Pick players... any advice for a newbie?

[david_schwab]

I started out using the "Mel Bay" thumb method.. since I learned from a Mel Bay book! I then tried using a felt pick for a while. My older brother pointed out that bass players use their two right hand fingers for plucking, so I started playing that way.

Then I got my first 4001, and soon after put a set of Rotosounds on it, to get that prog bass sound, a la Squire. My drummer complained my tone wasn't bright enough (through my B-15) so I started playing with a pick. First I used a Carol Kaye pick... which is a smallish tear drop shape. Then I used a regular shaped tortoise colored celluloid Fender heavy pick. I used those style picks for 20 something years. I used to pick so hard I would break them!

To stop breaking them I switched to the Dunlop Tortex picks... the purple ones (1.2 mm... I think).

I went through a period where I got away from the bright prog bass sound, and played with flats again. I was going for a warmer sound, so after about 26 years of playing with a pick, I simultaneously switched to a 5 string and my fingers! Talk about feeling like I started playing all over again!

Nowadays I mainly play with my fingers... but lately I started using a pick occasionally. My picking on bass is not as good as it once was, even though I have also played lead guitar all these years. Now I use a 1.2 mm Clayton pick for both guitar and bass,,, But mostly I use my fingers, and often just my index finger.

it's like being able to only use one finger

The important thing is to alternate your picking! Don't just use down strokes. I almost always start a run with an upstroke... I'm not sure why, but that's how I play. Also when alternately plucking with my fingers, I start off with my ring finger.

[nattiep]

Well I do use up and down strokes. But I do that with my index finger too. So that's why it feels like one finger.

Up and down strokes aren't my problem. It's muting when I switch to another string. I also feel like I can only play really slow with a pick. I go extra fast with my fingers.. but nothing I play is suited for a pick. That's why I'm having my dad send me some Yes albums.

When I bought my bass it didn't have a pickup cover.. should I get one? Or leave it of incase I drop the pick?

[jwr2]

to be good at it you need to practice it ...

[nattiep]

I tried what you said, Jeff. It seems the action on the G string on my bass is lower than all the others. It's hard to palm mute something lower. And you're right about it being a pain to do. Damn mute. I'll get a hipshot bridge.. that'll fix the problem.

[sabbath_of_bass]

Nate im in the same boat really. I can play with a pick... not extremely well. And Im having to play yes now. The muting is always what got me with a pick. I dont know really how I fixed it... I just kind of got better at it. I think I just kind of leanred how to mute more with my left hand. Wish i could help you dude.

[kcole4001]

I started out only using a pick, but now I only use one rarely. It really is something you have to keep in practice or you lose the speed & accuracy. The best thing to try & develop, I think, is using your wrist for as much of the sweep as possible without moving your arm. I've noticed the smoothest guitar players do this. I've always found it natural that way, but I know others struggle with it. Ultimately, whatever feels best to your style of playing will always suit you best. Just keep practicing.
I'v always used the heaviest picks I could find as well. Check these out: polished agate, but they haven't been made since the '80's....

They're a little hard on strings, though

[nattiep]

I feel like I could make a "rock bass" pun here.. but I'll resist.

Jacob.. is it just me.. or do we learn the same stuff at the same time?

[cheyenne]

I've always been primarily a pick player (Chris Squire you know). Its always come natural to me. As far as picks, it really depends on the tone I want. Its kinda like different brands of strings to me.

Heavier picks have a fatter tone, mediums have a more aggressive tone. I also bend an arc in my picks, dont know why, I just always have.

[blueflamerick]

I use a banjo thumb pick. With it I can easily switch to playing with my fingers and back again.

[david_schwab]

Up and down strokes aren't my problem. It's muting when I switch to another string.

That's all in the left hand, and it's the same thing as when you pluck with your fingers. It's either a matter of slightly lifting your fretting finger to stop the note, or you can even rest your unused fingers on the strings.

I also feel like I can only play really slow with a pick. I go extra fast with my fingers.. but nothing I play is suited for a pick.

You need to practice picking... slowly at first. One good thing is skipping strings. I used to practice paradiddles, which is a drum rudiment. I did this with octaves. Basically its (low being the lower octave note, and high being... well you get it...) low-hi-low-low-hi-low-hi-hi. Being able to skip strings is very important when using a pick. Start off slowly.. so every note is clear and keep playing at that tempo until you can do it with out thinking about it, then increase your tempo.

I can play much faster with a pick than my fingers, but I play some things better with each.

That's why I'm having my dad send me some Yes albums.

That should be fun! The opening riff to Close to the Edge is a favorite of mine!

One of the keys is to be relaxed... don't squeeze the pick too hard. I use three fingers to hold it, but find what's comfortable for you. I prop my right hand up on my ring finger and pinky, and all the work comes from moving my wrist.

Palm muting is more for effect, and is a cool sound. The Ric tailpiece is a pain, but you can palm mute directly in front of the mute assembly as long as you don't have your pickup cover on. Of course if you like to rest your hand on the cover then that wont work! Sir Paul actually used to stick a piece of foam rubber under the strings right by the bridge. I used to have a photo of him inthe studio with that foam mute. I used to do this back in the 70's.. it's a cool sound. Of course back then all basses had built in string mutes. They were suppose to make the electric sound more like an upright bass.

[david_schwab]

Kevin, those are Min'd picks, aren't they? I've never used one, but I remember wanting to get some. I ended up making some stainless steel picks and some from aluminum.

The steel picks were great, but they could scratch up your bass if you weren't careful!

I still have them,but I don't use them anymore.

[kcole4001]

That's what they are. I got them for $13 US each I think, back in '82 or '83. Production stopped a couple of years after that, I believe. They don't wear at all, but they do chip if you strike the pickup surround occasionally. They really eat strings, though, & they can shatter if dropped on a hard surface like concrete. Mine chipped a little at the tips, so I had to buff them with a medium rouge to get 'em smooth again. You can't use 'em at all when chipped: they catch the strings. I always wore a smooth area about 2 or 3 inches long on the upper surface of my strings (rounds).
They can also be somewhat slippery.
If you know someone with access to a stone cutting saw they might be able to make these out of some agate. They're 1/16 inch thick, 1 5/16 inch long, 7/8 inch wide, but of course you could vary that to suit your own taste.

[wim]

I have 1 pick that I've used for about 10 years : a Jim Dunlop .60mm.
I use this for both guitar and bass.
It's lasted so long because most of the time I can't find it and I play with my indexfinger between my thumb and middlefinger and use the nail as a pick.
No need to say after all these years that finger's a little twisted :s
It's a nice sound though

[blaire]

oh ...well..i cant get with the pick thing for myself personally....i even just play guitar the same...im a finger person all the way...which is interesting when you try to play things that were done with a pick,,..you have to come up with ways to get that attack and definition...years ago i did have a couple real cool ones tho...those felt plectrums for example were neat...and thumb picks too..oh well..the things that you misplace over the years...lol

[marc61]

Love the heavy dunlops for most pick work. I also like felt pics, for fingerlike sound with picking motion and occasional brass pick for that "metal" sound.