Thank you Dan!
Thanks Al!
Great job buddy!
I receive the kind words, friend! Thank you!
Thank you TMB!
Thanks!
Oh it just takes some practice . If I may offer some advice to anyone who may be reading -
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Get a decent pick. I bought a set of Lemmy picks (1.14 mm, textured) and they made my life so much easier. Until then I’d always been using 2mm and they were really unweildy. Felt like slapping a rope with a dinner plate.
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Don’t be scared to downpick only. Sure, faster lines need alternate picking but downpicking is easier, more consistent and can be pretty fast too (cue Dee Dee Ramone).
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Anchor your picking hand on the low string. I find this naturally places your pick over the middle strings. You’ll have to move the hand when you want to play the low string but that’s not too hard
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Play with the grip until you get comfortable. I use either a “precision grip” twixt fingertip and thumb (like holding a cup of tea
), or a “power grip” where the pick rests on the side of the finger (fig.)
Perfect example of pick grippage here from the mighty Joey De Maio. Note also the minimal movement about the string when he’s chugging:
- Most importantly try to stay relaxed. This is tough when you’re going at full speed and you might be playing some really gnarly metal - the temptation is always there to start smashing away but try to keep light. You must be like the zen master and be the calm in the eye of the hurricane.
IMO one problem with the approach the B2B course takes is it that it presents fingerstyle as the standard playing style and pick playing as something extra, but there’s no reason you can’t make picking your thing from day one if you prefer it…
Oh yeah when I was upgrading I was stuck between the Geezers and the Quarter Pounders but eventually went for the Geezers for the stronger mids (and the solderless installation )
Yeah! Quarter pounder has very good presence and Geezer has stronger definition. Both are great in this context. Geezer to me is a slightly hotter version of EMG active pickup. Very clean and articulate.
Excellent post thank you.
I’ve been playing with one since the crew here suggested it quite emphatically for my Gone Away cover.
As it turned out about 90% of my general song choices are played with picks by the original artist so I’ve been following suit and playing with one where appropriate.
I’ve settled on a Dunlop Prime grip 96 as my pick of choice and have definitely gotten comfortable with the down picking only on certain songs. Alternate is still a work in progress depending on the song speed.
Okay, that’s interesting as part of the issue was having to hold my hand off when I typically use a floating thumb rest when I play finger style. I see both you and Joey seems to be anchoring near the bridge. I’ll definitely work on that.
I love this Thank you Sensei
You know what, I found the best bass for picking is my Hofner. It’s really easy to rest on the bridge and the strings are close together. Really comfortable. However the Rick can be a pain in the neck because of the pickup cover - on the one hand you can use it as a rest, but you kind of lose access to the strings because it’s so high. I’m toying with removing it but it looks so cool…
OK, you all inspired me to have a go at my first recording and cover A nice slow one. Props to @PamPurrs and @John_E for the how-tos
You’re not wrong about it all going to poop with the camera rolling I used 2 recorded takes in the end for audio, but could only be bothered to do one video, so you can see some of my mistakes and smirking at myself
Anyway, it’s all a learning exercise. I’m clueless about things like compression, plugins etc that I see being discussed, maybe I’ll figure that out in time!
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
That was awesome! Nice tone. Very well done!
congrats on your first cover @saroohoo ! very well played and recorded
That’s just a great cover regardless, but considering its your first recording…wow! The slides were perfect too.
That was excellent, and a fantastic song choice!!! Great bass tone too!
Well done on your first cover!
Well done!
Nicely played! Congrats on your first cover, that sounded great!
Most Excellent
I’ve never seen anyone make playing bass look so elegant before
Like Irish butter rich tone and very smooth notes transitions. I’m super surprised that this was your first cover. Superb right hand technique, alternating and even with great accent.
You should feel great about this @saroohoo this is gig ready song. It’s much easier to play in front of a crowd without the camera,