Bassist's: Pickers vs Fingers

[Diamondjimi]

Well, where do I start here....
Recently the bassist in my band resigned his post on the verge of my band recording our next album(cd)
Rather than waiting for his replacement to learn the material and record the bass. I decided to take it upon myself to do it. I wrote all the songs so I figured what the fuck...

My setup cuntsists of a borrowed Gibson 5 string Reverse Thunderbird played directly into my Tech 21 PSA-1 preamp which is connected to my Presonus interface for the cuntputer. I then run the Recabinet program VST in Nuendo DAW.
On the PSA-1 I've been diggin the Dug Pinnick preset as well as the SVT preset. Killer tones...

Since I started playing guitar centuries ago, I've always enjoyed "noodling" around on the bass and have always owned one.
I'm decent with my fingers (for picking) and can hold my own if I don't have a pick. However in this situation I'm finding using a pick is much better for the demands of the material at hand. My former bass player is a major Steve Harris fans, so that gives you an idea on his views about using a pick...
I'm fortunate to have hindsite on the licks he played due to the fact that we gigged the material for 8 months and he did lay down "scratch" beds that I can reference plus ad my own bits.

One thing I've noticed with finger players is their contempt of guys who use a pick. I personally don't have an issue with them, providing they aren't hacking and slashing away a la Sid Vicious...

Here's some kick ass bassist's who DO use a pick. (off the top of my head)

Chris Squire (Yes)
Roger Glover (Deep Purple)
Dug Pinnick (Kings X)
Scott Thunes ( Frank Zappa Band)
Mike Gordon (Phish)
Leon Wilkeson (Skynyrd) R.I.P.
Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith)
Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones)
Wolfgang Van Halen


Finger players...

Geddy Lee (Rush)
Jaco Pastorius R.I.P.
John Paul Jones (Zeppelin)
Cliff Burton (Metallica) R.I.P.
Rob Trujillo (Metallica)
Jack Bruce (Cream)
Mark King (Level 42)


Anyway... do you have a preferrence?

Discuss....

[chefcraig]

It all boils down to two things, really...the material you are playing and your own comfort. I pretty much stopped using a pick about a decade ago, and on about 85% of the music I can get away with it. I do have trouble on the fast, double-bass drum galloping stuff, so I'll grab a pick every now and then for it. The thing is, over the years my carpal tunnel has gotten much worse in my right hand, so even holding a pick while hitting those thick strings becomes a problem (oddly, there is no issue with the guitar, probably due to the amount of attack), so the use of distortion that used to be a novelty is now employed a great deal more to cover this up.

So what ever is expedient for you, I say go for it. Yes, I used to be one of those guys that would scoff at players using picks, but as I've gotten older I've become more understanding and much less critical. Besides, who really cares what other players think? People that view musicianship as some sort of competition that is judged upon merit are usually the last group of assholes whose opinions I care about listening to in the first place.

[GAR]

Actually John Paul Jones used both a pick, and finger technique at times. So did Geddy.

Geezer, used both.

I think as an amateur bassist you should cheat with the pick, but hide it well by plucking high up towards the neck as you feel comfortable.

Also, one eye opener is trying the bass thru your standard guitar rig, it's surprisingly good in recordings. After all, what you're doing with the bass differently than guitar is chasing the kickdrum while following the guitar an octave down. I wouldn't record direct bass without doubling that thru a tube rig.. but as always YMMV

[Hardrock69]

I use my fingers for the most part. Occasionally I will have a bass line in a song where I need more consistency of attack, so will use a pick then, but I only use a pick when it is absolutely necessary. I like the freedom I have when using my fingers.

[jhale667]

I would agree it depends on the tune, and the mood. I think overall I'd have to say I prefer finger-style or guys who use a pick, but as DJ pointed out, people like Dug Pinnick (!) make it sound great too..

[Coyote]

If he (or she) can lock into a groove and keep it there, I personally don't care whether he uses a pick, his fingers or a vibrator...

But if I have to make a choice: Fingers á la Entwistle, Jamerson or Deacon

[GAR]

Fingers sound best, only because you don't hear that "snap" of the pick thru the amp.

Guitarists doing amateur bass playing for demos purpose = you can trim the treble tone on the amp, or pick higher away from the bridge to mute the pick. Otherwise, nothing''s faster than playing iwth a pick

I think playing bass thru a 4x12 for recording purposes beats d.i. recording hands down, it won't damage the cones since you aren't turning it up really loud.. I don't care if you d.i. is joe meek presonus chandler blue tube whatever, nothing beats live recording with a tube anp and a great cabinet.

[Nitro Express]

I play both bass and guitar and use a Sansamp PSA1.1 for both by the way. I use a Carvin DCM 1000 power amp with it and is sounds fabulous! I also have an Alembic tube preamp next to it in the rack. I never use a pick with a bass because if I do, it fucks up my guitar playing because I get used to the bass string spacing. So for this reason I'm all fingers on a bass. For certain approaches and sounds, you do need a pick but I'm either popping and slapping or playing finger style. I was schooled in the Jack Casady way of doing things so I do his fast finger trills a lot so a pick would be in my mouth most the time anyways.

[Nitro Express]

I'm either popping and slapping with a Spector or I have a hollow bodied bass with variable low impedance pickups with a ton of power behind it pushing 10's on top and 15's on the bottom with a line going through a volume peddle to a small tube amp that fuzzes out. I can blend this in with the peddle. The bass has a ton of resonance and with the back line rattling my teeth out the bass comes alive and it's on the verge of being out of control. Pure magic! Everyone that plays my rig goe's,"Holly Shit!" They've never been rattled and felt power like that before and everything you do on the neck comes through crisp and clear but yet it's bassy and ballsy.

[Nitro Express]

I actually had to use a 5150 II head with a bass. I pushed a 4x10 cab with it running through the rythum channel with the crunch and bright turned off. Actually the resonance control worked great with the bass cab. It had sort of a Fender Dual Showman thing happening. I got by with it.

[GO-SPURS-GO]

I don’t know if I’m just getting older, but it seems like I can’t keep up “note for note” with our guitarist, so I use a pick for all our songs. We're a metal band that plays mostly originals but we do cover a few songs from bands that have influenced us the most, like “Snowblind” from Black Sabbath. Even a slower song like that I should think I can hang, but I use a pick for that song too. In 2006 I quit playing bass and noodled around on guitar for 3 years, so maybe I got used to playing with a pick. Or maybe I’m just lazy? Overall, I do think using your fingers has more advantages than using a pick.

[GAR]

If you have joint pain, you either have to curl your fingers sideways to tug upward, or use a pick.

Check out Geezer's form on some of the heaven n hell clips in the RIP Dio thread - I think he's got alot of joint damage there the way he's playing.

[Hardrock69]

Going solely by 'comfort', I much prefer to play with my fingers.

[lesfunk]

It's really what you play and not what you use to play it. I use fingers but have used a pick in the past due to injury.
I can get a bass to "speak" quite well with my fingers.