirling drums in that picture that I've played without using my fingers. I'm not talking about the Roto Toms; I'm talking about the drums that kind of resemble popsicles and are traditionally played by rubbing one's hands back and forth around the handles. I need to repair them before I can use them again, though. Mice ate both striker beads off of all three drums.
MinisterofSc...	Date: December 9, 2005 @ 11:41 AM TameasDust, I've recently stopped drooling on my bass
spooj	Date: December 17, 2005 @ 10:03 PM no one technique rules another.its all down to whats required.You could argue that finger style can actually mimick pick when you play tight to the bridge and with your choice of EQ and strings etc..but id personally always favour finger style for sheer expression and versatility.
olethros	Date: January 26, 2006 @ 10:40 AM Hm... I sometimes use my nails to get a pick-like sound and speed, but it's much harder than on the classic guitar due to string weight.
Estradasphere	Date: February 1, 2006 @ 4:57 PM Why would I waste my time playing with a pick ???
XentropyX	Date: February 2, 2006 @ 11:27 AM it allows you to apply different techniques to your playing, as well as giving you new tones to utilize. it's not "why would you waste your time with picks" it's "why would you waste your time limiting your techniques" if you don't want to use one, fine; but there ARE good reasons to.
MinisterofSc...	Date: February 2, 2006 @ 12:34 PM You could always get those finger pick things that attach to all your fingers so you get that sound while you play
Distilled1	Date: February 4, 2006 @ 2:13 AM Fingers add more posible notes at a time, like a keyboard(.) same with Guitar .But yes I'm a hack 80% Pick
the-turtle	Date: February 12, 2006 @ 8:41 PM those of you who play bass with their fingers are truly useing a tecnique whit can now be considered a lost art. using a pick sounds unatural and wrechid. And dont give me some sob story like" i use a pick when a song goes too fast for my fingers..." just look at shavo odaojian( of sytem of a down) do you remember that song question? the fastest paced section of the song was the bass! does that mean he must use a pick?!?!?!? NO!! if a mortal human can do it anyone can learn because thats how he can do it, he was dedicated to his work! there fore, if you use a pick you are undedicated. before i close if you are mainly a guitarist and play bass every once in a while, NO exception! if your going to play it play it right, the turtle
FebruaryBattles	Date: February 12, 2006 @ 8:42 PM step dad plays bass with fingers
CarvinAbuser	Date: February 14, 2006 @ 10:23 AM I prefer using a pick but then again my primary instrument is guitar. I've noticed that the bass strings give me blisters if I use my thumb a lot on my strumming hand or if I do a lot of sliding with my fretting hand. Maybe I need some better strings?
jewsus	Date: February 23, 2006 @ 5:05 PM i always use my fingers. the sound of a pick hitting a bass string makes me cringe. i agree with the-turtle, using tempo as an excuse for playing with a pick is ridiculous. you can do upstrokes and downstrokes with your finger, you don't need a pick. and even then, you're a bassist, not a guitarist. you don't have to play the riff exactly the same as the guitarist. personally i think it sounds better when the bassist doesn't play the same thing. in my old band, when the guitarist would thrash out a little, i'd play 1 note for every 2 of his. as a bassist you've got to remember : you're the one responsible for blending the melody and tempo together. you don't need to worry about keeping up with the guitarist, just the drummer. as long as you two keep the same pace, and you follow the guitarist's melody, you're doing what you're supposed to be doing.
PookaPooka	Date: February 24, 2006 @ 2:04 AM well i am a guitarist so when i play my bass, i play it like a guitar. its just the way i like it, i love the way it sounds picked. no excuses from me but: i just like it that way!
Ilmarinen	Date: March 9, 2006 @ 6:36 PM I'm usually a fingerpicking style kind of guy, but there are times when you just need a pick to play quickly, or you're into that sound, but I'm sure not...
EchoMinor	Date: March 10, 2006 @ 11:49 PM why do so many people asume that just because traditionally it was fingers, IT must ONLY be FINGERS or ELSE! have spent the last 16years as a guitarist who uses a bass occasionally when laying down a bassline, so its natural for me to not accept fingering the damn thing. pick doesnt always sound horrible. usually some eq tweaking and the tone nobs reduce that plastic sound the picks give off. i can play with a pick on a bass rather fast, modes, even some sweeping "though it hurts me accually". pick playing is bad technique only if the person has shity picking technique from the start.
jewsus	Date: March 11, 2006 @ 4:47 PM it doesn't HAVE to be finger picking, but i,personally, don't like the sound of a pick. and yes, you can tell if someone uses a pick, even if you do adjustments to the EQ. true, you can get rid of most of the clanky plastic-on-metal sound, but it still sounds like a pick. the tone is totally different. fingers produce a warm rich sound, picks produce a tight crisp sound. i personally don't like a tight crisp sound, therefore, i do not like picks.
EchoMinor	Date: March 11, 2006 @ 6:18 PM i know it doesnt have to be fingered, but a good majority in this thread have this "if its not fingered IT just is NOT right" mentallity. which is a stubborn additude anyways. not expressing any hate towards the finger players, just defending my pick usage lol. hell i love that warm sound, i just stick to the tight pick sound because its what i do.
AlexLatimer	Date: March 13, 2006 @ 2:55 AM i dont play the bass but i prefer the sound finger-playing(esapcialy on contra-bass). come enjoy our music, and post your opinions! http://sciencharity.dmusic.com/
JeraldHenry	Date: March 20, 2006 @ 10:27 AM Depends on the style of the song with me, if it needs to really rock I'll use a pick, otherwise, usually fingers.
AthenasGhost	Date: May 15, 2006 @ 11:30 PM Always my finger, mind you, I am used to a pick, but I only play bass in jazz band, i'm not allowed to use a pick, unless it's a really fast song.
mattbanx	Date: May 16, 2006 @ 3:06 AM Both! I tend to use a pick with the faster songs myself too. I often play the electric guitar with my fingers.
Britmick	Date: May 20, 2006 @ 7:29 PM Blimey this really stired up some response eh?. OK as a bass player for over 30yrs I think I have some valid comments. Pick is as fast as fingers, it depends on style. Sound is the main thing here I think, it will depend on other factors though, amp, speakers, the bass itself and of course strings. I use pick mostly, sometimes both at the same time, sometimes just fingers, it really does depend on the song and what feel you need to give it. As a bass player you don't ever play the bass.....you feel it. It IS a feel instrument. So many aspects of the instrument are never touched upon, they are just taken for granted by those who have natural ability. Bass players are born and a breed apart. It's not what you play....it's what you dont play. To all my fellow bass players, male and female..... Groove on.

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