Bass Picks

Kaiser_Sma

Have been fingerpicking mostly with my bass up untill now, but i'd like to start developing a picking technique. Is there any special considerations when buying a bass pick, or does it really matter? Are they any different from standard guitar picks?

Doctor J

Kaiser_Sma wrote: »

Is there any special considerations when buying a bass pick, or does it really matter? Are they any different from standard guitar picks?

Whatever fits your hand. Buy a load of different ones and try them all. Physically, there is nothing specific for bass plecs, it's all what feels right to you.

Eoin Madsen

The most important thing is that when people slag you off for it that you're ready to cite some credible examples of bass picking, eg Rotten Apple by Alice In Chains etc.

You can get really fat picks for bass. I don't think anythin less than 1mm would really be rigid enough to give you a fast response. But I don't play much with a pick at the moment so someone else might be able to give better advice!

Doctor DooM

I wouldn't bother with anything less than 1mm, they tend to bend because of the heavier strings.

I play with picks alot, try minimising the movement of your elbow (keep it in the wrist, you have more control that way) and experiment with angling the plec different ways to produce different sounds and tones.

Sadly I have small hands which aren't great for fingerstyle

Doctor DooM

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

The most important thing is that when people slag you off for it that you're ready to cite some credible examples of bass picking, eg Rotten Apple by Alice In Chains etc.
You can get really fat picks for bass. I don't think anythin less than 1mm would really be rigid enough to give you a fast response. But I don't play much with a pick at the moment so someone else might be able to give better advice!

I find playing just as fast as my finger- flowing brethren does the trick.

In truth plecs produce a different sound, and a nice mix between the two gives you a nice repetoire to work from.

Doctor J

Personally, I rarely use anything bigger than a .88 Dunlop nylon plec on bass, the idea of using something over 1mm wouldn't cross my mind at all, thereby proving it's different strokes for different folks. Try em all and decide for yourself.

Doctor DooM

Doctor J wrote: »

Personally, I rarely use anything bigger than a .88 Dunlop nylon plec on bass, the idea of using something over 1mm wouldn't cross my mind at all, thereby proving it's different strokes for different folks. Try em all and decide for yourself.

Jeebus i must be heavy handed, when I tried one that light it snapped on me!

Match picks 1mm I find are good, but depending on what strings you use will tear them
picks to shreds after a while. Lovely grip to them also.

Doctor DooM

Papa Smut wrote: »

Match picks 1mm I find are good, but depending on what strings you use will tear them
picks to shreds after a while. Lovely grip to them also.

They're the one's I use, too.

Doctor J

SDooM wrote: »

Jeebus i must be heavy handed, when I tried one that light it snapped on me!

It depends how you play it. I was recording with a .88 plec recently and playing very heavy but closer to the bridge pickup than the neck on a 5 string Jazz bass, the grey nylon Dunlop ones just won't break but have enough stiffness and just the right amount of give, too, in my experience.

Rustar

My guitarist always jokes that my picks are so heavy, I might as well just use a coin.

Yap Stam

I have a furry pleck at home thats worn out so I wanted to get another one but couldn't find one anywhere- they give a nice sweet n' low tone, a bit john paul jones sounding. I think they're made out of stiffened styroform or very dense cardboard or something.

I think that most people who play with plecks do so because they switched from guitar- having said that there are good pleck bassists, Mani of Primal Scream for instance.

I'm a finger man myself- always found you could do alot more that way, and faster too.

Rustar

I found the opposite....more speed with a pick, but nicer tone with the fingers.

The real chooser is when I have to sing while playing a part....somehow I don't even have to think when I'm using a pick, where it takes me more concentration to use the fingers.

Kaiser_Sma

Papa Smut wrote:

Match picks 1mm I find are good, but depending on what strings you use will tear them
picks to shreds after a while. Lovely grip to them also.

I'm using standard gauge rotosound flatwounds atm.

I wouldn't mind using my fingers exclusivly, but i have noticed a differnt sound and it seems to be either to keep the rhythm at speeds. It's been recomended to me to get accoustomed to both.

Yap Stam

Rustar wrote: »

I found the opposite....more speed with a pick, but nicer tone with the fingers.

The real chooser is when I have to sing while playing a part....somehow I don't even have to think when I'm using a pick, where it takes me more concentration to use the fingers.

When you're doing fast metal or rock/punk stuff (repeatedly hitting the same note really fast) a pleck is better, more consistency. But any kind of funk or dancey stuff is a lot easier to play fast using the fingers.

Mr. CooL ICE

I could never get used to plecs when playing bass as fingers just seem so much more natural. My main reason for giving up on plectrums was because I kept dropping them, which was probably down to bad technique. But now, if my fingers fall off, I know it's not my technique thats wrong!

Dord

I use Dunlop Jazz III's when I use picks, which is rare these days. But sometimes you just can't get that sound or attack thats in your head by using your fingers, so out comes the pick.

I like them because they're small just the right thickness (imo) and stiff. I can get a good grip on 'em too. I did use matchpicks before but they kept slipping out of my fingers. lol Not too mad on the attack you get from them either.

eoin5

I get a really interesting sound out of my ricky with the light .46 picks

Dord

eoin5 wrote: »

I get a really interesting sound out of my ricky with the light .46 picks

So, would you say that you like to picky your ricky...










