Pick or Finger Style

[vegecrackers]

Hi everyone,

What do you guys think of bassists who use picks vs bassists who use their fingers?

 

[uzzo88]

its just matter of preferance and the tone they wish to acheive..
what is there to think abt..

 

[almondx]

picks more clear and punchy fingers more mellow i guess.. coz our flesh is softer.. same goes for guitar.. however i think with fingers less likely to fatigue coz using index and pointer alternatively.. for picks it's tt up and down motion using 1 muscle grp i guess..

 

[wangdexian]

Personal preference, pitch of sounds. I switch around them.

 

[rylche]

i find that fingerstyle gives you more tone, and sounds more 'boomy'. using the pick gives you a treble-like kinda sound, punchy and pretty bright. i switch around them depending on the sound im trying to achieve

 

[Timex]

depend on situation

Acoustic intro- fingers
electric solo - pick

 

[amnesiac]

yeah i think it all depends on the bassist himself. but there are people out there who condemn bass players who use the pick. some people comment and say a REAL bassist does not use a pick. WTH is that all about? LoL. Well, some of my fav bass players use picks. People like Duff Mckagan, Nikki Sixx and Rachel Bolan. i was reading an article recently about jason newstead, and he was commenting that someone actually asked him "when are you going to stop using a pick and be a real bassist?" oh well, some people are cynical and narrow minded i guess. in my opinion, being versatile is important. play it your way and your style. you can't let others tell you what to do, unless of course, it's some constructive input which can and will improve your playing. cheers! :drinkers:

 

[wangdexian]

True that, it all boils down to how comfortable you are with each style.

 

[visa]

I don't like picks, but fact remains that there are some brilliant bassists out there who do, who are better then average bassists who condemn pick-users.

but just saying- there's nothing you can do with picks on a bass that you can't do with fingers

 

[visa]

some people comment and say a REAL bassist does not use a pick. WTH is that all about?

haha see, the bass originates from two instruments- the electric guitar, and the double bass. people play double basses with fingers, electric guitar with picks. electric bass guitars come in between.

so people feel that people who use picks on bass are like, people who cannot make it on guitar and want to play a cheapskate four string guitar as oppose to double bassists going electric.

you know what I mean?

fingers ARE actually more efficient on bass because of the string thickness and spacing and all that.

picks more clear and punchy fingers more mellow i guess.. coz our flesh is softer.. same goes for guitar.. however i think with fingers less likely to fatigue coz using index and pointer alternatively.. for picks it's tt up and down motion using 1 muscle grp i guess..

for people who play guitar first and are already used to galloping with picks, it's much much less tiring and easier to play with picks instead of fingers. so they take the easy way out and play with picks.

however, if you train your fingers and practice, you can eventually gallop/pick/everything faster than you can with a pick. on bass, that is. nobody who went from picks to fingers and stays long enough goes back.