Picks Vs. Fingers

[swayman]

So we could all name plenty of players that use either fingers or picks, but what's the general consensus out there on what on the main for heavy music sounds better?

Using a pick has my vote, I love the attack.

[Hosenbugler]

Any good bass player should be proficient with both techniques.

[Origin]

I like fingers, takes a long time to train to keep speed on fast shit but I think it's worth it for the tone and playing it like it was intended

[Ruins]

Originally Posted by Hosenbugler

Any good bass player should be proficient with both techniques.

this.

"what on the main for heavy music sounds better?" It is a matter of personal taste.
good sound has alot todo with the player him self and his knowledge of what he does and can do.

[NickCormier]

I use my fingers altho Im only 1 year into bass (and significantly cutting back to get back into Guitar shape) so im not that good. For any metal, I use a pick but only because im not fast enough with my fingers.

I think fingers just gives better tone, more versatile and etc. Picks on bass sound weird to me. But then again I mostly listen to funk/fusion, esp when it comes to bass playing.

[sami]

I mostly use picking because my band's music is fast most of the time. I'm trying to get to where I don't use a pick at all, but that's going to take awhile!!

[SD83]

I tried to use a pick a few times... it works great on open strings, but everything else = fail. I might try to learn it once more once I got my new bass & less string action.

[Necris]

I use my fingers more often than not. The pick works it's way out of my hands when I try using one on bass. Although I'm much faster with the pick when I'm not dropping it I still like the sound of fingers better overall.

[TemjinStrife]

Depends on the song and sound you're going for. Pick gives a very different 'feel' and tonal response than fingers.

[Demeyes]

For tighter metal stuff I tend to prefer the pick because I find it gives a more defined tone with clearer attack. I prefer playing with my fingers though, and you can't beat the tone out of it for most stuff. I think any bassist that shuns one or the other though is being a bit short sighted, both are useful to know.

[TomAwesome]

I prefer to use my fingers 99% of the time, but sometimes I just need that pick attack.

[SargeantVomit]

Depends on the genre. Playing punk/metal/faster music just screams for a pick IMO, even though I know a lot of guys use their fingers. You can't get clanky tone without it and that's the sound I like for certain bands I've been in.

On the other side, I've been in lots of other kinds of bands, I would never play any other genre with a pick. Even when I'm doing sludge and stuff I use fingers. Clanky tone doesn't work in every situation.

[Waelstrum]

I use fingers. I play guitar as well, and the string spacing on a bass makes it too hard to use a pick. I also use fingers because I play touch style on bass a lot, and I like to switch between them easily.

[Brendan G]

Except for the very few times I dick around on my bass with a pick, I use my fingers. That's just how I learned how to play bass, and I see no reason for me to play with a pick. I've never needed the attack nor have I found anything that would be easier for me to play with a pick.

[sami]

Man, I shoulda voted pick.

[Bloody_Inferno]

Originally Posted by TemjinStrife

Depends on the song and sound you're going for. Pick gives a very different 'feel' and tonal response than fingers.

You can various different tones when alternating with either a pick or fingers. I tend to do both. That and add hybrid picking, slapping and tapping to the mix and the sky's the limit.

[velvetkevorkian]

Fingers all the way for me. I find pick playing incredibly awkward, and I can get close enough to the pick tone when needed that I don't feel any need to change that. Obviously YMMV.

[big sal cbk]

Originally Posted by Hosenbugler

Any good bass player should be proficient with both techniques.

have to disagree, everyone has their own style of playing and there is bass players who stick to just pick or fingers who sound amazing playing the one style. i dont believe profiency means you have to do it all.

personally i'd play with my fingers because thats the style i love playing but i do love to hear a good pick attack from certain players.

[skeletor88]

If you doubt fingers can't be as tight or as fast as a pick I suggest you listen to Blotted Science, then turn off all the lights in your house, light some candles and start building your shrine to Alex Webster.


I do agree that being skilled in both pick playing and fingerstyle is a good thing to have down as a bass player.

[7deadlysins666]

Originally Posted by skeletor88

If you doubt fingers can't be as tight or as fast as a pick I suggest you listen to Blotted Science, then turn off all the lights in your house, light some candles and start building your shrine to Alex Webster.


I do agree that being skilled in both pick playing and fingerstyle is a good thing to have down as a bass player.

[XeoFLCL]

On a normal basses I use fingers or a pick, depending on what I'm playing.

However on my Agile Argus, I use a pick. It's alot more difficult to play fingerstyle on it due to the guitar string spacing..

[Phlegethon]

I think that as long as you can achieve what your musical and tonal goals are then what you play with is completely irrelevant.

however there are a couple of things I'd add: playing without a pick has it's advantages with certain styles (anything requiring a deep punchy tone), and using a pick also has advantages with certain styles (anything that requires an instantly responding sound). I'm generalizing a bit in the above statement but it's to make the point make sense

the other thing is that if you're going to play a bass with a pick, don't use anything thin. . . . it won't be strong enough to move the string with enough force to get a decent tone out of it IMO

with that being said I tend to play using my fingers more often than not. . .I have a hard enough time remembering where my picks are and already need them to play my guitars. would like to not rely on them when I grab my bass LOL

[Phlegethon]

I think that as long as you can achieve what your musical and tonal goals are then what you play with is completely irrelevant.

however there are a couple of things I'd add: playing without a pick has it's advantages with certain styles (anything requiring a deep punchy tone), and using a pick also has advantages with certain styles (anything that requires an instantly responding sound). I'm generalizing a bit in the above statement but it's to make the point make sense

the other thing is that if you're going to play a bass with a pick, don't use anything thin. . . . it won't be strong enough to move the string with enough force to get a decent tone out of it IMO

with that being said I tend to play using my fingers more often than not. . .I have a hard enough time remembering where my picks are and already need them to play my guitars. would like to not rely on them when I grab my bass LOL

[All_¥our_Bass]

I will use both but I greatly prefer picks for what I do, as I'm all about bringing out all of the percussive sounds that the electric bass produces-especially a bright initial attack, which I really can't get with fingers, no matter what I do, plus I'm more comfortable with a pick.

[EvolDerek]

I feel like I am playing electric guitar when I play with a pick, which I dont like, I have been playing with my fingers the last month or so and am getting pretty fast. I just incorporated the 3 finger technique to get faster.

nevertheless, i am not against a pick, Mike Gordon, Anthony Jackson...etc all use a pick. and I dig them guys alot.