A question about bass.

[ThirdTimeAround]

Yeah...I was wondering, can you play bass with a pic (sp?) instead of using your fingers?

please, just answer the question and nothing else

[FondestMemory]

i only use picks when i play. i never play with just fingers.

depends on your playing style.

[aminorthreat55]

Yes, but unless you use stone pics, it sounds like shit.

Fingers is the way to go.

[patrickhowell]

Yes, but unless you use stone pics, it sounds like shit.

Fingers is the way to go.

It's just a matter of style. Either way can sound great.

[FondestMemory]

It's just a matter of style. Either way can sound great.

agreed. i'd sound like shit if i tried playing our songs with my fingers. whereas some people would sound like shit if they tried playing their songs with a pick.

it all comes down to what style you're going for.

[ThirdTimeAround]

Yes, but unless you use stone pics, it sounds like shit.

Fingers is the way to go.

Stone pics are...?

[xmicandmoshpitx]

i use dunlop big stubby 2mm pics and i really like them
i occasionally use my fingers, but it doesnt sound the way i want, so i almost always use a pic
if you use a pic, i recommend learning how to play with your fingers as well because you never know when youll have to use them

[headclub]

i use dunlop gator grip 1.14 mm picks or 1.00 mm picks. but i mix fingerpicking and slapping all togetrher..depends on the song

[Ozy]

I've, in the past, had 2 and 3 (3!) millimetre picks. The result? I threw them out the window. I stick by Pink Dunlop 1mm.

As some have seaid, depends on your style, playing with your fingers give a much warmer and soft tone so it's better for your lighter stuff but there's a limit to how fast you can go playing fingers and it's pretty much doubled when you use a pick. I nearly always play with a pick but it depends which you're most comfortable with.

[Carlo Marx]

I play bass in two bands. One of them is a Dave Matthews type jam band, in which I switch between picking and fingering, usually in the same song. The other is a punk band in the same vein as good riddance and kid dynamite, and I use Dunlop .68 (.66 maybe? the orange ones) to play. I hate using thick picks when I play because I tend to run higher up on the D and G strings, and melody parts usually end up sounding shitty when you're beating on the strings with a bid pick.

[refugee]

I've used a pick for the faster parts and my fingers in slower heavier parts, but slapping is the way to go, If you want to be a true bass player, remember it is a percussion instrument.

[phoenixinflames]

If you want to be a true bass player, remember it is a percussion instrument.

Not true. I've been playing bass for 10 years and I'm currently going to college for it. I've gone through different phases as a player. The bass CAN be used percussively, but it is most definitely not "a percussion instrument". Don't get me wrong, I love playing Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Stu Hamm, Les Claypool type shit, but theres so much more to the intrument than percussion.

And as other people have stated, depending on the style of music/sound you want to produce, pick/fingerstyle playing can be used. I mean, you can get a picked-string sound with your fingers by growing your fingernails out real long; however, if you are playing music where the bass a backround instrument, it might be easier for you to use a pick.

Anyone can say what they prefer to play, but the fact is that theres really no "right" or "wrong" way to play, just make it your own.

[TheDeekay]

I use both, depending on what type of music I'm playing. I prefer playing with my fingers, but for most of the bands I've played in I've had to use a pick.

[vandalsandquinn]

i play with my fingers on most things, but occasionally i use a pick

[AShannon04]

Yeah, you can definitely use pics. Our bass player exclusively uses them.

[patrickhowell]

I've used a pick for the faster parts and my fingers in slower heavier parts, but slapping is the way to go, If you want to be a true bass player, remember it is a percussion instrument.

False. Slap bass just sounds stupid.

[parallelism]

False. Slap bass just sounds stupid.

Nah man, at the right time, it can sound pretty amazing.

I'm not one for full-out slaps and shit like that, but you have to admit that some of it sounds pretty sweet and can add a lot of flair to a song.

As for pick vs. fingers, it really depends on what style you're trying to pull off.

[patrickhowell]

Nah man, at the right time, it can sound pretty amazing.

I'm not one for full-out slaps and shit like that, but you have to admit that some of it sounds pretty sweet and can add a lot of flair to a song.

As for pick vs. fingers, it really depends on what style you're trying to pull off.

