hi all, ive recently just started a band, i play rythm guitar but weve got a better 1 than me and a lead guitarist aswell so im thinking of playing bass,but with playing with a plectrum all the time its gonna feel really wierd playing bass with my fingers,is it normal for people to play bass with a pic? :? i dont wanna lose my place in a band ive started i need help! please... thanks :(
"people laugh at me because im different...i pity you..because your all the same"
is it normal for people to play bass with a pic?
Some do, some don't.
As far as I can tell, it all depends on (a) what you feel comfortable with, and (b) what kind of music you're playing. If you're playing hard(er) rock and/or punk, a pick is probably going to help you get the tone you're looking for. If you're playing funk, well, it's kinda hard to slap/pop while your're holding a pick. :lol:
I'd never used a pick until learning Cake's version of "I Will Survive". I found that I couldn't (a) keep up the tempo or (b) find a comfortable (right-hand) fingering pattern.
Hope this helps.
In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.
-- Yun-Men
thanks a lot for replying it has helpled me :D
"people laugh at me because im different...i pity you..because your all the same"
You'll probably want to learn finger style eventually, since it's aleays good to have more tools in you bag, but there's nothing wrong with using a pick. Just don't listen to all the people who will tell you there is.
:) Paul Mccartney used a pick most of the time, look how famous he is, I don't think he ever questioned it.
hes not that famous...... :wink: your right mate thanks
"people laugh at me because im different...i pity you..because your all the same"
I think you'll find using a pick just fine on a bass. I almost always used one on bass before I took up rhythm guitar. Yet (get this) I used the same gauge pick for both. Sad, but true.
Definitely try playing with your pick, say for an hour, and for the next hour with just your fingers. You'll likely be able to get good at both.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
That's funny about picks: I always used extra heavy Fender type picks or those Dunlop Jazz IIIs - or finger pick, which is what I do most of the time - but then I tried one of those 351-shape Dunlop Tortex Reds, really thin, and I really fell in love with it. It's great for recording because it's almost like a built-in compresser in a way; you can play as hard as you want, but the pick absorbs everything and you get a nice even volume. With the thicker pick there's the danger of snagging a little too deep and get a volume jump on one note here and there. Weird though: I'd have thought, in theory at least, thicker strings = thicker pick. Not so, not for what I do. :)
The reason I use a thin pick is because it can go through the string(s) easier. But others will use wickedly thick picks and hammer out the tunes. We're all different. Also, I put the pick deeper in the strings than I should so only a thin pick will forgive that.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