I'll get me coat....

Demeyes

I think any well rounded bass player should be able to play with both fingers and a pick, I find using a heavier pick handier because there is less resistance with them. You can really control the dynamic more with the thicker picks, it's easier to dig in with them.
Picks are cool, they can give you really good definition, something that can lack when you play fast with fingers. Spend time working on your technique, I've seen a few bassists whip out a pick and their technique is awful. They waste lots of energy trying to play fast with them. Look up some guitar sites for pointers for using a pick.

Creamy Goodness

.46mm on a bass, i used them on my guitar and i felt like i was playing with a pick shaped piece of paper, god only knows what it would feel like on a bass.

i use dunlop nylon 1mm on guitar so i'd use them on a bass as well.

Seziertisch

I'm a fan of a lighter pick on bass, I'm quite heavy handed and find that a little more flexibility in the pick allows you to pluck the note more that hit it if you follow me. Meaning that it rings out more and results in a fuller sound.
a .46 or a .60 work well. I used heavier picks for a long time before realising I was killing the note at the same time as playing it, meaning that there was significantly more pick noise and less bass string vibrating.

Dord

Seziertisch wrote: »

I'm a fan of a lighter pick on bass, I'm quite heavy handed and find that a little more flexibility in the pick allows you to pluck the note more that hit it if you follow me. Meaning that it rings out more and results in a fuller sound.
a .46 or a .60 work well. I used heavier picks for a long time before realising I was killing the note at the same time as playing it, meaning that there was significantly more pick noise and less bass string vibrating.

.46 or .60 on bass would be awful! :eek:
You'd be lucky if the pick actually hit the string rather than bending around it which I think it would do.

eoin5

Heres the interesting sound I get from my ricky with the .46 plecs, just hit the first track on the page:

http://www.funender.com/music/bands/7853/

red_ice

i used to play with standard picks, but i found that my thumb would hurt from playing as theres no real give on a pick that you could use for a bass..

I was stuck for a pick so our singer threw me one of these only a dunlop one.. I fell in love with it. You really dont need to focus on picking with it, you can really relax with it and it gets a great punch.

I've never looked back - thats the only shape you should play a bass with imo!

Doctor DooM

Joe Robot wrote: »

.46 or .60 on bass would be awful! :eek:
You'd be lucky if the pick actually hit the string rather than bending around it which I think it would do.

Might work if you held it very close to the edge of the pick

Dord

eoin5 wrote: »

Heres the interesting sound I get from my ricky with the .46 plecs, just hit the first track on the page:

http://www.funender.com/music/bands/7853/

Sounds kinda "flabby" to me.
Good playing though.

Seziertisch

It probably is the product of where I hold the plec, I tend to hold it pretty much in the centre which stiffens the response up considerably.

Seziertisch

Anyway, my point was, horses for courses. Conventional wisdom caused me to forgo trying out a lighter pick on bass (and guitar for that matter) for a long time. Then I discovered that I loved the control of a lighter pick, meaning that depending on how I hold it I can control the response of the picking, i.e. picking with the same force can yield quite different results. With heavier picks it makes less of a difference (or none at all depending on how heavy) where you hold them they still respond the same.

eoin5

Joe Robot wrote: »

Sounds kinda "flabby" to me.
Good playing though.

Well I said it was interesting, but I never said it was good . I think I'll be able to get some use out of it in a thick mix though as the attack is well defined without sounding too motorhead-ish.

ferdi

i use .73 picks or fingers

sometimes a 1mm

totally up to you.

Eoin Madsen

If you're holding a .46 or a .60 in a way that makes it rigid then you'd probably want to look at your plectrum hold... before you get an rsi in your wrist!

I tired a few plecs for a recording I did a few days ago. Used a 3mm purple triangle thing in the end. Clear and plinky, without any plec sound, which was the general idea. But no way I could have used it for anything in any way fast. The nylon .73 was actually pretty usable as well. I'm well out of practice playing bass with a plectrum though.

Dord

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

If you're holding a .46 or a .60 in a way that makes it rigid then you'd probably want to look at your plectrum hold... before you get an rsi in your wrist!

I tired a few plecs for a recording I did a few days ago. Used a 3mm purple triangle thing in the end. Clear and plinky, without any plec sound, which was the general idea. But no way I could have used it for anything in any way fast. The nylon .73 was actually pretty usable as well. I'm well out of practice playing bass with a plectrum though.

Just noticed this myself too, I was trying out a few different size picks after reading this thread the other day and I just got pissed off after about 30 seconds. Threw it on the ground and continued on using my fingers.

Kaiser_Sma

Just an update. I ended up buying a range of plecs between .84 and 2mm. The thicker ones definently have less of a 'plec' sound but also make it much harder to follow with an upstroke. Especially for someone like me who isn't used to using a pick.
Definently usefull to learn though, theres a considerable differnce in sound (and volume) compared to fingers alone.

Frankiestylee

I usually use fingers but for one song I used to use one of those Jazz IIIs,but I kept getting a cramping feeling in my forearm, so one day I had to borrow a plec and it was a .88 dunlop and wow, quite enjoyable to play with.