99% of the time, using a pick, or fingers sounds better.

Imagine if every bassist took that guys advice and played their bass like a "percussion instrument."

[phoenixinflames]

99% of the time, using a pick, or fingers sounds better.

Imagine if every bassist took that guys advice and played their bass like a "percussion instrument."

No dude, we know that dude was wrong about the percussion thing, but slap bass sounds really good. You just have to use it in context. Sure, having Pete Wentz slapping during "Grand Theft Autumn" would sound like complete shit, but if you have Victor Wooten slapping out "You Can't Hold No Groove", it sounds totally awesome.

[patrickhowell]

No dude, we know that dude was wrong about the percussion thing, but slap bass sounds really good. You just have to use it in context. Sure, having Pete Wentz slapping during "Grand Theft Autumn" would sound like complete shit, but if you have Victor Wooten slapping out "You Can't Hold No Groove", it sounds totally awesome.

Well, I think everything Victor Wooten does sounds stupid.

I mean, he's really good at bass or whatver, but I don't like anything he does.

[FondestMemory]

i hate the sound of slap bass. that's just my opinion though.

[RememberFminus2]

Yes, but unless you use stone pics, it sounds like shit.

Fingers is the way to go.

uh that was stupid. do you know how many punk rock songs sound would change if people didnt use a pick.

[we are cured]

Well, I think everything Victor Wooten does sounds stupid.

I mean, he's really good at bass or whatver, but I don't like anything he does.

You're crazy, his lines in Bela Fleck & the Flecktones are ridiculous.

[we are cured]

uh that was stupid. do you know how many punk rock songs sound would change if people didnt use a pick.

It's really easy to generate the same exact tone with a pick or your fingers, just by manipulating your tone knobs on the instrument and amplifier. I'm a picking-guitar player, so whenever I play bass I'm probably going to use a pick. But a great bass player that uses his fingers has more options, in that he can hit four different areas of the neck at once.

[phoenixinflames]

It's really easy to generate the same exact tone with a pick or your fingers, just by manipulating your tone knobs on the instrument and amplifier. I'm a picking-guitar player, so whenever I play bass I'm probably going to use a pick. But a great bass player that uses his fingers has more options, in that he can hit four different areas of the neck at once.

word to that, tapping is the shit

[phoenixinflames]

Or we could just all be like Geezer Butler and use both all the time.

(and if you dont know who Geezer is, I no longer respect your opinion)

[parallelism]

Imagine if every bassist took that guys advice and played their bass like a "percussion instrument."

Yeah, that definately isn't why I said, "at the right time," or anything.

[patrickhowell]

It's really easy to generate the same exact tone with a pick or your fingers, just by manipulating your tone knobs on the instrument and amplifier. I'm a picking-guitar player, so whenever I play bass I'm probably going to use a pick. But a great bass player that uses his fingers has more options, in that he can hit four different areas of the neck at once.

That's not true. Picks and fingers sound different. No mater how you alter the signal with tone pots, pickup positions, etc the original sound is still different. A bassist that can play with his fingers and with a pick has more options.

[we are cured]

That's not true. Picks and fingers sound different. No mater how you alter the signal with tone pots, pickup positions, etc the original sound is still different. A bassist that can play with his fingers and with a pick has more options.

Yeah I mean you can tell the difference if you play both styles through the same amp. But a lot of times I'll listen to a record (like the first time I heard Chris Squire on a Yes record) and be completely fooled by the picking style.

And if you mean playing with a pick and fingers at the same time, all fingers has more options because the thumb and index are committed to one note with a pick.

[patrickhowell]

And if you mean playing with a pick and fingers at the same time, all fingers has more options because the thumb and index are committed to one note with a pick.

I'm just saying that a bassist who is open to using either a pick or his fingers has more options.

[we are cured]

I'm just saying that a bassist who is open to using either a pick or his fingers has more options.

Oh ok, yeah I agree.

[catchmealone]

Anyone can say what they prefer to play, but the fact is that theres really no "right" or "wrong" way to play, just make it your own.

best advice. just experiment with your band, play a song through with a pick, play it through finger-picking, play it slap if you know how, try everything and do what feels right for you/the song.