I should elaborate. Bass tabs are often submitted by pros playing things the “right” way. The thing this misses is the essential drone/chugging quality open strings offer tonally. Try it both ways and you will see what I mean.
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I really want to get better with the pick, but every time I start using one I feel frustrated as I miss notes or my timing gets messed up. So to feel more comfortable I just graviate to using fingers much more.
So I’ve decided on a little project to force me to use it more. I’m recording a song from every Beatles album in order, and I’ve just posted my first entry in the covers thread: Post Your Covers! (2026) - #879 by THRILLHO
I’d be happy to hear any feedback.
I think my grip is “wrong” as I’m using 3 fingers to hold it:
I do this because it gives me a nice angle to attack the strings downwards when I’m standing (bonus dog):
But the way it was taught in Josh’s bonus module is between thumb and the side of your index like this:
But that feels really uncomfortable for me, especially when standing, as it forces my wrist to bent upwards. I have to completely change the angle of the neck in order to make it work:
But I’m open to adapting and trying other ways.
I’m currently using the triangle dunlop pick that makes the 3 finger method feel comfortable.
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Try how it works if you don’t let it stick out that much, seems like a lot to me.
Are you playing with all downpicking, or alternate picking? Imo, the 3 finger style like you are holding your pick works better with all downstrokes (The Hetfield style, as this is how he holds his pick, and he is the king of downpicking).
You can also use the pick a bit angled to the strings, you don’t have to align it perfectly. Though if you play at an angle, you will get more scratching noise, which some people find desirable, others not.
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Try lowering your bass a couple of inches.
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I’ve always used the 3-finger style despite it being “wrong”. I alternate-pick. I wouldn’t sweat it, go with what works best for you on this one.
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I’m trying to alternate pick, but I can see how it would be harder on the upstroke with 3 fingers.
I find that I miss the strings more when I just use the 2 fingers.
I’m working on my next Beatles song and I keep switching. I guess it’s just something I’ll figure out with time.
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I find alternating much easier with three fingers. The recommended method has never worked for me at all.
The only real drawback of the three finger way is it is easier to drop the pick.
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I’m not going to link every single one, but I’ve just recorded my second Beatles cover: Post Your Covers! (2026) - #907 by THRILLHO
This time I managed to swap to the 2 finger grip. I don’t know what changed, but I watched a few different videos of people playing and suddenly it made sense and felt more comfortable.
I also focused on using only downstrokes for this one, just to have some more consistency.
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If it works, it works. Everything else just takes practice.
I could see that grip potentially being a problem for palm muting. I would have trouble resting my hand on the bridge or the strings and strumming while holding a pick like that. But ergonomics are individual.
If you can play with that grip while palm muting, I think you’re good.
My biggest advice would be on angles:
If you lower the bass a couple inches and move your hand back closer to the bridge, that should make things a lot more comfortable.
Yeah I’ve been working on the 2 finger grip and it feels better now. I did lower the strap a little too.
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I tried a bunch of picks any never found on I liked, probably because I wasn’t good at it. Then ones day inwas on the rail at a Pantera concert in front of Rex Brown. I caught one of him picks and decided i would use that type. St now I play with these and haven’t switched up. I’ve gotten a lot better by sticking with them. I also happened to get his set list annotated with what bass he should grab for each song!
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1mm Tortex, one of my faves!
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I think I’m getting a bit better. But my biggest issue at the moment is when I miss a string and everything falls apart.
Most of the time I know where I am without looking, but halfway through a song I’ll miss a string and then struggle to find my place again. If I stare at where I’m plucking I can usually avoid this, but it’s not very practical.
Playing with a pick just feels like a lot of extra things to put together. Different muting styles, thinking about up strokes and down strokes, thinking about which string I’m supposed to hit, repositioning the pick in my hand if it moves out of place.
I’ll get there…
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Keep at it! I see myself improving slowly but surely but you’re spot on, more to think about than with fingers style. But man, old AC/DC riffs sound so cool with a pick 
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I don’t think there is any more to think about than with fingers, just you are used to fingers and it’s all baked in at this point. With pick it’s new again and you are relearning stuff you have mastered with fingers.
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Because you’re comparing it to how you play finger style NOW, not how you played finger style when you started.
Do you remember how much you got messed up by alternate plucking and crossing strings when you first started?
You’re doing fine. You just need time to practice. And you need to be happy working on simpler songs, not trying to play with the same proficiency you do finger style.
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There’s definitely an extra level of muting to think about, my plucking hand does so much muting when I play with fingers. But as @BeerBaron says, it’s because its something new.
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I sometimes mute with the pick. It’s different, I’ll grant you that, but I don’t think it’s more challenging. But that’s me.
Adjust your strap height and hand placement as was discussed earlier will likely help with the muting issue. Rest your hand on your bridge, and then palm muting becomes basically automatic.
Holding your hand up where you are in the earlier picture… you need to consciously think about where and how your right hand touches the strings to mute them. Making it harder on yourself.
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I just started (literally today) seriously learning how to use a pick, instead of just making occasional half-assed attempts.
Decided to lean into the “I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing” feeling and literally start over with beginner exercises. I know some folks have done this with the B2B lessons, but I have a copy of The Hal Leonard Bass Method gathering dust so I thought I’d give that a go instead.
Did better than I thought I would with the first page of open-string exercises. So I’m going to give that a couple of days practice and keep pushing forward. I think going back to basics is doing me better than trying to jump into even simple songs. (Though I didn’t do a terrible job of Coldplay’s Yellow either, bit of string crossing and muting difficulty but it’ll come.)
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