How to Play Bass With a Pick (from an ex-Pick Hater)

Honestly I think picking both sounds better and is more fun to play, at least for the styles I like. I have been 80/20 pick for at least four years now. As much as I love fingerstyle I have become kind of a pick bigot :rofl:

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I am playing more with pick too.
Some songs just prefer it but also with something like a bass VI it is really the only option

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I’ve got every reason to be the same way but I try to keep myself closer to a 50/50 split, at least for now while I’m still more of a beginner skill wise. I’d like to be proficient and comfortable doing either so I need to put the time in practicing both.

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So I made the mistake of perusing the 2nd hand music shop and there’s one by me that has a 30" scale baritone guitar cheap. I looked in to it and that model has no problem taking bass vi strings and tuning to E - E without any mods. Apparently, it was originally marketed as a bass vi and I could pick it up for less than the cost of a Squire.

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What is it?

It’s a Gretsch 5260T (the version with the trem). I like the LP style of guitars and have had a Gretsch shorty. The thing that makes me hesitate is that I wasn’t a huge fan of the pickups on the junior jet. Mine was one of the non humbucking humbuckers. Super noisy, as in pick up local AM radio stations noisy. I did like the feel of it though so I may need to pop in and pretend like I can still play chords.

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Noice, I’d be tempted

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Those appear to be actual humbuckers (or maybe Filter’trons, since it is a Gretch).

I also actually thought the single coils on the Jr Jet sounded pretty good, but I can understand being upset by the false advertising.

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I always thought it was kinda crazy for anyone to put down pick playing on bass when guitarists also use a combination of pick and fingerstyle playing all the time My son-in-law plays guitar in an indie originals band and always plays with his fingers. It doesn’t make you a “pussy” bassist as Josh’s video demonstrates. A whole lot of rock bassists use a pick. McCartney always has and it’s his signature tone.

When I began playing in the '60s playing with your thumb was still quite popular so to get more volume and a more aggressive attack I used a thumb pick just like the ones guitarists used. As I began to play more blues and r&b/soul I gravitated to fingerstyle since that was the sound of those genre. I’ve alternated ever since.

When playing more classic rock in club bands I used a pick more often. When playing mellower blues/r&b or jazzier stuff I played fingerstyle and would often use both on a gig. Never once did I ever have another player come up to me and insult me for playing with a pick. IME it simply doesn’t happen. If it ever does I’ll show 'em photos of McCartney and Carol Kaye. We’ve all used a pick with flats and/or muted rounds.

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yes! (or no actually in answer to the question)
i find this easier as well, the suggested ‘thumb and index’ style has the pick moving round and finally dropping, i just cant get on with it.

good to read there are other ‘freaks’ like me :smiley:

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Sure, I use a pick, Ive been doing it for fourteen years…I just prefer using a pick designed with bassists in mind.

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But … the point of playing with a pick is to get the percussive sound of a pick. If I want to sound like finger playing, I can just use my fingers!

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I was talking with the bass guy at the guitar shop about felt picks, he said to avoid them, are the rubber ones different?
As David said tho, I use a pick to get different sounds, hell, I use different types of picks for a different sound.

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Felt picks are for ukulele.

Perhaps they sell ‘fingertips’ you can put on your pick as well…

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Somewhere I saw them being spruiked for bass, never tried them

Did he say why you should avoid them?
I wouldn’t use one myself but many people do, more than the Wedgie, I’d guess, since people have been using felt picks since the 50s and I think Wedgie’s only been around for around 20 years.
Other than that felt picks are disposable and Wedgie, the 5.0 black ones, last for years.

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Yes, he said they were horrible sounding

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I would personally not opt for a pick that softens the attack to near fingerstyle levels, but that’s just me.

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I’ve got a wedgie, it’s pretty niche imo but brings something different than fingers or regular picks. Especially on flats. There’s a pronounced percussive thud. I don’t use them a ton but they’ve got a place the same way that fingers or celluloid / nylon picks do.

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Yep and I buy big fat pics so my tone doesn’t disappear.

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