Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

If you have mp3's with the toaster I'd love to hear it...

Point well taken. I'd use a power drill if it got me the sound I wanted then and there.

"I learnt "Parallel Universe" by the Chilis fingerstyle and wondered why I had cramp by the end - Flea used a pick to play it."

Wow. I did not know that. That makes so much sense . . . I've been trying to play that with fingers for years, and I always wondered how he consistently got that awesome sound . . . it never occurred to me that Flea would use a pick though. Then again, he's recently diversified (and, in my opinion, greatly improved) his playing by not playing slap in every song.

I always tell young (and old) bass players to learn fingers and pick playing ... it never hurts to have additional skills ...

I agree with you Jeff. Seems like every time I hear a new player I find a new style i want to learn. The list is growing pretty large. I dont think its ever going to end either haha.

Limiting yourself to just one style is like saying you're only going to use 2 strings. Why limit your potential by closing your mind? It doesn't make any sense.
I find you can learn from anyone, even if you're already a better player than him/her, since we're all different they will have a different way of approaching a phrase or run or whatever.

I don't have a problem with only using one style, I ONLY use a pick and have never NOT used one, and have never felt limited, nor have I ever felt the need to learn other styles. I'm soon to be in 3 bands at once and make a living playing bass(with a pick)so I guess I'm doing something right. As I always say "I'm the best Ronn Roberts-style bassist there is".
The problem I think, is people who criticize others for the style they use or don't use, or feel a player is inferior because they use/don't use a pick etc.

I think ever style is limited. For the way I play most of the time, I feel limited by a pick. Then again theres some things out there that trying to play it finger style would do the same. So I think both can be limited.

Ronn, you may only play one style of music with bands, but surely you know more than one style!
Whether conscious or not, knowing a variety of music influences your playing, that's all I'm saying.

Playing a finger style piece or passage with a pick, or vice versa, may actually give you a new or better perspective on the music itself. That's really why one shouldn't disparage any particular way of playing.
Hell, you could play your bass with a live chicken, & if it sounded good I'd really want to see & hear that!

Actually, I know someone who thinks you shouldn't play above the 7th fret on a bass!
Some people have odd ideas.

"Hell, you could play your bass with a live chicken, & if it sounded good I'd really want to see & hear that! "

Trust me, it doesn't, but that's a whole nother story.

Chicken pickin'

The bass player in the Joy Division tribute band I'm in frequently gets complaints because he plays with his fingers (completely un-like Peter Hook). I keep telling him that he needs to learn how to play with a pick!

My opinion is that the "feel" of the song (or the band) should probably dictate which technique is used, although there are ways to make one sound more like the other with creative use of eq, compression, etc. (And the aforementioned bass player still gets a pretty hard, slamming, sound with his fingers.)

I can get my bass to sound ALMOST like Chris Squire's does, and that's without a pick, with the wrong pickups, and playing far from the bridge. "I've Seen All Good People" retains the same feel, despite that I'm not playing the same way as Chris. It involves nothing more than playing really hard and messing with my amp settings. I think being able to play the song well takes precedence over adopting the technique of the person who originally recorded the song in an effort to capture "the feel". There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't think your intention should be to be exactly the same, unless you're in a band whose purpose is to cover solely another band (i.e. tribute bands).

To make a long point short, "Roundabout" sounds good without a pick, and you can play punk with your fingers.

Ronn:
Three bands? I think you should let me move to Texas and be your substitute.

A story I've told before, when I used to practice more and was more on top of my game (life just seems to get in the way these days) I went into a local shop to try some gear and the assistant (who was a pretty good player) ran through the first section of Donna Lee before handing me the bass. He wandered off and I started playing, and he came running back to ask me how I was playing what I was playing. I just showed him the pick...he said "I'd never have known you were using one". Same happened a couple of years ago in another shop; the assistant was a big Gary Willis fan and a very good player, and he left me with a bass; I started playing and he too came back to see how I was doing the runs I was doing. He thought it was really cool and said he'd never heard a pick player play like that (obviously didn't listen to the same music as me!). I think many people just think pick players can't play very well technically, which is absurd. It doesn't seem to stop guitarists; ask John McLaughlin!

FWIW, I agree that you should use anything you want to get the sound that works for you (BTW, I used to do a much better Chris Squire impersonation with a cheap Vester I used to own than I can manage with any of my Ricks, so go figure!). I used to use a pick 99% of the time; now I use one in the band but tend to play more at home with my fingers. It also depends on the type of music I'm playing. I really don't understand why people get hung up about the technique you're using. One thing I will say, now I don't practice so much with a pick my picking is about 50% of where it used to be!