Pick players, a question....

[bassplyr4001]

That's very true... FLCL (cool name!!!)
By the way..... "What is FoolyCooly????" lol

[jwr2]

there are some things I can do faster and cleaner with a pick and sometimes a pick gives it plenty of attack ... but some things just have to be fingered ...

[foolycooly]

lol Thanks Daniel.

[phlemmy]

a local guy here in a very heavy band uses all upstrokes, even for their faster songs. it's a bit "weird" to watch.

[foolycooly]

That guy's wrist must hurt at the end of the night. For some reason when I do an upstroke especially on notes on the G. I get this weird chorus like sound. It must be the way I play.

[jwr2]

when you use an upstroke you can also pull out and get a little pop on the string ...

[david_schwab]

I mostly play with my fingers, and have for the past 10 years or so, but I did use a pick for a long time... since '73 or so. That was originally at the request of my drummer, who said I wasn't getting a bright enough sound out of my 4001. We played prog rock.

I use a combination of down and up strokes, but I don't strictly alternate d/u/d/u. Sometimes I start on a down stroke, but a lot of times I start on an up, especially if I'm playing a fast lick.

For some simple parts I might use all, or mostly down strokes.

I also used to slap with a pick, by using my middle finger for the snaps.

I stopped playing with a pick because I was looking for a darker sound at the time. I still play guitar with a pick, but my bass picking is not what it used to be.

One important thing about playing with a pick is, use a heavy pick! You don't want the pick to flex, as you waste energy and movement... it should all be in the wrist. Also thin picks sound thin. I either use extra heavy Fender type picks, or 1mm Tortex.

[kpj]

When I use a pick on bass,I use the typical picking pattern of d/u/d/u. But for some reason, when I play guitar, I favor upstrokes. I'll begin with a downstroke, but for some reason when I switch chords, I tend to be on the upstroke. Makes things sound a little different.

[henry5]

I use a pick probably 75% of the time, certainly when I'm playing rock anyway, but I'm happy to use whatever technique works. I hold my pick like I hold a pencil; thumb, index, middle (I was an artist long before I was a musician, so it felt natural to me), and my picking looks a bit peculiar even to me! I tend to use upstrokes most as it gives me a very precise but relatively soft attack to the note. If I want a more aggressive emphasis I'll tend to use more down (in a more Foxton-esque style), but obviously some passages (particularly flurries of notes) I use both, and to be honest I mix it around a lot; many times I'll play something mainly down one night and mainly up another, and then switch to up and down when I feel like it. And Les, I noticed that in Bass Player too, and thought "Nah, not everyone favours downstrokes!" There are so many absurd assumptions about "proper" techniques. I don't think anybody should worry about how they're striking the string as long as they're producing a sound they're happy with and can play the things they need to play.

[cheyenne]

I usually pick as Chris Squire is my main influence, and I use up and down strokes. But dont limit yourself with one style, as Jeff Rath said earlier, pick, fingers, thumb, whack, pluck whatever works for the perticular song.

I can actually play alot faster with my fingers, and in some situations I do. But I really like the attack and definition I get from playing with a pick.

[rickon]

I've been playing bass for about a year now after playing guitar for umpteen years. So it was natural to start playing bass with a pick. I'm working on finger picking but it's coming along slowly. I'm playing in an alternative/pop originals band and on Ricks naturally so the pick attack works for now.

I use up and down strokes intermixed. It also depends a lot on where the next note coming up is and on what string.

[jwr2]

there are some rifs that I can play faster and cleaner with a pick and some rifs I can play faster and cleaner with fingers ...

[david_schwab]

Hey Shaun, I also hold my pick with my thumb, index, and middle fingers, and I'm also an artist!

I never associated that grip with drawing or painting though!

I also pick with the pick slightly rotated... you can always see the wear on the edge.

Jeff I agree with you, some riffs work great with a pick and some with fingers. I can skip strings much better with a pick.

[henry5]

David, do you hold the pick the same as you hold a pencil/brush etc? I think I was so used to holding a pencil/paintbrush that way that when I started using a pick it was just automatic to hold it like that, I never really thought about it, and I hadn't really looked at how other musicians held their picks. Turns out it can give great sensitivity to my picking but makes certain things more difficult to execute, which can be annoying. I wear the edges of my picks also! Ironically though I think I can skip strings better with my fingers, although I think I'm faster with a pick. My fingerstyle is more like Entwistles, I'm pretty poor at the Jaco muted ghost-noted 16th note thing, despite years of practice.

[kcole4001]

I used to use a pick all the time, but haven't much except for certain songs now. An awesome pick to use is what used to be called the Min'd Pick - made from polished Agate. I'm pretty sure they're no longer produced. I got mine back in '82 or '83 I think, & they cost around $11.50 US each (I got 2). So if you know someone who can work stone it's worth trying. Nice bright sound from the stone, & they never wear out, though they're quite hard on strings & could shatter if dropped on a hard surface.
I'll have to give the "all upstroke" thing a try!